Which published the couple’s story on August 31, 2026, bird species recorded at their Rafter W Ranch increased from 29 in 2019 to 37 in 2025, while grassland-bird detections doubled from 178 to 356, according to Audubon Rockies. When Lance and Lisa Wheeler bought land in Colorado to build a family ranch, their ambition was to raise healthy food and create a sustainable way of farming. More than a decade later, their land is also becoming a refuge for grassland birds. The numbers offer a striking glimpse of what can happen when livestock production and conservation are managed together.
In 2018, Rafter W Ranch became certified through Audubon Conservation Ranching, a programme that promotes habitat management, environmental sustainability and animal welfare on working ranches. Audubon’s surveys found that species richness, the number of different bird species recorded, rose from 29 in 2019 to 37 in 2025. Because different bird species depend on different kinds of grassland habitat, that variation matters for wildlife.
The Wheelers use adaptive and rotational grazing, moving cattle strategically across the property. Rather than allowing animals to graze the entire landscape uniformly, the approach creates areas with different grass heights. The ranch is now home to Western Meadowlarks, American Kestrels, Upland Sandpipers, Lark Buntings, Vesper Sparrows and Loggerhead Shrikes, among other species. The family also raises free-range chickens. The birds follow cattle in a mobile coop, picking through manure and helping incorporate it into the soil. The Wheelers have been monitoring the ranch alongside their conservation work, and the results have been encouraging. Audubon Conservation Ranching Director Dusty Downey attributed the progress largely to the Wheelers’ adaptive grazing practices and willingness to adjust their methods based on research and observations. What began as a family’s effort to build a ranch has gradually become something larger: a working landscape where cattle, crops, soil and wildlife are managed as parts of the same ecosystem. And the bird surveys offer a measurable sign that the approach is making a difference, eight additional bird species recorded in six years, and twice as many grassland-bird detections.