The Art of Range Podcast

Deciding whether to seed, what to seed, and how to apply seed after wildfire are weighty questions. Seeding costs money, seedings often fail, and most rangelands won't pay you back for rehabilitation failure. Richard Fleenor, NRCS state rangelands conservationist in Washington, has a background in plant materials and revegetation and discusses with Tip analyzing burn severity, pre-fire plant community composition, and options in seed selection and application.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Shrub-Steppe and Grassland Restoration Manual for the Columbia River Basin: https://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01330

OR & WA Guide for Conservation Seedings & Plantings (NRCS publication):

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_042417.pdf

NRCS Eastern Oregon/Washington Rangeland and Grazed Forest Seeding Guide, Tech note 1: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_PLANTMATERIALS/publications/wapmstn11194.pdf

TRANSCRIPT: https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-76-seed-or-not-seed-post-fire-rehabilitation-richard-fleenor

Soil organic matter is considered an indicator of soil health, there are numerous methods promoted for building it, SOM is credited with the potential to alleviate greenhouse gas increase, but Andy & Doug say the way we've understood SOM is perhaps an artifact of the old ways of measuring it. The complexity of what we call 'organic matter' is significant, challenging, and prompts a re-thinking of both soil health measurement and soil-building practices. This episode is not quite "Why Everything You Thought You Knew About Soil Organic Matter is Wrong", but advances in soil biology and chemistry will certainly challenge your long-held notions about this topic. If you haven't heard part 1 of this interview with Doug Collins and Andy McGuire, go to episode 74.

Related resources:

WSU Extension publication by Doug & Andy, "Understanding and Measuring Organic Matter in Soil" can be downloaded at https://pubs.extension.wsu.edu/understanding-and-measuring-organic-matter-in-soil.

Recent article at the website BioCycle, referencing Collins' and McGuire's work: "Saying Goodbye to a Soil Organic Matter Fundamental", www.biocycle.net/connections-sayi…ter-fundamental/

Soil organic matter is considered an indicator of soil health, there are numerous methods promoted for building it, SOM is credited with the potential to alleviate greenhouse gas increase, but Andy & Doug say the way we've understood SOM is perhaps an artifact of the old ways of measuring it. The complexity of what we call 'organic matter' is significant, challenging, and prompts a re-thinking of both soil health measurement and soil-building practices. This episode is not quite "Why Everything You Thought You Knew About Soil Organic Matter is Wrong", but advances in soil biology and chemistry will certainly challenge your long-held notions about this topic. Be sure to come back for Part 2 of this interview with Doug Collins and Andy McGuire, both of them agronomists and professional soils enthusiasts.

Related resources:

WSU Extension publication by Doug & Andy, "Understanding and Measuring Organic Matter in Soil" can be downloaded at https://pubs.extension.wsu.edu/understanding-and-measuring-organic-matter-in-soil.

Recent article at the website BioCycle, referencing Collins' and McGuire's work: "Saying Goodbye to a Soil Organic Matter Fundamental", www.biocycle.net/connections-sayi…ter-fundamental/

Ranch sustainability requires land care that works for the long haul and management that makes a profit more years than not. Jim Rickert, owner of the Prather Ranch in northern California, makes the case that a ranch must take care of people and animals, too, in order to last, and these goals are synergistic, not mutually exclusive. This two-part interview with Jim chronicles his circuitous path from a masters degree doing linear programming models of farm financial alternatives under Earl Butz, economist at Purdue, later US Secretary of Agriculture under Presidents Nixon and Ford, to running a fully integrated beef operation, with a closed cow herd, a ranch feedlot, and a gold-standard abattoir. Perhaps most unique, Prather Ranch has "an international reputation as a supplier of high quality bovine hides, bones, tissues, organs and other bovine xenograft materials for the medical device, pharmaceutical and biological industries." If you missed part one of this interview, see episode 72.

Learn more about the Prather Ranch at https://www.pratherranch.com/.

Learn more about their meat marketing at https://www.prathermeats.com/.

Information about the bovine parts used for medical purposes is at https://www.closedherd.com/.

Ranch sustainability requires land care that works for the long haul and management that makes a profit more years than not. Jim Rickert, owner of the Prather Ranch in northern California, makes the case that a ranch must take care of people and animals, too, in order to last, and these goals are synergistic, not mutually exclusive. This two-part interview with Jim chronicles his circuitous path from a masters degree doing linear programming models of farm financial alternatives under Earl Butz, economist at Purdue, later US Secretary of Agriculture under Presidents Nixon and Ford, to running a fully integrated beef operation, with a closed cow herd, a ranch feedlot, and a gold-standard abattoir. Perhaps most unique, Prather Ranch has "an international reputation as a supplier of high quality bovine hides, bones, tissues, organs and other bovine xenograft materials for the medical device, pharmaceutical and biological industries." Be sure to check back for part two of this fascinating interview.

And please take a short listener survey here: https://wsu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eG2NDoDEVAnGh3U.

Learn more about the Prather Ranch at https://www.pratherranch.com/.

Learn more about their meat marketing at https://www.prathermeats.com/.

