photo courtesy of doug tolleson arizona special · pdf filespecial awards bonus issue winter...
TRANSCRIPT
Society for Range Management
Newsletter Date
Inside this issue:
Special Awards 1
Auction Recap 6
MARCH 2016
Arizona
Section
Newsletter
Photo courtesy of Doug Tolleson
SPECIAL AWARDS BONUS ISSUE
Winter Meeting Awards and Auction Recap
By: Kelsey Hawkes
AWARDS
First, we would like to extend a huge thank you to Jamie Wages for the time and effort
she put into the awards committee. Jamie is passing down the reins this year as committee
chair, and myself with the help of Ariana Gloria-Martinez (UA Extension, Kingman) and Jason
Martin (BLM Safford) will be leading the committee. This committee can never have too many
people, so please let us know if you are interested in helping out!
At this year’s winter meeting, we presented three awards, including Outstanding Young
Professional, Professional and Technical Guidance, and Range Manager of the Year. In a
professional society such as ours, it is important to recognize our members and non-members
for their outstanding qualities and contributions to rangeland management and related
professions. I would like to give a big thank you to all who submitted nominations this year,
without which the achievements of our award recipients may have gone unrecognized.
Outstanding Young Professional
Ashley Hall (current AZ SRM Secretary-Treasurer) received the award for Outstanding
Young Professional. The following details about Ashley’s accomplishments were provided in
several nomination forms.
“Ashley Hall has made numerous professional contributions that have had a profound impact on
the field of rangeland ecology and management in Arizona…and is known statewide as the
ultimate plant nerd.” Ashley received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in rangeland
ecology and management from the University of Arizona (UA), and during a portion of that time
served as the President of the UA student chapter and placed highly on the Undergraduate Range
Management Exam (URME) at the annual SRM meeting in Albuquerque, NM.
After relocating to Yuma in 2012, Ashley “quickly became a local range authority”. In her
position with the UA Cooperative Extension (UACE), Ashley developed a vegetation
monitoring program for grazing allotments managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Yuma Field Office (YFO), performed quantitative data analysis, wrote Rangeland Health
Evaluation reports for grazing allotments, assisted in wild horse and burro utilization monitoring
and data organization, and created a field guide with photographs of over 200 plants at different
life stages to provide educational material for the UA and BLM. Since August 2015,
Ashley has held the position of Lead Coordinator for Arizona Invasive Species Strike Team for
the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Yuma, which requires statewide work on National Wildlife
Refuges.
In addition to her normal job duties with UACE, Ashley became an Adjunct Professor at
Arizona Western College and taught a course on native plant identification in Arizona in the
spring of 2015 for which she developed all lectures, lab, and test materials, and safely guided her
class of 10+ students along five mile hikes. Ashley has also given talks at the Arizona Native
Plant Society meetings in Tucson and Yuma and is the coordinating botanist for Plant Atlas
Project of Arizona – Gila Mountain Flora. Ashley was asked to guest lecture for Northern
Arizona University - Yuma for a class that introduces students to rangeland ecology and
management, and she even presented at Yuma’s Home and Garden Show about flora of the
Yuma area. Additionally, her vegetation descriptions and pictures have been used on SEI Net
(for example, Pholisma arenarium Nutt. Ex Hook). Finally, as we all know, Ashley has been
very active in the Society for Range Management, serving as our Secretary-Treasurer since
2013, and has been critical to the long-term success of the Arizona Section. Congratulations
Ashley!!
Professional and Technical Guidance Award This year, the Professional and Technical Guidance Award was proudly presented to Walt and
Francie Meyer, Jenny Cordrey, and Katie Cline. The following details were submitted in the
nomination form: Walt and Francie Meyer have dedicated 35 years to the study of the Sonoran Desert Tortoise
(Gopherus morafkai). In the late 70’s, they began to notice charred tortoise shells left behind by
illegal jojoba nut pickers who used the tortoises for sustenance. The Meyers own and operate the
Flying UW Ranch southwest of Winkelman, AZ where they began their study of the tortoise.
Their philosophy has always been to live in harmony with natural resources while making a
living ranching. Abiding by this philosophy, they “wanted to make a living while promoting the
habitat and stewardship of the Sonoran Desert Tortoise” (Rimrock Report, Vol. 8(3), July 2015).
This endeavor led to a 35 year self-funded research project that produced an unprecedented data
set, several reports, presentations, and ultimately a Best Management Practice (BMP) for
Ranching in Sonoran Desert Tortoise Habitat.
