In this `practitioners' Conference, we will feature farmers, ranchers, scientists and conservationists who are "living Leopold" today - people who are implementing his vision on the back forty. The event will incorporate six themes: (1) Land Health; (2) Conservation; (3) Sustainable Agriculture; (4) Wildlife and Restoration; (5) Beauty; and (6) the Land Ethic. Each theme will be motivated by a Leopold quote and each speaker will discuss the land ethic in their lives and how a new agrarianism works.

Dr. Craig Allen - USGS, Bandelier National Monument, N.M.
Craig D. Allen is a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, and Station Leader of the Jemez Mountains Field Station based at Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. Recent and ongoing research activities, involving a variety of colleagues and collaborators, include: development of ecological and fire histories in the Southwest; ecological responses of forests and woodlands to climate extremes, including extensive vegetation mortality and fire effects; linked ecological, runoff, and erosion processes in piñon-juniper watersheds; ecological restoration of Southwestern forests and woodlands; and development of long-term ecological monitoring networks across landscape gradients in the Jemez Mountains. He is one of the core principal investigators of the Western Mountain Initiative, an integration of research programs studying global change in mountain ecosystems of the western US (see www.cfr.washington.edu/research.fme/wmi/ ), with extensive international collaborations. Craig's place-based ecological research approach is highlighted at: www.fort.usgs.gov/resources/spotlight/place/place_home.asp ).

Steve Apfelbaum - Applied Ecological Services (AES), Brodhead, Wisconsin

Natures Second Chance - Restoring the Ecology of Stone Prairie Farm
Conference Presentation pdf size: 2.8mb

Steven I. Apfelbaum is among the most well-known leaders in the field of ecological system restoration, conservation development, and the restoration of hydrology in the world. He is founder of Applied Ecological Services (AES), a multi-million dollar international ecological restoration services company based in Brodhead, Wisconsin. Under his leadership, AES has implemented projects that include the international-awarded closure plans for the 2,400 acre Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island in New York that will be transformed into a new central park three times the size of the existing central park in Manhattan. Other major projects include the nationally acclaimed Prairie Crossings conservation development project in Grayslake, Illinois, which has been featured in over two hundred press articles in 2003-2004, including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

In addition to authoring hundreds of reports, technical publications, articles in such magazines as Land & Water Magazine and Civil Engineering News, and book chapters over the past 25 years that include Ecosystem Management (Yale University Press) and Restoration Handbook (Island Press), Apfelbaum is also a sought after conference speaker in this large and growing field of ecological restoration. He contributed the early years of starting the Society for Ecological Restoration, The Prairie Enthusiasts, the award-winning Chicago Wilderness program, and, through AES, the Kansas City Natural Resource Inventory - which will help save over $20 billion dollars and create an open space system - and the Conservation Plan for Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that protects and restores 6,000 acres of urban land as new parks.

Apfelbaum is best known for being at the cutting edge of the field of ecological sciences and restoration, in part, because of his visionary tendency - he always seems to be the first out of the blocks on a new discovery. This, coupled with his highly provocative, passionate and energetic style, has made him a leader turned to for guidance, advice and practical expertise. Apfelbaum has received over 30 awards of recognition separate from the numerous other awards received collectively by the many AES projects. Among the most recent awards include the American Planning Association's President Award for innovation in the design of the BluePrint for Liberty, Missouri and The International Design Competition for the Fresh Kills Landfill. In the field of ecology, Apfelbaum has been appointed to numerous scientific panels including the Technical Science and Advisory Committee for the Red River of the North Flood Damage Mediation process and The Nature Conservancy's Eminquon project (a 17,000 acre restoration in Illinois), and the scientist advisory team to the Kankakee Sands Project (a 7,300 acre restoration in Indiana).

Apfelbaum's most recent book, Natures Second Chance, is a touching and informative story of how he and partner, Susan M. Lehnhardt have restored Stone Prairie Farm, their home near the southern Wisconsin rural Juda, Wisconsin. It has been recognized as one of the top 10 environmental books of 2009, among other awards and notoriety gained through a glowing review in the New York Times, Wisconsin State Journal, and elsewhere.

