***New Features: Clippings from HSU and UCB
***California Rangeland Trust
***Are you in Proper Functioning Condition???
***Directory of Officers
***Lee T. Burcham
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Directors - Sheila Barry & Edie Jacobsen
A Directory of Section Officers is provided inside...
Summer Joint Meeting with Nevada, July 15-17, Paleoecology & Ecology of Pinyon Juniper Woodlands (Registration form within)
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THANK YOU.
Ken Fulgham, Rod Tripp, Bill Frost, Mitch Perdue, and Neil McDougald for braving Hawaii last month to do further local arranging (or perhaps it was the Hawaiians who needed courage). How about a report for the newsletter on your adventures?
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Reno, Nevada July 15th-17th
The Nevada Section Business Meeting will follow directly after lunch, 1:00 - 3:30 p.m.
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Silver Legacy, 407 N. Virginia St 1-800-MUST-SEE $62& $99
*This, Circus Circus, and the El Dorado are all close to the meeting site. Festive atmosphere.
John Ascuaga's Nugget Off of 1-80 and Nugget Ave 1-800-648-1177 $69& $69
*California Society for Range Management Section Hotel. Also festive, nice branding iron exhibit.
Pepper Mill, South Virginia St. 1-800-282-2444 $79& $89 Festive and not all that close, except to Carson City.
The University Inn 1001 N. Virginia Ave. 775-323-0321$48 and up *No gambling, quiet, 15 minute walk to meeting site
********REGISTRATION FORM*********************************
***The registration fee is $20.00, if you pre-register by July 1, and includes Lunch and Dinner. The registration fee is $25.00 on the day of the meeting, and also includes Lunch & Dinner.
***Return registration form to Stephanie Larson by July 1, 1999 for early registration. Late registration fee will be assessed after July 1.
NAME:
ADDRESS:
MEETING PRE-REGISTRATION: $20.00 per person X _______ persons=$ ___________
Please make checks payable to California Section, SRM
Mail registration form to:
Stephanie Larson, 2604 Ventura Ave. Santa Rosa, California 95403 707 527-2621 Work, 707 527-2623 Fax
email: slarson@ucdavis.edu
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1. In 1998 the Panel reviewed one new applicant and two requests for upgrading from ARM to CRM. The Panel determined that the two applicants for upgrading needed more experience and should reapply later. The panel determined that the new applicant met educational and experience requirements and was qualified to take the examination.
2. The Panel revised the CRM examination, which was offered in fall 1998. One examinee took and passed the exam. The exam will next be offered in fall 1999.
3. You have a copy of the 1998 examination.
4. There were no disciplinary actions or appeals.
5. The Panel slightly revised the Program Description. The revisions were approved by the California Section Board of Directors on November 5, 1998.
6. The Panel recommended and the California Section Board of Directors approved appointment of new Panelists Neil McDougald and Monte Bell to three-year terms ending fall 2001. They replace outgoing panelists John Stechman and Bill Frost. -James Bartolome, Secretary, Panel on Certification
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The California Section 2001 Hawaii booth was enthusiastically visited. A number of us, including Rod Tripp, Bill Frost, Mitch Perdue, Neil McDougald, Mike Stroud, Edie Jacobson, Susan Edinger-Marshall, and Mike Connor, enjoyed hanging around sticking pineapples on name tags and visiting with folks. We should always have a booth, so that California folks have a place to see old friends. Special thanks to Ken Fulgham for the fine macadamia nuts and the terrific local arrangements information, Mike Connor for putting together a colorful and very attractive poster display, and Susan Edinger-Marshall produced a brochure that really fit the bill for informing potential attendees about the meeting and arrangements. Joe Wagner had a fine advertisement for special sessions to hand out. All in all it looks to be a good meeting, and lots of fun.
Despite the snows, the Omaha meeting was exceptionally well-organized and we will have to work hard to emulate their team spirit and industriousness! - Lynn Huntsinger
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Mr. Burcham joined CDF in 1947 as Forest Manager, Mt. Home State Forest, and in 1948, moved to Sacramento where he was appointed Specialist on the State Forester's staff with responsibility for programs in range improvement, watershed management, and soil-vegetation surveys. During his period of employment by CDF, he earned his MS in 1950 at the University of Nebraska in Plant and Animal Ecology, and in 1956, his PhD in Geography at UC Berkeley. Dr. Burcham's UC dissertation formed the basis for the keystone publication in California rangeland management, "California Rangeland -An Historico-Ecological Study of the Range Resource of California", which he authored in 1957 and which has been reprinted several times by popular demand. This book serves as a valuable reference for university classes and for research concerning the character, historical use and change, and development of our rangelands.
