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Western National Rangeland Career Development Event

Orderville, UT | Nov. 9-10, 2015

Congratulations to all the 2015 Western National Rangeland CDE participants! We had a great turnout this year with 15 chapters from across Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. Learning from the pros during the Skills Building Session on Monday afternoon gave teams a chance to sharpen their field skills in prepara-tion for contest day. Monday evening events included the stocking rate prob-lem, an outstanding homemade dinner, and the Rangeland Career Expo held at The Kane County North Events Center in Orderville. A special thanks to the agency volunteers who made both the Skills Building Session and the Career Expo such a huge success! A hearty thank-you to Long Valley FFA advisor, Jeff Cox, Kanab FFA advisor, Danny Lit-tle, and their FFA chapters for preparing and hosting Monday’s evening meal and Tuesday’s luncheon. The morning of the event started out with cold rain, but we were able to make it through the event with only a short sprinkle that lasted for a few minutes. A special thank you to the local Farm Bureau for providing breakfast the morning of the event! We had four field rotations set up out in the hills west of Orderville on private ground. We rounded out the morning events back at the Kane County North Events Center where students participated in the Rangeland Quiz Bowl. Awards were presented during the luncheon. Our sincere thanks to all the volunteers and sponsors who helped make the 2015 event a tremendous success! Without your time and help, none of this would be possible. —The Event Organizers: Lovina Englund, Allison Davenport, and Eric Thacker.

Top High Individual Alex Freeman, Bliss FFA

2nd High Individual Liberty Johnson

Wells FFA

4th High Individual Jeremiah Peterson West Jefferson FFA

5th High Individual Daniel Lauritzen Hagerman FFA

3rd High Individual Zachary Burgess

Rigby FFA

2015 Highlights

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First Place Team—West Jefferson FFA, Idaho Team Members: Shay Gneiting, Ridge Pancheri, Torrie Pancheri, Jeremiah Peterson

Advisor: Don Bird

Congratulations to all other 2015 chapter teams!

Carbon FFA, Utah Gooding FFA, Idaho

Hagerman FFA, Idaho Lincoln County FFA, Nevada

Mt Nebo FFA, Utah Sierra Nevada FFA, Nevada

Sky View FFA, Utah South Sevier FFA, Utah

South Summit FFA, Utah Wasatch FFA, Utah Wells FFA, Nevada

Wind River FFA, Wyoming

Second Place Team—Rigby FFA, Idaho Team Members: Zachary Burgess, Dalton Johnson, Abby Johnston, and James Moon Advisor: Holly Fullmer

Third Place Team—Bliss FFA, Idaho Team Members: Oscar Altamirano, Casey Fravel, Alex Freeman, Danny Howard, and Jordan Tremelling Advisor: Sarah Helmick

Thank-you to our volunteers! Eric Thacker (Utah State University); Lovina Englund and Allison Davenport (University of Idaho); Randall Violett (Southern Utah University); Southern Utah Univer-

sity students; Jeff Barnes and Clare Poulsen (Natural Resources Conservation Service); Dan Fletcher, John Reese, and Carson Gubler (Bureau of Land Management); Tom Tippet (Utah

Department of Agriculture and Food); Nicole Hopkins (Utah FFA Association)

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Major Sponsor

Utah Department of Agriculture and Food

Awards Sponsor

Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission

Breakfast Sponsor

Local Farm Bureau Agency

Thank You Sponsors!

About this Event

The Western National Rangeland CDE is a premier range judging event that is uniquely designed to be relevant to issues faced by land managers on western rangelands. Rangeland landscapes dominate Western North America and yet most people who live near, or even on rangelands know little about the resources they provide or the principles of their management. This hands-on event has a contemporary field component with five categories: 1) plant identification and ecological site description, 2) rangeland management, 3) habitat evaluation for domestic grazers, 4) habitat evaluation for wildlife, and 5) stocking rate and management recommendations. Students also participate in a rangeland career and college activity session involving direct interaction with professionals from several natural resource management agencies and organizations. The goal of this event is to raise awareness about rangelands and introduce career opportunities to high school students. Connecting youth with rangeland professionals is a solid pathway to attracting students to career opportunities on the range and one approach to increasing the number of rangeland professionals ready to enter the workforce. Participants can also apply the knowledge they have gained to the areas in which they live, work, and recreate.

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More Info: Lovina Englund University of Idaho Rangeland Center lovina@uidaho.edu | 208-885-6536 Find the WESTERN NATIONAL RANGELAND CDE on Facebook

Career and College Activity Session Volunteers

Eric Thacker

Utah State University

Lovina Englund University of Idaho

Randall Violett

Southern Utah University

Jeff Barnes NRCS

Dan Fletcher, John Reese,

and Carson Gubler BLM

Tom Tippet

Utah Dept. of Agriculture and Food

Nicole Hopkins Utah FFA Association

Western National Rangeland Career Development Event

This year, the Rangeland Career Expo was tremendously successful. The Session was attended by 9 volunteers from academic institutions, career agencies, and the Utah FFA Association. This event is designed to help students understand the importance of going on to higher education and opportunities available to them in a rangeland resource career. Students were split into teams with other students not from their chapter and rotated between a Speed Talk Presentation with academic institution and career agency representatives, a one-on-one booth session with the representatives, a plant identification practice station, and a “Ice Breaker” activity with Utah State FFA President, Nicole Hopkins. The room was buzzing with over sixty participants with each

team preparing for the next day’s Rangeland Quiz Bowl, which would have questions related to the things they learned that night. The Quiz Bowl was held the next day, after the CDE. Participants got back with their groups from the previous night and answered rangeland trivia questions. First place group received a candy bar prize! A special thanks to all the representatives listed below. These events are a fun, educational, and memorable way to educate these youth who will be the future managers of western rangelands.

Rangeland Career Expo & Quiz Bowl

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