Michelle Buzalsky – President-Elect
I grew up on cattle ranches in South-central Colorado and Northeastern Oregon. I took my love of the outdoors and the land as the basis for my education. I attended Northeastern Junior College in Sterling Colorado before moving on to Colorado State University where I earned a B.S. in Range Ecology with a minor in Wildlife Biology. All thru college I worked as a range student trainee with the NRCS then as a Range Tech seasonal for the Forest Service on the Rio Grande National Forest.
I currently work on the Shoshone National Forest where I have been for the past 11 years as a Range Technician. My biggest achievement so far is building and maintaining a monitoring program on the Wind River and Washakie Ranger Districts and having a high percentage of permittee participation in the process. I am also on the Wyoming Riparian Services team where I help teach the riparian vegetation portion of PFC classes. I am the current chairman of the Red Canyon CRM and have been on the CRM since 2001. I also participate in the Dubois-Crowheart Weed Management Area and helped to form and am the current chairman of the Popo Agie Weed Management Area. In relation to the Wyoming Section of SRM I have been on the Range School teaching cadre since its beginning in 2003. My main contribution is teaching the Rangeland Monitoring sections of the schools but have filled in and taught the Riparian and watershed portion as well.
I was a Student member of the SRM from 89-93 and have been a regular member since. I enjoy the student activities and prepping the younger generation for careers in range management. I also value the opportunities to know, associate with, mentor, or be mentored by fellow range professionals from around the state of Wyoming.
My time away from work is also spent being in the great outdoors. I do this thru my hobbies of Horseback riding, Snowmobiling, photography, hunting, fishing, and camping.
Summer Schulz – Past President
Currently, I work with the Wyoming Land Trust and private landowners to conserve Wyoming’s natural and agricultural resources. As the Associate Director of Conservation, my goal is to ensure proper management of the important conservation values conserved under each easement.
Prior to non-profit work, my career has included work as Rangeland Management Specialist with the Pinedale, WY, and Monticello, UT, Bureau of Land Management offices; Program Analyst and Integrated Pest Management Specialist for the National Park Service; and as a seasonal for the US Forest Service, Ag Research Service – Ft. Keogh, Montana State Legislature, and University of Wyoming.
I earned a B.S. in Rangeland Resources from Montana State University (1998), an M.S. in Agronomy-Weed Science from the University of Wyoming (2002), and gained a wide array of experience while working on cattle and horse ranches from New Mexico to Montana.
An active SRM member since 1999, I truly consider SRM a high priority both at the local and national level, and currently serve as the in-coming Chair of the SRM Advisory Council. I have served as the NW Council Rep for WY SRM, an officer for the Young Professionals Conclave at both the local and national levels, and continue to participate on various other committees.
I enjoy cooking, reading, horses, fly-fishing, taking pictures and writing. I am a steak-snob, a world-traveler, and delight in torturing great minds into sharing life experiences.
Mary Schrader – NE Council Representative
Currently I am a Resource Conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) on the Programs Staff at the Casper State Office. My first experience with NRCS was as a WAE (temporary employee) in the Trenton NE Field Office in 1985. In 1988, I started working full-time with NRCS as a Range Conservationist in the Imperial NE Field Office and worked in several NE offices as a Rangeland Management Specialist and Resource Conservationist prior to moving to Wyoming. In 2007, I moved to Wyoming as the District Conservationist in the Casper Field Office.
In 1981, I earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a major in Natural Resources and an option in Rangeland Management. I joined the Society for Rangeland Management as a member of the Nebraska Section in 1988. I served on the Information and Education Committee, Membership Committee and as Newsletter Editor (4 years) for the Nebraska Section. I have attended many International SRM meetings serving on the Information and Education Committee, Publications Committee and participating in the Tapping The Top mixer. I presented Poster Papers at the International Meetings in Rapid City, SD and Kansas City MO.
I grew up in a small agricultural community in southwest Nebraska. I spent many hours with my grandmother checking cattle and annual crop fields. I became interested in a career in conservation through her influence. My husband and I were involved in a family farming operation for many years in Nebraska raising dryland wheat, corn, milo and sunflowers.
My husband and I have one son, Eric who lives in Aurora CO. My hobbies include vegetable and flower gardening, reading, counted cross-stitch and photography.
Ray Guillion – NW Council Rep
I am currently the Rangeland Management Specialist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in the Big Horn Basin of Northwestern Wyoming. I have been a member of the Society for Range Management since 1987. I became an SRM member when I joined the Range Club while attending the University of Wyoming.
I was the Outstanding Range Club Member in 1988. I was the Southeast Councilman for SRM from 1993 to 1998. I took over the position for another member in the middle of his term and was elected to two more terms. I have been actively involved in WyRED since 1991 coaching Range Teams in Cheyenne, Worland and TenSleep, Wyoming. I was also the Chairman of the High School Youth Forum competition for several years. I believe our youth is very important to our organization. I also believe our technology transfer and education should start at an early age.
Rachel McGee – SE Council Rep 
I began my range career in 2001 with the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Service doing vegetation monitoring for the Forest Service and the BLM. This experience with the Extension Service led me to seek out a master’s degree.
In 2006 I graduated with my Master of Science in Range Management from the University of Arizona. In 2007 I began to work for the State Land Department in Arizona where I managed over 1 million acres of rangeland in south and central Arizona. I participated in a large scale watershed restoration project, along with numerous Coordinated Resource Management Plans. I cooperated with the NRCS on numerous occasions for both project work and vegetation monitoring. In 2009 I began working for the Forest Service in Douglas Wyoming. I manage one of three grazing associations on the Thunder Basin National Grassland along with permit administration on mountain allotments. I have actively participated in the development of a Candidate Conservation Agreement for Sage Grouse along with the Grouse Management Strategy for the Douglas Ranger District. I am currently working on the development of over 90 allotment management plans. I have been an active participant in SRM throughout the years. I was a member of the Range Club at the University of Arizona, and a regular member in the Arizona Section upon graduation. I have been very active since moving to Wyoming, serving on the Information and Education Committee and I am the current President of the Young Professionals Conclave.
Justin McConkey – SW Council Rep
Education: Bachelor of Science Degree in Rangeland Management with Emphasis in Wildlife Management, Dec. 1999 from Chadron State College, Chadron, Nebraska. Coursework also included a year of study from the University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming.
Professional Experience: Rangeland Management Specialist, U.S. Forest Service, Hell Canyon Ranger District, Black Hills National Forest, Newcastle, Wyoming, 2011-Present: Evanston/Mountain View Ranger District, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Wyoming, 2008-2011: Paonia Ranger District, GMUG National Forest, Paonia, Colorado, 2000 – 2007: Wildlife and Range Technician, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Sandhills, Nebraska, 1999 – 2000: Range Science Research Technician, University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center, Scottsbluff, Nebraska, 1995 – 1998: Soil Technician/Water Technician, University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center, Scottsbluff, Nebraska, 1993 – 1994: Worked for a number of ranchers in Nebraska and Wyoming while attending classes in high school and college, as well as helped out with family’s farm/ranch operation in Nebraska.
Related Activities: Member of the Society for Range Management, 2000 – present: Member of the Society for Range Management, Wyoming Section, 2009 – present: Member of the Society for Range Management, Colorado Section, 2000 – 2007: Member of the Board of Directors, Colorado Section SRM, 2005 – 2006: Presenter for SRM & local schools and organizations, 2002 – 2004: President of Scottsbluff County’s 4-H Junior Leaders, 1992 – 1993.
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