Tammy VerCauteren is the Executive Director of The Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, a highly effective conservation organization whose mission is to “conserve birds and their habitats through science, education and land stewardship.” Tammy joined the Bird Conservancy in 1999 as an ecologist, performing research on burrowing owls along the Colorado-Wyoming border. She fell in love with the work and the mission, and eventually assumed the role of Executive Director in 2008. Since then, she has driven the Bird Conservancy’s growth and evolution, making it one the the West’s most effective and collaborative landscape-scale conservation organizations. Birds and healthy bird habitat are of the utmost importance here at Ranchlands. We’ve worked with the Bird Conservancy on our Chico Basin Ranch to establish bird banding stations several times per year. And just a few weeks ago, Audubon certified both the Chico Basin and Paint Rock Ranches as bird friendly habitats. So we were thrilled to have Tammy join us to discuss the importance of bird habitat, challenges facing the grasslands of the West, and how everyone from ranchers to consumers can plan a role in protecting these vital ecosystems. Learn more about Bird Conservancy of the Rockies here. Learn more about Ranchlands bird-friendly beef here.