A cowhand's song: Crisis on the range

A Cowhand’s song: Crisis on the range is a film exploring the realities of ranching. Produced by Gwendolyn Clancy and Nancy Kelly, this documentary presents the daily life of family ranchers in Northern California and Nevada who run their cattle on public rangelands. It’s a hard life, a constant struggle against the elements – environmental and social. Over the last few decades, these rancher’s traditional use of the public lands has been challenged by ecologist, recreationists, developers and government agencies. A Cowhand’s song examines these conflicting viewpoints. What is the significance of the program for input? A Cowhand’s song reflects the intimate view of a traditional lifestyle. Produced and directed by Gwendolyn Clancy and Nancy Kelly, two Massachusetts women who went to the west to experience first-hand ranch life, it interweaves a number of themes: the involvement of children in ranch activities from young ages, the love of the open and free land, the close association with animals, the alienation of machine work, the traditional life of running cattle on the range, how that tradition is changing.