Shows
The LandTrust PodcastWomen in Conservation, Outdoor Leadership & Protecting Wildlife | The LandTrust Podcast Ep. 3In this episode of the LandTrust Podcast, we’re joined by Lesli Allison of Western Landowners Alliance to discuss conservation leadership, wildlife policy, and the role private landowners play in protecting working lands and wildlife.
Lesli shares her experience advocating for land stewardship across the West, navigating the outdoor and conservation space as a leader, and building coalitions that connect landowners, conservationists, and outdoor recreation. This conversation explores the challenges facing private land conservation today, the importance of access and trust, and how organizations like Western Landowners Alliance are shaping the future of conservation.
If yo...
2026-02-051h 06
On LandCompleting the Conservation Finance Picture in the West with Lesli Allison A new report reveals that Western landowners invested at least $407.5 million of their own money in conservation in 2024, outpacing many of the most well-known public funding programs. This new data fills a major gap in how we understand conservation economics. Today, WLA CEO Lesli Allison and WLA's communications director Louis Wertz walk through what the data shows, why these investments have gone largely unrecognized, and what it means for the future of conservation in the West. Full report here: https://westernlandowners.org/landowner-investment/
2026-01-2225 min
Highlands Current Audio StoriesReading WarsIn 2021, four boys transferred from private schools into Lesli Tompkins's fourth-grade classroom at J.V. Forrestal Elementary in Beacon.
They were "brilliant and eager to learn, and I could have put them in books that would have filled them with new knowledge," recalled Tompkins, who envisioned the boys doing fun projects exploring all manner of ideas.
But there was a problem. "They didn't know how to read," she said.
While these boys could converse like adults, their reading was far below grade level.
The boys had not been taught how to sound out words, especially complicated...
2025-12-1909 min
On LandWhat's Ahead for America's Public Lands with Jesse Juen, Former BLM State Director Today, we're looking at the future of the Bureau of Land Management — a federal agency that oversees nearly 250 million acres of land in the West. We're in the middle of a critical moment for public lands, especially the BLM. Staffing and budget cuts are hitting an agency that's already stretched thin, there's still no confirmed director, and a recent ProPublica investigation is once again raising questions about oversight of the grazing program. To help put all these headlines in context, and consider what reforms might even be possible, WLA's CEO Lesli Allison sat down with Jesse J...
2025-12-041h 00
A Little Bit CultyA Little Bit Extra: Post-Thanksgiving Word Salad and Listener VoicemailsWe’re back for A Little Bit Extra Thursday filled with Thanksgiving word salads and gallows humor. We chat about the last few truly bonkers weeks, share a long-awaited update on the book (spoiler: it’s actually finished and with our copy editor!), and talk about why we can’t publicly comment on certain NXIVM-adjacent podcasts just yet.We listen to your voicemails about the podcast featuring Allison Mack, Nippy’s growth arc, Westerners hijacking Eastern spirituality, and a culty resort in Costa Rica that’s been pinging your radar. There’s also wild OneTaste/Mor...
2025-12-0427 min
On LandInside the Movement to Fund Rural America with Erin Borla Only 7% of philanthropic dollars goes toward rural America, and our guest today is working to change that. Today our CEO Lesli Allison sits down with Erin Borla, executive director of the Roundhouse Foundation in Sisters, Oregon. Erin's helping reimagine what philanthropy looks like in rural and tribal communities, through both the Foundation's grantmaking and their podcast Funding Rural. Show notes: https://onland.westernlandowners.org/2025/podcast/inside-the-movement-to-fund-rural-america-with-erin-borla/
2025-10-2143 min
On LandWhat to do about Sprawl with Ken Mirr The American West is changing fast, and one of the biggest forces shaping that change is development. Sprawl - those 35-acre subdivisions and ranchettes you see spreading across the landscape - can mean paradise for some, and the unraveling of communities, wildlife habitat and productive landscapes for others. Today we're talking about what's driving that growth, what it means for landowners and rural economies and what kinds of solutions might help us strike a balance between private property rights, conservation and community needs. On the show today, our CEO Lesli Allison sits down with Ken Mir...
