President’s Message
Volume 3, Fall 2008
By Misty Hays
I am sure you have all had a busy summer and are now feeling the cool air and realizing that winter is just around the
corner.
A couple of weeks ago I attended the Climate Change on Western Rangelands Workshop in Cheyenne, WY that was
sponsored by the Agricultural Research Service and Co-sponsored by the Society for Range Management and The
Wyoming Section. There was a great turnout, with almost 200 in attendance. The day was spent with a series of presentations and panel discussions and then a field review of research happening on the High Plains Grasslands Research
Station. I was impressed by the open discussion of the group, the great participation and very great presentations. I
was very proud that SRM and the Wyoming Section was a part of it. Regardless of your view of Climate Change, it is
clear to me that the next decade will provide many challenges in rangeland management. I was also very pleased to see
many of you in attendance. Thanks to all of you that volunteered to help with registration, lights, audio visuals and the
like.
I am excited to see many of you at our Annual Meeting coming up in Cheyenne, November 18-20, 2008. Be sure to
look for registration information and get your reservations made.
Things have been going well with the other Section Activities. We were not able to schedule the ranch tour this summer but hopefully we can do that next year. WyRED was held near Kaycee this year and had a good turnout, although I
understand the weather was a little damp. Also, this year the Wyoming Section will host the Old West Regional Range
Judging Contest near Cheyenne October 12-13, 2008.
I attended the SRM Board of Directors meeting as the Advisory Council chair-elect in June. As you know Ken Johnson has been hired as the new Executive Vice President of the Society. The Advisory Council Annual Meeting committee will be meeting in the next couple of weeks to review proposals for the 2012 meeting.
See ya soon.
Contents
Wyoming Section Officers
President - Misty Hayes
President Elect - Charles Fifield
Past President - Monte Bush
Secretary/Tres - Robert Sprentall
Council Representatives
Annual Meeting Registration Form
Annual Meeting Agenda
Biographies for Election Candidates
Election Ballot
Council Meeting Conference Call
Treasurer’s Report for
Second and Third Quarters
WSA Banquet
SRM Annual Meeting in
Albequerque, New Mexico
Committee Chairs
Sponsorships
Northeast - Andrea Meyer
Southeast - Ginger Paige
Northwest - Summer Schultz
Southwest - Marji Patz
Newsletter Editor
Donna Dinwiddie
donna@windriverseed.com
Consultants
Kay Medders
Comments to Editor
can be sent to
donna@windriverseed.com
or call
307-568-3361
Janelle Gonzales
Bios for President Elect
Michelle Anne Buzalsky
Michelle is a Range Technician with the US Forest Service on
the Shoshone National Forest working on the Washakie and
Wind River Ranger Districts. She attended Colorado State
University and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Range
Ecology with a minor in Wildlife Biology. During college
Michelle worked as a student trainee for the Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) in Durango, Monte Vista, and
Ft. Collins, Colorado and afterwards in Las Animas, Co as a
Range Management Specialist. In 1995, Michelle then started
working for the US Forest Service on the Rio Grande National
Forest in La Jara, CO as a Range Tech where her job focused
on range improvements and range monitoring. Here she developed good working relationships with co-workers and permittees to improve the management of rangelands on the district.
She then transferred to the Supervisors office in Monte Vista
and worked on a three year project sponsored by the US Forest Service, the Colorado Department of Fish and Game and
the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation looking at the conflicts
of cattle and elk grazing on forest range lands and developing
solutions for both managers and producers/permittees. In the
fall of 2000 Michelle accepted the Range Tech position on the
Shoshone and has worked diligently on the range monitoring
program for the South Zone of the forest. Michelle also chairs
the Red Canyon Ranch CRM which works to manage private,
state, and public lands grazing for several permits. She has also
become involved with the Dubois-Crowheart Weed Management area board and helped to form and serve on the Popo
Agie Weed Management Area board in Lander. Since 2003 Michelle has been integrally involved with the Wyoming Rangeland Management School presented by the Wyoming Section
SRM. She teaches the monitoring portions of the schools and
is the media tech for the group. She is also involved with the
Wyoming Riparian Service team and helps to present Proper
Functioning Condition workshops around the state.
