“My Wild Land” is a three part documentary series highlighting ranchers from Laramie, Lovel, and Lander. Each story tells how ranchers help big game traverse across their property.
The Bishoff Ranch by Lovell helped reintroduce and maintain the bighorn sheep population. The Terry Creek Ranch near Laramie established a conservation easement on their property. And the Hellyer Ranch near Lander did a habitat treatment on their pasture.
Producer Pat Rogers is a researcher with the Wyoming Migration Initiative. He said these ranchers are the catalyst for good big game management.
“The biggest thing we want to share is just that this series is really about how collaboration is possible,” he said. “Between ranchers and different agencies and conservation groups and how these ranchers have kind of gone out on a limb for wildlife.”
The series also talks about the shrinking tradition of small family owned ranches in the state, a consistent theme from all the stories.
Producer and researcher Emily Reed is, also, with the Wyoming Migration Initiative. She said it's important for the science she works on to be shared with the community it came from.
“There is a light at the end of the tunnel, like we can coexist, we can have a ranching lifestyle, and we can also ensure that the ecological systems are going to be in place for the future,” she said.
“My Wild Land” will be showing in Jackson on September 1 at 6 p.m. at the Teton County Library. In Laramie there will be a showing September 22 at 6 p.m. at the Gryphon Theater. And Lander will have a showing September 29, 6 p.m. at the Lander Community and Convention Center.