American Wool, Regenerative Agriculture, and the Future of an Industry Takes the Stage November 20th.
From Sense of Place:
By Sarah Fox
The Dalles, Ore., Nov. 3, 2025 — Mt. Adams Institute’s Sense of Place series presents a special pop-up event: American Wool, Regenerative Agriculture, and the Future of an Industry with Jeanne Carver, taking place Thursday, November 20, 2025, at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum in The Dalles, Oregon.
This evening offers a rare opportunity to continue the story begun in Jeanne’s sold-out Sense of Place event, Woven in Place. Building on the history of her family’s Imperial Stock Ranch and the creation of Shaniko Wool Company, Jeanne will explore how shifts in mindset and ranching practices are transforming both the land and the economics of American wool. Through her work connecting soil health to high fashion, Jeanne is demonstrating that climate stewardship and rural livelihoods can thrive together.
In conversation with Sense of Place host Sarah Fox, Jeanne will share what it’s meant to raise sheep, produce fiber, and transform an industry while prioritizing care for the land. She’ll explore the challenges and hope for regenerative approaches to take root across the West and beyond and share stories from her own life as a rancher.
“From sheep ranching to high fashion, Olympic uniforms, and the science of regenerative agriculture, Jeanne’s story is almost impossible to take in all at once,” said Sarah Fox. “It’s about much more than wool—it’s about how innovation, integrity, and the love of a place can reshape entire industries and landscapes.”
Audience members will have the opportunity to visit a new exhibition, Sense of Place, at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum. The exhibition includes a deep dive into the value and importance of sustainable ranching and includes hands-on wool samples, Olympic uniforms, and a closer look at the history of the Imperial Stock Ranch and Shaniko Wool.
About the Speaker:
For more than 25 years, Jeanne Carver has been at the forefront of the slow food and slow fashion movements, rebuilding the importance of traditional skills, connections to the origins of food and fiber, and strengthening local, regional, and domestic supply chain partners.
Her story is one of successful adaptations to changing markets. From her family’s Imperial Stock Ranch in Wasco County (est. 1871), she and her late husband, Dan, went from selling commodity lamb and wool in 1999 to selling retail products that were ecologically sensitive. Almost twenty years later, they created Shaniko Wool Company, and Jeanne oversaw the expansion of Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) certified American wool into a variety of products and markets. Jeanne has built a growing network of ranchers, designers, and brands, working exclusively with U.S. supply chain partners for 25 years. In an era of outsourcing and disconnect, she led with traceability and accountability. In 2014, Jeanne became the source and voice of American wool for Ralph Lauren’s first Made in America Team USA Winter Olympic uniform program, and again in 2018, 2022, and for the summer Olympics in Paris 2024. Since 2020, she has partnered with Oregon State University in a comprehensive research effort to measure and verify results of an even greater story: the net environmental impacts of Shaniko Wool Company ranching operations across a broad piece of the American landscape.
Jeanne is an award-winning agricultural entrepreneur and author, receiving both the American Sheep Industry Innovation Award and the Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences Hall of Fame Award in 2023. She was featured in His Majesty at 75: The Leadership and Vision of King Charles III, for her work in regenerative wool production and promoting the provenance of wool in fashion.
Event Details:
American Wool, Regenerative Agriculture, and the Future of an Industry
When: Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. Doors at 5:00 p.m., show from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. PDT.
Where: Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Museum, 5000 Discovery Dr. The Dalles, OR 97058, gorgediscovery.org / 541-296-8600
Tickets: https://givebutter.com/woolpopup
About Sense of Place:
Sense of Place is a program of Mt. Adams Institute, a Gorge-based nonprofit that strengthens the connection between people and the natural world through education, service, career development, and research. For more information on the series and Season 16, visit senseofplacegorge.org or follow @senseofplacegorge on Instagram. Subscribe to the Sense of Place newsletter for event updates and behind-the-scenes stories.
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