Ranching in the West:

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Ranching in the West Is it Hazardous to your
Health? Randy R. Weigel, Ph.D. Associate
Professor Extension Specialist Department of
Family Consumer Sciences University of Wyoming
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Behavioral Health A more encompassing term than
mental health and includes conditions of stress
and anxiety, self-destructive behavior,
addiction, adjustment disorders, and/or
interpersonal relationship difficulties.
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Lets go west Its our ticket out of here Yeah we
can disappear Lets go west And that painted sky
was made for us Its everything we ever dreamed
of Lets go west. Brooks Dunn, Lets Go
West
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The spaces between ranches, and between ranches
and the highway, and most of all between an
individual ranch and its nearest city, county
seat, or even town, can be large
indeed. Starrs, P. (1998) Let the cowboy
ride Cattle ranching in the American West.
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Geo-conflicts Conflicts over the natural
resources and geography of the West.
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The struggle to secure ample high-quality water
has fostered mistrust, mis- understanding and has
created disharmony. Water conflicts have driven
wedges between neighbors, states, nations,
cultures. Ingram, H. (1998). Place
humanists at the head gates Reopening the
American West
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I told the Elko County commissioners, The days
are gone when youll come in here and pound on
the district rangers table and hell piss in
his pants and youll get your way. Jim
Nelson, supervisor Toiyabe Humboldt
National Forests, Nevada
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We are outraged and demand accountability of the
actions taken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service surrounding the incident, (FWS worker
with wolves on private property) Park
County Commissioners Park County (Cody),
Wyoming
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Life at the Edge The lives
of urban and rural dwellers are becoming
increasingly intertwined, and often tangled. This
entanglement can be found at the urban wildland
interface. Huntsinger Hopkins
(1996). Viewpoint Sustaining rangeland
landscapes A social and ecological
process. Journal of Range Management
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Kent Knudson picked up a rifle and opened fire,
defending his 40 acres in Arizona, and got
handcuffed and hauled to jail. High
Country News March 1, 2004 vol. 36, no. 4
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Frontier Rural Areas Distinguished by low
population density and great isolation, comprised
of fewer than 7 residents per square
mile. Cairlo et al. (1996) Focusing on
frontier Isolated rural America.
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Ranch Preservationism A term that describes an
attitude that being a rancher leads to a higher
well-being than other methods of making a living.
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Whats it going to take me sitting on my front
porch shooting the next son of a bitch that
tells me when I can and cant move my
cows? New Mexico Rancher High Country
News retrieved, 2/4/2004 from http//www.
hcn.org/
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The cowboy is in many minds todayas he was in
those of Remington and Wisterlaconic, chivalric,
physically attractive, adroit, violent, romantic
and lonesome. That mythic image may have very
little in common with the real cowboy of today,
or even with history, but it persists by popular
demand. Hassrick, P. (1993-94). The
Wyoming cowboys evolving image. Wyoming
Annals, 65(4), 8-9.
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Socialization of the Cowboy Beliefs about how
men ought to behave are constructed at many
levels in society and in the minds of men.
no sissy stuff the big wheel the
sturdy oak give em hell
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Male Approach to Counseling traditional
approach to counseling vs. traditional male
socialization
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Of the 5276 suicides to white males in The
mountain states, 3653 (70) of these suicides
were committed by firearm. Kaplan, M.,
Geling, O. (1998). Firearm suicides and
homicides in the United States Regional
variations and patterns of gun ownership.
Social Science Medicine 46(9), 1227-1333.
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In Wyoming, suicide is the second leading cause
of death in young people aged 15-24. Of the
sixteen suicides reported in 2001, twelve were by
firearms. State of Wyoming Department of
Health (2003)
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State Rankings on Suicide, 1990-2000
http//mypage.iusb.edu/jmcintos/SuicideStates.htm
l
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Why the Wests Soaring Suicide Rate? Five
factors common to the Mountain states - loss
of family ties - availability of firearms -
lack of behavioral health - geography -
pregnancy habits? Briggs, B. (Aug. 27, 2000)
Isolation, access to guns tied to Wests
soaring rate The Sunday Denver Post
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• Mothers of suicide victims
• received less prenatal care
• more likely to smoke and drink during pregnancy
• higher level of chronic disease during pregnancy
• Salk, L. et al. (1985).
• Relationship of maternal and perinatal
• conditions to eventual adolescent suicide.
• The Lancet, March, (624-627).

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• Changing Fabric of Rural Life
• Fewer ranchers and farmers
• Reduced support service safety net
• A growing global economy
• Individualistic political climate
• Boom or bust economy

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• Changing Fabric of Rural Life (cont.)
• Lack of primary care providers
• Urban/rural mental illness
• Higher levels of depression, suicide, abuse in
• ag. populations
• Reduced concern for plight of agriculture
• Changing Agri culture

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• Summary
  
• Obstacles to Behavioral (mental) Health
• Care in the Rockies (frontier).
• Shortage of health professionals
• Staff turnover
• Lack of choice of provider
• High rates of under/un-insured
• Cultural barriers
• Lack of confidentiality
• Distance
• Corrine, J. (2003)
• Frontier communities Leading the way with
  innovative
• approaches to behavioral health

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In many areas of the rural West, the development
of specialized health services is less
economically feasible. A low population base and
corresponding weak economic base coupled with
vast distances and isolation mean that
specialized mental health services will seldom be
locally available to rural/frontier
areas. Source Frontier Mental Health
Strategies. Retrieved November 3,
2003 http//wiche.edu/MentalHealth/Frontier/letter
6.html
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• Frontier Behavioral Health
• Delivery Strategies
• Integration
• Outreach
• Empowerment
• Connection
• Source Frontier Mental Health Strategies.
  Retrieved November 3, 2003
• http//wiche.edu/MentalHealth/Frontier/letter6.htm
  l

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• Rural Family Support Networks
• Hotlines Kansas Rural Family Helpline
• Saskatchewan Farm Stress Line
• Intervention/Referral Nebraska Rural Response
  Line
• Farm Resource Center (Illinois)
• Support Groups Women in Ag W.I.F.E.
• Women in Blue Jeans
• Mediation Coalition of Agricultural Mediation
  
• Education Cooperative Extension consultants
• Trade Magazines
• Outreach Sowing the Seeds of Hope (Midwest)

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• Advocacy on Behalf of Ranchers
• Farmers and their Families
• Lobbying for increased behavioral health support
• for agricultural and rural areas
• Training of health providers and others who
• work with ranchers and farmers
• Changing attitudes of ranchers and farmers
• toward seeking help

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Going for help beats the hell out of the hell
the family goes through after a family member
commits suicide or homicide. Robert J.
Fetsch Family Therapist
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Wyomings greatest natural resource is not the
coal in the Powder River Basin, the natural gas
in our sedimentary formations, the oil in the Big
Horn Basin or the trona in the Green River Basin.
It is not the pure water of our streams, the
strong grass on our prairies or the stunning
views of our mountains. Wyomings greatest
natural resource is our people. Properly
providing for their good physical and mental
health is essential to the future of our
state. Stroock, T. ( March 27,
2003) Need a handle on health care Casper
Star and Tribune
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