In April, my husband and I attended the Rocky Mountain Plover Festival in Karval, Colorado. Getting to see Burrowing Owls, Horned Larks, and Mountain Plovers was incredible, but the real highlight of the weekend was witnessing a unique human interaction.  

The Plover Festival is a result of a partnership between the ranchers of Karval, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory.  That may not seem unusual until you realize that in most parts of Colorado (and the country) environmentalists and government employees are not welcome on a rancher’s land.  In fact, one rancher from Karval said that 6 years ago he would have been quick to “show off” his gun and “run government intruders” off his land.   Just a few years later this same rancher happily drove a truck hauling a trailer seating dozens of birders and wildlife officials all over his ranch.   To top it all off, the ranchers (Karl, Jeff, and Russ) joked and laughed with Ken (CDW) and Seth (RMBO) as if they were brothers!

Instead of focusing on the birds, I spent a lot of time asking our hosts about how this partnership had evolved and observing their interactions.  Here are some highlights from what I learned:

COLLABORATION.  The ranchers and birders kept talking about how much they had learned, and were continuing to learn from one another.  This was not a one-sided situation where the government set out to change the ranchers.  It was about figuring out how to work together to save ranches and birds.

RESPECT.  The ranchers had made the biggest change in their thinking, yet Ken never let them put themselves down or say they had been wrong before.  He constantly talked about important the ranchers are and how much they were advancing the protection of the birds. 

PATIENCE.  The government team first approached the ranchers about conducing studies on their land more than 6 years ago.  The first Plover Festival was held last year.  It took five years, a lot of data collection, a lot education, and a lot of conversations to get here.

All in all, it was a beautiful weekend – in more ways than one.