The Cultural Heritage of Family Ranches

Abstract

On the Ground Historic family ranching is a uniquely American cultural heritage that should be considered a cultural resource when managing rangeland. Public land agencies need to consider the effects of land management decisions on the cultural continuity of historic ranching families and communities. Ranching communities maintain and transmit cultural heritage, including folk stories and local ecological knowledge, through their interactions with historic working landscapes. Experiential learning forges emotional ties to the land and community necessary for cultural continuity. Local ecological knowledge is useful for adaptive comanagement, monitoring, and conservation. Continuity of local ecological knowledge is a significant factor in the resilience of ranching culture, rural pastoral economies, and working landscapes.