Dr. Burcham remained with CDF, serving as Assistant Deputy State Forester from 1957 until his retirement in 1976. On leave of absence, 1964-1966, Lee was Environmental Services Advisor for the Office of Secretary of Defense in Washington, D.C., for which he had consulted in the Advanced Research Projects Agency since 1961.
During and after 1966, Dr. Burcham served intermittently as consultant to the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Army, and as Lecturer at Sacramento State College in natural resources. He held a Life Standard Teaching Credential in California, was licensed as a Registered Professional Forester (#7), and maintained affiliations with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Association of American Geographers, Ecological Society of America, Society of American Foresters, Wildlife Society, and Society for Range Management. Lee Burcham maintained a Life Membership in the California Section of SRM. He served as Membership Chairman in 1957, and on various committee and program speaker assignments from 1956 to 1967.
In 1977, Dr. Burcham was awarded the California Section "Rangeman of the Year". In presenting a plaque of this commendation to Lee, Jay Bentley of SRM commented that Lee showed outstanding ability in analyzing technical problems, conduction field studies, and interpreting information useful in promoting sound policy decisions. Following his retirement in 1976, and in spite of a worsening bronchial problem acquired in the tropics, Dr. Burcham continued to consult with the Department of Defense, work on his family tree farm, and to travel with his wife, especially to visit their sons' families. He passed away in October of 1987; Miriam still resides at their home in Sacramento. Over a 45 year period, Lee authored more than 50 publications in ecology, geography, forestry, range management, and related fields of natural resources. Of particular note are those concerning fire and California brushlands. L.T. Burcham is remembered as a scholar and gentleman who made a significant contribution to California rangeland management. -J.V. Stechman, Section Historian.
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Frank Abbruzzettii Heather Burdick Todd Golder Susan Varty These fine folks, along with Heidi Carpenter-Harris, Omero Torres and Tom Rickstrew brought home a fifth place Range Plant Identification trophy from Omaha.
Susan Edinger Marshall heads to Southern California again this summer to do research on Mojave Desert soil crusts at the University of California, Riverside. Ken Fulgham, with his usual superhuman endurance, has been teaching range classes, serving as department chair and as California Faculty Association Chapter president, in addition to CA-SRM duties.
Our Rangeland Resources and Wildland Resources programs will soon have a new, professionally designed and printed brochure courtesy of the Dean of Enrollment Management. The brochure, written by a committee of students and professors, will be the first academic department on a long list to get this brochure through the system. Beyond its purpose in boosting enrollment in our programs, it will serve a larger purpose in educating Californians about rangeland and wildland soils management. We felt we needed an additional "boost" of educational content for the brochure that will be distributed to high school counselors and science teachers-Susan Edinger-Marshall
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Ken Bauer, whose thesis was on pastoralism in Nepal, currently under consideration for publication by UC Press. Ken worked under the direction of Lynn Huntsinger
Julia Featherston, worked under the direction of Richard Standiford, on research on conservation of valley oak woodlands, culminating in the conference on Valley Oak Woodlands in Visalia in early June.
Jim Robbins, under the direction of professors Allen-Diaz and Bartolome, studied the effects of wild pigs on blue oak woodlands in San Benito County.
Recent PhD Maria Fernandez-Gimenez, who graduated with a dissertation on Mongolian pastoralism under the direction of Barbara Allen-Diaz, accepted a faculty position at the University of Arizona last month.
Rand Evett, UCB PhD, returned once again to teach range plants at Berkeley this past Spring.
Superhuman Jim Bartolome continues as Chair of ESPM and the Division of Ecosystem Sciences, Secretary to the Rangeland Certification Panel, and will do a stint teaching in Tahiti this Fall; Barbara Allen Diaz continues her grazing and watershed research this summer, and serves as head graduate advisor to the Range Graduate Program at Berkeley, and Lynn Huntsinger is working on Native American forestry and ranching and land use change projects, and is preparing to spend Fall in Spain on sabbatical. Fiscally, this will become easier when Superhuman Fulgham reimburses her for newsletter expenses.
