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Knowledge and wise use of rangelands is inherently linked to sustaining social and economic infrastructures in rural western North America. Even though rangelands cover over half of the earth's land surface, these natural landscapes are relatively unknown to most people, especially compared to forests, agricultural lands, and urban areas. There is growing concern over the diminishing activity of young people on the wild and natural landscapes that surround them. A growing number of young people are distanced from agricultural and ranching lifestyles yet the demand for resources provided by rangelands continues to grow. One approach to address this growing gap between students and the natural landscapes that surround them starts close to home. Education programs that build awareness, knowledge, and skills useful on rangelands will forge connections between students and their immediate surroundings and foster concepts and habits of land stewardship. Our efforts to enhance youth rangeland education and career interest has four program components that are helping to bridge the gap between youth and their surrounding environment and include: 1) providing teacher resources and training to increase teaching competencies related to rangelands, 2) developing interactive and experiential activities to interest students in rangelands and offer them skills and knowledge to seize career opportunities, 3) strengthening relationships between university rangeland programs and high school educators to ensure curricula quality and increase its use in classrooms, and 4) engaging rangeland professionals in teacher workshops and student events to ensure that skills and concepts in whole program are relevant to contemporary range management activities.