The Nebraska Range Short Course will be held at Chadron State College June 21–24. Sponsored by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Chadron State College, and the Nebraska Section of the Society for Range Management, the week-long course is designed to provide individuals who have a background in ranch, natural resource or wildlife management an opportunity to increase their knowledge in topics related to range management.
Taught through a series of classroom and field sessions, the course focuses on the underlying principles of range management.
The course provides up-to-date information and training for efficient and sustainable use of rangelands for multiple ecosystem services. Topics include include plant identification, plant growth and development, rangeland soils, range inventory and monitoring methods, prescribed burning, rangeland restoration, rangeland ecology and conservation, wildlife management, grazing management and range livestock production.
Participants will have opportunities to interact and learn from skilled rangeland managers and faculty from the university and Chadron State.
“The range short course was one of the most applicable and enjoyable courses that I have attended. The course content and instructors were both great and I would highly recommend the course to anyone,” said a recent participant.
The short course can be taken for credit through the university or Chadron State. Sixteen continuing education credits are available for the SRM Certified Professional in Rangeland Management program.
Applications are due May 15, 2021 and enrollment is limited to 25 participants. The registration fee of $325 includes educational materials, transportation associated with field trips during the week and lunches. Lodging and meals can be arranged with Chadron State or local hotels and restaurants.
The Nebraska Range Short Course began in 1979 in Scottsbluff and has been held every other year since 1980. Mitch Stephenson, assistant professor of agronomy at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center in Scottsbluff, will coordinate the 2021 course. The course was first coordinated by Nebraska’s Department of Agronomy and Horticulture emeritus professor Lowell Moser and Walt Schacht, Grassland Studies Interim Director and Sunkist Fiesta Bowl Professor of Agronomy.
Since 1980, the short course has instructed over 800 participants including ranchers, state and federal agency employees, and rangeland ecology graduate students.
Contact Mitch Stephenson at mstephenson@unl.edu or 308-632-1355 with questions.
More information available at https://agronomy.unl.edu/nebraskarangeshortcourse.