Marji J. Patz
I am currently in my 8th year with the Wyoming and
Nebraska NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) as a Rangeland Management Specialist, serving
for two years as a District Conservationist. I receive a
BA in Range Management w/ Range Livestock emphasis
from Chadron State College in 2000. While at Chadron
I received the outstanding Range Student Honor and a
National Senior Agronomy Honor, and was active in the
Nebraska Section Society for Range Management. In
May of 2002 I received an MS in Rangeland Ecology and
Watershed Management emphasis in Water Resources
from the University of Wyoming, completing a thesis in
Coalbed Methane Product Water Chemistry. While at
the University I served as the Graduate Student delegate
of the Wyoming Student Chapter of the Society of Range
Management. I worked as an Earth team volunteer with
the Chadron NRCS Field office, and completed two summers of the Student Career experience Program with the
NRCS working in Valentine, NE and Buffalo WY. I have
served as a short term Missionary and worked as an Agricultural Engineer in Cameroon, Africa on two separate
occasions (3 -4 week stents). I currently serve as the Carbon County Horse superintendant and am both a project
and club leader for 4-H. I am the Webelos/Den Leader for
Cub scouts and am the Day Camp Director for the Platter
River District. I am currently the co-Chair for WYRED
and Old West Regional Range Judging Contests.
Other information:
I am single, 30 yrs. old., enjoy outdoor recreation (hunting,
fishing, trap), photography, quilting, and scrapbooking.
Michelle attributes much of her success and passion for our
natural resources from growing up on ranches in Southern
Colorado and Northeastern Oregon and having a family that
spent a lot of time in the great outdoors fishing, hunting, camping, horseback riding, etc. as a youngster. Today her passions
are much the same including raising and riding horses, snowmobiling, fishing/hunting, and outdoor photography.
Wyoming and the Rocky Mountains are a unique and special
place. We have a natural resource that is both renewable and
available for a multitude of uses. Today there are many challenges to managing such a vast resource and the Wyoming
Section and National Society can work to ensure that the future
of our natural resources is bright and fruitful. Our successes
then fringe on the importance of education, the promotion of
good land management practices, and meeting the challenges
of today’s society.
Bios for Northeast Council Representative
Lisa A. Lam
I am a Range Technician for the USDA Forest Service. I have worked
on the Hell Canyon Ranger District for the Black Hills National Forest since 1989 with District offices located in Newcastle, Wyoming
and Custer, South Dakota.
In the fall of 1983, I attended Central Wyoming College in Riverton,
Wyoming where I earned an Associate of Science Degree and a one
year diploma in Agriculture in the spring of 1985. I then went to the
University of Wyoming and studied Animal Science. In the summer of 1989, I went to work for the Elk Mountain Ranger District
as seasonal Range Technician spraying noxious weeds, maintaining and building range and wildlife structures and was involved in
wildland firefighting. When spray season was over I volunteered for
the District making allotment maps, helped in the front office and did
general administrative duties. In 1992 I became a permanent employee on the District as the Information Receptionist and maintained my
fire and weed spraying qualifications. In 1993 I applied for the Range
Technician position on the District and ran the seasonal weed crew
and contract crew until 2004 when I had the opportunity to administer range allotments.
I was dedicated to a large noxious weed program which grew in
1995 to maintaining around 520,000 acres of National Forest System Lands after the Custer and Elk Mountain Districts combined.
I worked with four county weed and pest districts in South Dakota
and one in Wyoming. I also had cooperative agreements with two of
the counties and a Memorandum of Understanding with Jewel Cave
National Park. I was involved with two Weed Management Areas
that involved private, Forest, State and Park Service lands. In 2004
I had a chance to expand my knowledge and skills in the permit
administration world. Instead of looking at the ground for noxious
weeds, my eyes are now focusing on grasses and forbs. I love being
on the ground working with permittees and looking at various ways
to enhance the vegetation with grazing and the movement of water.
At one point in my life, I spent my spare time outside getting my
horses in shape. I enjoyed breakaway roping and running barrels at
the Wyoming Rodeo Association (WRA) and Northeastern Rodeo Cowboys Association (NRCA) Rodeos. I also helped younger
kids with their horses and skills in running barrels, poles and tying
goats. I have now slowed down in that area and enjoy working with
colts and herding barn cats with my horses and two dogs. I’m still
involved in wildland firefighting as a dozer boss and joined up with
the Newcastle Volunteer Fire Department to enhance my skills and
knowledge in structural fire fighting. I like to go camping and fishing
when and if time permits.
