2011 SRM Fly-In, Washington D.C.

Guest post by Gary Frasier, SRM First Vice President

2011 Fly-In

Washington D.C.

SUMMARY REPORT


2-5 May 2011 

Participants: 

Jack Alexander, SRM President

Gary Frasier, SRM 1^st Vice President 

Wally Butler, SRM 2^nd Vice President

Aleta Rudeen, SRM Director of Outreach and Leadership Development 

Kimberly Haile, SRM Young Professional

Jess Peterson, SRM Executive Vice President

Kelly Fogarty, SRM Washington D.C. Liaison 

The Society for Range Management (SRM) executive committee travels to Washington D.C. each year.  The purpose of this trip is to converse with SRMs partners about current and past projects and to identify their current training needs and how SRM can help them meet those needs and maintain its role as an professional society for its members.

The Spring, 2011 Washington Fly-In consisted of two full days of short meetings with various Federal Agencies, (Bureau of Land Management, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Forest Service, and US Department of Agriculture officials), Sister Societies (The Wildlife Society, American Fisheries Society, Society of American Foresters), and commodity organizations (Public Lands Council, American Sheep Industry).  There was also a Reception by Western Skies Strategies (Jess Peterson) and a 2011 American Lamb BBQ hosted by the American Sheep Industry.

Under the leadership of SRM President Jack Alexander, discussions with each group centered on the Ecological Site Description Workshops facilitated by SRM, Training and Certification opportunities, and Native Range Forums, past and upcoming. 

We were well received by all groups. SRM is perceived as a credible science-based organization.  The discussions were very open with the dialog directed toward how we could all work more closely to achieve the goals of proper management of natural resources, especially during these times of reduced budgets. 

The Fly-In was considered a successful activity of getting to better know the “Washington Scene” and to expose the various groups we met with to SRM’s goals and objectives.

Florida Section Meeting and Orlando Annual Meeting 2014

Last week I attended the Florida Section meeting, met with the Section BOD, and went on a site visit of the Orlando 2014 Annual Meeting hotel.  Beautiful scenery, fun and interesting people, and an awesome site selection for 2014.  Read on for the highlights:

Florida Section Meeting:

The Florida Section of SRM joined forces with the Florida Section of the Wildlife Society to put on an excellent Prescribed Grazing and Wildlife Workshop.  The workshop was hosted at the scenic Disney Wildlife Preserve in Kissimmee, Florida.  Chad George, Florida Section President, started us off with: Grazing 101, followed by Erin Myers: Wildlife Habitats in Central Florida.  Pete Heard shared his extensive knowledge and experience in his presentation: Grazing and Wildlife, explaining how different wildlife species react to management activities and how to manage for wildlife.  After lunch, we went into the field to develop grazing plans on-site and learn more about their design and implementation.

The workshop was informative, applicable, and an outstanding hands-on introduction to grazing plans.  In particular, the entire group of instructors provided excellent demonstrations and examples throughout the workshop.  Pete Deal brought grass samples to show how grazing at varying intensities affects above and below-ground biomass and root structure.  Chad George provided a plethora of easy-to-follow examples to better understand grazing.  My personal favorite began: "...imagine you're at a buffet...", in order to describe how and why animals select forage.

The Florida section meeting was a great opportunity to hear about rangeland management and grazing plans in Florida ecosystems.  I enjoyed the meeting (despite the sweltering heat!) and appreciate the hospitality of the Section.  In addition to the meeting, it was great to hear that the Florida section is looking forward to collaborating with the Southern section of SRM to host the 2014 Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida.

Site Visit for the 2014 Annual Meeting - Orlando:

The 2014 Annual Meeting will be held in Orlando, Florida.  SRM was able to nail down a stellar contract with the host hotel, the Caribe Royal.  The site, meeting space, and accommodations are all spectacular.  The entire meeting will be at one location, and the hotel will offer federal per diem rates for the all room reservations - during February, peak season for Orlando.  Here are some added perks:

• All rooms are suites
• Good restaurants on-site
• Federal per diem for all room reservations
• Great deals for students sharing rooms
• Refrigerators in every room
• Beautiful swimming pool and surrounding area
• Free shuttles to Disney (2 miles away) if you want to bring the family 
• Large meeting facilities
• AND we negotiated free Internet in rooms
• ...it's a meeting in Florida

Stay tuned - I will be heading to the Nebraska Youth Range Camp June 7th.