Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson

Ed Roberson
  • 4.9 (1.1K)
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Long-form conversations with remarkable people connected to the land, communities, and culture of the American West. • For 10+ years, host Ed Roberson has talked with writers, ranchers, scientists, artists, historians, and adventurers. Every episode is substantive, relaxed, and rich with wisdom — offering listeners fresh perspectives and a deeper connection to one of the world's most compelling places. • Past guests include Yvon Chouinard, Kris Tompkins, Nick Offerman, and Sebastian Junger. • Top 0.5% of all podcasts globally. Featured by Patagonia, The Aspen Institute, SXSW, and MeatEater.

  1. Elif Koyutürk — Filmmaking, Resilience, and a Vanishing Way of Life

    1h ago

    Elif Koyutürk — Filmmaking, Resilience, and a Vanishing Way of Life

    Elif Koyutürk is a filmmaker, photographer, and all-around artist originally from Istanbul, now based in Bend, Oregon. Elif works across many mediums—photography, poetry, film, and more—but the throughline in everything she does is a drive to make people feel a story, not just read the facts of it. She brings a rare kind of power and passion to her work, and it's clear that her connection to land and place isn't just a subject for her, it's personal. Like so many fascinating people I talk to on this podcast, her path wasn't a straight line. She grew up between the massive city of Istanbul and her family's farm, raised by journalist parents and a house full of grandmothers steeped in Anatolian tradition. She taught herself photography using a camera with a moldy, secondhand 23-euro lens and won international awards with it before she ever touched professional, high-dollar gear. From there she talked her way onto a Red Bull film crew in a hotel lobby, worked in Austria, and eventually landed in Los Angeles with one suitcase and no contacts, on an "Extraordinary Ability" visa. In this conversation, we get into all of it—her childhood in Istanbul, her creative process and her synesthesia, and how she built a career from nothing through sheer resourcefulness and energy. We also spend a lot of time on her new film, Guardians of Anatolia, which premiered at Telluride Mountainfilm and follows a female-led nomadic tribe in Turkey's Taurus Mountains as they fight to hold onto a 9,000-year-old matriarchal way of life against modern water and land pressures. I hope you enjoy this one, as it hits on so many of the topics I enjoy– art, conservation, agriculture, creativity, and hard work– but with an international perspective that is now rooted here in the West. --- Elif Koyutürk Guardians of Anatolia Elif on Instagram Episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/elif-koyuturk --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Freeflow Institute, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, and the Well Done Foundation for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing Elif Koyutürk 2:49 - Early Elif 7:36 - Artistic inclinations  11:33 - To the U.S.  18:34 - Off the plane in L.A. 22:20 - Making money 24:57 - Connections to friendships 28:50 - Being raw and clumsy 30:49 - Guardians of Anatolia origin story 37:49 - A vanishing way of life 40:23 - Emerging filmmaker  43:40 - Path forward for the film 45:54 - What's next 51:39 - Old Salt takeaways 57:15 - Plot twist: jiu jitsu! 1:02:52 - Rivers in Bend, OR 1:05:35 - Book recs 1:08:16 - Wrapping up --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