2025-10-0148 min
Down to Earth: The Planet to Plate PodcastVermejo Park Ranch: Watching degraded ecosystems bounce backIn 1996, media mogul Ted Turner bought a New Mexico ranch that's bigger than many national parks. A new film, Preserved, details its history, conservation projects, and influence. Previously owned by Pennzoil, the ranch was badly degraded from overgrazing, forest clearcutting, coal mines, fossil fuel extraction, railroads, and a long-term lack of environmental stewardship. Turner's goal was to restore the land and its wildlife, while keeping the ranch profitable through livestock and tourism businesses. The film Preserved explores the history and conservation activities of Vermejo Park Ranch, including preservation of bison, mountain lions, cutthroat trout, and many other sp...
2025-09-2348 min
On LandConservation Without Conflict with Leo Miranda The Endangered Species Act has helped save iconic species from extinction - but it's also created real tension for the private landowners who manage the majority of wildlife habitat in the U.S. In this episode, WLA CEO Lesli Allison sits down with Leo Miranda, executive director of Conservation Without Conflict and former Southeast Regional Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. From his early days as a field biologist in Puerto Rico to leading one of the most innovative regional conservation efforts in the country, and as a farmer in Georgia, Leo brings a u...
2025-07-2251 min
Cash Flow Chronicles Open ForumWhy Invest in a Fractional CFO?Is your business growing but not ready for a full-time CFO? In this episode, Matt talks with Lesli Matukaitis, a seasoned fractional CFO, about how growing companies can use financial strategy to boost profits, avoid cash crunches, and secure better financing. What a fractional CFO really doesHow to spot profit killersWhy firing a big customer might helpHow trade credit insurance supports lendingTips on global risk & FXConnect with Lesli https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesli-matukaitis/
2025-07-2120 min
On LandWhat's next for the Farm Bill? The Farm Bill. A piece of legislation that quietly shapes much of life in this country - especially for those of us in rural America. The Farm Bill influences everything from food access to conservation, crop insurance to rural infrastructure. And yet, for how far-reaching it is, most Americans know very little about what's actually in it - or what's at stake when it comes up for renewal. To help unpack the history, the politics, and the uncertain path ahead, Lesli Allison, our CEO here at Western Landowners Alliance, speaks with two former high-ranking staffers wh...
2025-06-2755 min
On LandForest stewardship in the age of megafires with Dave Tenny The future of forests, and the communities and wildlife that depend on them, is at a crossroads. In this episode of On Land, Western Landowners Alliance CEO Lesli Allison sits down with Dave Tenny, founding president and CEO of the National Alliance of Forest Owners, for a timely, wide-ranging conversation. They dig into sweeping new federal directives aimed at expanding domestic timber production, what it really takes to reduce wildfire risk, and how private working forests are becoming critical players in wildlife conservation and the carbon economy. Along the way, they peel back the...
2025-04-2350 min
On LandFederal Cuts, Working Lands, and What's Next with Lesli Allison Today we're bringing you a timely conversation with Lesli Allison, CEO of Western Landowners Alliance. With major shifts happening in federal policy—funding freezes, staffing cuts, and growing uncertainty—Lesli breaks down what these changes mean for working lands and the people who steward them. We'll talk about the challenges landowners are facing, the opportunities to shape the future, and why landowner leadership is needed now more than ever. Learn about WLA's policy work, share your thoughts and contact your reps here.
2025-03-2627 min
The National Land PodcastWestern Landowners Alliance: The New Age Of ConservationConservation is a word that can have heavy political undertones and in some parts of the United States, it is a four-letter word. Often, conservation is pitted against landowners and agriculture as an either/or situation, and it shouldn’t be. Today, we are talking to Lesli Allison, CEO of the Western Landowners Alliance, an organization determined to change the relationship between landowners and conservation. This organization works with landowners, not against them to achieve terrific results in conservation.
Learn about the Western Landowners Alliance
Donate to the Western Landowners Alliance
Buy, Sell, Au...
2024-09-0754 minThe National Land PodcastWestern Landowners Alliance: The New Age Of ConservationConservation is a word that can have heavy political undertones and in some parts of the United States, it is a four-letter word. Often, conservation is pitted against landowners and agriculture as an either/or situation, and it shouldn’t be. Today, we are talking to Lesli Allison, CEO of the Western Landowners Alliance, an organization determined to change the relationship between landowners and conservation. This organization works with landowners, not against them to achieve terrific results in conservation.
Learn about the Western Landowners Alliance
Donate to the Western Landowners Alliance
Buy, Sell, Au...
2024-09-0754 min
On LandConserving Soundscapes with Sensory Ecologist Jesse Barber How does human-related sound impact wildlife around us? From trails to roads to cities, this question propels Dr. Jesse Barber, a leader in the emerging field of sensory ecology. Jesse Barber is a professor of biological sciences at Boise State University. He was recently appointed as the chief conservation curator and chief conservation scientist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. In today's episode, Barber joins Lesli Allison, CEO of Western Landowners Alliance, for a fascinating conversation about the field of sensory ecology, the role of...
