When Lance and Lisa Wheeler purchased land in Colorado to construct a household ranch, their ambition was to boost wholesome meals and create a sustainable manner of farming. Greater than a decade later, their land can be changing into a refuge for grassland birds. In response to Audubon Rockies, which printed the couple’s story on August 31, 2026, chook species recorded at their Rafter W Ranch elevated from 29 in 2019 to 37 in 2025, whereas grassland-bird detections doubled from 178 to 356. The numbers provide a hanging glimpse of what can occur when livestock manufacturing and conservation are managed collectively.
From a childhood cowboy dream to an actual ranch
Wheeler grew up in a Los Angeles suburb however dreamed of changing into a cowboy. His household had raised cattle in Texas for generations, though his personal thought of ranching initially got here extra from watching Bonanza than experiencing life on a working ranch. That modified when he and Lisa started elevating grass-fed meat, poultry and eggs on a small property in Elizabeth, Colorado, within the early Nineties.As they discovered extra about regenerative agriculture, they started considering greater. In 2014, the couple bought land in Elbert County. Two years later, they acquired the neighbouring property and residential. Right this moment, their family-run operation, Rafter W Ranch, produces grass-fed beef, poultry and eggs, which it sells via a web-based ordering platform.However the Wheelers more and more got here to see that wholesome livestock relied on one thing greater: wholesome land. “We’re not simply elevating meat, we’re truly farming grass,” Lance mentioned, in accordance with Audubon Rockies.The ranch turned bird-friendlyIn 2018, Rafter W Ranch turned licensed via Audubon Conservation Ranching, a programme that promotes habitat administration, environmental sustainability and animal welfare on working ranches.The Wheelers use adaptive and rotational grazing, transferring cattle strategically throughout the property. Reasonably than permitting animals to graze the whole panorama uniformly, the method creates areas with totally different grass heights. That variation issues for wildlife as a result of totally different chook species rely on totally different sorts of grassland habitat.The ranch is now residence to Western Meadowlarks, American Kestrels, Upland Sandpipers, Lark Buntings, Vesper Sparrows and Loggerhead Shrikes, amongst different species. The household additionally raises free-range chickens. The birds observe cattle in a cellular coop, choosing via manure and serving to incorporate it into the soil.
Chook numbers inform the story
The Wheelers have been monitoring the ranch alongside their conservation work, and the outcomes have been encouraging.Audubon’s surveys discovered that species richness, the variety of totally different chook species recorded, rose from 29 in 2019 to 37 in 2025.Grassland-bird detections elevated from 178 to 356 over the identical interval. The ranch’s Chook-Friendliness Index, an Audubon measure incorporating chook abundance, range and resilience, additionally elevated by about 4% yearly, representing a cumulative rise of 26% since monitoring started.Audubon Conservation Ranching Director Dusty Downey attributed the progress largely to the Wheelers’ adaptive grazing practices and willingness to regulate their strategies primarily based on analysis and observations.
Farming for the long run
The Wheelers’ work extends past grazing. Their ranch has participated in soil-health monitoring, erosion-control initiatives and efforts designed to enhance water infiltration and resilience throughout drought. They’ve additionally opened the property for academic programmes, together with chook walks and youth ranch experiences.For Lance, the work has modified his childhood thought of what being a cowboy meant. “Ranching is essentially the most rewarding and essentially the most humbling work that I’ve ever completed,” he mentioned.What started as a household’s effort to construct a ranch has step by step change into one thing bigger: a working panorama the place cattle, crops, soil and wildlife are managed as elements of the identical ecosystem. And the chook surveys provide a measurable signal that the method is making a distinction, eight further chook species recorded in six years, and twice as many grassland-bird detections.