    1h 13m
  2. A Public Lands Update + Ways to TAKE ACTION, with Adam Cramer

    Jun 26

    A Public Lands Update + Ways to TAKE ACTION, with Adam Cramer

    This is my second episode with Adam Cramer, CEO of the Outdoor Alliance, a coalition of ten national organizations representing the human-powered outdoor community—mountain biking, backcountry skiing, kayaking, climbing, trail running, and more. The Outdoor Alliance works to protect public lands and the places these communities love, getting deeply involved in conservation policy and empowering people to take action on behalf of the landscapes that matter to them. The last year has been a relentless one for public lands, with threats coming from every direction, and Adam and his team have been in the thick of it. Normally my episodes are "evergreen," but given everything happening right now, I wanted to bring Adam back to give us an update on the current threats—as well as some genuine bright spots. This is such a moving target with so many moving pieces that it can be really hard to keep up with everything and, most importantly, to know how to stop talking and take action. So I brought Adam in to help us make sense of it all and give us some instruction on how we can go on the offense to keep public lands public. We cover a lot of ground: the public lands sell-off that arose out of last summer's reconciliation bill and the massive, cross-partisan public blowback that killed it; the fight over the Roadless Rule; the rescinding of the BLM's Public Lands Rule; proposed changes to travel management and motorized vehicle rules; and the reorganization happening inside the land management agencies. But it's not all grim—Adam walks us through the real reasons for hope, including bipartisan efforts like the Public Lands in Public Hands Act, the EXPLORE Act, and the Legacy Restoration Fund, which is moving through Congress right now and is one of the most important places listeners can weigh in today. We also get into Adam's pragmatic, calm approach to all of this—why he refuses to be hysterical even when the stakes are high, what he's learned about strategy and compassion across the table, and how everyday people with jobs and families can stay informed and actually take action without drowning in the noise. He closes with some great book recommendations and a reminder to embrace and bask in the joy of place. And just for some context, we recorded this on June 22, 2026. I hope you enjoy it and learn as much as I did. And most importantly, I hope you'll TAKE ACTION! --- Adam Cramer Outdoor Alliance (Scroll down on the home page to sign up for their email list.) Adam's first M&P episode Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/public-lands-update/ --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Freeflow Institute, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, and the Well Done Foundation for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing Adam Cramer and highlighting the Well Done Foundation 6:05 - Outdoor Alliance reminder 10:02 - One Big Beautiful Bill post-mortem  14:18 - The Roadless Rule 17:47 - What's the point of rescission? 19:51 - Following the herd 20:01 - Deferred maintenance  22:47 - Taking action: Roadless Rule 25:24 - Forest Service moves West 31:18 - A plethora of land types 33:34 - Just trying to protect the land 35:29 - BLM Public Lands Rule 39:36 - Swings 43:06 - Staying calm (alert: a jiu jitsu reference) 49:42 - Legacy Restoration Fund 56:08 - How to stay informed 58:54 - Motorized use 1:04:30 - Book recs 1:05:54  - Parting words --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

    1h 8m
  3. Five Foundational Conservation Books That Shaped How I See the West

    Jun 17

    Five Foundational Conservation Books That Shaped How I See the West

    In this solo episode, I share five books that fundamentally shaped my understanding of conservation, public lands, water, ranching, and the American West. These are the books that helped transform me from a ranch broker with a growing curiosity about conservation into someone who eventually devoted much of his career – and this podcast – to exploring the people and ideas shaping the landscapes of the West. Along the way, I discuss Theodore Roosevelt, wildfire policy, regenerative grazing, Western water, and the history of conservation, while highlighting conversations from the Mountain & Prairie archive that connect to each book. Whether you're new to these topics or looking to deepen your understanding on anything from water to ranching to history, these books provide an excellent foundation. Enjoy!! THE BOOKS: Losing Eden: An Environmental History of the American West by Sarah Dant The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America by Timothy Egan For the Love of Land: Global Case Studies of Grazing in Nature's Image by Jim Howell Downriver: Into the Future of Water in the West by Heather Hansman The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America by Douglas Brinkley THE RELATED EPISODES: Sara Dant - First and Second Rob Addington Good Fire, Bad Fire Jim Howell - First and Second Heather Hansman - First and Second Douglas Brinkley --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Freeflow Institute, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, and the Well Done Foundation for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 00:00 – Introduction & why these books matter 03:05 – Losing Eden by Sarah Dant 09:25 – The Big Burn by Timothy Egan 16:05 – For the Love of Land by Jim Howell 23:35 – Downriver by Heather Hansman 29:05 – The Wilderness Warrior by Douglas Brinkley 35:25 – Final thoughts & closing remarks --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

    38 min
  4. Dillon Osleger - Trails, Maps, and the Hidden Stories of Our Public Lands

