Common Ground

Adam Riggsbee
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Nature

When Ranchers Prosper, The Prairie Thrives Welcome to the official Lesser Prairie Chicken Conservation Podcast dedicated to saving the Great American Prairie and the Lesser Prairie Chicken with market-based solutions to biological problems, without all the bureaucracy. Real Solutions, For Real People in Real Places. What if the best way to protect one of America’s most iconic prairie species wasn’t more regulation, but straight-up market incentives that pay ranchers what their land is actually worth? We cut through the noise to talk real solutions: permanent conservation easements on private ranches, mitigation banking that works for everyone, and private capital that keeps working ranches working while securing high-quality habitat forever. You’ll hear from the ranchers who’ve done the deals for their multi-generation families who turned prime prairie into permanent strongholds for the lesser prairie chicken while investing in their operations. You’ll hear from the capital allocators, energy developers, and conservation finance pros who see the pragmatic path forward: fair market payments to landowners, credible mitigation credits for industry, and measurable habitat gains without the heavy hand of government. No virtue signaling. No fluff. Just honest conversations about economics, legacy, property rights, and results on the ground in the Southern Great Plains. Whether you allocate capital at scale or run cattle on the same land your great-grandfather did, this is the partnership model that can move real money to real habitat through millions of dollars that actually stay on the landscape. New episodes drop regularly. If you’re a rancher, investor, developer, or policymaker who wants to understand how private-market conservation banking is already working — and how it can scale — hit subscribe and join the conversation. Learn more and explore partnership opportunities at lpcconservation.com.

Episodes

  1. THE GRAND BARGAIN, SCOTT CITY, KANSAS MAGIC | How "250 for 250" Was Born on Hoeme Ranch

    Jun 5

    THE GRAND BARGAIN, SCOTT CITY, KANSAS MAGIC | How "250 for 250" Was Born on Hoeme Ranch

    This is the episode where 250 for 250 was named. Adam Riggsbee, Wayne Walker, and John Preyer sat down in Kansas — at the Hoeme family's working ranch — and laid out the case for a federal procurement model that could permanently protect 250,000 acres of native prairie habitat by America's 250th birthday. Over an hour, they explain the Grand Bargain: a single conservation deal that gives ranchers market-value compensation for their stewardship, gives U.S. Fish & Wildlife the foundation for a not-warranted listing decision, and gives energy developers the permitting certainty they need to build the next decade of American infrastructure. And midway through the conversation, JP coins the name that became the campaign: "That would be 250. For 250." Adam answered, "It would exactly be 250 for 250." This is that moment. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 In Kansas — the Denver 7 reporter, Colorado's last 200 birds, and the renewable buildout next door 00:01:35 Wayne on the Hoeme family partnership: 14 years of working-lands conservation that actually works 00:03:53 Adam on Colorado Parks & Wildlife, the $20/acre lease program, and two new leks that weren't there before 00:05:59 Why most Colorado politicians don't understand what's possible in southeast Colorado 00:07:39 Renewable buildout, eminent domain, and the case for the rancher 00:09:14 Introducing John Preyer — wind developer turned conservation banker, North Carolina veteran 00:10:03 Why the renewable buildout creates winners and losers in rural America 00:12:08 Permitting certainty is what every developer wants — and what conservation banking can deliver 00:15:16 Adam introduces the Grand Bargain — and why deregulation certainty is the real prize 00:16:40 "That would be 250. For 250." — the campaign name is born 00:17:18 The roller coaster: the lesser prairie chicken listing history from 2014 to today 00:19:30 The plan — three demonstration transactions in Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas 00:21:12 How the Sustains Act of 2023, NRCS ACEP-ALE, and the Programmatic Conservation Banking Agreement fit together 00:24:08 JP on the North Carolina Ecosystem Enhancement Program — $300M in mitigation unlocked $1B in road construction 00:26:09 Why Fish & Wildlife standards matter, and why the "Farmville money to NGOs" approach hasn't worked 00:28:04 Why NRCS needs to designate lesser prairie chicken habitat as grasslands of special environmental significance 00:29:42 Why both sides of the aisle should recognize this is the disruptive change endangered species policy needs 00:31:48 The capacity question — are the agencies ready for this? 00:33:15 Closing: working together to deliver KEY MOMENTS "It would exactly be 250 for 250." — Adam Riggsbee, the moment the campaign was named. "Permitting certainty is what every permittee wants more than anything." — John Preyer "The flip side of certainty in this context, though, is this idea of the Grand Bargain where you don't have permitting certainty — you have deregulation certainty if you do it right." — Adam Riggsbee "There used to be three television news channels when we were growing up. That's long gone, disrupted with a gazillion different formats. We've got a great opportunity right now, regardless of anybody's political affiliation, to embrace disruptive change in how we solve problems like this." — John Preyer "The federal government is putting up 75% of the money it takes to get to a not warranted listing decision. And that is unprecedented." — Adam Riggsbee Subscribe for more on conservation banking, federal procurement, American ranching, the Sustains Act, energy infrastructure, and the future of the Great Plains. LEARN MORE LPC Conservation: lpcconservation.com Follow Common Ground on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn Strong Ranchers. Strong Prairies.

