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Len Carpenter clips 1 | 2 | 3 Rancher Influence in State Legislatures of the American West Although he grew up on a southern Colorado cattle ranch, Len Carpenter developed a greater interest in wildlife than in domestic animals. Pursuit of that interest led Carpenter to major in wildlife biology at Colorado State University (CSU), and then join the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) as a research technician. Experience in research motivated Carpenter puruse doctoral research at CSU that focused on elk and mule deer winter ranges, and ways to restore those ranges that had been overgrazed by wild and domestic ungulates. Upon completing his PhD in 1976, Carpenter continued with CDOW as a researcher on the western slope of Colorado where, among other activities, he investigated methods for inventorying wild ungulates. In 1981 he moved to Fort Collins to became the supervisor for all of CDOW’s research work involving cervids. In 1989 Carpenter took charge of all the wildlife programs in the state. Wishing to concentrate more on conservation work than on administration, Carpenter, in 1996, left CDOW to become the Southwest field representative for the Wildlife Management Institute. There he works on a variety of conservation issues in pursuit of science-based on-the-ground management. Len Carpenter talks about the overwhelming influence that ranchers enjoy in state legislatures of the American West. Recorded in August 2004. Read the edited transcript of Len Carpenter’s entire interview here. |