Brett Burgess
Brett is a Rangeland Management Specialist with the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Casper, WY. Brett
attended Oregon State University in Bend and Corvallis,
OR and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Rangeland Resources in 2007. Brett gained a wide array of
experience while working seasonally with Oregon Division of State Lands (DSL), Natural Resource Conservation
Service (NRCS), and the Bureau of Land Management.
As a student Brett worked with Invasive species using an
integrated pest management approach and with the Wild
Horse program. While working as a student he gained a
strong commitment for cooperative management.
Brett loves Wyoming and all it has to offer. With all the
pressures being placed on Wyoming rangeland resources
Brett believes SRM is a vital tool in bringing all interested
publics together to provide education and guidance about
those challenging issues facing our natural resources.
Brett strongly believes in educating our youth about natural resource issues, and introducing them to opportunities
to become involved. As a father of three boys he is always
looking for an opportunity to drag them out into the sagebrush and hopefully expose them to something new and
stimulating.
Brett looks forward to working with the Wyoming Section
in any capacity that he can. He is currently on the I&E
committee, and is actively involved in planning the SRM
annual meeting for the Wyoming Section in Cheyenne
this November. Brett believes that a completed job is an
expression of the person who did it, and looks forward in
being part of a job well done.
Natural and renewable resources have and will continue to be a challenge as our society grows and the beliefs of our society change. I
believe that education of the public and private industry and getting
people to take their blinders off to see the big picture is the biggest
challenge we face today and feel that the Wyoming Section and National Society is the answer to accomplishing this task.
Bios for Southwest Council Representative
Calvin F. Strom
Title: Univ. Extension Educator - Range Management: Carbon/Albany Counties
Year started at UW: 1/17/06
Year started this position: 1/17/06
Professional/personal specialties: Range Management, Irrigated & Dryland Farming.
Education: B.S. University of New Mexico: Secondary Ed.
M.S. Colorado State: Agriculture Integrated Resource Management
Brad Weatherd
Currently employed by US Forest Service as a Rangeland Management Specialist (District Staff) on the Medicine
Bow/Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin National Grassland,
Brush Creek/Hayden Ranger District,
Saratoga, WY 2004-present
I lived in Kemmerer, WY 1979-1988
Bachelors of Science, Range Management, University of Wyoming 1988
Work History:
Range Aid with the Bridger-Teton National Forest 1987-1988 (Kemmerer, WY)
Range Technician on the Routt National Forest (Yampa, CO) 1989
Range Technician on the Toiyabe National Forest 1990 (CA-NV)
Rangeland Management Specialist on the Toiyabe NF 1991-1994 (CA-NV)
Rangeland Management Specialist on the Beaverhead NF 1995-2004 (MT)
Current job duties include: Rangeland/Allotment Management planning, noxious weed management, Grazing Permit administration.
If elected to the Council, it would be an honor and privilege to serve the Wyoming Section SRM
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A big “Thank You” to those who contacted qualified potential candidates and encouraged them to run. The Section needs qualified people and
filling the ballot with those people will not happen without your help.
Wyoming SRM 2009 Ballot
Vote for one person in each category.
President Elect:
Michelle Bulzalsky 􀂆 Marji Patz 􀂆
Northeast Council Representative:
Brett Burgess 􀂆 Lisa Lam􀂆
Southwest Council Representative:
Calvin Strom 􀂆 Brad Weatherd
􀂆
Ballots may be mailed to:
Charles Fifield
4711 South David St
Casper, WY 82601
or deposited at the registration desk
at the Annual Meeting in Cheyenne.
Volunteers are seldom paid; not because
they are worthless, but because they are
PRICELESS!
--author unknown
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Wyoming Section
Society for Range Management
Council Meeting
Conference Call
10/3/08
Those on the conference call were Misty Hays, Bob Sprentall, Summer Shulz, Pete Guernsey, Charlie Fifield, Reeves
White, Patty Slack, Monte Bush, Ben Bonella and Ginger Paige.
