What's New
Current Activities of Cal-Pac SRM and other Professional Societies
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Field Workshop UC Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center
The UC Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center is holding its annual Field Workshop on Tuesday, May 7th in Browns Valley, CA. Click here to download flyer with information on workshop content and registration information.
California Envirothon April 17-19 at the San Joaquin Experimental Range needs participants
The topic of this year's California Envirothon is "Sustainable Rangeland." The Envirothon event will be held April 17-19 at the San Joaquin Experimental Range (oral presentations nearby in Oakhurst). For their preliminary orals presentations Thursday afternoon (4/18), they are trying to find resource professionals from each of their five main topic areas (aquatic resources, soils and land use, wildlife, forestry, rangeland management) for each of three judges panels. Each panel will view presentations from three teams.
Any of you who might be able to participate, or know others who could, please let Sharon Boyce know (209-722-4119 Ext. 115; Sharon.Boyce@ca.usda.gov). More information about the Envirothon can be found at www.caenvirothon.com and www.envirothon.org.
Northern California Prescribed Fire Council Meeting in Hopland April 25-26
The Northern California Prescribed Fire Council (http://www.norcalrxfirecouncil.org/) has been interested in increasing the involvement of the region’s range community in the work of the Council. Of our 100 or so attendees at our meetings, a handful represent range burners. Given the historical and contemporary importance of fire use for range management, we’d like to reach out to this important community.
Our next meeting will be held in Hopland April 25-26. In that meeting we will have several topics of interest to the range community- an address from Ken Pimlott, Director of Cal-Fire; a talk by Dr. Sarah McCaffrey on the disconnects between our fears about what the public thinks and how much they really support us; talks on tribal burning; and, an evening presentation on traditional Maasai fire management in Africa. As you know, we also always prepare to have a good time, too.
Central Coast Rangeland Coalition (CCRC) spring meeting April 18, Fremont--registration open
Registration is open for the CCRC's spring meeting, April 18, 2013 starting at 8:30am. “Open Range, Open Parks, Open Minds: Opportunities for Outreach in Grazed Parks and Ranches” will address managing visitor use alongside livestock operations and explore opportunities for public Outreach. This meeting will be held at the Board of Trustees Meeting Room, Student Services Center, Ohlone College, Fremont, with afternoon field activities at Mission Peak Regional Preserve, East Bay Regional Parks District. For more information and registration, go to: http://www.elkhornsloughctp.org/training/show_train_detail.php?TRAIN_ID=Op891WS .
California Pacific Section Society for Range Management (CalPac) spring meeting and tour April 24-25, Redding, CA (registration now open)
The CalPac SRM spring meeting and tour will be held April 24-25 near Redding. The tour will visit the JS Ranch (Millville), Bonnie Crag Ranch (Shingletown), and Hawes Ranch (Anderson). Click here for schedule and registration form!
Presentations available from the 2nd Rangeland Science Symposium and 8th Annual California Rangeland Conservation Coalition Summit, UC Davis January 24-25, 2013
The presentations from the Rangeland Science Symposium are available at--http://rangelandwatersheds.ucdavis.edu/main/2nd_rangeland_science_symposium.html ; and from the Summit at: http://www.carangeland.org/calendarevents/2013summit.html
L. Ford Awarded "Range Manager of the Year" 2012 by the California-Pacific Section of the Society for Range Management
At the fall 2012 meeting of the Cal-Pac Section of the Society for Range Management in Sacramento, Dr. Lawrence Ford was given the Range Manager of the Year award for his substantial contributions to the Society and to range management. Recipients in the recent past were Dr. Lynn Huntsinger (2007), Edie Jacobson (2008), Lisa Bush 2009, Dr. Mark Thorne (2010), and Rod Tripp (2011).
CAL-PAC Board of Directors make Section Funds Available For Outreach Projects
At the At the July 9 2012 conference call the Board of Directors passed a motion through which Cal-Pac members could request funds for the following:
1. Improve visibility of the section
2. Offer opportunities for student involvement
3. Assist with professional development of range professionals
4. Provide support for membership recruitment
5. Other
Application will be a simple description of what intended action is and anticipated results. Sheila Barry will serve as the repository of these requests. She will circulate them to the directors prior to meetings/conference calls for action. Grant request limited at $500 per request, not to exceed $2000 total section expenditure for annually for this program. The application form can be downloaded here.
Win a Fall meeting Registration and Banquet!
Calling on all Cal-Pac SRM members (creative or not) to submit for consideration a slogan, title and/or logo for the SRM Annual Meeting to be held in 2015. The slogan, title and/or logo should represent the theme of California’s diversity- diversity of people, places and things. Ideas should be submitted to Morgan (mpdoran@ucanr.edu) by May 31. The creator of the chosen slogan, title and/or logo will receive one complimentary registration and banquet meal for our Fall 2012 meeting.
Do whatever you need to do to get your creativity juices going. You have five weeks!
Measures of Biodiversity Offer Information for Assessing Rangeland Health
Rangeland Ecology & Management - Rangeland managers need reliable data to determine the best course of action to preserve or restore ecosystems. Currently, biodiversity is not one of the parameters included in the evaluation of rangeland health. Two indicators of biodiversity, plant species richness and diversity, could prove useful and appropriate in evaluating the state of our grasslands.
An article in the journal Rangeland Ecology & Management discusses accepted measures for diagnosing rangeland health. The authors synthesize responses of plant species richness and diversity to drivers that guide management decisions in Great Plains grasslands, one of most threatened ecosystems in North America.
