The book HOMEGROUND is the culmination of a long-term project that began in 2011. It explores the decline of Western rangelands and grasslands and the efforts some family ranchers and organizations are taking to restore these vital landscapes. Although grasslands are threatened worldwide, this project is specific to America’s Southwestern and Rocky Mountain regions.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
• Rangelands are vital to both wildlife and people. Many of the plants and animals found within these unique biomes are found nowhere else on earth.
• Over one-third of our land surface in the United States is considered rangeland (pastureland)**. Located primarily in the Western US, these working rangelands are a primary driver of healthy rural communities and abundant wildlife. While seemingly endless, rangelands are disappearing at an alarming rate due to land use conversion for cropland and infrastructure, invasive grasses, climate change, and overgrazing.
• More than 70% of Western Rangelands are privately owned, making land managers and ranchers key in conserving extensive tracts of land.
• The ranchers and land managers featured in HOMEGROUND are representative of a larger network of like-minded people who are dedicated to transforming how we care for the land. They are a diverse group of people that include both generational and first time ranchers of different ages, genders, and cultural backgrounds. Their ranches straddle mountains, deserts, prairie, and for the most part all suffer the extremes of climate. Their commitment to building healthy soil, ensuring habitat for the plants, animals, and people who live there is tied to economic viability but reaches far beyond that. For all of them, land stewardship is central to sustaining a deeply rooted connection, sense of home, and belonging.

BOOK DETAILS

HOMEGROUND is organized around the following three themes:
• Biodiversity
• Soil Health
• Community

Related essays by field experts are included in the 144-page book that includes approximately 68 color and black and white images.

**Bloomberg, Here’s How America Uses Its Land , Dave Merrill and Lauren Leatherby, 2018