The Ranch Manager Project

The following is the introduction to the project I recently shot. Images will follow over the next several days.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jackson Hole Land Trust set out to document the people behind the areas iconic conservation easement protected lands that still remain in agricultural production. Specifically, the ranch managers, the unsung heroes of the valleys’ horse and cattle operations who labor sun up to sun down to keep the fields green, the ditches flowing, the fences mended, the hay cut and the animals fed. These are the men and women for whom agricultural tradition is not just a fleeting memory, but an everyday gesture. In their work-gloved hands rests the maintenance of some of the last vestiges of ranching culture in the area.

In the process of this project we discovered what drives these individuals and how little public awareness there is about the amount of work that goes into these open pastures and livestock bedecked vistas, still characteristic of Jackson Hole despite the march of modern time. Ranching is loved for the lifestyle it provides, and certainly not what the hourly wage works out to be. The real paycheck comes in the form of in healthy land and healthy animals and the opportunity to see the sun rise more often than not.