March 2016
Board of Directors
President
Christine Thiel
President–Elect
James Heitholt
Past President
Mary Nichols
Vice President
Iric Burden
Secretary/Treasurer
Ashley Shepherd
Director North
Joelle Acton
Director North
Erin Boyd
Director South
Kelsey Hawkes
Director South
Doug Whitbeck
U of A Student President
Leland Sutter
ASU Student President
Jacquie Evans
Page 2
...continued from page 1
March 2016 Page 3
The Meyer’s owe special thanks to Dr. Phil
Ogden, Dr. Lamar Smith, Dr. George Ruyle, and Doc
Lane for their assistance in collecting and submitting
their data to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for
considering the Sonoran Desert Tortoise from becoming
a listed species. The Meyers’ work demonstrates the
importance learning more about the Desert Tortoise and
demonstrates that agriculture (ranching) can co-exist in a
beneficial and sustainable manner with Mother Nature.
The Meyers have been proactive in their efforts by
sharing this information and knowledge with agencies
and the public. Although, in the end there were many
stakeholders involved, this endeavor would have never
come to fruition if not for the curiosity and dedication of
Walt, Francie, Jenny, and Katie. Congratulations to the
Meyers for this well-deserved award!!
Two publications that highlight the Meyer’s work include:
1. An Eighteen Year Study of Population Dynamics, Diet and Health of the Sonoran Desert Tortoise
(Gopherus agassizzi) in the San Pedro Valley of Southern Arizona, By W. Walter Meyer,Phil R.
Ogden, Katie E. Cline, E. Lamar Smith, George B. Ruyle, Frances K. Meyer and Jenny A. Cordrey.
Jan. 2010 (http://www.sacpaaz.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Final-Tortoise-Report.pdf)
2. Best Management Practices for Ranching in Sonoran Desert Tortoise (Gopherus morafkai) Habitat.
(https://aznrcd.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/sdt-bmp-draft-for-review20140205.pdf)
Range Manager of the Year
Our 2015 Range Manager of Year Award was presented to Litson Ranch, located in northeastern Arizona near
Canyon de Chelly. The following details about the Litson Ranch were given in a presentation at the
winter meeting by Dr. John Brock.
Page 4 Newsletter Title
Page 4 March 2016
The Litson Ranch is largely family operation, run primarily by Bennie and Julia Litson and their four adult children.
The Litson Ranch is both a cow-calf and a feeder calf operation that exists on three major vegetation types:
1) big sagebrush dominated sites north of Canyon de Chelly,
2) a pinyon-juniper site east of Canyon de Chelly, and 3) a landscape of ponderosa pine, aspen, and meadows located north of the Wheatfield’s Chapter House on the
Arizona-New Mexico state line.
These varying vegetation type pastures are utilized in their seasonal rotational grazing strategy. In addition to rangeland
pastures, the Litsons produce alfalfa and other forages at an irrigated farm in the Lower Wheatfields area. The Litson
family follows their range management plan, and they use it to secure grants from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Additionally, the Litsons have applied to the USDA for
rangeland improvement funds.
The Litsons have implemented a variety of rangeland improvement practices, including: 1) cross fencing for better
livestock distribution and forage utilization and to enable rotational grazing schemes; 2) water developments, e.g.
pipelines from a windmill to a storage site and new drinkers for livestock and wildlife; 3) big sagebrush management
using Spike herbicide to thin the brush and stimulate herbaceous forage production; 4) brush and rock dams to reduce
soil erosion from rills and gullies; and 5) revegetation on sites to provide additional rangeland forage species and soil
stability. Over a three year study period from January 2010 to December 2013, the Litsons saw an average canopy
reduction in big sagebrush of 74% due to the Spike herbicide treatments and subsequently saw a significant increase in
herbaceous growth (see photos below).
March 2016 Page 3
Page 6 Newsletter Title
Page 4 March 2016
Auction Recap We would first like to extend a huge thank you to all of the people who donated auction items this year and to
all those who took home an auction item! As you know, the proceeds from the winter meeting auction directly support
both the Natural Resources Conservation Workshop for Arizona Youth (NRCWAY) and the AZ Section itself.
This year our auction was a little more tame compared to previous years, as it was in the form of a silent auction.
However, we had some excellent items up for bid, including sterling silver Navajo earrings, a beautiful saddle and
saddlebag, collector stamps, framed artwork (some of which was homemade), a canvas photo print that required a
“Viewer Discretion Advised” sign (see photo), and of course Pepe the traveling Chihuahua made an appearance. This
year we raised $675 in auction proceeds. Thank you for your support!
Because we are a non-profit organization and we just finished reinstating our tax-exempt status, I want to clarify
a point about tax-deductions for auction donations. If you donated an item to the auction this year, your donation
qualifies as tax-deductible based on its market value. For those people who won an item at the auction, because you
received “goods and/or services” in exchange for your money, you are only eligible to claim a tax-deductible donation
if the amount you paid is greater than the market value, i.e. you may claim the difference between the market value and
the amount you paid for your auction item. Please let myself or Ashley Hall know if you would like more information
about claiming a tax-deductible donation and if you need our Tax ID number.
Viewer Discretion Advised