    Jun 8

    Dillon Osleger - Trails, Maps, and the Hidden Stories of Our Public Lands

    Dillon Osleger wears a lot of hats: geologist, professional mountain biker for Specialized, trail builder, public lands policy analyst and advocate, and now first-time author. His debut book, "Trail Work: Restoring the Paths and Stories of America's Public Lands," blends science, history, and personal reflection into a look at our relationship with the places we love. It's already earned praise from the likes of Bill McKibben, Robert Moor, and former M&P guest Rick Ridgeway. And for whatever it's worth, I loved it as well.  I've read a ton of books on public lands, and this one filled in many of the gaps in my knowledge on this super-important and timely issue. Raised by two geologists who moved the family from Riverside to Austin to Northern California, Dillon grew up idolizing mountain legends like Rick Ridgeway and Jeremy Jones, and he wanted nothing more than to spend his life outside. He was, by his own account, a poor student—right up until a NOLS course at fifteen showed him he could learn through the things he was passionate about. That realization helped transform him from a 2.9-GPA high school student all the way to a scientist who holds a master's in Earth Science, with a lot of biking, skiing, surfing, and fishing along the way. We recorded this at Mountainfilm in Telluride, the morning after Dillon shared a stage with literary heroes like Kevin Fedarko. We cover his mountain upbringing, how mountain biking became his way of finding clarity, why he thinks the traditional classroom can be challenging for many curious and energetic kids, and the deep connections between public lands and the rural communities around them. We also get into the writers who shaped him—John McPhee, Wendell Berry, James Rebanks—and his belief that the world is far more purple than the red-and-blue map suggests. We also talk a lot about the process of writing his book and some of the biggest lessons learned from tackling such an ambitious project.  More than anything, this is a conversation about loving a place enough to do the work for it. I loved this one. Enjoy! --- Dillon Osleger Trail Work: Restoring the Paths and Stories of America's Public Lands Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/dillon-osleger --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Freeflow Institute, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, and the Well Done Foundation for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing Dillon Osleger and highlighting TNC Colorado 6:12 - A nervous morning 8:39 - How Dillon got people interested in his book 11:12 - Growing up moving around 14:34 - Path to college 16:28 - Finding the right academia  19:16 - Mountain biking 23:30 - The question Dillon was trying to answer 28:12 - An overview of maps 34:04 - The Thomas Fire 37:12 - Public lands threats 42:30 - Real names 47:39 - Finding your why 51:13 - Bringing in jujitsu  53:16 - How writing the book changed Dillon 56:38 - The response to the book 1:02:29 - Book recs 1:09:13 - A purple world --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

    1h 11m
  5. Distance Champions – TNC's "On the Move" Podcast (M&P Special Episode)

    May 29

    Distance Champions – TNC's "On the Move" Podcast (M&P Special Episode)

    My longtime partners and collaborators at The Nature Conservancy recently launched a great podcast series called "On the Move," hosted by TNC storyteller Leah Palmer. It's all about wild animals, their migrations, and the people working to keep those journeys wild and free. If you're a longtime Mountain & Prairie listener, then many of these people, places, and conservation issues will be familiar to you. In fact, a few of the experts you'll hear over the course of the full series are past M&P guests, including Sammy Matsaw Jr., Kelsey Molloy, and Nancy Fishbein.  So I'm excited to share one of my favorite episodes today: Episode 4, "Distance Champions." This episode is about creatures of the sky—sandhill cranes, Greater Sage-Grouse, Wilson's phalaropes—and it digs into why these birds migrate, how new tracking tech reveals where they actually go, and what stands in their way. You'll also hear from Ted Floyd of the American Birding Association, a good friend of TNC here in Colorado. Big thanks to The Nature Conservancy for creating such an interesting and engaging podcast series. If you enjoy it, go subscribe to "On the Move" and listen to the whole series. And as always, thanks to everyone who supports the Mountain & Prairie via Patreon, and the additional podcast support from the Freeflow Institute, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, and the Well Done Foundation. Here's Leah Palmer and "Distance Champions." Enjoy!! --- ON THE MOVE podcast Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Subscribe on Spotify --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Freeflow Institute, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, and the Well Done Foundation for their generous sponsorship. --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

    1h 18m
  6. Holly Bamford & Marshall Johnson - A 30-Year Vision for North America's Grasslands

    May 12

    Holly Bamford & Marshall Johnson - A 30-Year Vision for North America's Grasslands

    This is a live episode recorded at the 2026 Great Plains Stakeholder Workshop, hosted by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The workshop brought together many of the country's leading grasslands conservationists, scientists, funders, and policy experts to tackle a huge question: what would it look like to create a bold, practical, long-term plan for conserving North America's grasslands over the next 30 years? My guests are two people helping to lead that effort: Dr. Holly Bamford, Chief Conservation Officer at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (known as NFWF for short), and Marshall Johnson, Chief Conservation Officer for the National Audubon Society. Both have spent years working at the intersection of science, conservation, agriculture, and partnership-building, and both bring a realistic but hopeful perspective to the future of the Great Plains. In this conversation, we dig into the current state of the Great Plains and grasslands conservation more broadly– from grassland loss and declining bird populations to the creative partnerships helping ranchers, nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies work together toward solutions. We discuss the importance of voluntary conservation, the complicated economics facing ranching communities, the role of programs like the Farm Bill, and why grass-based agriculture and healthy wildlife habitat are far more interconnected than many people realize. Holly and Marshall also share stories from their own lives that explain how they each became so deeply connected to these landscapes– from prairie chicken blinds in Minnesota to the wide-open grasslands of the American West. More than anything, this conversation is about long-term thinking. What does it look like to create a 30-year vision for one of the most ecologically important and underappreciated landscapes in North America? What gives these conservation leaders hope? And what keeps them up at night? There's a lot of realism in this discussion, but there's also a surprising amount of optimism, practicality, and momentum. I learned a ton from this conversation, and I think you will too. Be sure to check out the episode notes for links to the organizations, initiatives, and resources we discuss throughout the episode. Thank you again to the amazing team at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for inviting me to moderate this discussion. --- National Fish and Wildlife Foundation National Audubon Society Dr. Holly Bamford Marshall Johnson Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/great-plains --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Freeflow Institute, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, and the Well Done Foundation for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing a live convo 3:25 - Looking behind instead of ahead 5:40 - Why grasslands 6:57 - The state of grasslands today 10:22 - The meadowlark 12:47 - Rancher relationships 22:41 - Money is the key 25:20 - Farm Bill feelings 29:15 - Prairie potholes 36:20 - Voluntary conservation easements 39:24 - Accounting for change 43:41 - Data collection 48:40 - The next 30 years --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

    54 min
  7. Hillary Rosner - Why Wildlife Needs Room to Roam

    May 1

    Hillary Rosner - Why Wildlife Needs Room to Roam

    Hillary Rosner is an award-winning journalist and author whose work combines science, storytelling, and the natural world. She's been writing about environmental issues for decades, with bylines in publications like The New York Times, The Atlantic, and National Geographic. Her new book, "Roam: Wild Animals and the Race to Repair Our Fractured World," explores one of the most urgent—and often overlooked—challenges in conservation: the loss of connectivity across the landscape, and what that means for the movement and survival of wildlife. Like so many fascinating people, Hillary's path into this work wasn't a straight line. She grew up in New York City, far from the wide-open spaces she now writes about, but spent formative summers in the Adirondacks and Berkshires that quietly shaped her connection to nature. After getting her start in fast-paced daily journalism at places like the New York Post and The Village Voice, she realized she wanted something deeper—slower, more immersive storytelling. That shift eventually led her west to Boulder, where she pursued environmental studies and built a career focused on long-form environmental journalism. In this conversation, Hillary and I dig into the big ideas behind "Roam," including why movement is so essential to life on Earth and how human infrastructure—from highways to fences—has fractured the natural world. We talk about surprising barriers to wildlife, like roads that even birds won't cross, and explore solutions ranging from wildlife corridors to collaborative conservation efforts with local communities. We also get into the realities of modern journalism, the importance of "bearing witness" in difficult times, and why curiosity, empathy, and action are still the most powerful tools we have for building a more connected and hopeful future. I loved the book, and I loved this conversation. Hope you enjoy both as much as I did! --- Hillary Rosner Roam: Wild Animals and the Race to Repair Our Fractured World Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/hillary-rosner --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Freeflow Institute, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, and the Well Done Foundation for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing Hillary Rosner and highlighting TNC Colorado 6:09 - Book congrats and growing up in NYC 9:03 - The heading West bug 11:20 - More long-form journalism 13:36 - Making money in journalism 16:41 - Ted Scripps fellowship 19:01 - Patagonia publishing 21:20 - Roads are only good for people 28:20 - Why this should matter to you 35:23- SLOSS 38:39 - Doing everything you can 40:52 - Fence removal project 43:50 - Virtual fencing 44:57 - Author's note 49:47 - Poignant 53:16 - Out of the box thinkers 58:15 - Book recs 1:00:36 - Wrapping up --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