2024-08-2738 min
On LandWestern Landowners Policy Talk | #1 | Jason Fearneyhough and Lesli AllisonThe first Western Landowners Policy Talk, a special monthly edition of the On Land Podcast, hosted by Louis Wertz of the Western Landowners Alliance, featured Jason Fearneyhough, chief policy officer with WLA, and WLA CEO Lesli Allison. Jason joined WLA as chief policy officer in February 2024, after stints as the deputy commissioner of agriculture for the state of Texas and director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture. The discussion started with Jason sharing his vision for WLA's policy program and strategies for engaging within the current political and environmental challenges, such as recent Supreme Court decisions, national elections, and...
2024-08-0254 min
Funding RuralLesli Allison: Experts in the FieldLesli Allison cut her teeth on a 50,000 acre ranch in Southeastern Colorado—a massive land management experience that taught her the importance of private lands and their role in the conservation conversation. On episode 8 of the Funding Rural podcast, Lesli shares how ranchers and farmers are leading the way on innovative climate and environmental projects, and the challenges of accessing resources including research. She touches on the importance of showing up to better understand the challenges facing communities and discusses how conservation projects require on-the-ground collaborations because they have a long runway, and can require multi-year funding. Lesli reminds us that...
2024-04-1639 min
Ranchlands Podcast#32 - The Conservation Value of Working Lands with Lesli AllisonThis is a special podcast episode that features a conversation between the Executive Director of Western Landowners Alliance, Lesli Allison, and Ranchlands’ founder and CEO, Duke Phillips III. Western Landowners Alliance– also known as WLA– is an organization of landowners, natural resource managers, and partners dedicated to keeping working lands whole and healthy for the benefit of people and wildlife. Lesli and her team at WLA support working lands through political advocacy, education, storytelling, events, and more, and they have established themselves as one of the most effective champions for large-scale, private lands conservation. Ranchlands and WLA...
2023-11-211h 06
On LandMartha Williams, USFWS director, reflects on the ESA at 50Martha Williams is the director of the United State Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency responsible for implementing the Endangered Species Act (along with NOAA's fisheries division). She grew up on a farm in Maryland and studied law at the University of Montana. From 1988 to 2011, she served as legal counsel for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. After a stint as Deputy Solicitor Parks and Wildlife in the Department of the Interior, she was appointed director of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks from 2017 to 2020. She is an avid outdoorswoman, hunter and angler. She spoke...
2023-10-0321 min
The Voices Of Land RLI PodcastLand Stewardship: Increasing Economic Vitality and Ecological Health | Guest Lesli AllisonPartnership and stewardship is necessary to improve the economic vitality of rural communities and preserve the ecological health of the land. Guest Lesli Allison, CEO of Western Landowners Alliance, tells the story of how a unique alliance of western landowners and land managers is partnering to keep our private lands whole and healthy for the benefit of both people and wildlife.
2023-09-0624 min
On LandWater in California with Wade Crowfoot, California Secretary of Natural ResourcesWade Crowfoot was appointed California Secretary for Natural Resources in 2019. As Secretary, Crowfoot oversees an agency of 19,000 employees charged with protecting and managing California's diverse resources, including its fish and wildlife and rivers and waterways. Before becoming Secretary, Crowfoot served as CEO of the Water Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropy based in California that supports shared water solutions for communities, the economy, and the environment across the American West. Wade spoke with Lesli Allison, executive director of the Western Landowners Alliance, about Western water, and in particular the Colorado River Basin. California has rights to the largest share C...
2023-03-0926 min
Natural Resources University#100 | Working Wild U - Whose blood, sweat and tears are in your hamburger?96% of wolves in the Northern Rockies live in the working wild: public and private lands where people and wildlife share the landscape. But who pays the cost of supporting biodiversity on the landscape? To find out, we explore the economics of our food system and take a look at how one ranch family is getting creative in order to share the landscape with wolves and maintain open space. New York Times The Daily podcast episode on prices in the beef market: "Who do you want controlling your food?" John and Weston Helle's wool apparel company, Du...
