Travelling ecology class set to cross Southwestern states
As we continue to hunker down for the long haul of winter here on the High Plains, a select group of Texas Tech University graduate students are already warming up to the idea of spending part of their summer traveling through Nevada, California and Arizona studying the ecology of the nation's critical grazing lands systems.
Following a route that includes Reno, Davis, Modesto, Fresno, Barstow, Kingman, Peach Springs, Flagstaff and Phoenix, the two-week mobile classroom is set to begin at the start of June with about two dozen students from five major universities, including Texas Tech.
Learning Opportunity. "The concept of this class is to bring students together from across the U.S and from around the world to share a unique and intense learning opportunity centered around grazing lands," said Vivien Allen, the founder of the ecology of grazing lands systems class who serves as both the Horn Professor and as Texas Tech's Thornton Distinguished Professor of Forages.
"Agriculture, in general, is undergoing radical change in response to global issues and our grazing lands hold the keys to finding new solutions. These students have the unique opportunity to see and learn firsthand from those on the front lines of change," she said.
Key Role. Today, grazing lands occupy more than half of the land area in the United States, and play a key role in addressing sustainability issues in agriculture and the environment. They're central to the conservation of soil, clean water, wildlife habitat, and recreation and open spaces.
In the past, graduate education in forage and range science here in the United States had become somewhat disconnected from producers and resources, according to program officials. For instance, graduate students increasingly participated in distance education and communication via the internet and conducted computer modeling projects of historically field-based research.
Travelling Instructors. "Our challenge is to keep our students in contact with the land," said Carlos Villalobos, an associate professor in Texas Tech's Department of Natural Resources Management. "And that means fostering a new land ethic by taking students to the field."
This year's travelling instructors include Villalobos and Kristin Hales at Texas Tech, John Fike at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Rob Kallenbach at University of Missouri, Paul Olenbuscha at Kansas State University, and John Waller at the University of Tennessee.
Ecology Program. One of the goals of the ecology program is to provide students with an opportunity for first-hand experience in grazing land ecology through various eco-regions and to learn about techniques that address education and researchable needs. Another objective is to provide interactions with professionals active in the multidisciplinary areas of forage livestock research, teaching, extension, industry and production.
Written by Norman Martin
CONTACT: Carlos Villalobos, associate professor, Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2842
Editor's note: More information is available online at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/grazinglandecology/
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