Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson

In this solo episode, I share five books that fundamentally shaped my understanding of conservation, public lands, water, ranching, and the American West. These are the books that helped transform me from a ranch broker with a growing curiosity about conservation into someone who eventually devoted much of his career – and this podcast – to exploring the people and ideas shaping the landscapes of the West. Along the way, I discuss Theodore Roosevelt, wildfire policy, regenerative grazing, Western water, and the history of conservation, while highlighting conversations from the Mountain & Prairie archive that connect to each book. Whether you're new to these topics or looking to deepen your understanding on anything from water to ranching to history, these books provide an excellent foundation. Enjoy!! THE BOOKS: Losing Eden: An Environmental History of the American West by Sarah Dant The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America by Timothy Egan For the Love of Land: Global Case Studies of Grazing in Nature's Image by Jim Howell Downriver: Into the Future of Water in the West by Heather Hansman The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America by Douglas Brinkley THE RELATED EPISODES: Sara Dant - First and Second Rob Addington Good Fire, Bad Fire Jim Howell - First and Second Heather Hansman - First and Second Douglas Brinkley --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Freeflow Institute, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, and the Well Done Foundation for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 00:00 – Introduction & why these books matter 03:05 – Losing Eden by Sarah Dant 09:25 – The Big Burn by Timothy Egan 16:05 – For the Love of Land by Jim Howell 23:35 – Downriver by Heather Hansman 29:05 – The Wilderness Warrior by Douglas Brinkley 35:25 – Final thoughts & closing remarks --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

Dillon Osleger wears a lot of hats: geologist, professional mountain biker for Specialized, trail builder, public lands policy analyst and advocate, and now first-time author. His debut book, "Trail Work: Restoring the Paths and Stories of America's Public Lands," blends science, history, and personal reflection into a look at our relationship with the places we love. It's already earned praise from the likes of Bill McKibben, Robert Moor, and former M&P guest Rick Ridgeway. And for whatever it's worth, I loved it as well. I've read a ton of books on public lands, and this one filled in many of the gaps in my knowledge on this super-important and timely issue. Raised by two geologists who moved the family from Riverside to Austin to Northern California, Dillon grew up idolizing mountain legends like Rick Ridgeway and Jeremy Jones, and he wanted nothing more than to spend his life outside. He was, by his own account, a poor student—right up until a NOLS course at fifteen showed him he could learn through the things he was passionate about. That realization helped transform him from a 2.9-GPA high school student all the way to a scientist who holds a master's in Earth Science, with a lot of biking, skiing, surfing, and fishing along the way. We recorded this at Mountainfilm in Telluride, the morning after Dillon shared a stage with literary heroes like Kevin Fedarko. We cover his mountain upbringing, how mountain biking became his way of finding clarity, why he thinks the traditional classroom can be challenging for many curious and energetic kids, and the deep connections between public lands and the rural communities around them. We also get into the writers who shaped him—John McPhee, Wendell Berry, James Rebanks—and his belief that the world is far more purple than the red-and-blue map suggests. We also talk a lot about the process of writing his book and some of the biggest lessons learned from tackling such an ambitious project. More than anything, this is a conversation about loving a place enough to do the work for it. I loved this one. Enjoy! --- Dillon Osleger Trail Work: Restoring the Paths and Stories of America's Public Lands Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/dillon-osleger --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Freeflow Institute, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, and the Well Done Foundation for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing Dillon Osleger and highlighting TNC Colorado 6:12 - A nervous morning 8:39 - How Dillon got people interested in his book 11:12 - Growing up moving around 14:34 - Path to college 16:28 - Finding the right academia 19:16 - Mountain biking 23:30 - The question Dillon was trying to answer 28:12 - An overview of maps 34:04 - The Thomas Fire 37:12 - Public lands threats 42:30 - Real names 47:39 - Finding your why 51:13 - Bringing in jujitsu 53:16 - How writing the book changed Dillon 56:38 - The response to the book 1:02:29 - Book recs 1:09:13 - A purple world --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

My longtime partners and collaborators at The Nature Conservancy recently launched a great podcast series called "On the Move," hosted by TNC storyteller Leah Palmer. It's all about wild animals, their migrations, and the people working to keep those journeys wild and free. If you're a longtime Mountain & Prairie listener, then many of these people, places, and conservation issues will be familiar to you. In fact, a few of the experts you'll hear over the course of the full series are past M&P guests, including Sammy Matsaw Jr., Kelsey Molloy, and Nancy Fishbein. So I'm excited to share one of my favorite episodes today: Episode 4, "Distance Champions." This episode is about creatures of the sky—sandhill cranes, Greater Sage-Grouse, Wilson's phalaropes—and it digs into why these birds migrate, how new tracking tech reveals where they actually go, and what stands in their way. You'll also hear from Ted Floyd of the American Birding Association, a good friend of TNC here in Colorado. Big thanks to The Nature Conservancy for creating such an interesting and engaging podcast series. If you enjoy it, go subscribe to "On the Move" and listen to the whole series. And as always, thanks to everyone who supports the Mountain & Prairie via Patreon, and the additional podcast support from the Freeflow Institute, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, and the Well Done Foundation. Here's Leah Palmer and "Distance Champions." Enjoy!! --- ON THE MOVE podcast Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Subscribe on Spotify --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Freeflow Institute, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, and the Well Done Foundation for their generous sponsorship. --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

