‘We need to be here’

By JACE DICOLA

Jace.DiCola@gjsentinel.com

Less than two weeks ago, Colorado Politics reported that the VanWinkle family, known for their local cattle ranch and statewide agricultural advocacy, was considering selling their operation.

VanWinkle Ranch co-owner Janie Van-Winkle told The Daily Sentinel this week that a full exit from the industry was never a consideration.

Rather, the family was considering a move to more “ag-friendly” states, like Kansas or Nebraska.

Then, the Turner Gulch Fire sparked. Just a few days after, it spread onto nearly half of the VanWinkle’s land leased through the U.S. Forest Service — a 39,000-acre parcel the family has cared for since Van-Winkle’s great-grandfather.“ The fire has made us realize that we need to be here, and we need to be a part of putting this all back together,” VanWinkle said.

“We know the landscape is going to look different when we come out the other side, and we’re going to be here to take care of that landscape and care for these cattle on the other side for a long time,” she added.

The fire hasn’t changed VanWinkle’s concerns about what she calls the state’s increasingly “unwelcoming” atmosphere for the industry. However, it has motivated her to speak on their concerns and, hopefully, bridge the gap between Colorado politicians and the state’s $47-billion industry.

‘DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS’

According to VanWinkle, the past years have been marked by a rising number of anti-agriculture actions that are individually insignificant, but in the big picture, demonstrate a refusal to support or collaborate with rural livestock producers.

“The atmosphere is such that anti-meat activists are emboldened because of the governor’s position on many of these issues,” VanWinkle said of Gov. Jared Polis. “Really, any one of these issues are small, but it’s death by a thousand cuts. It’s just creating an environment that is clearly not supportive of production agriculture.”

According to Colorado Farm Bureau President Carlyle Currier, the state’s approach to agriculture has indeed shifted: through increased, uninformed regulations, controversial commission board appointments and a general anti-meat

See VANWINKLE, page 12A ➤

Janie VanWinkle looks out at some of her cattle at the family ranch in this 2024 file photo. The VanWinkle family was considering moving their operations out of Colorado to a more ag-friendly state, but the Turner Gulch Fire — which burned nearly half of their ranch’s acreage — convinced the family that staying put on the Western Slope was the right thing.

LARRY ROBINSON/ The Daily Sentinel

Dean VanWinkle, the son of VanWinkle Ranch co-owners Janie and Howard, opens a fence gate before helping to gather and move the hundreds of livestock endangered by the Turner Gulch Fire. While the wildfire would be a sign to get out of Dodge for many people, Janie VanWinkle said it was a sign that they needed to stay and support the land used by four generations of their family.

COURTESY OF JANIE VANWINKLE

Gov. Jared Polis opens the crate to release the first wolf as part of the state’s reintroduction efforts in this Dec. 18, 2023 file photo. VanWinkle Ranch co-owner Janie VanWinkle said the state’s handling of wolf reintroduction is one of the things that has made Colorado an increasingly “unwelcoming” atmosphere to agriculture.

COLORADO PARKS AND WILDLIFE

➤ Continued from page 1A

attitude. Both of the Mesa County producers added that the state’s handling of wolf reintroduction is another testament to the lack of consideration for agricultural input.

VanWinkle said she accepts that voters were the ones who made the decision. Her concern is that the collaborative plan between wolf advocates and ranchers, approved by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, was disregarded. Specifically, she said there was an agreement not to introduce any wolves with a history of depredation; yet, one of the Copper Creek Pack wolves came from a pack with a history of depredation.

A CPW statement said enough time had passed (two months) without depredation, so it didn’t meet the plan’s exclusion criteria of “chronic” depredation.

The pack was relocated within a year of release after repeatedly killing livestock.

When asked about the disconnect, Colorado Department of Agriculture Commission Member Colleen Peppler said that her department and CPW have been consistently transparent and collaborative with producers in mitigating wolf depredation.

“I think there are misconstrued rumors out there, and there definitely wasn’t a disconnect,” Peppler said. “(CDA) has provided support for producers and helped them implement things like range riders and screens.”

POLARIZED PERSPECTIVES ON POLIS

Many of the governor’s appointees to some commissions and boards with a direct agricultural tie have also drawn criticism for lacking knowledge of or a connection to the industry. Currier said it seems like none of the recommendations from his organization and others in the industry are “ever considered.”

When asked to comment, a spokesperson for the governor’s office said rural representation has been a critical factor in his appointments. They added that 23% of Polis’ board and commission appointments have been rural Coloradans, despite the demographic accounting for 18% of the state’s population.

Aside from actual policy, many in the ranching industry have yet to forget his 2021 proclamation that March 20 would be “MeatOut Day,” encouraging residents to avoid meat consumption for the day.

“The MeatOut deal was certainly a real negative from the governor’s standpoint,” Currier said. “He’s shown that he isn’t necessarily a great friend of animal agriculture.”

