AlexAnna Salmon, Tribal President
Under AlexAnna Salmon’s leadership, the Igiugig tribe installed two hydro-kinetic devices that use river currents to generate power. It’s an attempt to move the village away from diesel power without blocking or disturbing the salmon migrations that are sacred and ingrained in tribal culture. AlexAnna describes her abrupt decision to return home after college to be the tribal leader after her father’s sudden death, and how long-term tribal decision-making has empowered the community to take risks.
What Capital Can Learn From the Land
We launched People Trying with a conversation between host Anna Sale and two of our interviewees: Nebraska rancher Shelly Kelly and Cole Mannix, founder of Montana’s Old Salt Co-op. In front of a room of climate funders, they talked about stewardship and how to bridge the gap between the people who fund this work and the people doing it. We recorded it live over dinner in Central Park during Climate Week, on September 23, 2026.
Tyler Huber, Solar Shepherd
Tyler Huber runs a regenerative sheep program at Silicon Ranch in Southwest Georgia, where around 4,500 sheep forage under solar panels. He grew up in a community where dairy farming was on the decline and he never imagined being able to earn a steady income through agriculture. After a few false starts, that’s what he’s doing now. He is raising two kids with his wife on the solar farm property while getting direct deposit and a 401k.
Meet People Trying
We are launching a new journalism project hosted by Anna Sale. It highlights the personal stories and expertise of those working closest to our land, water and nature in the U.S. It’s called People Trying. Meet some of them here.
Debt, Doubt, and Community
Old Salt Co-Op in Helmville, Montana raises and sells beef and runs a local meat-processing plant and restaurants. It also throws a festival every June to celebrate well-raised food and the community effort required to pull it off. People Trying host Anna Sale interviewed Old Salt’s co-founder Cole Mannix on stage at the festival about the sense of purpose underlying it all. It’s a preview for our new series.
Coming Soon
Shelly Kelly, Relational Rancher
Nebraska
Shelly Kelly ranches near Broken Bow, Nebraska, and directs the Sand Hills Task Force, where she works with other ranchers on drought resilience and grassland protection, among other things. She grew up on a ranch, and by 17, she worked for a federal conservation agency. After a divorce, she started her own cattle operation as a single mother. She herds cattle along with her 9-year-old son, while convincing neighbors that fire can be an important part of protecting the prairie ecosystem.
Coming December 2026.
“I get to promote ranching and conservation and how they really work hand in hand. They’re more complementary rather than competitive.”
People Trying is produced in collaboration with The National Geographic Society, with support from The Walton Family Foundation.
