Western Landowners

Alliance – a member-based nonprofit organization

focused on advancing policies

and practices that sustain working lands,

connected landscapes and native species

– has announced a landowner-led initiative

to reduce conflicts with wildlife in the

northern Rockies, including Wyoming.

With support from the National Fish

and Wildlife Foundation, the initiative is

intended to engage landowners, partners

and nonprofit organizations in coordinated

efforts to share knowledge, provide

increased resources and improve policies

and practices that help reduce losses

to both wildlife and livestock. Candace

Weeda of Cascade, Mont., will head up

the effort as the WLA’s Northern Rockies

landowner representative. Weeda is a recent

graduate of the King Ranch® Institute

for Ranch Management. The conflict reduction

initiative aligns with WLA’s mission

to address conservation challenges

on working landscapes where livestock,

wildlife and people coexist.

“Land management conflicts involving

grizzlies, wolves and elk are a great

challenge,” said Albert Sommers, WLA

member and landowner from Pinedale.

“It is critical to have perspectives from

people who are out working on the land

with these animals everyday at the table to

shape future management practices. WLA

represents that landowner voice so we can

find ways to help reduce and better manage

wildlife conflicts.”

WLA recently released a publication

around a great conservation question of

our time – how can we manage a wild,

working landscape that sustains both people

and wildlife? While WLA’s guide

“Reducing Conflict with Grizzly Bears,

Wolves and Elk” centers on the more

well-known and publicized struggles between

people and animals in the Rockies,

the important lessons and knowledge are

universal throughout the West, especially

in states like Wyoming.

The resources and best management

practices in this guide were developed and

provided by landowners, wildlife agencies,

researchers and nonprofit organizations.

Each contributor in this guide has a wealth

of real-world experience in ranching and

wildlife management and knows first-hand

the difference between what looks good on

paper and what works on the ground.

As a main component of the work,

WLA will facilitate a conflict reduction

network to connect collaborative conflict

mitigation efforts and partners across the

West. Participants in the network will

meet regularly to increase coordination

and knowledge sharing among partners

and to advance funding and joint policy

recommendations that will better support

coexistence solutions such as carcass

pickup and composting, range riding and

more. Conflict reduction strategies, practices

and resources will be made readily

available to landowners.

For more about WLA’s conflict reduction

efforts, contact candace@westernlandowners.

org