By: Maggie Orr, NV Section Newsletter Editor
The Nevada Section celebrates ten years of leadership by Kathryn Dyer and almost 40 years of Curriculum Directorship of Sherm Swanson for the Nevada Youth Range Camp! Range Camp has been in full swing for 58 years, and the last two years we have had a camper with us who attended the very first camp in 1961! Unfortunately, the Section regretfully canceled its Youth Range Camp for 2020.
With the changing times and changing leadership, the Section decided to look carefully at how we do Range Camp to decide if any alterations need to be made. A survey sent out last fall to previous campers offered many heartwarming responses: “I’d like to keep everything the same. This camp is seriously the best thing about summer;” “Most of my friends are not interested in wildlife, or going to BFE to take one shower over the span of one week while camping, having no cell service, or learning about dirt; all of which makes this the greatest camp ever!”
We like the Sunday noon to Saturday morning length and we certainly do not want to lose the outdoor camping experience out of cell phone range – therefore the deciding question has become how much time can the adults commit from their professional schedules? We don’t know exactly how the future Camp will look, but we will keep the tradition alive and well.
Nevada’s delegates to the SRM High School Youth Forum are the Range Camp Trail Boss winners; those campers who did the best on the plant ID, actively participated, and kept the best notebooks. This year NvSRM will sponsor an essay contest on a rangeland related topic, the winner to attend the HSYF in Boise or receive a $300 scholarship. The winning essay will be published in Range magazine.
Despite also having to cancel the Section Summer Tour, we are planning a virtual winter meeting. Nevada also remains fully committed to the Free Roaming Equids and Ecosystem Sustainability (FREES) summit in Cody, WY this fall. This meeting will continue the momentum of the FREES meeting held in Reno last year. At our virtual summer business meeting last week, the Nevada Section voted to commit a total of $7500 to the cause for travel, and support of the good collaborative work that comes from these meetings. Nevada is the epicenter of the wild horse problem and the Section remains determined to find long term solutions to this controversial subject.