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"We are excited about the opportunities to work with ranchers to keep rangelands in agricultural production and to avoid the problems often associated with the urban and suburban development of these lands," says Steve Sinton, a San Luis Obispo County rancher who chairs the Trust's Board of Directors. "Conservation easements can be a useful tool for ranchers who want to keep their land in agriculture and to hand it on to the next generation," he adds.
The California Rangeland Trust is currently developing a standard conservation easement for ranchers to use in evaluating their options. "Ranchers have special needs when considering a perpetual easement," says Sinton. "Our standard easement will address things like future access to water and other resources, limiting public access, and maintaining fences and ranch structures." Many ranchers are concerned that a conservation easement would allow the public to have access to their property. Unless a landowner wishes to expand public access, says Sinton, the standard easement will only allow access for a representative of the Trust to monitor compliance. Sinton further emphasizes that each easement the Trust accepts will be the result of negotiations between the Trust and the individual landowner. The Trust is currently working with three landowners on pilot conservation easement projects. (cont. next page) In addition to working with ranchers to place conservation easements on rangelands, the California Rangeland Trust is working with organizations and agencies throughout the state to educate landowners about conservation options. "One of the significant threats to a ranching family's ability to keep their lands intact is the estate tax system," says Dan Macon, the Trust's first executive director. "Our outreach efforts focus on the tools that landowners can use, including conservation easements, in designing an estate plan that facilitates the transfer of the ranch to the next generation."
"In addition to being a cornerstone in California's agricultural economy, ranching provides working landscapes that contribute open space, wildlife habitat, native vegetation, and other biological values," says Sinton. "We hope that our efforts will compliment those of other organizations that are working to maintain California's ranching heritage and preserve California's land resources."
The California Rangeland Trust is based in Sacramento, at 1221 H Street, Sacramento, California, 95814. Its eleven member Board of Directors consists entirely of members of the California Cattlemen's Association. For more information, contact executive director Dan Macon at 916/444-2096.
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Here is what some of the participants had to say. "A great technique for integrating science and building collaborative efforts," said Curtis Hinmann of Dorington. John Buckley of Twain Harte states, "The PFC course opens our eyes to the complexity and importance of streams and plants and land that connect them. Anyone responsible for some aspect of land management should learn the basics of PFC methodology." Jenny Matkin of Longbarn says, "This kind of education could have an enormous impact on rangeland management in the Sierras, where wet meadows are such a valuable resource." Doris Grinn of Groveland says, "Best idea since sliced bread to bring multiple agencies and public land owners and permittees out together on the landscape to discuss the functionality of the water course." Alton McRae from Mariposa reports, "This material can be useful to a land owner to use in evaluating the waterways on one's property." There is growing agreement on the need to accelerate restoration of degraded areas. However, disagreements exist over the conditions of riparian areas, the types of uses that are appropriate and the treatments and tools that can be successfully employed to restore or maintain healthy riparian areas. Strongly held values and interests polarize user groups and interested people-a major barrier to achieving healthy streams.
Accomplishing the goal of "Accelerating Cooperative Riparian Restoration" depends on being able to bring communities of people together with a common vocabulary for evaluating the health and conditions of riparian areas. Management and problem resolution is best focused at the ground level, watershed by watershed, employing a system which allows people to communicate about specific physical functions of riparian systems, and engages those most affected by success of failure of management actions.
Streams surveyed during these workshops classed as non-functioning, functioning-at-risk, or functioning. A non-functioning riparian segment has limited vegetation, evident soil loss from banks, and an unstable channel bottom. A functioning-at-risk segment has lost a critical amount of bank and bottom protection. Roots and woody materials to bind soils of banks are at a critical level. Large scale channel erosion is likely with the next storm event. A functioning segment has vegetative and woody materials adequate to protect the channel from erosion as a result of a 25 year storm event.
The PFC training effort in California is alive and well, thanks to the dedication of state training cadre members. Cadre team members include biologists, ecologists hydrologists, soil and physical scientists, and engineers from BLM, USFS, NRCS, and UCCE. In the past two years, three teams have conducted approximately 18 one and two day sessions for agency staff, watershed groups, resource conservation districts, a state park, and others. Demand, in fact has grown to the point where the PFC team in California would like to expand. "We work with watershed groups across the state who are looking for use-friendly but powerful tools to help them prioritize their stream restoration activities, reach out and involve public and private stakeholders, and increase understand about how stream systems function," notes Bill Cunningham, NRCS Biologist and State Riparian Coordinator. "Being able to pull PFC out of our toolbag and offer it to them is exciting because it seems to generate quite a bit of interest, and has given us the opportunity to help these groups move forward."
