NEWS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BOISE – (Feb. 17, 2026) – It was exciting to see Life on the Range writer and producer Steve Stuebner receive a Governor’s Award for Excellence in Agriculture in the Michael Perrella Education Advocacy category at the Idaho Ag Summit.
This was the second major award that the IRRC team has received. In 2019, IRRC received a National Sagebrush Steppe Stewardship award from the BLM for its participation in rangeland education, public policy formation and commitment to the stewardship of public land managed by the BLM in Idaho.
Steve and Gretchen Hyde, Executive Director of IRRC, launched the Life on the Range online educational video series in 2010 with a strong vision for “telling our story,” unfiltered, by producing our own stories for the IRRC/Life on the Range web site and YouTube channel. Our themes have held true to this day, 16 years later: “Life on the Range is an educational project showcasing real stories about the ever-changing landscape of ranching, multiple-use management, entrepreneurial spirit, family and stewardship on Idaho’s rangelands.”
Many of our current and former IRRC board members, including Darcy Helmick, Mark Pratt with his wife, Wendy, Royce Schwenkfelder with his wife, Pam, Merrill Beyeler with his wife, Sharal, and Chris Black were there to cheer on Steve at the Idaho Ag Summit awards luncheon. A number of people we’ve profiled in the LOTR series were in the room, including Broken Circle Stockdog trainer Robin Brown with her husband, Rocky, Clark County rancher Richard Savage, and many others.
“Steve Stuebner is an untiring advocate for practices, projects and programs that enhance the economic productivity and environmental quality of our state,” the Idaho Ag Summit Program said. “As an avid outdoor recreationist, experienced journalist and self-described environmentalist, Steve embodies the target audience of the IRRC Care/Share public relations campaign, which focuses on improving recreational etiquette on rangeland and education about interacting with livestock on public land.
“His efforts and connection to healthy, productive grazing operations, as well as his understanding of the needs of many of Idaho’s citizens who utilize these rangelands for recreation, has played a vital role in continued efforts to keep Idaho the state we all enjoy.”
Steve was really tickled and humbled to receive the award. “The Life on the Range series is a total team effort,” he says. “I really treasure the feedback and guidance that I receive from Gretchen Hyde and the IRRC board of directors. We’ve tackled some challenging topics over the years, and I feel like we’ve moved the needle in terms of the public’s understanding of how valuable our rangelands are for fish and wildlife, recreation and ranching in Idaho.”
We’re now moving into the 16th year of the Life on the Range (LOTR) series, with about 100 educational video documentaries available for viewing by the general public and K-12 school kids on the LOTR YouTube page.
For more information, go to http://idrange.org/life-on-the-range/
###################
