60th Annual Society for Range Mangement
Reno, Nevada
February 10-16, 2007
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Katie Santini and Kody Menghini with |
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The Society for Range Management held its 60th Annual Meeting and Trade Show titled: Managed
Rangelands: Traditions & Transitions, in Reno, Nevada from February 10-16, 2007. The USU Range club
attended this meeting (the largest group in a very long time, maybe ever), officially represented by
fifteen club members, each of which competed in at least 2 events. In addition to the competitions,
USU students participated in the many symposiums, workshops, posters sessions and job forums.
Overall the meeting was a great opportunity for USU students to develop into professionals in their
field.
2007 Competitions:
Undergraduate Range Management Exam (URME)– 8 USU students participated
(over 150 total) USU placed 8th
Trisha Finlayson
Mark Ewell
Trent Staheli
Mark Hendrix
Gilbert Jackson
Jamin Johanson 33rd
Sarah Redd 12th
John Reese
Plant Identification USU placed 7th
Mark Ewell
Jamin Johanson Sarah Redd John Reese
Combined Total – Plant and URME contests total –
Sarah Redd 4th
Public Speaking – individual extemporaneous speaking on range science topics
Jenny Christiansen 12th
Shaylan Franc
John Reese 5th
James Stuart 8th
Jade Sumsion
Rangeland Cup USU had two teams and took first place.
1st place Team
Kody Menghini
Katie Santini
Mentor – Dr. John Malechek
Jenny Christiansen
Shaylan Franc
Jade Sumsion
Makeda Trujillo
Mentor – Dr. Chris Call
Range Club Display - compete against other school clubs to represent the theme of the meeting
Katie Santini
Trisha Finlayson
Jamin Johanson
Jade Sumsion
Trent Staheli
Undergraduate Paper Session - students selected topics professionally presented
Kody Menghini – Desert Tortoise Survey in the Southern Nevada Complex
Katie Santini – Wildfire Management Areas: an Old Strategy with New Rules.
James Stuart – Stockmanship: A Tool for Healthy Rangelands.
Advisors and Coaches: Ben Baldwin, Dr. Fee Busby, Dr. Chris Call, Dr. Leila Shultz
Rangeland Cup College Competition Debuts in Reno
The Rangeland Cup team problem solving competition is a new activity to promote critical
thinking and collaborative work on topics of historical to rangeland ecology and
management. As we progress in our careers, much of our work is performed as part of a
group. This competition is intended to build skills in interpersonal communication and
group-problem solving. All colleges and universities are invited to submit teams for this
year’s competition. Each year’s competition will be centered on an issue or problem of
interest to rangeland management. New topics will be assigned each year. The competition
may address real case studies submitted by agencies or individuals searching for alternative
management possibilities. Teams will design an approach (accounting for ecological,
economic, social, and political aspects) to solve or manage the issue. Issues and topics may
include, but are not limited to: rangeland ecology, hydrology, rangeland wildlife, socio-
political, endangered species, grazing management, inventory and analysis, human
dimensions of range management, and rangeland hydrology. Creative and innovative
approaches are highly encouraged, but approaches must be realistic and achievable.
Format: Each team will present their approach/solution in poster format during a poster
session at the SRM meeting. The poster session will be open to meeting attendees and judges
will be circulating during the session. Posters will be limited to 36 by 48 inches, preferably
landscape orientation. Scores: Scores will be based on the Judging and Scoring criteria as
agreed upon by competition officials. Criteria will be distributed to the teams prior to the
competition. Final scores will be calculated by eliminating the highest and lowest scores for
each team and adding the remaining three scores. In the event of a tie, rankings of tied teams
will be decided by judges’ consensus.
Prize: The coveted traveling trophy. There will be a traveling trophy that will be housed at
the winning institution until the following year’s competition. Each year, the date and name
of winning institution will be inscribed onto the trophy.
2007 Topic: In the August 2006 Rangeland News, SRM director Joel Brown reemphasized
the reality that the Society for Range Management is in a state of change and posited: “What
is that change going to be? No one can say for sure.” Although no one can say for sure,
methods exist to evaluate potential changes in dynamic systems. State and transition models
provide a framework to evaluate vegetation dynamics by recognizing multiple stable states
and pathways by which a given vegetation type may arrive at individual states. Recognition
of thresholds and drivers of ecological change allow rangeland ecologists and managers to
predict possible outcomes of management decisions. Apply the state and transition
theoretical framework to describe the SRM’s current and potential future “identities” as an
organization. Include stable states and transitions between those states, identify forces that
drive the SRM over particular thresholds into each state, and describe feedback mechanisms
that are needed to maintain each state or to revert the SRM to an alternative state.