Meet our Guests: Brian Brown

Brian Brown

Owner of China Ranch

Tecopa, CA

11/18/21

     Brian Brown is the owner and operator of China Ranch, a date farm and desert oasis near Tecopa, California. In the arid Death Valley, the rarity of water makes China Ranch one of few riparian areas, bursting with cottonwoods, willows, and date trees. Rich with geology, botany, birds, and a long record of human activity, China Ranch preserves the history of the Old Spanish Trail, and the wildlife that rely on the abundant water source of Willow Creek.

     Brian and his late wife Bonnie bought the property and changed its course by planting many varieties of date trees and operating a business selling dates and date-related products. They made a commitment to the land and the species that rely on it through a conservation easement with the Nature Conservancy. The land is protected from further development and will be maintained into the future for a healthy ecosystem.

     After a morning of cleaning up fallen palm fronds from the date trees, Brian took the Westies on a tour of his property. He talked about the impacts of a recent fire that burned over 20 acres of riparian habitat. China Ranch and the Nature Conservancy have made a commitment to restoring the burnt habitat for the many species of wildlife that find solace in one of Death Valley’s few oases.

By Haley Post

Meet our Guests: Gabe Spence and Zoë Hanley

Gabe Spence and Zoë Hanley

Wolf Biologist, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife; and Northwest Representative, Defenders of Wildlife

Methow Valley, Washington

9/2/21

Crouched over a dusty road in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Gabe Spence and Zoë Hanley point out aged prints of a wolf pack living in the area. Gabe is a wolf biologist with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and an expert tracker. Zoë Hanley is a wildlife ecologist with the conservation group Defenders of Wildlife. In many areas including this one, wolves naturally returned from surrounding regions after being hunted out of existence. This has caused significant conflict with livestock producers in rural communities, and Zoë and Gabe are right in the middle of this conflict.

Through the muddled dust, Gabe can tell that the wolf chased a coyote in full sprint down the road and then laid down, the prints exposing the movements and the size of the animal. He can use his tracking abilities and collars on the wolves to study them and keep track of how they are doing. Zoë primarily works to mitigate conflict between livestock producers and wolves. She explains the complicated relationship between cows and wolves and how the American public has let cattle graze in wolf territory, leading to the death of ranchers’ cows, especially calves. Ranchers cannot handle the economic loss. But it is also the rancher’s choice to have their cows in wolf territory and the wolves don’t see the difference between a deer and a cow, they just see dinner for their pack. Zoë believes that it is possible for humans to learn to coexist with wolves, but it is difficult to navigate the challenges of non-lethal forms of protection. Both Zoë and Gabe show a deep love for the animal they study as well as a hint of weariness in their eyes caused by the challenges they face in their work.

By Haley Post

Meet Our Guests: Gwen Trice

Gwen Trice

Founder and Executive Director, Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center

Joseph, Oregon

8/23/21

     Gwen Trice’s father never told her about being one of the first Black people to live or work in the state of Oregon. During a time when the state’s constitution barred Black people from the entire state, he worked as a logger in Maxville, a small company town in Wallowa County, Oregon. After spending time away from Wallowa County, a hostile environment for Gwen growing up, she learned of her family history and decided to return to save space for people of color, both culturally and literally.

     Gwen is the founder and Executive Director of the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center, a local nonprofit located in Joseph, Oregon, that is dedicated to telling the story of her family and the other families that made up the town of Maxville. The museum showcases artifacts and stories from the residents, but Gwen did not stop there. She channels her seemingly boundless creativity into multiple storytelling ventures including a musical about Maxville performed around Oregon, and multiple documentaries interviewing residents of the town and their decedents.

    Gwen is currently working to rebuild the original administrative building from Maxville to use as an interpretive space to celebrate and share her family’s history while educating visitors about the history of this often-overlooked Black community. Gwen believes in telling these forgotten and erased stories because she wants to give everyone a story, including the people who didn’t know about their histories and those whose voices were lost when Maxville became a ghost town.

By Haley Post