State wildlife resource agencies are often on the front lines of wildlife habitat management and conservation on private lands by providing technical expertise and custom-tailored programs to help wildlife and people. But each state has its own unique approach. To learn more about these approaches, we’re going to be taking a tour of state-led private land programs around the country in the next few episodes! To get us started, Adam visited with Ray Aberle, the private lands program manager with the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the director of the Private Lands Working Group of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Ray shared some really interesting insights about the approaches states use across the country for private lands work and then discussed the specific programs he oversees in Colorado.  

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Resources and references mentioned in the episode: 

Learn more about AFWA and the Private lands working group here: https://www.fishwildlife.org/afwa-acts/afwa-committees/private-lands-working-group  

Learn more about the variety of private lands programs in Colorado that Ray mentioned here: 

https://cpw.state.co.us/aboutus/Pages/PrivateLandProgramsResources.aspx 

Ray mentioned Rick Knight at Colorado State University—find his work here: https://sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu/richardknight/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2019/02/CV.pdf  

Ray mentioned the Meadowlark Initiative in North Dakota. Learn more here: https://gf.nd.gov/meadowlark-initiative