Joan Bybee - Mesteno Draw Ranch, Mountainair, N.M.

Mesteño Draw Ranch: Using Best Management Practices to Restore Land Health
Conference Presentation pdf size: 4.85mb

Joan is a semi-retired Professor of Linguistics at UNM. She grew up in the Southwest--both southwest Texas and New Mexico--in a family with strong connections to ranching and nature. When she returned to NM in 1989, she bought a small parcel of land as a getaway for weekends and summer, and gradually has purchased more adjacent land, which has allowed her to establish a small ranch. It is located in central New Mexico, near Punta de Agua (north of Mountainair). With the help of the NRCS and the Claunch-Pinto Soil and Water Conservation District she has worked on restoring both rangeland and riparian areas. She reports that she came to the Quivira Coalition to learn about conservation ranching and has been very pleased with the results. Three QC workshops have been held on her ranch, all three conducted by Bill Zeedyk and connected with the restoration of Mesteño Draw. Joan has now started a small grassfed beef business, which she manages with the help of friends and family. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Quivira Coalition.

Steve Carson - Rangeland Hands, Inc., Santa Fe, N.M.

The Use of Heavy Equipment in Stream Channel Restoration
Water Symposium Presentation pdf size: 2.05mb

Steve Carson enjoyed a rural childhood in the untamed reaches of the West. His life unfolded on a ranch that embraced the Arizona desert; and a love affair with the land was nurtured along with an enthusiasm for the remote outdoors, which became the bedrock of his natural observation skills and intrinsic knowledge.

As a working cowboy, combat infantryman, journeyman lineman, journeyman carpenter and Licensed New Mexico General Contactor for over 25 years, Steve has harnessed a variety of skills including complex design, business management, and heavy equipment operation. This unusual combination of a deep connection to the land, coupled with a multi-faceted construction background, uniquely qualified him for the riparian, road and landform restoration work that has become Rangeland Hands, Inc. and his life's work.

"From my years of ranch and road work, I intuitively understood watersheds and how natural surface water functions. Putting that knowledge together with the in-depth scientific study of Fluvial Geomorphology has been totally stimulating-mentally, emotionally and spiritually. This work fits who Steve Carson is......"

Steve has designed and implemented numerous stream channel and road drainage projects in New Mexico and Arizona.

Dr. Dick Cates - Grassfed beef rancher and dairy professor, southern Wis.

The Cates Family Farm: Our Community of Creatures Great and Small
Conference Presentation pdf size: 7.29mb

Richard (Dick) earned a Ph.D. (1983) in Soil Science and Plant Health from the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison while serving an Aldo Leopold Fellowship, M.S. in Soil Science, Montana State Univ. (1979), and B.A. in Anthropology and Geography, Dartmouth College (1974). Dick and his family have operated a 950-acre managed-grazing business since 1987 with the goal of family well being; farm profitability; producing affordable, healthy food from livestock that are humanely-raised; and model grasslands management and environmental stewardship practices. In 1989 they began to direct-market beef from their pasture-raised Angus (now also, Jersey) steers; at present they provide Cates Family Farm beef directly to more than 200 households, retail-businesses, and restaurants located between Spring Green, Madison, and Milwaukee. In 2000, the Cates Farm was the first in Wisconsin to receive a Midwest Food Alliance label and endorsement; the Midwest Food Alliance promotes environmentally sound food production farms and systems. In 2006 they were the first beef farm in the nation to receive an endorsement from the Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

Van Clothier - Stream Dynamics, Silver City, N.M.

Let the Water Do the Work: Concepts & Fundamentals
Water Symposium Presentation pdf size: 4.37mb

Van Clothier, Stream Dynamics, Inc. Water Harvesting Earthworks, Stream and Arroyo improvement, Erosion Control and Road maintenance. Van has been an apprentice of Bill Zeedyk since 2003 and is the co-author of Bill's book Let the Water Do the Work, Induced Meandering, an Evolving Method for Restoring Incised Channels. He is a student of Dr. Dave Rosgen and has a degree in physics from the University of California. He is involved in stream, wetland and water harvesting projects all over New Mexico and Southeast Arizona.




