Our Partners

Working Lands for Wildlife is a successful model of conservation because of our diverse and dedicated partners. From ranchers and producers to local conservation organizations to affiliated universities and researchers, partners make our work possible and help us achieve our remarkable conservation outcomes.

WLFW’s partners fall into several broad categories:

Ranchers, Producers, and Landowners

Simply put, there would be no WLFW without ranchers, producers, and landowners. Whether we’re working with multi-generational ranching families in sagebrush country or forward-thinking producers in the Great Plains, success is only possible when we work together with the folks who steward these working lands.

NRCS State and County Offices

WLFW’s approach to win-win voluntary conservation is executed by the state and county level NRCS staff who work daily to achieve our mission of wildlife conservation through sustainable ranching. These folks work directly with landowners, conservation groups, WLFW leadership, and researchers to put win-win conservation on the ground. 

Conservation Organizations, Local Land Trusts, and Other Non-governmental Organizations

Conserving resilient and productive working lands that benefit wildlife and agricultural production requires a wide array of expertise and capacity. WLFW works with local conservation groups who help implement on-the-ground projects along with groups who advocate for livestock and private property interests. We partner with local land trusts when landowners want to keep their lands working and intact for generations to come through conservation easements and other practices. 

Conservation Partner Highlight

The long standing and remarkably effective WLFW partnership with Pheasants Forever / Quail Forever is a shining example of how WLFW works with partners.

The partnership adds additional capacity to local NRCS offices through innovative cost-share agreements that create shared field staff positions. These positions are supported by both Pheasants Forever and Farm Bill dollars and they work hand-in-hand with local NRCS staff and landowners to implement the voluntary conservation practices that make our work possible.

Pheasants Forever / Quail Forever also supports WLFW’s myriad and far-reaching communications efforts, which are critically important to conserving the West’s vast rangelands.

Federal Agencies

Partnerships with federal agencies like the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Service, and the U.S. Forest Service allow us to share research, technology, and leverage conservation work across boundaries.

Whether working to remove encroaching conifer trees across public-private lines or co-producing cutting-edge technology like the Rangelands Analysis Platform, federal agencies are critical partners in our efforts across the West.

Universities and Researchers

WLFW invests in co-produced science, where scientists work together with private landowners and other stakeholders throughout the research process.

Our partnerships with universities and researchers reinforce the effectiveness of the conservation practices we promote.

We work with the University of Montana, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, researchers in federal agencies like the USDA’s Conservation Effects Assessment Program and Agricultural Research Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, among many others, to co-produce science focused on working lands conservation, the wildlife species we target, and to assess the threats facing western rangelands from California to Nebraska. 

Regional Associations, State Governments, and Other Natural Resource Management Groups

Western WLFW efforts cover nearly two-thirds of the contiguous U.S. We partner with regional groups like the Western Governors’ Association, the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, state game, fish, and natural resources management agencies, local conservation districts, and more to share expertise, science and technical support.

These partnerships ensure that we’re all working from the same page as we collaborate to conserve the grasslands of sagebrush country and the Great Plains.

Private Corporations and Individuals

Where our work aligns with private corporations or specific individuals, we partner together to bring additional capacity and resources to support our shared conservation goals.

  • Pheasants Forever / Quail Forever accepts donations that further WLFW's work across the country.
  • Connect with us to learn more about how you or your company can support our work.