Workshop addresses future of Colorado ranching

The theme of this year’s Nick Petry Workshop, set for Dec. 2 in Denver, is “Ranching at the Frontier: Ecosystem Services and Decision Tools.”

The Western Center for Integrated Resource Management in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University, along with the National Western Stock Show Scholarship Trust Fund, is hosting the 12th annual workshop. This year’s program includes topics designed to help Colorado ranchers prepare to meet the demands of modern range management.

The focus of the workshop will be on how to evaluate the health of the land and how to make ecologically sound management decisions for long-term sustainability, a topic at the forefront of ecological research at CSU.

Speakers include CSU professors Maria Fernandez-Gimenez, Forest Rangeland Watershed Stewardship; Jay Parsons, Agricultural and Resource Economics; and Josh Goldstein, Human Dimensions of Natural Resources. Also presenting will be Justin Derner of the Agricultural Research Service in Cheyenne, Wyo.

The one-day workshop will be held at the National Western Stock Complex, Centennial Room, 4655 Humboldt St., Denver, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Registration for the free event is required by Nov. 19 and is available online at www.wcirm.colostate.edu. Lunch will be provided.

The annual workshop is held in honor of Nick Petry, a longtime president and chairman of the National Western Stock Show.

The Western Center for Integrated Resource Management is a graduate and outreach program that provides training in the integrated management of land, animal, human, and natural resources.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Furuiye at 970-491-1610 or [email protected].