    33 min
  2. "If We Don't Save Ranching, We Won't Save the Prairie" | 30 Year U.S. Fish & Wildlife Vet

    May 28

    "If We Don't Save Ranching, We Won't Save the Prairie" | 30 Year U.S. Fish & Wildlife Vet

    Ted Koch spent 30 years inside the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service deciding which species got listed and which didn't. Today he runs the North American Grouse Partnership and helped stand up the Lesser Prairie Chicken Landowner Alliance — a group of ranchers who don't want subsidies, don't want cost-shares, and don't want another well-intentioned federal program. They want fair market value for stewarding the most threatened ecosystem on Earth. Adam Riggsbee and Wayne Walker sit down with Ted to talk about why 40 years of conservation programs have failed the lesser prairie chicken, what's actually different now, and how 250 for 250 — 250,000 acres of permanently protected prairie by America's 250th birthday — gets it done. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 Meet Ted Koch: 30 years inside U.S. Fish & Wildlife 00:02:40 Why ranching is the lowest-value land use on the Great Plains 00:05:00 Grasslands: the most threatened ecosystem on Earth 00:06:45 Why prior conservation programs failed the lesser prairie chicken 00:11:35 The 250 for 250 plan, in plain language 00:16:00 100,000 acres already protected. How we get to 250,000. 00:24:35 What ranchers actually want 00:28:55 The North American Grouse Partnership story 00:31:00 The Weaver Ranch and New Mexico's stronghold 00:37:45 Ted's pitch: federal procurement of recovery credits 00:42:30 Adam's D.C. update: NRCS, the Sustains Act, and the path to close 00:46:45 Closing: better value for the taxpayer KEY MOMENTS "If we don't save ranching, we won't save grasslands." "Ranchers have subsidized America's interest in conservation for generations, and they can't afford to do it anymore." "Regulation will not recover species. The only way it's going to happen is to empower the ranchers to do it on their lands." "60 cents to get what we want, or a dollar." — Ted, on procurement vs. regulation ABOUT THE GUESTS Ted Koch — Executive Director, North American Grouse Partnership. 30-year career at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, retired from the Southwest Region overseeing the endangered species program. Helped stand up the Lesser Prairie Chicken Landowner Alliance. Subscribe for more on conservation banking, federal procurement, American ranching, the Sustains Act, and the future of the Great Plains. LEARN MORE LPC Conservation: [https://lpcconservation.com/] North American Grouse Partnership: grousepartners.org Follow Common Ground on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn Strong Ranchers. Strong Prairies. #250for250 #LesserPrairieChicken #CommonGround #Conservation #Ranching #StrongRanchersStrongPrairies

    48 min
  3. USA's Bday Gift: $1 Trillion in Energy Investment & 250,000 Acres of Working Prairie

    May 20

    USA's Bday Gift: $1 Trillion in Energy Investment & 250,000 Acres of Working Prairie

