Barbed wire is a critical innovation that shaped the High Plains. Field Editor Lacey Vilhauer takes a look at its origins.

Today, an estimated 620,000 miles of fencing, most of it barbed wire, stretches across the rural West, and its toll on the region continues to mount.Animals that try to jump over or wiggle under ...

The first commercially successful barbed wire was patented by an American farmer on Nov. 24, 1874. ... Barbed wire is commonly used as fencing for livestock on ranches.

The HISTORY In 1876 salesman John W. Gates brought barbed wire to Texas when he wagered $1 million that he could build a fence that would capably contain ...

A yearling whitetail that was found dead in a barbed wire fence. Photo by Natalie Krebs. With an estimated 620,000 miles of old barbed wire criss-crossing the Western U.S., the group points out, there ...

Barbed wire fencing is widely used to secure farmland and rural properties, but it poses significant risks to Australian wildlife. Kangaroos, known for their powerful leaps, often fail to clear ...