The urban-rural fringe is both valuable and vulnerable in the West. Informed citizens need to know how community decisions affect ranch land at the edge of town. Across the West rural lifestyles are increasingly compromised by suburbanization, economic hardship, and family dynamics. A way of life and a way of work are vanishing. Ranch land may be simultaneously cherished by a family for the life its members have made there and coveted by urban neighbors as open space. Community residents may love a place for its scenery and wildlife habitat while others wish it converted to a Walmart parking lot. This session will explore the dynamics of ranching at the edge of town and the complex issues that go into landscape change.