Vic and Carrie Stokes arrived for dinner in a plume of dust on the dry road leading up to camp. Carrie is an administrator for the Okanogan School District, and her husband Vic is a fourth-generation rancher in the Methow Valley. After joking and storytelling over dinner, they discussed the of ranching in the Methow. Vic encouraged us to be wary of the nostalgia that surrounds ranching, a complex and demanding line of work. Cattle grazing on public lands is an especially fraught topic due to the environmental impact grazing has on water and ecosystem health. Vic and Carrie believe that collaboration is the most useful mindset a rancher can adopt. Recognizing the competing interests of the public, of land owners and of the government agencies involved, Vic is invested in continuing a civil dialogue with anyone who cares to have it. No matter who he’s talking with, Vic holds to the principle, “it’s not how we agree on issues, it’s how we disagree that matters.” 

By: Grace Butler