SRM Ranger Relay Rules
It’s time to start getting ready for the 2nd annual Ranger Relays! Below are the rules for
the competition as well as a study guide for the competition. We want everyone interested
in range to be able to come and participate! Please contact Bonnie Warnock
bwarnock@sulross.edu if you have any questions.
1. Teams will consist of three students. Each University may bring as many teams as they
would like. There will not be mixed teams, all members must be undergraduates or
graduates. There will be a relay competition for undergraduates and one for graduates.
A University may compete with a short team (1 or 2 individuals) if the team members
complete more than one leg of the relay.
2. The relay will consist of three legs. To complete each leg, a team member will take the
GPS unit and navigate to the coordinates given to them by the judge. Once at the
coordinates the team member will answer three questions that will be on a card at the
location. Once the questions are complete the team member will return to the starting
point, hand off the GPS to the next team member and turn in the answer card to the judge.
3. All teams will encounter the same questions at the task stations, but may not encounter
them in the same order. The graduate tasks will differ from the undergraduate, which
will be divided into freshman/sophomore questions and junior/senior questions.
4. All questions will be multiple choice.
5. All team members must compete in a leg.
6. Teams are encouraged to wear matching club or university shirts.
7. Each team must bring their own GPS unit and may have only one GPS unit. Clipboards
and answer cards will be provided.
8. The points for the relay will be as follows: 10 points for each correct answer (30 points
per location), for a total possible points of 90. Each task answer card will be scored by a
judge as correct or incorrect, no partial points will be given. The time for completion will
also be scored with 30 points for the fastest time, 25 for the second fastest, 20 for third,
15 for fourth, etc. 120 points would be the maximum a team could receive.
9. Tie breaker: Time will be used as a tie breaker. If 2 teams have the same number of total
points, the team that finished the relay in the fastest time will be placed above the other
team.
10. Prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third place.
How to prepare for the relay (A short study and prep guide)
The relay is designed to test basic range management skills. The questions will be tied to the
knowledge level of the participant (Graduate students and undergraduate students will be
answering different questions). Questions will be tied to the location of the meeting.
What to study:
1. General Range Management principles. Range Management: Principles and Practices
by Holecheck, Pieper and Herbel is a great resource for preparing. All students
competing in the contest will need to know these basic principles. Questions that cover
these principles such as the calculation of stocking rate, factors that influence runoff, and
considerations for brush or weed control will be fair game for the contest.
2. General Range Inventory techniques. Students should know how to use the following
techniques: quadrat, point step, and line intercept.
3. Location Information. The SRM meeting will be held in Gillespie county. Students
should go to Web Soil Survey websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov and ESIS
esis.sc.egov.usda.gov. Questions will cover the following soil series: Tarrant, Tarpley,
Oakalla, Eckrant, Brackett, Hensley, and Doss. The ESD should be associated with the
soil and a list of ESD’s to be studied can then be compiled by the team to study. Students
should study the official series description for each of the soils and learn the
characteristics of each ESD, focusing on common plant species (only those that are also
found on the SRM plants list and found in the county) and the state and transition models.
Example questions would include: What ESD occurs on the Tarrant soil, undulating?
What is ‘Go Back Land’?
4. Habitat and Watershed Management Practices. Based on the information found in
number 2 above, students should know the common habitat and watershed management
practices in the county and when they are applied. Example questions would include:
What chemical can be used to control Ashe Juniper? What impact would a prescribed
fire have on a Midgrass/Oak Savanna Community?
5. Grazing Practices and management systems. Based on the information found in number
2 above, students should know the common types of livestock and species of wildlife that
are managed for in the county. In addition, grazing practices, their impact on succession,
and on wildlife competition should be reviewed. Example questions include: How
would multiple species livestock grazing with no rotation impact rangeland succession in
the Tight Sandy Loam ESD.