On Land

Welcome to the On Land podcast. On this show we’ll be bringing you thoughtful conversations with the people who are living and working on the land and shaping the future of stewardship in the American West.

What's Going on Down There? Satellites, Irrigation, and Science with Perry Cabot 03/24/2026

On Land Presents: Modern Ranch Management at Scale with Justin Howe (Land Investor Podcast) 02/20/2026

Dryland Farming in the Colorado Basin with Gus Westerman 01/27/2026

Completing the Conservation Finance Picture in the West with Lesli Allison 01/22/2026

On Land Presents: Reframing Rural’s “Succession Stories” 12/11/2025

What’s Ahead for America’s Public Lands with Jesse Juen, Former BLM State Director 12/04/2025

On Water: Slowing Water in the Big Hole Valley with Rancher Erik Kalsta 11/25/2025

California Wolves, 87 Dead Cattle, and the NYT Op-Ed Everyone’s Sharing 11/18/2025

Inside the Movement to Fund Rural America with Erin Borla 10/21/2025

What to do about Sprawl with Ken Mirr 10/01/2025

Conservation Without Conflict with Leo Miranda 07/22/2025

What's next for the Farm Bill? 06/27/2025

Forged and foraged with Chef Joshua Drage 06/03/2025

Little Creek Ranch and Feedstore with Caroline and Justin Nelson 05/08/2025

Forest stewardship in the age of megafires with Dave Tenny 04/23/2025

This is Wildfire with Nick Mott 04/15/2025

Federal Cuts, Working Lands, and What’s Next with Lesli Allison 03/26/2025

Bonus | Grizzly Bears and the Endangered Species Act: What’s Changing? 03/14/2025

Life after dead pool with Zak Podmore 12/17/2024

Funding agriculture businesses on a mission with Dan Miller of Steward 11/21/2024

Sheepish Solutions to Water Conservation with Linda Poole 09/26/2024

Conserving Soundscapes with Sensory Ecologist Jesse Barber 08/27/2024

Watershed-Scale Stewardship with Chrissy McFarren of Badger Creek Ranch 08/22/2024

Western Landowners Policy Talk | #1 | Jason Fearneyhough and Lesli Allison 08/02/2024

Sarah Wentzel-Fischer, Quivira Coalition director, on Regenerate 2023 10/31/2023

Martha Williams, USFWS director, reflects on the ESA at 50 10/03/2023

Bonus: The Modern West from Wyoming Public Media 08/21/2023

Drought and resilience in the Sonoran Desert with Sarah King 06/16/2023

The big deal on the Colorado River with reporter Luke Runyon 05/31/2023

Helping our water do more with Aaron Derwingson of the Nature Conservancy 04/21/2023

Helping our water do more with Aaron Derwingson of the Nature Conservancy Today on the show, Western Landowners Alliance's Programs Director Hallie Mahowald had the pleasure of talking to a good friend, Aaron Derwingson. Derwingson is the water projects director for the Nature Conservancy's Colorado River program. He and Hallie both live in Salida, Colorado. Derwingson has piloted water banking and other tools for flexible water management, conducted field research on the impacts of reduced irrigation, evaluated alternative low water use crops, and upgraded irrigation systems to help improve river flows. Before joining The Nature Conservancy, Aaron served as the Stewardship Director for the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust. They discussed the current situation on the Colorado River, some of the many ways that landowners, in partnership with organizations like TNC, are making their water go farther and do more, and the role of water markets in creating the flexibility in the river system that is needed. You can find links to references from the conversation, as well as a complete transcript of this episode, at onland.westernlandowners.org. Topics discussed [00:01:30] Shortage challenges in the Colorado River Basin [00:02:19] Doing more with less water [00:04:50] Examples of solutions for making our water go farther [00:05:56] Maybell irrigation District diversion improvements [00:08:31] Minute 323 water for the environment [00:09:59] Role of water markets [00:11:38] All water is local [00:12:20] Power, rural communities and water [00:13:30] Federal funding and the big opportunity right now [00:14:56] Role of the states in water funding [00:16:38] Are our institutions nimble enough for the water crisis [00:18:09] How water rights holders can be involved in solutions [00:19:00] Auto Tarp and appropriate technology [00:20:11] Low-tech restoration [00:20:57] Compensation for leaving water instream [00:21:46] Markets for flexibility and public benefit [00:22:58] Creative water sharing agreements [00:24:41] Integrate the social with the technical [00:27:07] The urgency of the Colorado River crisis keeps him up at night [00:28:25] Elinor Ostrom and the tragedy of the commons [00:29:37] We need landowners to solve this crisis /episode/index/show/onland/id/26613561

On Land

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