Heidi Redd is an accomplished adventurer: skydiving led her to ranching. She is credited with co-creating an innovative partnership between working ranches and land conservation organizations. In 1967, Redd and her then-husband Robert purchased the Indian Creek Cattle Company and historic Dugout Ranch near Canyonlands National Park. They ran cattle on 5,200 acres of land with 300,000 acres of grazing allotments. Redd partnered with The Nature Conservancy Utah Chapter in 1997 in order to preserve the ranch’s biodiversity and unspoiled red rock scenery, and in 2009 established the Canyonlands Research Center as a year-around outdoor laboratory for studying the region’s ecological health.

Readers will be captivated by Heidi’s tales of adventure, loss and courage as she reflects on her transformation from a young ranch bride to a gritty cattle boss to a trailblazing conservation ambassador in a mission to save the land she loves. Heidi’s devotion to a vanishing way of western life and her passion for the unique desert landscape led her into a life-changing relationship with TNC, contributing to one of the organization’s most important conservation partnerships.

Heidi will be available to sign copies of her new book, Cowgirl’s Conservation Journey: Stories from the Dugout Ranch, after the talk.