Now Available:Full text of the article, Incorporating Biodiversity Into Rangeland Health: Plant Species Richness and Diversity in Great Plains Grasslands, Rangeland Ecology & Management, Vol. 64, No. 6, November 2011
Rangelands In The News
NDSU Releases Range Monitoring Video Drovers Cattle Network, 11/16/2011
Student, Ranchers Protect Prairie Songbirds The StarPhoenix, 11/21/2011
Measures of Biodiversity Offer Information for Assessing Rangeland Health NewsWise, 11/22/2011
Ranchers, Law Team Up To Foil Livestock Rustlers Drovers Cattle Network, 11/20/2011
Forage, Grasslands Key To A Competitve Livestock Industry and Healthy Environment CCA, 11/21/2011
Rangelands In The News
Teaming Up To Create A Successful Forage Grass USDA, 11/1/2011
Ken Fugham elected to SRM Board of Directors
Dr. Kenneth Fulgham, Professor of Rangeland Resources and Chair, Forestry &Wildland Resources Department, Humboldt State University, was recently elected to the position as Director, BOD, Society for Range Management, beginning February 2012 for a three-year term. The Society for Range Management will hold its 2015 Annual Meeting in Sacramento, CA and be hosted
by the California-Pacific Section-SRM.
SRM: is the professional society dedicated to supporting persons who work with rangelands and have a commitment to their sustainable use. Rangelands comprise almost one-half of all the lands in the world. They are extremely important to society for the goods and services they produce and for the ecological services they provide. SRM is dedicated to the conservation and
sustainable management of rangelands for the benefit of current societies and for future generations. Mission: to promote the professional development and continuing education of members and the public and the stewardship of rangeland resources. Vision: a well-trained and highly motivated group of professionals and rangeland users working with productive, sustainable rangeland ecosystems.
Professor Fulgham also serves as the 2nd Vice-President of The Buckeye, a local working landscape advocacy organization. Additional information on the Society for Range Management can be found at: http://rangelands.org/.
Two New Surveys by the Central Coast Rangeland Coalition-Value of
Monitoring and Priority Topics for Study
The Central Coast Rangeland Coalition (CCRC) recently completed two surveys of its membership. One asked about the values of the 2007-2009 monitoring of rangeland health and sustainability as perceived by the participating rangeland managers. The other survey asked for priorities for topics to examine for the next CCRC Rancher, Manager, and Scientist Forum on Rangeland Conservation. You can download the reports from these surveys at: http://www.elkhornsloughctp.org/training/show_train_detail.php?TRAIN_ID=CeLWBNJ .
Rangeland Coalition Advocacy
The Rangeland Coalition Legislative Committee currently has three sign-on letters of support in circulation.
Estate Tax – Federal legislation for targeted Estate Tax reform has been introduced by Congressman Thompson (D-CA) and Senator Feinstein (D-CA), excluding farm assets from estate taxes for as long as the property remains as a family agricultural operation.
AB 715 – This legislation before the California legislature provides a one-time $36 million general fund allocation for Williamson Act.
SB 1303 - This legislation before the California Legislature extends the sunset for Section 2087 of the California Fish and Game Code (incidental take) and to provide education on the provisions of this code.
If you have questions about the legislation listed above or your organization would like to sign on to the letters of support please contact Tracy Schohr at (916) 444-0845 or tschohr@calcattlemen.org. The final letters will be shared in the next e-update.
Rancher Improving Public Lands Featured
The recent edition of the California Cattleman Magazine features an article titled; Taking Grazing to the Next Level. The article highlights the stewardship of one rancher who grazes cattle on East Bay Regional Park ground in Sunol, Calif. The article discusses rangeland enhancements undertaken by the rancher, Russ Fields, and the managed grazing program implemented on the park ground. To view the article click here.
Ecosystem Services Survey
Ranchers are encouraged to complete the online version of the Ecosystem Services Survey atwww.surveymonkey.com/s/SZL757Z. Last month nearly 300 randomly-selected California Cattlemen Association members, California Rangeland Trust associates and California Wool Growers Association members were mailed a version of the survey. The online version of the survey provides an opportunity for additional producers to provide input.
The goal of the survey is to understand ranchers’ level of interest and the potential for developing payments for the ecosystem services (i.e. environmental benefits such as carbon sequestration, water quality improvements, wildlife habitat, etc.) that ranching provides. Emerging markets offer the potential to provide a financial return to ranchers for good environmental stewardship by creating new economic incentives for practices that improve the quality of water, soil, air and wildlife habitat on working landscapes.
If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Tracy Schohr at (916) 444-0845 ortschohr@calcattlemen.org
If you have questions about the legislation listed above or your organization would like to sign on to the letters of support please contact Tracy Schohr at (916) 444-0845 or tschohr@calcattlemen.org. The final letters will be shared in the next e-update.
New Partner
The California Rangeland Conservation Coalition is proud to welcome the California Climate and Agriculture Network as the most recent signatory to the California Rangeland Resolution and partner of the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition. For a complete list of partners please click here.
'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' Blog Launched
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack launched a new blog on the 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' website to highlight local and regional food systems and the multitude of connections being made between farmers and consumers. The new online resource advances a national conversation about food and agriculture and highlights the importance of local and regional food systems – one of the fastest growing segments of agriculture – to American agriculture, the economy, and rural communities. The 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' Ideas and Stories webpage will provide real-world examples of the outpouring of dedication, entrepreneurship and support for agriculture that are taking place every day across the country. For more information click here.
Bay Watershed Education Training (BWET) Workshop
http://www.spranch.org/workshops.ldml
This workshop/course is intended to help participants to improve water quality and overall watershed health in California's central coast region. Participants will gain familiarity with MMPs ("management measures and practices") that can reduce erosion and sediment transport, microbial contamination, agricultural run-off, non-point source pollution and other potential impacts often associated with agriculture and forestry practices.
Contact Brian Dietterick for more details (bdietter@calpoly.edu; 805.756.6155)
