Dispatches: Courtney White

I found Courtney White through his books about carbon, conservation, ranching and the New West. He asked how I found these books but I had no answer. They seemingly just appeared in my vehicle where they have resided ever since. It is difficult to put a label on Courtney, and based on what he does in his working life, this is a good thing. Labels have worked to hold us back over the past decades, especially when labels come in the form of things like “environmentalist,” “conservationist,” or “rancher.” Many of us think we know what these titles mean, but often our actions and speech proves we don’t.

Regardless of how you feel about such topics many of us can agree there is a new form of dialogue required, a form that doesn’t point fingers, doesn’t accuse and doesn’t move forward on false or absent data. In addition to the data we need action. When things didn’t feel right to Courtney, roughly twenty-five years ago, he picked up the phone THAT DAY and got involved. Imagine where we would be if we all took similar action.

If these topics seem interesting to you then start with his published works. Grass, Soil and Hope as well as Age of Consequences are what got me hooked. Now it’s your turn to consume those pages. Wanted to say “Thank you” to Courtney for being so generous with his time on a smoldering New Mexico day.