Building Knowledge of Sustainable Rangeland Management Using Information Technology - Northern Great Plains Partnership

Project Overview

ENC04-077
Project Type: Professional Development Program
Funds awarded in 2004: $16,719.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2007
Region: North Central
State: South Dakota
Project Coordinator:
Dr. Roger Gates
SDSU Extension

Annual Reports

Commodities

Not commodity specific

Practices

  • Animal Production: grazing - continuous, grazing - multispecies, grazing - rotational
  • Education and Training: extension, workshop
  • Farm Business Management: agricultural finance
  • Pest Management: prevention

    Abstract:

    Range Extension Specialists and librarians participating in the NCR-SARE PDP project met annually with their counterparts from the Western Region in Tucson in spring 2005 and 2006. This annual meeting has continued to coordinate this multi-regional project. A sustainable organizational structure for RangelandsWest has resulted in the establishment of a multi-state Research Project, WERA1008, "Rangelands West Partnership". Extension educators from SD (and other states) that attended the Information Outreach workshop in 2005 developed and distributed specialized resource tools for the region. Educators continue to identify RangelandsWest as an internet source for comprehensive and reliable information relating to most aspects of rangeland resources and management.

    Project objectives:

    1. Provide reliable and accessible information about sustainable rangeland management by building on the foundation set by the Western Rangelands Partnership.

    2. Train state range Extension specialists, county-based extension personnel and federal land management advisors in sustainable rangeland management practices and the effective use of information technologies to better serve the ecological and economic needs of their constituencies.

    3. Work with Western Rangelands Partnership to build a comprehensive Web gateway on rangeland management as part of the Agriculture Network Information Center (AgNIC) initiative.

    4. Expand understanding of sustainable rangeland management approaches within the North Central Region.

    5. Improve information technology skills of range Extension specialists, county-based extension personnel, and federal land management advisors.

    6. Create a RangelandsWest Web site for each of the participating NCR states (SD, ND, KS, NE) with reliable sustainable rangeland management information and make it readily accessible through the RangelandsWest Web gateway.

    7. Develop a content module pertaining to sustainable rangelands practices on each NCR state’s RangelandsWest Web site.

    8. Build an overarching structure for sustainable rangelands content, with introductory text and navigational pages leading to the content developed by each state.

    9. Enter metadata into the RangelandsWest Web site database, making it accessible to users of the national AgNIC site via a web services connection.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.