2022-12-1630 min
A New AngleLesli Allison of Western Landowners AllianceThis week’s guest is Lesli Allison, founding member and executive director of Western Landowners Alliance. WLA seeks to advance policies and practices that sustain working lands in the West. Many of the most contentious and consequential issues here in Montana are right in the wheelhouse of this important organization.In this conversation Lesli says that if farms and ranches go out of business, we all lose. She points out that a big economic question we have to ask is whether landowners are going to be helped or hurt by outdoor recreation. Justin asks how WLA has addressed is...
2022-12-0828 min
The Land BulletinAdvocating for Western LandownersHaley has Ken and the Executive Director of the Western Landowners Alliance, Lesli Allison, on the show to discuss her team’s work advocating for landowners in the West. If you own land or are thinking about buying, you won't want to miss this.After listening, head over to Westernlandowners.org and become a member. It’s FREE and will give you access to incredible resources for Western landowners, such as guides, current news, webinars, video series, events, and so much more.Panel: Haley Mirr, Ken Mirr, and Lesli AllisonNeed professional help find...
2022-10-2640 min
On LandThe Colorado River Crisis with Andy Mueller The big news in the West these days is drought, and specifically drought in the Colorado River Basin. In upcoming episodes, we're going to bring you some really interesting conversations with land stewards who are trying really cool things to deal with the drought, save water, and restore watersheds. But today, we wanted to provide listeners with some of the big picture context and some background to better understand this issue. To do that, we turned to Andy Mueller. Andy Mueller is the General Manager of the Colorado River District. The Colorado River...
2022-10-0754 minDown to Earth: The Planet to Plate PodcastWestern Wildfires: Facing a hotter and drier futureIn New Mexico and across the West wildfires are burning through wildlands, farms, ranches, and communities. Lesli Allison, executive director of the Western Landowners Alliance, has many years of experience in prescribed burn management—and like many New Mexcians she's directly affected by the fires. She helps us to understand how we got to the volatile situation we're in, where "controlled" fires so easily go out of control, and the critical importance of prioritizing good land management if we want to keep our ecosystems and our communities safe and in balance.
2022-05-1048 min
Mountain & Prairie with Ed RobersonLesli Allison & Tuda Libby Crews - Durable Conservation in the West... and BeyondLesli Allison and Tuda Libby Crews join me to discuss the critical role of private and working lands in achieving durable conservation outcomes in the United States. Lesli is a founding member and the Executive Director of the Western Landowners Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advances policies and practices that sustain working lands, connected landscapes, and native species. Tuda is a rancher and owner of Ute Creek Cattle Company, a conservation-focused ranching operation in northeastern New Mexico that has been in Tuda's family for more than 200 years. Whether discussing on-the-ground stewardship practices or the intricacies of federal conservation policy...
2021-09-211h 04
The River Radius PodcastNew Mexico's fenced off RiversNew Mexico passed a law in 2015 that unintentionally resulted in two public rivers now being fenced off from public use by private landowners. A case was presented before the New Mexico State Supreme Court in 2020 looking to have the law repealed. This episode interviews Lesli Allison from the Western Landowners Alliance and Steve Harris from Far Flung Adventures to get the clear story. GUESTSLesli Allison, Executive DirectorWestern Landowners AllianceSteve Harris, OwnerFar Flung Adventures ARTICLES*There are years of articles on the 2015 La...
2021-09-1442 min
The Popular Table1. Pretty Little Liars (S1E1): "Pilot"This week, Mia and Madisson breakdown the Pretty Little Liars episode "Pilot" where they find the girls Emily, Aria, Hanna, and Spencer trying to cope with their lives after their best friend Allison goes missing. All the while, the girls are receiving mysterious and threatening messages from someone called "A." Everyone is left questioning who "A" is, while Mia and Madisson remain confused every step of the way... New episodes every Tuesday! (Pretty Little Liars "Pilot" was written by Marlene King and directed by Lesli Linka Glatter)
2021-01-051h 26
2 Degrees of AlieWriter/Director/Actress Maggie Kiley Shares Stories Of Breaking Into HollywoodIn this episode, I have the pleasure of chatting with the very talented Maggie Kiley ("Brightest Star," "Some Boys Don't Leave," "We Own The Night," "All Good Things"). I first met Maggie at the Austin Film Festival, where her directorial feature debut, "Brightest Star," was premiering. Her feature film was inspired by her short film "Some Boys Don't Leave," which was a number one selling short film on iTunes. We talk about everything from her beginnings in backyard performances to taking part in AFI's prestigious Directing Workshop For Women to directing her first feature two months after giving birth...
2014-01-2141 min