What does this mean to you?  Wildlife and rangeland.  Does it mean conflict of interest?  Does it mean working together?  Or does it mean two completely separate entities that should never have anything to do with each other?  To me, they are one in the same.  I have a Rangeland Management degree with an Option in Wildlife Management.  Basically, this means that I took not only all of the range courses but all of the wildlife courses as well.  I wish everyone had to do that.

Wildlife and rangelands need to go hand in hand.  You can’t have one without the other.  If you think you can, you’re kidding yourself.  The BLM does a wonderful job of promoting multiple-use landscapes, and this includes wildlife.  However, growing up in ranching communities, I know not everyone loves the idea of an elk eating their haystack.  We moved into their space, not the other way around.  I might sound preachy here, but it’s something that I feel more people need to understand.  My internship this summer has allowed me to explore some absolutely beautiful and unique areas in Wyoming.  I get to hang out in wide open spaces with little to no people within a 20 mile radius of me and little to no “improvements” on the landscape to ruin the view.

I’m lucky and I know it.  Seeing exactly how the multiple-use landscape comes together is awesome.  I have seen bikers, hikers, and horseback riders on the Continental Divide Trail, cows on rangeland, wildlife on rangeland, different agencies conducting research on BLM land, oil and gas exploration, and historical artifacts that take you back to the pioneer days.  My passion will always be wildlife, but rangelands are important too.  Maybe more important in many ways.  There is beauty and importance in everything if you only take a look.