This is a live episode recorded at the 2026 Great Plains Stakeholder Workshop, hosted by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The workshop brought together many of the country's leading grasslands conservationists, scientists, funders, and policy experts to tackle a huge question: what would it look like to create a bold, practical, long-term plan for conserving North America's grasslands over the next 30 years? My guests are two people helping to lead that effort: Dr. Holly Bamford, Chief Conservation Officer at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (known as NFWF for short), and Marshall Johnson, Chief Conservation Officer for the National Audubon Society. Both have spent years working at the intersection of science, conservation, agriculture, and partnership-building, and both bring a realistic but hopeful perspective to the future of the Great Plains. In this conversation, we dig into the current state of the Great Plains and grasslands conservation more broadly– from grassland loss and declining bird populations to the creative partnerships helping ranchers, nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies work together toward solutions. We discuss the importance of voluntary conservation, the complicated economics facing ranching communities, the role of programs like the Farm Bill, and why grass-based agriculture and healthy wildlife habitat are far more interconnected than many people realize. Holly and Marshall also share stories from their own lives that explain how they each became so deeply connected to these landscapes– from prairie chicken blinds in Minnesota to the wide-open grasslands of the American West. More than anything, this conversation is about long-term thinking. What does it look like to create a 30-year vision for one of the most ecologically important and underappreciated landscapes in North America? What gives these conservation leaders hope? And what keeps them up at night? There's a lot of realism in this discussion, but there's also a surprising amount of optimism, practicality, and momentum. I learned a ton from this conversation, and I think you will too. Be sure to check out the episode notes for links to the organizations, initiatives, and resources we discuss throughout the episode. Thank you again to the amazing team at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for inviting me to moderate this discussion. --- National Fish and Wildlife Foundation National Audubon Society Dr. Holly Bamford Marshall Johnson Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/great-plains --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Freeflow Institute, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, and the Well Done Foundation for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing a live convo 3:25 - Looking behind instead of ahead 5:40 - Why grasslands 6:57 - The state of grasslands today 10:22 - The meadowlark 12:47 - Rancher relationships 22:41 - Money is the key 25:20 - Farm Bill feelings 29:15 - Prairie potholes 36:20 - Voluntary conservation easements 39:24 - Accounting for change 43:41 - Data collection 48:40 - The next 30 years --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

Hillary Rosner is an award-winning journalist and author whose work combines science, storytelling, and the natural world. She's been writing about environmental issues for decades, with bylines in publications like The New York Times, The Atlantic, and National Geographic. Her new book, "Roam: Wild Animals and the Race to Repair Our Fractured World," explores one of the most urgent—and often overlooked—challenges in conservation: the loss of connectivity across the landscape, and what that means for the movement and survival of wildlife. Like so many fascinating people, Hillary's path into this work wasn't a straight line. She grew up in New York City, far from the wide-open spaces she now writes about, but spent formative summers in the Adirondacks and Berkshires that quietly shaped her connection to nature. After getting her start in fast-paced daily journalism at places like the New York Post and The Village Voice, she realized she wanted something deeper—slower, more immersive storytelling. That shift eventually led her west to Boulder, where she pursued environmental studies and built a career focused on long-form environmental journalism. In this conversation, Hillary and I dig into the big ideas behind "Roam," including why movement is so essential to life on Earth and how human infrastructure—from highways to fences—has fractured the natural world. We talk about surprising barriers to wildlife, like roads that even birds won't cross, and explore solutions ranging from wildlife corridors to collaborative conservation efforts with local communities. We also get into the realities of modern journalism, the importance of "bearing witness" in difficult times, and why curiosity, empathy, and action are still the most powerful tools we have for building a more connected and hopeful future. I loved the book, and I loved this conversation. Hope you enjoy both as much as I did! --- Hillary Rosner Roam: Wild Animals and the Race to Repair Our Fractured World Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/hillary-rosner --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Freeflow Institute, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, and the Well Done Foundation for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing Hillary Rosner and highlighting TNC Colorado 6:09 - Book congrats and growing up in NYC 9:03 - The heading West bug 11:20 - More long-form journalism 13:36 - Making money in journalism 16:41 - Ted Scripps fellowship 19:01 - Patagonia publishing 21:20 - Roads are only good for people 28:20 - Why this should matter to you 35:23- SLOSS 38:39 - Doing everything you can 40:52 - Fence removal project 43:50 - Virtual fencing 44:57 - Author's note 49:47 - Poignant 53:16 - Out of the box thinkers 58:15 - Book recs 1:00:36 - Wrapping up --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts