SPOKANE, Wash. – The Society for Range Management (SRM) will offer its annual Ranchers’ Forum nationally by webinar 8:45 a.m.-4:50 p.m. on Jan. 31, as part of the SRM’s annual meeting in Spokane. The forum will focus on ranch succession, crooked calf syndrome and the sage grouse.
The keynote presentation, “Keeping the Family Ranch in the Family,” will be presented by Ron Hanson of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Hanson is sought by farm groups throughout rural America for his humorous, thought provoking and instructive presentations.
The presentation will also include, “Crooked Calf Syndrome in Washington’s Channeled Scablands and Beyond,” addressed by Clive Gay, recently retired from Washington State University (WSU), eastern Washington rancher Roy Clinesmith, and Kip Panter of United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory in Logan, Utah.
The presentation will conclude with the topic, “Sage Grouse: Could This Bird Be the Rancher’s Spotted Owl?” by Mike Schroeder, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Jessica Ferrell of Seattle’s Marten Law. The Sage Grouse Initiative (SGI) will also be addressed jointly by the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service’s SGI coordinator Tim Griffiths, Bozeman, Mont., and SGI science advisor David Naugle, University of Montana.
Ranchers and others interested in these topics can attend on-site in Spokane or participate by webinar, said forum coordinator Tom Platt of WSU Extension in Davenport, Wash.
Registration is $60 for individuals on-site or via webinar, to be paid by Dec. 18. Late registration will include a 25 percent sub charge. For those wishing to participate in a group setting via webinar, group registration is $400 per location with an unlimited audience size.
Visit http://rangelands.org/spokane2012/program_rancher.shtml to register online or download the mail-in form and flyer.
For more information or for accommodation of special need, contact Tom Platt at 509-725-4171 or plattom@wsu.edu.