Ranching and a West That Works, Free Seminar April 24-25 at CSU

A free two-day conference focused on issues of ranching, land use, and sustainability will be held at Colorado State University’s Lory Student Theater on April 24- 25.

The Ranching and a West That Works conference is designed for a diverse audience – from students to families to business owners – who are encouraged to attend and learn from speakers who will explore ranching’s connections to water, food, sustainable grazing, public-private partnerships, livelihoods, rural economies and much more.

Ranching can build bridges between rural and urban communities through the twin connections of open space and food. Across the American West, ranching accounts for a majority of land use, both on private and on public lands. In fact, close to half of the private lands that surround our public lands belong to ranchers that graze livestock on public lands. There is a tight coupling of this land use that protects open space but also produces an important food item. This event will explore these connections and start important dialogue about new ideas for the future of ranching.

To RSVP for the conference contact Kellie.Clark@colostate.edu. For more information, visit www.coopext.colostate.edu/WR/ranchingcsu.shtml.

AGENDA

Thursday – April 24
9 a.m. Opening Remarks – Robbie LeValley
9:30 a.m. Ranching in a Time of Less Water – Pat O’Toole
10:30 a.m. Sustainable Grazing… Adaptively! – Grady Grissom
11:30 a.m. Wetlands, Windmills and Wapiti: The Wider Spectrum of Ranching Values – Andrew Seidl & Tex Taylor
12:30 p.m. Lunch – On your own
2 p.m. The New Ranch – Dennis Moroney
3 p.m. Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition – Johnny Sundstrom
4.p.m. Rewatering the West: One Ranch at a Time – Wendell Gilgert
5:30 p.m. Social: Welcome – Lou Swanson & CJ Mucklow
University Club and Cherokee Park Room, Lory Student Center (sponsored by Homestead Meats)

Friday – April 25
9 a.m. Opening Remarks – Craig Beyrouty (Dean College of Agricultural Sciences, CSU) & Terry Fankhauser (Executive Vice President, Colorado Cattlemen’s Association)
9:30 a.m. The Blackfoot Challenge: A Rancher-Led Collaborative – Sara Schmidt & Denny Iverson
10:30 a.m. For the Good of Land and People: Keeping Working Lands in Working Hands – Richard Knight
11:30 a.m. Comments and Questions from Audience

Earn 9 CEU credits from the Society for Range Management (6.5 credits first day, 2.5 credits second day)

Sponsors of the conference include: Sustainable Agriculture Research Education Program (USDA); Colorado State University Extension; CSU College of Agricultural Sciences; Center for Collaborative Conservation (CSU’s Warner College of Natural Resources); Department of Forest & Rangeland Stewardship (CSU’s Warner College of Natural Resources); World Wildlife Fund, Homestead Meats (Delta, Colo.); Colorado Cattlemen’s Association; Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust; and Mirr Ranch Group.
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