    In this episode, Adam and LPC Conservation Partner John "JP" Preyer break down their groundbreaking "250 for 250" initiative — 250,000 acres of permanent lesser prairie chicken habitat conservation on working ranches by America's 250th birthday. They explain how to use already-appropriated USDA dollars through the Sustains Act, NRCS programs (CRP, ACEP, etc.), and corporate matching funds to create recovery credits under their programmatic conservation banking agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The goal: deliver enough high-quality, permanent grassland habitat so the Service can make a defensible "not warranted" decision on listing the bird — clearing the path for massive energy and transmission development across the southern Great Plains. This is a true win-win: permanent protection for the lesser prairie chicken and native prairie ecosystem, economic vitality for ranchers, and permitting certainty for oil & gas, renewables, utilities, and data centers driving AI energy demand. Key Topics: - The ping-pong history of LPC listing/delisting (4 changes in 11 years) - Why voluntary, large-scale conservation beats last-minute regulation - How existing Farm Bill and Sustains Act authorities can be leveraged immediately - Certainty on price and timing that industry actually needs - Protecting American grassland heritage and working ranches Timestamps: Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction & JP's background 00:02:17 From Senate ESA work to mitigation banking 00:06:30 LPC listing history and court battles 00:10:15 The 250 for 250 vision explained 00:15:21 Using Sustains Act + NRCS programs 00:18:03 Energy dominance, transmission, and data centers 00:23:00 Why ranchers and the prairie way of life matter 00:26:51 Scale: 250k acres vs. current conservation efforts This approach turns traditional Endangered Species Act problems upside down by proactively building habitat with existing federal programs instead of burdening industry after the fact. Visit: https://lpcconservation.com Follow for more on pragmatic conservation, mitigation banking, and real solutions at the intersection of species recovery and American energy production. Subscribe for unfiltered conversations on fixing environmental regulation so it actually works for species, landowners, and the economy.

    28 min
  4. 250 For 250 | The Grand Bargain: Recovery Acres, IRA Funds & the Listing Decision

    Apr 24

    250 For 250 | The Grand Bargain: Recovery Acres, IRA Funds & the Listing Decision

    The lesser prairie chicken has fewer than 28,000 individuals left and has been caught in a regulatory loop since 1998 — listed, delisted, listed again, and delisted again. In Episode 2 of Finding Common Ground, Wayne Walker and Adam Riggsbee make the case for why the credit market alone will never get the bird to recovery, and what a different path forward looks like. Wayne opens with the American burying beetle — a species with a nearly identical history of failed in-lieu fee programs, until Fish and Wildlife shut the old program down in 2012, private conservation banking stepped in, and the market delivered conservation that actually worked. The beetle was downlisted from endangered to threatened. The playbook exists. From there, the conversation moves to what Wayne and Adam call the 250 for 250: a proposed federal procurement of 250,000 recovery acres timed to America's 250th anniversary. The mechanism is their USFWS-approved programmatic conservation banking agreement — the only instrument of its kind for this species. Every acre includes a permanent conservation easement, a long-term management plan, and a non-wasting endowment. The rancher sets the price. Cattle keep grazing. The ranch stays in the family. The payoff for the broader economy: permitting certainty for the Colorado Power Pathway, Permian Basin development, and every energy project across the southern Great Plains — without the multi-year ESA permitting cycle that a listing would bring. Topics covered: the beetle precedent, conservation strongholds and why they require 25,000 to 50,000 contiguous acres, the Trump administration's listing deadline of November 2026, IRA fund repurposing, the Kansas-Colorado connection, and why conservation banking is a procurement model, not a subsidy. *Note: This episode was recorded before Colorado's LPC conservation legislation was introduced and subsequently did not advance in the state appropriations process. The grand bargain argument in this episode addresses exactly why state-level approaches alone are structurally insufficient and why the federal procurement model matters.* TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Introduction — why mitigation alone won't get to recovery 03:54 The American burying beetle precedent 09:37 Why the LPC needs a surge in conservation 11:52 What a stronghold is and where they need to be 15:03 The grand bargain — funding the stronghold strategy 18:48 The Trump administration, the listing deadline, and IRA funds 28:26 Government procurement vs. the farm bill model 38:20 Colorado, Kansas, and the 250 for 250 45:33 Closing — 250,000 acres for America's 250th anniversary Finding Common Ground is hosted by Wayne Walker and Adam Riggsbee, co-founders of the only USFWS-approved programmatic conservation banking agreement for the lesser prairie chicken. 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-common-ground/id1891100748 🎧 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/78OmhzYh89K58FGb5aqMj7 📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lpcconservation

    48 min
  5. What is Conservation Banking?

