by Xochitl Torres Small, Quivira Coalition
The Quivira Coalition is multiple generations into a movement based on bringing unlikely people together for resilient lands. During the 1990’s range wars, a rancher and two environmentalists started Quivira. Their purpose was to show that “ecologically healthy rangeland and economically robust ranches can be compatible.” They aimed to do so not by hiding behind compromise or even limiting the scope of solutions to common ground. Instead, founder Courtney White committed to calling out the issues and, by exploring alternatives, achieving a shared vision. Around the same time as Quivira’s founding, rancher Bill McDonald of the Malpai Borderlands Group used the term Radical Center to describe similar work. Collaborative conservationism provided an alternative to the constant litigation and legislation that defined this period.
As lofty as Quivira’s ideals began and remain, the work is practical. White described how his point of conversion from “bumper sticker environmentalism” to a third way of doing things happened on a tour of cofounder Jim Winder’s ranch. As they drove by healthy grass and running water, Winder asked White what he actually wanted the land to look like. They discovered they wanted many of the same things.
Quivira doggedly supports farmers and ranchers who investigate opportunities to sustain their practices by adding value, expanding regional and local markets, and diversifying income.
Read more about all of this in Xoch’s full article here – https://greenmoney.com/can-the-same-land-stewardship-support-healthy-land-and-healthy-ranches
======