Ted Turner's Ranch: Watching degraded ecosystems bounce back

In 1996, media mogul Ted Turner bought a New Mexico ranch that's bigger than many national parks. A new film, Preserved, details its history, conservation projects, and influence. Previously owned by Pennzoil, the ranch was badly degraded from overgrazing, forest clearcutting, coal mines, fossil fuel extraction, railroads, and a long-term lack of environmental stewardship. Turner's goal was to restore the land and its wildlife, while keeping the ranch profitable through livestock and tourism businesses.

The film Preserved explores the history and conservation activities of Vermejo Park Ranch, including preservation of bison, mountain lions, cutthroat trout, and many other species. Lesli Allison, Executive Director of the Western Landowners Alliance, is one of the speakers in the film, and on this podcast we talk about the ranch, its place in the larger ecosystem, and its influence on agriculture and conservation.

TIMELINE 3'46 conservation projects on Vermejo Park Ranch 6'13 land badly degraded, but bounced back through stewardship 7'12 protecting land as an ecosystem and living community rather than species by species 9'43 the field of "sensory ecology"  12'08 learning from mistakes, trial and error 14'54 tried to introduce black footed ferrets but failed 15'50 Bison production at the ranch 18'02 migration of wildlife in the larger landscape 20'45 relationships with neighbors 21'37 the boom-bust model of economics 22'42 the benefits of staying in one place and working on it  24'09 we need economic support for the care of land, not just extraction from it 26'21 habitat leasing rather than reductionist systems like carbon credits  27'51 "land is a living community to which we belong" Aldo Leopold...thinking about ourselves as good for nature 30'57 is it the environment vs industry? 32'53 looking at the system rather than villainizing people 34'55 the problem of inequality 35'21 many landowners inspired by Vermejo Park Ranch 36'54 land conservation for the rest of us 40'14 the limiting factor of time 40'48 what's happening at Western Landowners Alliance 41'37 the role of private lands in conservation 42'37 taking care of the land needs to be compensated and become part of our economic system 44'03 the importance of stewardship in restoring land...the land doesn't restore itself 45'41 the next generation of land stewards