    Apr 6

    What is Conservation Banking?

    Welcome to, "Finding Common Ground" the official Lesser Prairie Chicken Conservation Podcast! As the Lesser Prairie-Chicken was officially delisted from the ESA again in early 2026, the Colorado Power Pathway’s massive transmission buildout is accelerating across the southern Great Plains, yet habitat loss and fragmentation continue to threaten the bird, rural landowners, and energy projects. In this opening conversation, CEO of LPCC Adam Riggsbee, and Wayne Walker of Common Ground Capital recap decades of regulatory swings, the real tensions between ranchers and developers, and why past government and industry programs failed to deliver durable results. They lay out how Lesser Prairie Chicken Conservation operates the only programmatic conservation bank and range-wide Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for the species across its full range! Through permanent, market-negotiated conservation easements on working grasslands, ranchers receive fair-market payments backed by endowments and active management, prescribed fire, grazing plans, invasives control, and all to strict U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service standards. Wind, solar, transmission, and oil & gas developers buy mitigation credits for compliance certainty. Key Takeaways • Regulatory uncertainty destroys value for everyone. “Uncertainty is bad for all, whether you’re a farmer or rancher…or an energy developer.” • You can’t make the money fit the mitigation. Market-based payments to landowners in the right places are the missing piece. • Location, location, location. Strategic easements create habitat strongholds of 50,000+ acres while keeping productive working lands intact. • Private market environmental solutions deliver. Ranchers earn meaningful revenue to stay on the land; developers get bankable credits and permitting certainty. Utilities, developers, and capital allocators gain scalable, regulatory-compliant tools for projects like the Colorado Power Pathway. Multi-generational ranchers gain real economic incentives for stewardship of their private property without giving up operations. LPCC's conservation banking model shows how private-market solutions bridge rancher economics, developer needs, and habitat restoration. LPCC Podcast Episode 1 with Adam Riggsbee and Wayne Walker. Subscribe for future episodes on pragmatic conservation finance and working-land solutions. Visit: lpcconservation.com to learn more.

    48 min
  • 5 Episodes

About

When Ranchers Prosper, The Prairie Thrives Welcome to the official Lesser Prairie Chicken Conservation Podcast dedicated to saving the Great American Prairie and the Lesser Prairie Chicken with market-based solutions to biological problems, without all the bureaucracy. Real Solutions, For Real People in Real Places. What if the best way to protect one of America’s most iconic prairie species wasn’t more regulation, but straight-up market incentives that pay ranchers what their land is actually worth? We cut through the noise to talk real solutions: permanent conservation easements on private ranches, mitigation banking that works for everyone, and private capital that keeps working ranches working while securing high-quality habitat forever. You’ll hear from the ranchers who’ve done the deals for their multi-generation families who turned prime prairie into permanent strongholds for the lesser prairie chicken while investing in their operations. You’ll hear from the capital allocators, energy developers, and conservation finance pros who see the pragmatic path forward: fair market payments to landowners, credible mitigation credits for industry, and measurable habitat gains without the heavy hand of government. No virtue signaling. No fluff. Just honest conversations about economics, legacy, property rights, and results on the ground in the Southern Great Plains. Whether you allocate capital at scale or run cattle on the same land your great-grandfather did, this is the partnership model that can move real money to real habitat through millions of dollars that actually stay on the landscape. New episodes drop regularly. If you’re a rancher, investor, developer, or policymaker who wants to understand how private-market conservation banking is already working — and how it can scale — hit subscribe and join the conversation. Learn more and explore partnership opportunities at lpcconservation.com.

Information

  • Creator
    Adam Riggsbee
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    2026 © All Rights Reserved. LPC Conservation LLC
  • Show Website
    Common Ground