The governor’s office spokesperson said that, at the time, Polis renewed any proclamations issued by previous governors when requested. According to them, a nearly identical proclamation was made by then-Gov. John Hickenlooper in 2011.

They added that proclamations do not hold the weight of the law, unlike many of Polis’ past efforts to support agriculture, such as providing agrivoltaic (solar sharing) tax rate reductions, conservation easement tax credits and agricultural stewardship tax credits.

“He (Polis) has not encountered any ‘anti-meat attitude’ during his time as governor and would be happy to invite anyone to try his roast brisket,” the spokesperson said.

Nonetheless, VanWinkle said she has felt the shift in governmental attitude toward agriculture, adding that it has perpetuated misconceptions about the ethics and environmental impacts of cattle ranching to the public.

According to her, the well-being and preservation of their cattle and land matter more to livestock producers than anyone else: poorly treated livestock can’t produce, and mistreated land can’t feed livestock.

“If we don’t care for the land in an environmentally sensitive and safe way, then we can’t depend on it, and we depend on these landscapes every day, every generation, for our livelihoods,” VanWinkle said.

FIRE WAS A TURNING POINT

With such concerns about the state’s political environment, VanWinkle confirmed her family had contemplated moving shop.

She added that the ranch’s finances are sound, and they understand that every state has its issues. Still, Van-Winkle said, states like Kansas, where her son attended college, at least have a welcoming atmosphere that can facilitate true collaboration.

That conversation came to a complete stop when the Turner Gulch Fire spread onto the Uncompahgre Plateau, where around 600 head of the family’s cattle were grazing.“We saw the fire come up over the rim of the Unaweep, onto the Uncompahgre,” Van-Winkle said. “That was a pretty emotional moment to see the 70- to 100-foot flames coming over the top. We were maybe a mile away from it.”

While the wildfire would be a sign to get out of Dodge for many people, VanWinkle said it was a sign that they needed to stay and support the land used by four generations of their family.

A subsequent outpouring of community support and collaboration with local agencies in the fire response, including the U.S. Forest Service and Mesa County, only affirmed the family’s sense of belonging and responsibility to the Grand Valley.

With that, VanWinkle said their ranch is here to stay.

Despite nearing retirement age, she added that it’s unlikely she will hang up her spurs soon. At the same time, she added that her 27-year-old son, Dean, has stepped up since returning from Kansas four years ago.

“From the time (Dean) was 6 years old, we talked about him going away to college, always with the caveat that if he wanted to come home to the ranch, he could, but he didn’t have to,” VanWinkle said. “We feel really fortunate that he chose to come home, live this life, do this work and contribute to our communities in the way we think is important.”“As time goes on, I think that transition will happen gradually,” she added. “I’ve seen it in the last couple of years from a decision-making and labor point of view.”

CARING FOR CATTLE AS FIRE CONTINUES

While the Turner Gulch Fire motivated the VanWinkles to stay in Mesa County, it has also posed a major concern to a large portion of the family’s ranch.

As of publication, the wildfire has charred about half of the 39,000acre allotment. In the past few days, the fire has shifted away from the area, but the smoke remains thick, risking respiratory complications for the cattle. No cattle have died, but VanWinkle said the fire has consumed all the available grazing land. Without that land, the family has less than two weeks of feed and water remaining.

Fortunately, she said the Forest Service has offered them an alternative allotment. Now, it’s just a matter of moving the cattle — about 10 miles south.

“They’re spread out over, somewhere between 5,000-8,000 acres,” Van-Winkle said. “We’ll gather them, and you have to make sure … the mom and the baby are together, because we don’t want to separate anybody.”

She added that the calves are due for immunization, so the family will have to vaccinate many of the cattle between gathering and transporting them.

Once the livestock are gathered and immunized, the VanWinkles will truck them to the new allotment, which she said will require 25 to 28 trucks and 10 to 14 days.

Despite the sizable workload, VanWinkle added that minimizing stress for the livestock is a priority.“It’ll be extremely difficult, but we can get it done,” VanWinkle said. “If not me, then who?”

Dean and Howard VanWinkle, right, watch as the Turner Gulch Fire starts to climb up the rim of the Unaweep Canyon, onto the Uncompahgre Plateau, where the family of ranchers have kept cattle over the last four generations.

Courtesy of JANIE VANWINKLE

Two of the nearly 600 cattle on the VanWinkle Ranch’s Uncompahgre Plateau allotment “meander” near a backburn intended to control the Turner Gulch Fire on July 21.

VanWinkle Ranch co-owner Howard VanWinkle, atop his horse “Chief,” moves cattle on the ranch’s Uncompahgre property away from the encroaching Turner Gulch Fire. While the Turner Gulch Fire motivated the VanWinkles to stay in Mesa County, it has also posed a major concern to a large portion of the family’s ranch. Janie VanWinkle said the fire has consumed all the available grazing land and the family will have to move the cattle 10 miles south to land the U.S. Forest Service is providing.

COURTESY OF JANIE VANWINKLE