The PFC training being conducted in the Sierra foothills is sponsored by SRM through an EQIP education grant. Anyone interested in more information on PFC workshops or wanting to reserve a seat in the June training should contact Dick McCleery, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), in Stockton at (209) 946-6241 x124 (e-mail: Dick.Mccleery@ca.usda.gov), or Bill Cunningham, USDA-NRCS, in Davis at (530) 792-5664 (e-mail: Bill.Cunningham@ca.usda.gov).
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President-elect: Ceci Dale-Cesmat, 471-130 Lincoln Ln., Susanville CA 96130, (530) 257-7271 (W); (530) 257-7244 (H); ceci.dalecesmat@ca.nrcs.usda.gov
Immediate Past President: Stephanie Larson, 2604 Ventura Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95403; (707) 527-2621 (W); (707) 824-8914 (H); slarson@ucdavis.edu
Charlette Epifanio Sanders, USDA-NRCS, 1301 Redwood Way, Ste. 170, Petaluma,
CA 94940; (707) 794-1242 (W); (415) 663-9633 (H); charlette.sanders@ca.usda.gov
Sheila Barry, 15320 Willow Dr., Los Gatos CA 95032; (925) 371-0154 Ext. 41 (W); (408) 978-9230 (H); sheilabarry@hotmail.com
Edie Jacobsen, Southwest Div., Naval Facilities Engineering Command, 1220 Pacific Hwy, Code 4PLN.EJ, San Diego CA 92132-5190; (619) 532-3618 (W); (619) 692-9266 (H); jacobsenea@efdsw.navfav.navy.mil
Mitchell Perdue, Dept. of Navy, SWDIV, 1220 Pacific Hwy. Code 4PLN, San Diego, CA 92026; (619) 532-3744; (619) 532-3782; perdue@efdsw.navfac.navy.mil
Susan Edinger Marshall, Dept. of Natural Resources Planning & Interpretation, Dept. of Rangeland Resources and Wildland Soils, Humboldt State University,1 Harpst Street, Arcata CA 95521, (W) (707)826-4064; SUMMER: 2296 Mentone Blvd. Mentone CA 92359; (909)794-4242; sem11@axe.humboldt.edu
Secretary: Mike Connor, 8279 Scott-Forbes Rd., Browns Valley CA 95918; (530) 639-8803 (W); (530) 432-3236 (H); jmconnor@ucdavis.edu
Newsletter Editor: Lynn Huntsinger,151 Hilgard Hall MC#3110, University of Calif, Berkeley, 94720; buckaroo@nature.berkeley.edu
Historian: John V. Stechman, P.O. Box 2211, Avila Beach, CA 93424; FAX 805-595-7296; (W) 805-595-7941, jstechma@calpoly.edu;
Certification: Bill Frost
Continuing Education: Bill Frost
Excellence in Range Management: Dan Macon
Meetings: Stephanie Larson
Membership: Larry Forero, Cooperative Extension Shasta County, 1851; ;Hartnell Avenue, Redding CA 96002-2217, (530)224-4900 (W), lcforero@ucdavis.edu
Nominations and Elections: Mitch Perdue
Professional Affairs: Steve Bishop, USDA-Forest Service, 119 Cliff Walk Dr, Vallejo, CA 94591-6433; (415) 705-1871 (W), (707) 643 4043 (H), sbishop/r5@fs.fed.us
Public Affairs: Bill Weitkamp, Cooperative Extension San Luis Obispo; County, 2156 Sierra Way, Suite C, San Luis Obispo CA 93401, (805)781-5948 (W), whweitkamp@ucdavis.edu
Student Affairs: Edie Jacobsen
SRM 2001 Hawaii Program Chairs: Bill Frost and Steve Bishop
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Don't be a stranger! Perhaps there are some other centers of range education that would like to participate in our new feature: "Clippings from..." (see pg. 5). Email submissions are preferred and must have "SRM" in the subject area. Please send nothing that must be returned by your friendly newsletter editor. Send an email to buckaroo and subscribe to SRMONLINE!!!