On this episode, we head deep into Montana ranch country with the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance to figure out how an industry built on horses and grit is now running on GPS collars, data uploads, and conservation science. It’s part cowboy, part tech startup—and somehow still hanging on.

We get into the real pressures threatening ranching today: skyrocketing land prices, outside development, environmental shifts, and the uncomfortable reality that most ranchers are pushing 60. What happens when the people feeding the country start aging out?

At the same time, ranchers are doing something you probably didn’t expect—they’re quietly some of the biggest players in wildlife conservation, habitat restoration, and land management in the American West.

And we also touch on the day-to-day realities of ranch life – pulling calves, dealing with predators, and occasionally even bringing animals back to life.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/ranchers

Learn more about and join the RSA: RanchStewards.org

And Give Big April 30-May 1: GiveBigGV.org

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Our barn at EBS: https://www.explorebigsky.com/outlaw-podcasts

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After the winter that wasn’t, we’re all wondering how extreme wildfire season will be this summer. On this episode, Outlaw Beat is joined by a fire behavior analyst who is qualified to give us answers to all our burning questions.

Jon Trapp is the Division Chief of Wildland Fire at Big Sky Fire Department and he is fresh off a regional planning meeting for western wildfires, so it’s a great time to find out what he knows so we’re all prepared for what’s in store.

Jon talks about the various conditions and weather patterns that are lining up against us, wildfire tendencies you should definitely be aware of, plus the technological advances that are giving firefighters an edge they’ve never had before.

And we don’t let Jon leave without having him answer fireman questions poorly written by children.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/fire

Brush up on the Wildfire Action Guide here: https://bigskyfire.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2022HE-Big-Sky-Evacuation-Guide-R3-SINGLES.pdf

And Give Big April 30-May 1: GiveBigGV.org

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The Rocky Mountain area isn’t known for its lakes, but there’s one we’re all pretty proud of. It’s everyone’s favorite terminal saline lake: Utah’s Great Salt Lake that, sadly, is getting less and less great every year.

To find out why it’s shrinking, why that matters, and what we can do to turn things around, Outlaw Beat talks to lake expert Eric Edwards, senior fellow at PERC (the Property and Environment Research Center) and associate professor of agricultural and resource economics at UC Davis.

Eric dispels some major myths about the state of the lake, like how much climate change is to blame and the practicality of some of the “magic bullet” solutions that are floating around out there.

This episode matters if you care about the wildlife, clean skies, and winter sports that make Utah a special place to visit or live.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/GreatSaltLake

Read more about PERC’s work with the Great Salt Lake: https://perc.org/2025/04/11/optimism-for-the-great-salt-lake-starts-with-water-leasing/

And attend the Lone Peak Film Festival in Big Sky Sept. 17-20! LonePeakFilmFestival.com

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May is Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month, so it’s time to become aware of cystic fibrosis (and what it is) with Bozeman’s Cody Dieruf Foundation, named in honor of a 23 year old woman who passed away due to CF in 2005.

Outlaw Beat gets a crash course in CF thanks to Foundation Board President Janel Shamblin and Executive Director Pam Western. And with Give Big Gallatin Valley 2026 coming up in a couple weeks, there’s never been a better time to show your support.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/cody

Give Big: https://www.givebiggv.org/organizations/cody-dieruf-benefit-foundation

Learn more about the organization (and those MT license plates!) here: BreathinIsBelievin.org

And grab a sloshie at Big Sky’s Cowboy Coffee: CowboyCoffee.com/Big-Sky

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The 2026 Winter Olympics had it all: triumph, heartache, filthy cheating Canadian curlers, and a delightful clean-cut 23 year old freestyle skier from Helena, Montana named Konnor Ralph.

Konnor joins Outlaw Beat to talk about his experiences in Milan where he did us proud by finishing 5th in Big Air and 9th in Slopestyle. He answers all your burning questions about the Olympic Village, getting mentally prepared to leap hundreds of feet in the air, and making the transition from terrain park rat at Great Divide to the largest stage in winter sports.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/konnor

Follow Konnor on instagram @konnorralph

And plan your next trip to the Crown Jewel of the National Park System with Explore Yellowstone! PlanYellowstone.com

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We’re talking about building Big Sky on this episode with help from a couple of locals who are doing the heavy lifting… JoDean Bing of Blue Ribbon Builders and Becky Brockie of Big Sky Community Housing Trust. Blue Ribbon Builders has been building well-known Big Sky infrastructure and homes since day one in the early 1970’s and the Housing Trust is doing important work to accommodate an increasingly large and precariously housed workforce.

We cover a lot of ground in this interview: Chet Huntley, geothermal activity, the “Good Deeds” and “Rent Local” programs, the first fax machine in Big Sky. And it’s part of a series brought to you by the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, in case you’re wondering who to thank.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/blueribbon

Enlist Blue Ribbon Builder’s help for your next project: BlueRibbonBuilders.com

And learn more about & support the Community Housing Trust here: BigSkyHousingTrust.org

Follow us on instagram: @outlawbeatpodcast

Our barn at EBS: https://www.explorebigsky.com/outlaw-podcasts

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To oversimplify, powwows are big, colorful Native dance competitions. And if you’ve never been to one, have we got a doozy for you…

Montana State University’s 50th annual powwow is coming up March 27th & 28th at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, and who better to preview the massive milestone event than the co-presidents of the student-led organization responsible for putting it together, the American Indian Council.

Titan Brockie and Michaiah Pease join us to chat about traditions old and new that they oversee while also providing a beginner’s guide to powwows, in case this is your first year to attend. And you should attend! All are welcome and free to enter.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/powwow

Check out this link for further details: https://www.montana.edu/news/25161/montana-state-to-host-50th-american-indian-council-powwow-on-march-27-28

Help support the American Indian Council: https://www.montana.edu/aic/donations.html

And come out to the Waypoint for Ballots & Brews Tuesday, March 24! BigSkyWellnessDistrict.org

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Strip down to your skivvies! We’re getting hot and cold with Bozeman’s new rejuvenation destination, Umvelt (pronounced OOHM-velt) Bathhouse, where owner Paul Byrne shows off the luxurious sauna/steam/soak experience he has created in a 1936 Frank Willson building just off Main Street.

Paul also helps us understand the history and health benefits of the ‘Slavic banya’ style spa and the way that ‘Umvelt’ delivers on its German definition: “the world as you experience it.”

Check out Umvelt at 22 South Grand Avenue (behind the Lark Hotel) or buy a membership here: Umvelt.co

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/Umvelt

And join Gallatin River Task Force at the 20th anniversary of the fly fishing film tour on March 12 at The Waypoint gallatinrivertaskforce.org/fly-fishing-film-tour/

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Our barn at EBS: https://www.explorebigsky.com/outlaw-podcasts

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