Ecological Processes of Grassland Ecosystems
Speaker: Pat Shaver
Abstract: Printable PDF

Pat Shaver is a Rangeland Management Specialist for the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service at the West National Technology Support Center in Portland, OR. He provides direct assistance and training to NRCS and landowners across the country in Ecological Site Descriptions and state-and-transition models, Interpreting and Measuring Indicators of Rangeland Health, inventory and monitoring, prescribed burning and grazing/livestock management.

Indicators of Rangeland Health
Speaker: Jeff Herrick
Abstract: Printable PDF

Jeff E. Herrick, USDA-ARS, is a research scientist at Jornada Experimental Range, Las Cruces, New Mexico. Dr. Herrick work includes basic research on the factors that control the resistance and resilience of arid and semi-arid ecosystems, and applied research leading to the development of protocols for inventory, assessment and monitoring at pasture plot to national scales.

Role of Ecological Disturbances on Grasslands
Speaker: Bill Lauenroth
Abstract: Printable PDF

Bill Lauenroth is a professor of Plant Community Ecology and Ecohydrology at the University of Wyoming. He is interested in grassland and shrubland ecology and restoration, and in the ecohydrology of arid and semi-arid regions. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the Institute for Scientific Information's Highly Cited Authors. Recent work includes a book published in 2008 with ENR Director Indy Burke entitled "Ecology of the Shortgrass Steppe."

Influence of Fire and Grazing on Grasslands
Speaker: Karen Launchbaugh
Abstract: Printable PDF

Dr. Karen Launchbaugh is an associate professor for Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management at University of Idaho with extensive research on diet selection of ruminants. In the last 15 years, she has studied factors that contribute to low consumption of chemically defended plants. She has used this information to create grazing systems for weed management. She currently conducts several workshops a year for county agents and vocational agriculture teachers.

Managing Riparian Corridor Forests in a Grassland Environment.
Speaker: Clayton Marlow
Abstract: Printable PDF

Clayton Marlow is a professor of Range Sciences in the Animal and Range Sciences Department, Montana State University - Bozeman. For the past 20 years he has been investigating the inter-relationship between secondary environmental drivers (grazing by large herbivores and wildfire) and riparian form and function.

Working Wildlands or Fragmenting the West: That is the Question
Speaker: Rick Knight
Abstract: Printable PDF

Richard Knight is interested in the nexus of land use and land health in the American West. A professor of wildlife conservation at Colorado State University, he received his graduate degrees from the University of Washington and the University of Wisconsin. Presently, he sits on a number of boards including the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust, the Quivira Coalition, the Science Board of the Malpai Borderlands Project, the Diablo Trust, the Rancher's Stewardship Alliance, Resources First Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy's Colorado Council. He is on the Board of Editors for both Conservation Biology, and for Ecological Applications. In 2007 Colorado State University honored him with the Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching award. With Courtney White, he recently edited Conservation for a New Generation (Island Press).

Integrating Values into Open Space Management
Speaker: Mark Brunson
Abstract: Printable PDF

Mark Brunson is professor and head of the Department of Environment and Society at Utah State University. His research and writing focus on the human dimensions of rangelands, including studies of public perceptions regarding rangelands and their management, communication and behavior change strategies, and the dynamics of coupled natural-human systems in arid and semi-arid environments.