    1h 3m
  8. Miriam Horn - George Schaller and the Transformation of Wildlife Biology

    Apr 21

    Miriam Horn - George Schaller and the Transformation of Wildlife Biology

    Miriam Horn is an award-winning journalist and author whose work lives at the intersection of conservation, food production, and the people working—often quietly and pragmatically—to hold those worlds together. Many listeners will recognize her from her excellent book "Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman," a title that's come up repeatedly on this podcast for its nuanced look at how working lands and conservation can coexist. But her new book, "Homesick for a World Unknown: The Life of George B. Schaller," zooms out to tell the story of a man whose influence touches nearly every corner of modern wildlife biology. If you're like I was before reading this book, you may not fully appreciate the importance of George Schaller and his work—but it's hard to overstate his impact. If you're working in wildlife science today—whether studying elk in Wyoming or snow leopards in Central Asia—you're building on a foundation he helped create. He helped shift wildlife biology away from specimen collection and distant population management toward long-term, immersive observation rooted in patience and deep respect for animals in their natural environments. And beyond his own research, his legacy lives on through the countless scientists he mentored around the world, many of whom went on to lead conservation efforts in their home countries. In this conversation, Miriam and I explore Schaller's remarkable life and the long arc of his influence—from his early days in Alaska to his groundbreaking work with gorillas, big cats, and high-altitude species across the globe. We talk about the tension between conservation and human needs, the role of humility and local knowledge in effective wildlife protection, and what Miriam learned after nearly a decade spent researching and writing this biography. It's a wide-ranging conversation about one man's life, but also about the bigger question of how humans can live responsibly within the natural world. "Homesick for a World Unknown" is available at your favorite bookseller now. I hope you enjoy this conversation and the book! --- Miriam Horn Homesick for a World Unknown: The Life of George B. Schaller Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/miriam-horn --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Freeflow Institute, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, and the Well Done Foundation for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing Miriam Horn and highlighting the Well Done Foundation 6:17 - Feedback from George 10:00 - Beginning a decade of work 15:52 - Getting George to open up 19:52 - A bit of George's biography 24:39 - Becoming a charismatic megafauna 26:53 - Putting the gun down 31:03 - Humility and hard-headedness 33:29 - Seeking the full picture 36:57 - Husband and wife team 41:00 - Not protective parents 47:30 - George and Kay to the modern-day 52:39 - How George changed Miriam 59:11 - The writers Miriam admires 1:04:54 - Words of wisdom --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

    1h 9m
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About

Long-form conversations with remarkable people connected to the land, communities, and culture of the American West. • For 10+ years, host Ed Roberson has talked with writers, ranchers, scientists, artists, historians, and adventurers. Every episode is substantive, relaxed, and rich with wisdom — offering listeners fresh perspectives and a deeper connection to one of the world's most compelling places. • Past guests include Yvon Chouinard, Kris Tompkins, Nick Offerman, and Sebastian Junger. • Top 0.5% of all podcasts globally. Featured by Patagonia, The Aspen Institute, SXSW, and MeatEater.

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