Minutes from the March 29 Council meeting/conference call were read. Minutes were approved.
Treasure Report was reviewed. Report was approved.
Excellence in Range Stewardship Award – The nominations for this award were just sent out to the Council. Since
no one had any time to review the nominees it was decided that we will review the nominees, rank them and send our
rankings to Monte Bush. Monte will compile the rankings and determine the results. If the results are close Monte will
let the Council know and request assistance in making a decision. The award plaque needs to be ordered. Bob Sprentall will check to see where the award plaque and sign was ordered in the past and Monte will call Rick Dunn to find
out where they were ordered from.
Annual Meeting – The program is pretty much set but Charlie is still trying to finalize speakers for panel discussions.
Charlie will also work on marketing the annual meeting as since there are travel restrictions and caps in place for
several agencies the turn out may be low. There are also other meetings which is conflicting with the Section Annual
meeting. The horse has been lined up for the auction. Misty will send a letter to the BLM State Office outlining the
importance of this meeting for those who hold offices and their need for attendance. Charlie will also pursue the use of
credit cards for registration going through the National Office.
Officer Nominations – We have a full slate of nominations.
Request from Laramie County Community College – There has been a request from LCCC in Cheyenne for assistance
in setting up a Plant ID Team. Charlie also indicated that Casper College may ask for assistance also. Both schools
may be sending Plant ID Teams to the Section meeting to find out what it is all about.
Committee Reports:
Information and Education – Patty Slack reported that the display did not make it to any events. We need to refocus
and set up a schedule to get the display to events. Charlie will help on getting a schedule and requesting assistance.
WYRED/Youth Activities – Ben Bonella reported that there were 46 individuals registered at WYRED. Old West
Regional Range Judging contest is fast approaching. WYRED will be held in Greybull next year. Ben is working some
fund raising ideas and pursuing a Commissioners License.
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(council meeting continued)
HSYF – Pete Guernsey indicated that all schools have been notified of the Section Annual meeting. Pete also indicated
that he would like to contact the WYRED attendees who would be eligible for HSYF and presentations. Pete is going
to send HSYF information to Misty for distribution and Ben B also indicated the he would send the e-mail and postal
mailing address who attended WYRED. Pete would also like to have someone from the Section who is attending the
National meeting be a host for the HSYF representative. Even though the National HSYF program is pretty structured,
the host would be available to assist where needed to help the HSYF representative in registration, making sure things
are going okay and be a local contact if assistance is needed. A possibility would be a Univ. WY person but there will
also be several Section members who will be attending and could provide assistance when and where needed.
Univ. WY Range Club – Reeves White reported that their fund raising activities are under full swing. There could
be up to 18 individuals going to Albuquerque to represent the Univ. WY Range Club. Reeves asked what is needed to
request funds from the Commissioners License that is in the Sections account. Both Misty and Bob indicated that all is
needed is a statement on what funds will be necessary, what type of funds the Range Club is matching it with and what
will individuals be attending and participating in. Once the National Annual meeting has concluded a report is needed
to again let the Section know what events the Range Club participated in and what was accomplished.
Committee Chair List – Misty will send out the list of Committee Chairs.
Request from Bighorn County Conservation District – There has been a request from the Bighorn County Conservation District to help sponsor Dr. Fred Provenza at a session focused for producers. This request will be forwarded to the
Budget committee to see how much is being requested and if fits within our Budget.
Meeting Adjourned
Bob Sprentall
Secretary/Treasure
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Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.
Frank Lloyd Wright
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16
62nd Annual Meeting
Society for Range Management
February 8-12, 2009
Albuquerque, New Mexico
http://www.srmmeetings.org
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Committees Chairs
Awards and Nominations - D. Terrence Booth and Monte Bush
Budget /Finance - Charles Fifield and Robert Sprentall
Fund Raising - Phil Conzales
Historian/Archivist - Richard Hart
Information/Education - Patty Slack
Meetings - Charles Fifield
Membership - Andrea L Meyer
Producer Affairs - Jeff Tomac
Scholarship - Dan Rodgers
UW Range Club Pete Guernsey, Mae Peterson
WYRED - Ben Bonella, Marji Patz, Kyle Schmitt
Thanks to our
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