ESA Rangeland Section Annual Report
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History and purpose
The Rangeland Ecology section of ESA was founded in 2000. Our group supports research, management, student development, education, and community engagement with the ecology and sustainable management of rangelands. Rangeland is a broad category that includes areas classified as grasslands, savannas, wetlands, shrublands, woodlands, and tundra. Rangelands 1) are diverse and extensive, covering some 30-40 percent of Earth’s ice-free terrestrial area; 2) are managed as natural ecosystems to balance provision of diverse ecosystem services; 3) are often used historically and/or currently for livestock production; and 4) are tightly coupled human-natural systems, often involving diverse interests in land uses and conditions. The subjects of rangeland ecological studies are broad and include, for example, carbon sequestration, wildlife populations, invasive species, or attitudes and practices of landowners/land users.
Leadership and membership
Elizabeth (Lizzie) King of the University of Georgia served as Chair and David Augustine of UDSA Agricultural Research Service in Fort Collins, CO served as Vice-Chair. Mari-Vaughn Johnson of the Natural Resource Conservation Service in Temple, TX served as secretary and Cynthia (Cini) Brown of Colorado State University served as Past-Chair. We will hold elections for new Vice-Chair and Secretary in August 2014.
The Section currently has 149 members, a modest increase from 143 members in July 2013. The Section has a diverse membership of academic and professional ecologists, as well as land managers, practitioners, and private sector representatives with interests in rangelands. Based on members’ self-reported affiliations, 61% of members have academic affiliations, 29% are affiliated with governmental agencies and research facilities, and 6% are in the business or consulting sector, and 4% are in the NGO sector. 13% of members did not indicate an affiliation.
2013 Section Business Meeting Summary
Our 2013 annual business meeting began with a joint session with the Southwestern Chapter, in order for the groups to collaborate on developing a symposium proposal for 2014. The theme identified during the 2012 annual meeting was “Extreme Climate Events.” Discussion led to several possible avenues to develop the theme. Meeting attendees voted for “adaption and resilience.” The symposium organizing committee was formed: David Augustine, Randy Balice, and Mike Duniway. At the business meeting, we reviewed Section budget, discussed the efficiency of certain by-laws and whether they merited revision, and presented the “Excellence in Rangeland Ecology” travel awards to Ph.D. students Zak Ratajczak (Kansas State University) and Matt Petrie (University of New Mexico) for their outstanding contributions.
Student Travel Awards
An annual Excellence in Rangeland Ecology Research Award was instituted in 2011 and we continued this tradition in 2014. The awards are intended to support student travel to the annual meeting and recognize excellence in research pertaining to the relationships between organisms, biogeochemical cycles, and people to past, present, and future rangeland ecosystems. We received ten excellent applications and gave two awards of $400, one to PhD student Kelly Hopping of Colorado State University, and one to M.S. Student Jessica Parker of New Mexico Highlands University. Because of the exceptional caliber of the applicant pool, the executive committee chose to award honorable mentions to Duncan Kimuyu and Carissa Wonkka, to recognize their achievements and encourage continued participation with the Section.
Symposia and Special Sessions
The symposium proposal developed following the 2013 business meeting was successful, and it will take place Tuesday, August 12 from 8:00 to 11:30 AM. It is entitled, “Extreme Weather and Climate Events: Understanding and Adapting to Ecosystem Responses.” At the 2014 Business Meeting, we will solicit and develop ideas for 2014 Symposium and/or Organized Oral Session proposals.
Long-Term Planning Grant
In 2013, the Section received a long-term planning grant to increase its visibility within ESA and build connections with other professional organizations with related interests and missions such as the Society for Range Management. We were awarded $1,000 which was devoted largely to preparing a display booth with posters and door prizes.. In 2014, we are liaising with SRM to build stronger linkages between our membership. The Section will have an exhibit booth at the SRM Annual Meeting, held in February 2015 in Sacramento, CA. Booth materials created with the Long-Term Planning Grant will be used to increase our visibility among SRM membership.
Web Site and List Serve
The Section web site has been created on the ESA server (http://www.esa.org/rangeland/), but the current externally-hosted site (http://www.ag.unr.edu/ESA/?) has not yet been migrated over. We see this as a key priority for the Section, not only for communication among members but as an information repository to facilitate transitions between Section administrations and make it easier to make revisions as needed. We have also not yet transitions to a list serve system through ESA, which we anticipate will be more highly functional than the one we are currently using.
Submitted by Elizabeth G. King, 2013-2014 Chair