Dean, left, and Howard VanWinkle watch from a safe distance in July as the Turner Gulch Fire climbs out of the Unaweep Canyon in western Colorado toward their cattle grazing grounds. Photo courtesy of Janie VanWinkle
The following is an excerpt from a CSU SOURCE article published October 31, 2025.
Key takeaways
- Colorado State University Extension partners with the Colorado Department of Agriculture to ensure livestock producers’ needs are met in emergency response and recovery efforts.
- Extension staff assembled a strike team in August to help with western Colorado wildfires.
- Western Slope rancher and CSU alumna Janie VanWinkle credits a workshop organized by CSU Extension and established relationships with federal range conservationists for helping her family through the Turner Gulch Fire.
Grand Junction ranchers Janie, Howard and Dean VanWinkle watched in terror from their side-by-side in July as 80-foot flames climbed out of the Unaweep Canyon in western Colorado toward their cattle grazing grounds.
Roughly 60% of the U.S. Forest Service land their cattle graze would later burn in the Turner Gulch Fire, dramatically reducing forage available for their livestock, but the VanWinkles didn’t lose a single cow.
The fire was a serious strain on the ranchers, and recovery work remains. But Janie VanWinkle credits a workshop organized by Colorado State University Extension and established relationships with federal officials for preventing panic and helping the ranching family protect their herd.
CSU Extension has a long history of providing science-backed resources and serving all 64 Colorado counties based on community needs. Extension specialists are invested in their communities and well positioned to help Coloradans prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters.