**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE 11 STATES IN THE AMERICAN WEST REPRESENT 20% OF THE U.S. BEEF COW INVENTORY, OR APPROXIMATELY 6.4 MILLION COWS. GIVEN PRODUCTION CONSTRAINTS ON SEMI-ARID RANGELANDS, RANCHERS ARE DEPENDENT UPON PUBLIC RANGELANDS FOR LIVESTOCK GRAZING TO SUPPLEMENT THEIR OPERATIONS. GRAZING IS A PERMITTED USE ON 270 MILLION ACRES OF PUBLIC LANDS, BUT PUBLIC LAND IS ALSO FEDERALLY-MANDATED TO BE MANAGED FOR MULTIPLE USES INCLUDING NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION, AND RECREATION. SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT THAT SUPPORTS BOTH AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND CONSERVATION CAN BE THREATENED BY CONFLICT BETWEEN STAKEHOLDERS WITH COMPETING INTERESTS.MANAGING AGENCIES HAVE ATTEMPTED TO RESPOND TO OPPOSING MANAGEMENT GOALS THROUGH COLLABORATIVE PROCESSES, BUT IT REMAINS UNCLEAR THE EXTENT TO WHICH COLLABORATIVE OUTPUTS ARE ACTUALLY USED IN AGENCY DECISIONS, AND HOW THESE DECISIONS THEN IMPACT BOTH AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY AND CONSERVATION ON PUBLIC RANGELANDS.IN NORTHEASTERN WYOMING, THE THUNDER BASIN ECOREGION (TBER) IS MANAGED FOR VARIED INTERESTS, INCLUDING GRAZING AND CONSERVATION. RANCHERS SUPPORT THEIR OPERATIONS THROUGH THE USE OF PERMITTED GRAZING IN THE THUNDER BASIN NATIONAL GRASSLAND. WHILE LIVESTOCK GRAZING IS A MAJOR LAND USE SUPPORTED IN TBER, LAND MANAGERS HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY CONCERNED ABOUT MANAGEMENT OF BLACK-TAILED PRAIRIE DOGS, BECAUSE THIS REGION CONTAINS THE ONLY REMAINING LARGE PRAIRIE DOG COMPLEX WITHIN THE HISTORICAL RANGE OF THE ENDANGERED BLACK-FOOTED FERRET. ACCORDINGLY, THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE HAS IDENTIFIED TBER AS AN IMPORTANT SITE FOR FUTURE BLACK-FOOTED FERRET RECOVERY. MANAGING AGENCIES LIKE THE USFS HAVE ATTEMPTED TO RESPOND TO DIVERGING MANAGEMENT GOALS THROUGH COLLABORATIVE DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES, BUT IT REMAINS UNCLEAR THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE KNOWLEDGE GENERATED DURING COLLABORATION IS ACTUALLY USED IN AGENCY DECISIONS, AND HOW THESE DECISIONS THEN IMPACT BOTH AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY AND CONSERVATION ON PUBLIC RANGELANDS.THIS RESEARCH PROJECT WILL UTILIZE A MIXED METHODS APPROACH TO ANALYZE STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS AND HISTORICAL RECORDS, IN ORDER TO EVALUATE HOW MANAGEMENT DECISIONS ARE MADE IN THE CONTEXT OF DIVERSE STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVES, AND DETERMINE THE IMPACTS OF THESE DECISIONS ON GRAZING OVER SPACE AND TIME. WHILE DIVERSE VIEWPOINTS CAN POSE CHALLENGES IN COLLABORATIVE MANAGEMENT, THEY ALSO PROVIDE POTENTIAL FOR CREATIVE, HOLISTIC SOLUTIONS TO ARISE. THIS STUDY WILL BUILD OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW CONFLICTS BETWEEN STAKEHOLDERS INFLUENCE INSTITUTIONAL DECISIONS, AS WELL AS HOW CHANGES IN DECISION-MAKING IMPACT GRAZING USE IN TBER. LESSONS FROM THIS PROJECT WILL BE BROADLY RELEVANT ACROSS THE AMERICAN WEST, WHERE WORKING LANDSCAPES ARE CRITICAL TO BOTH BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION. THUS, UNDERSTANDING THE IMPLICATIONS OF COLLABORATIVE MANAGEMENT DECISIONS IS CRITICAL TO OUR ABILITY TO MAINTAIN SUSTAINABLE WESTERN LIVELIHOODS AND ECOSYSTEMS.