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Tim Canterbury’s journey has taken him from working on his family’s ranch to operating heavy equipment after high school, and now to becoming the newly elected president of the Public Lands Council (PLC). As the group’s president, Tim is working behind the scenes to ensure that the farm bill reflects the needs and concerns of ranchers and land managers and secures the future of agriculture and land stewardship.
Background
Raised on his family’s ranch in Howard, CO, which dates back to his great-great-grandparents who settled in the area in 1879, Tim spent his early years working the land alongside his family.
However, the ranch was not large enough to support him and his brother, so Tim took to the road after high school, finding steady work operating heavy equipment on state highway jobs. It wasn’t easy to step away from the ranch, but Tim’s connection to ranching never waned.
While Tim worked with heavy equipment, his wife, Rhonda, partnered with his father, using the money they saved to buy cattle and slowly build their stake in the business. After two decades of running equipment, the ranch’s call pulled him back. He returned to his family’s land, expanded the operation and worked alongside his father before eventually taking over management.
Tim and Rhonda currently manage their family’s hay and cow-calf operation. They utilize Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service allotments while upholding Tim’s commitment to environmental stewardship.
“You have to give back to the land,” Tim told WLJ, echoing the teachings of his father and grandfather. “Take care of the land, and it will take care of you.”
Since the ’90s, Tim has been deeply involved in federal land issues, holding leadership roles in various organizations. He served on the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) Board of Directors for 15 years, acted as CCA president from 2009-10, and has spent over two decades as the Colorado PLC chairman.
Sustainability
Tim’s influence extends to his local community, where his dedication to sustainability has earned him recognition.
Tim holds a BLM grazing permit for Hayden Ranch in southern Lake County, CO, where he was honored in 2023 with the prestigious Doc Smith Leaders in Conservation Award from the Lake County Open Space Initiative.
In the late ’90s, BLM purchased the ranch from the city of Aurora and brought Tim in as a range management consultant. He began using holistic grazing practices to restore the land’s vegetation and wildlife.
“We drilled two wells and set up six or eight tanks on the ranch, moving the cattle to those areas,” Tim said. “Cows are funny, and I know it sounds crazy, but they’ll tell you what they want.
“They’d much rather drink clean, cool water from a tank than stand in a creek, especially when another cow is upstream,” he continued. “If you give them the option of fresh water, they’ll always choose it. This shift has significantly reduced the impact on the creek and helped restore riparian areas that had been overused for decades.”
A balancing act
Like many ranchers in Colorado, Tim shares his land with a growing number of recreational users. With the Colorado Trail running through one of his federal land allotments, Tim has had to find ways to manage his livestock while respecting the rights of outdoor enthusiasts.
This challenge led him to embrace innovative solutions, such as virtual fencing. With nine 14,000-foot peaks near his ranch attracting visitors, Tim had to find a way to keep cattle from wandering into heavily trafficked areas. The virtual fencing system allows him to “draw an imaginary line” around his cattle, keeping them away from public access points while maintaining their grazing patterns.
“At any given time, about 1,000 people a day go through one of my allotments,” Tim said. “Virtual fencing has been a game changer.”
Tim continued, “I have received positive feedback from visitors who often ask about the collars on my cattle. Once they understand the purpose, they appreciate the balance I strike between livestock management and recreation.”
Future of ranching
As a leader in the ranching community and president of PLC, Tim is passionate about addressing the key challenges that ranchers face. Chief among them is the issue of generational transfer. But, like many ranchers, Tim has struggled with the transition.
“Generational transfer is hard,” Tim admits. “I remember my dad and I not liking each other very much when I started making decisions he didn’t agree with. Now, I can see the same thing with my son. It’s tough to let go.”
Tim has begun transferring portions of the ranch to his youngest son, including some of the federal grazing permits, which include the Hayden Ranch. Beyond the personal dynamics, Tim sees generational transfer as a critical issue for the long-term sustainability of ranching. Without a clear path for younger generations to take over, the future of ranching is uncertain.
In addition to generational transfer, Tim said water rights and access to public lands are pressing concerns.
“If I can have even a small impact on any one of those three areas—whether it’s making things easier or simply leaving the opportunity open for them to happen and for the ranch to continue—I would be deeply satisfied and humbled, knowing I made a difference,” Tim said.
Farm bill
Tim hopes these issues are addressed in the new farm bill and stressed the urgency of passing a bill that includes post-wildfire mitigation for ranchers after this year’s devastating fires in the West.
“There’s no funding for post-fire infrastructure replacement,” Tim explains. “It’s frustrating when you have to put back in all your head gates and other infrastructure out of your own pocket after a fire. We need a farm bill that addresses these realities.”
Tim and others at PLC and the agriculture community are working behind the scenes to ensure that livestock producers receive the support they need for the new farm bill.
“We need a farm bill badly,” Tim said. “The programs it supports are crucial, and it’s important that they are updated to reflect the costs and challenges of today.”
Looking ahead, Tim hopes to make a lasting impact during his term as PLC president. His focus remains on ensuring that future generations can stay on the land, have water rights and that ranchers continue to have access to grazing on public lands.
“PLC has a great staff in Washington, D.C. and I am humble to be at the head of this outfit,” Tim said. “I appreciate everyone’s confidence in allowing me to have this position, and I look forward to serving them the best I can.” — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