Information about the bovine parts used for medical purposes is at https://www.closedherd.com/.

Ranching and livestock production on rangelands provide food and fiber concurrently with other ecosystem services such as wildlife habitat, clean air and water, carbon sequestration, cultural resources, recreational opportunities and scenic vistas. However, an implicit “wicked challenge” is the lack of mechanisms to effectively value ecological services to reward ranchers and landowners for their conservation. A desire to conserve rangelands and enhance ecological values has brought together individuals of otherwise disparate views. Using whole landscapes to provide ecosystems services and economic viability has turned charismatic environmentalists into ranching advocates and ranchers into conservation activists. This is adapted from a recording of the Society for Range Management's 2021 annual meeting plenary session on Feb 15.

To download the PowerPoint slides for these talks, go to https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-71-huntsinger-gennet-how-conserve-ranches-and-support-environmental-stewardship

Transcript: https://bit.ly/2YQFPNn

How to measure soil carbon, influence soil carbon, and influence others to care about soil carbon has motivated Peter Donovan for nearly three decades now. He locates himself squarely between the social worlds of science and practice and has worked to foster the relationship between knowing and doing with a passion that is unusual in our culture. In this wide-ranging interview, he and Tip discuss what is soil carbon, what we don't know about soil carbon, and the importance of social networks and internal motivation to caring for land well.

Be sure to take a look at the Soil Carbon Coalition website: https://soilcarboncoalition.org/

Transcript: https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-70-soil-carbon-and-social-networks-peter-donovan

Microbial source tracking has gained accuracy in the last decade, and a multidisciplinary team at University of Idaho recently used MST methods to help US Forest Service managers identify causes of contamination of a stream listed by regulatory authorities for high bacteria. This is the first of a two-part episode with Eric Winford, Associate Director of the Idaho Rangelands Center; Dr. Jim Sprinkle, Univ. of Idaho Extension beef specialist at the Nancy Cummings Research & Extension Center; Dr. Jane Lucas, post-doc in Univ. of Idaho Dept. of Soil & Water Systems; and Alan Kolok, Director of the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute. Listen to learn about E.coli as an indicator species, methods to determine what animals are contributing e. coli to streams, potential targeted water quality improvement practices, and more.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Idaho Water Resources Research Institute, www.uidaho.edu/research/entities/iwrri

Alan Kolok, IWRRI director, can be reached at www.uidaho.edu/cnr/faculty/kolok

Idaho Rangelands Center, www.uidaho.edu/cnr/rangeland-center

Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission article about this Mink Creek study, idrange.org/range-stories/south…ry-solved-with-dna/

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3z1UBhp

Microbial source tracking has gained accuracy in the last decade, and a multidisciplinary team at University of Idaho recently used MST methods to help US Forest Service managers identify causes of contamination of a stream listed by regulatory authorities for high bacteria. This is the first of a two-part episode with Eric Winford, Associate Director of the Idaho Rangelands Center; Dr. Jim Sprinkle, Univ. of Idaho Extension beef specialist at the Nancy Cummings Research & Extension Center; Dr. Jane Lucas, post-doc in Univ. of Idaho Dept. of Soil & Water Systems; and Alan Kolok, Director of the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute. Listen to learn about E.coli as an indicator species, methods to determine what animals are contributing e. coli to streams, potential targeted water quality improvement practices, and more.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Idaho Water Resources Research Institute, https://www.uidaho.edu/research/entities/iwrri

Alan Kolok, IWRRI director, can be reached at https://www.uidaho.edu/cnr/faculty/kolok

Idaho Rangelands Center, https://www.uidaho.edu/cnr/rangeland-center

Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission article about this Mink Creek study, https://idrange.org/range-stories/southeast-idaho/mink-creek-water-quality-an-e-coli-mystery-solved-with-dna/

TRANSCRIPT

https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-68-wildland-stream-bacteria-forensics-science-idaho-part-1

Grazing managers of any kind and in any place must answer the questions of what is and what is not possible and how to manage toward meaningful landscape change. LandPKS was developed to make basic rangeland site data available to anyone and enable time-efficient long-term monitoring based on the rangeland health principles. Jeff Herrick has been working with graziers and managers across the globe for some years to develop an easy-to-use system to "support farmers, ranchers, gardeners, land-use planners, and other natural resource managers with open-source tools that allow them to easily access knowledge and information, and to collect, share, and interpret their own soil, vegetation cover, and management data. LandPKS data, information, and knowledge can be used to improve soil health and productivity. It supports all approaches to land management including traditional, regenerative, organic, and holistic." Listen to this practical discussion between Tip and Jeff about recently updated features of the LandPKS app and data portal as well as general principles supporting rangeland monitoring of grazing areas and adaptive management.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Land PKS training modules. https://landpotential.org/knowledge-hub/

Land PKS data portal. https://landpotential.org/data-portal/

And to install the app and begin working . . . https://landpotential.org/mobile-app/

TRANSCRIPT: https://bit.ly/37l9EGH

Coming soon at https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-67-land-potential-knowledge-system-revisited-jeff-herrick