Palouse Outdoors: Sharing the Land and conservation values

Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) is known as the visionary behind modern wildlife and habitat management. He understood the connection between ecosystem integrity and wildlife abundance and diversity. Perhaps more importantly, Leopold understood where and how humans fit into the balance and how to communicate and connect people and the landscape.

Leopold's theories on wildlife management needed proving, and in 1931, he found the perfect scenario. While living in Madison, Wisconsin, Leopold met a farmer in Riley, a small farming community nearby, who needed labor and expertise for managing poachers and habitat. Leopold convinced the farmer and ten other landowners to allow him and a few friends to manage the habitat and wildlife in exchange for hunting access. Thus, the Riley Game Cooperative was born.

Many hands and skill sets make property management an easier lift, and for over a decade, the Riley Game Cooperative connected Leopold and his city friends to the land and landowners. They saw the fruits of their labor in habitat development and the response of pheasant, bobwhite quail, songbirds, and other wildlife in harmony with a productive farm.

The landowners also enjoyed the connections, with the bonus of Leopold and company controlling illegal trespassing and hunting. Leopold had proven his wildlife management vision, leading to his first book, "Game Management," in 1933.

Leopold's teachings have influenced conservationists and wildlife managers since "Game Management" was published, but his most prominent work is "A Sand County Almanac," published in 1949, two years after Leopold's death. Within this book, Leopold shared his vision of "...a widely accepted and implemented set of values based on caring-for people, for land, and for all the connections between them." The book continues to sell worldwide, is published in 14 languages, and is often a required reading of collegiate-level studies in natural resources and wildlife management.

Doug Duren, a present-day Wisconsin conservationist, is an educated earth scientist, historian, and study of Leopold's. He operates his family's 400-acre farm for timber, grass-fed beef, and wildlife. Doug serves as the managing partner for the farm and leads conservation efforts as the farm's management focus.

Upon Doug assuming the managing partner role, a singular goal became clear to keep the farm economically viable. The required upkeep and labor cost were untenable for one man, but Doug knew the story of the Riley Game Cooperative well. Doug developed his vision of a conservation cooperators network connecting landowners, hunters, and access seekers he calls "Sharing the Land," founded on Leopold's values of "caring for people, for land, and the connections between them."

Leopold founded the Riley Game Cooperative on conservation specifically, but Doug has broadened the concept to include wildlife and habitat alongside farm maintenance needs. Through the Sharing the Land concept, public "access seekers" may provide general and skilled labor in exchange for hunting access. Labor ranges from chores like brush clearing and fence maintenance to skilled carpentry, electrical, masonry, and habitat management. While hunting access is the clear reward for labor, the benefits run far deeper.

Sharing the Land has fostered relationships between Doug and the hunters, who volunteer their time, sweat, and skills that help the farm function for production and conservation. Additionally, the access seekers gain a sense of pride and ownership in their contributions to the farm, which results in deeper gratitude when a game animal from the farm graces their family table. There is no more rewarding experience than playing an active role in the land that provides food for the family.

The Sharing the Land concept has been so successful for Doug that he developed a program to facilitate the process for other landowners, and the demand is there from the hunting populous. Over 60 percent of the US landmass is private land, and the large tracts of public land are mainly in the Western US. The demand for hunting access coupled with the portfolio of skills required for land and property management makes programs like the Riley Game Cooperative and Sharing the Land viable.

Habitat management is laborious, but when facilitated by programs like Sharing the Land, labor and expertise may be readily available. For this reason, Walla Walla-based Blue Mountain Pheasants Forever (BMPF) hosted Doug Duren and his business partner, Lyndsey, in June to explore Sharing the Land and better understand how BMPF could support the concept's implementation here in Southeastern Washington. Where public land and public access are at a minimum compared to other parts of the state and the western US.

The Sharing the Land program consists of an online resume system where landowners detail their needs and values, and access seekers identify their skills and interests. Doug and Lyndsey vet the resumes to match the access seekers with landowners. BMPF contributes conservation labor and resources to landowners who already provide public access, but Sharing the Land may provide BMPF another avenue to open lands to outdoorsmen and women who seek meaningful recreation opportunities.

Most outdoor enthusiasts carry their own conservation values and are willing to care for the land upon which they recreate. Private landowners retain the rights to their land, but Doug reminds us that we cannot achieve success alone, nor can we take the land with us when we go. "It's not ours, it's just our turn."

A win-win-win for landowners, outdoor enthusiasts, and the ecosystem may be attainable through the conservation cooperators network, Sharing the Land.

For more information and how the program works, visit http://www.sharingtheland.com and share your ideas on program implementation in Southeastern Washington with BMPF via email at bmpf@bmpf258.org.