Excerpt - A Message from the Founders
"The founders, a rancher and two conservationists, have brought this organization to life because we believe we have discovered a reasonable solution to the increasingly angry debate that surrounds grazing in the American West. We enter onto the grazing battlefield not to referee the contest of wills between ranchers and environmentalists, or to mediate a negotiated truce, or even to find "common ground" among combatants. Instead, we propose to lead people to another playing field altogether. We believe that an alternative exists which allows the land to heal, and perhaps thrive, while enabling ranchers to make a living. We call it 'The New Ranch.'

"This new alternative is not a synthesis of two separate worlds; we did not take the 'best' of the ranching world and combine it with the 'best' of the environmental world, with a sprinkling of agency wisdom on top, to create a synthetic Frankenstein of unwieldy and unpredictable actions. No, we are proposing a whole new model in-and-of itself; a third position, separate and distinct from the two previous models, now locked in mortal combat.

"Our model is based on the work of Jim Winder at his Double Lightning Ranch, near Nutt, New Mexico. But there are others, too; a growing number of ranchers around the west have begun to employ sustainable ranching techniques - with positive consequences. They are herding their cows up, constantly moving them, keeping them out of the creeks, dodging the springtime growing season, and giving every acre of land a rest for the majority of a year. And they're making a profit, too."

Contents:

• "Our Mission: Introducing The Quivira Coalition"
• "A Message From The Founders" -Jim Winder, Courtney White, Barbara Johnson
• "The Far Horizon" -Courtney White
• "Why is the New Ranch Important to Ranchers?" -Jim Winder
• "Science and the Grazing Debate" -Kris Havstad
• "Bringing People Together" -Ray Powell