Working Landscapes in the West
Pioneering New Approaches

The mission of the Sonoran Institute’s Working Landscapes Program is to protect in perpetuity all that working lands achieve – socially, culturally, economically, and ecologically – throughout the Rocky Mountain West.

A Model of Collaboration

Working farms and ranches can add substantial value to landscape conservation. However, their role in resource stewardship is often overlooked.

There is little doubt that farmers and ranchers are finding it increasingly difficult to make a living off the land. As the number of farms and ranches lost to demographic, economic and political shifts around land and water use, food production, and recreation escalate, the West loses vital pieces of its natural and cultural heritage.

The Sonoran Institute’s Working Landscapes Program seeks to collaborate with farmers and ranchers to creatively integrate traditional goals for working lands with conservation goals for healthy landscapes.

Key Goals at Fort Union Ranch

Our Working Landscapes demonstration project with the Fort Union Ranch in New Mexico exemplifies the three key objectives of this program:

1. Increase economic and ecological resilience on working lands. Resilience is the capacity to readily recover from stress or change.

2. Foster a culture of stewardship among working landowners throughout the West. Stewardship is an ethic that embodies responsible management and use of natural resources.

3. Empower the political voice of working landowner communities. Local, state and regional policy can substantially influence the capacity of individuals and communities to make a living off the land and to adopt stewardship practices. Influencing policy, however, requires that landowners be heard by policymakers.

Learn more about our work at the Fort Union Ranch in New Mexico.

Check out this video on conservation and economic prosperity for cities and towns in Montana from our partners One Montana.  Click here to check them out.