Sally Collins - Director, Office of Ecosystem Services & Markets - U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

Ecosystem Services and Markets: What Would Leopold Think?
Conference Presentation pdf size: 1.42mb

Sally Collins was named Director of the USDA Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets (OESM) in December 2008. OESM plays an instrumental role advancing markets for ecosystem services provided by farms, forests, and ranches across the country. As Director, Collins supports the USDA Secretary in developing uniform, science-based guidelines and the infrastructure necessary to make ecosystem markets function, including procedures and tools for measuring, reporting, and registering environmental benefits produced by land management activities.

Collins began working in Washington DC in 1999 as Associate Deputy Chief for the U.S. Forest Service's National Forest System. In 2001 she was appointed Associate Chief of the agency, sharing responsibility for all Forest Service programs, budgets, and personnel. With more than 25 years in public service, Collins has held a number of positions including Forest Supervisor of the Deschutes National Forest; she has also served as wilderness specialist, environmental planner, energy minerals coordinator, and Youth Conservation Corps leader. Collins was born in Ames, Iowa. She received a BS from the University of Colorado and a Master's degree from the University of Wyoming.

Rick Danvir - Deseret Ranch, Woodruff, Utah

Profitably Managing Rangelands for Wildlife Conservation, Diversity, and Abundance
Conference Presentation pdf size: 7.57mb

Rick received an Associates Degree in Fish and Wildlife Management from the State University of New York at Cobleskill in 1975. After working as a wildlife research technician for several years with the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation, the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Rick received a Bachelors degree in Wildlife Science from Utah State University in 1982. He began his career as a wildlife biologist at Deseret Land and Livestock ranch in 1983, and has been the wildlife manager since 1990. His wildlife research experience includes studies of black bear, prairie dog, cougar, mule deer, elk, pronghorn and greater sage grouse ecology. He has managed wildlife on ranches and reservations throughout the Intermountain West, the Great Plains, Maine, Florida, Alberta and Argentina. Rick has served as a Utah Fish and Game Commissioner, on the Utah Habitat Council, as a board member of the Utah Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit Association, the Utah Foundation for Quality Resource Management and the BEHAVE Advisory Board. His principle management interest is integrating agricultural production and wildlife management for ecological and economic sustainability.

Bill deBuys - Conservationist, El Valle N.M.
William deBuys is the author of six books including Enchantment and Exploitation (1985) and River of Traps (reissued in 2008), which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 1991. An excerpt from his most recent book, The Walk, which is set in the same mountain valley as River of Traps, won a 2008 Pushcart Prize. A 2008-2009 Guggenheim Fellow, deBuys's current book-length project is "A Great Aridness: Climate Change in the North American Southwest." Long active in environmental matters in the Southwest, from 2001 to 2004 he served as the founding chairman of the Valles Caldera Trust, which manages the 89,000-acre Valles Caldera National Preserve in northern New Mexico.


Matilda Essig - Artist, Elgin, Ariz.

Portraits of Grasses
Conference Presentation pdf size: 2.3mb

Matilda is a traditionally trained fine artist, whose work now embraces the digital future. Her background in classical realism and years of experience in natural science illustration and interpretive design have given rise to a new approach that involves direct imaging from nature. Using high-resolution digital scanning and large-format printing, she portrays the intimate intricacies of her tiny subject--grasses--at a scale that invites exploration and understanding. Her work is also about reawakening our perceptual abilities. Using beauty as a tool, she hopes to help inspire modern civilization to reconnect to the natural world.

While a native easterner, Matilda has lived in the west for nearly half her life. She has worked with numerous governmental and private conservation groups, and became interested in grasslands and watershed management in 2001 when she was invited to do a poster to commemorate the dedication of the Las Cienegas NCA, (which included the Empire Ranch). The inspiration for her current work comes from restoring her own 5 acres of badly damaged grasslands, where she uses cattle and rotational grazing to encourage the recovery. Schools include: Sterling College's Grassroots Project in Vermont, Reed College, Art Students League of NY, Institute for Electronic Arts at Alfred University, Tacheria School for Interfaith Spiritual Directors. www.matildaessig.com

Sid Goodloe - Rancher, Capitan, N.M.

The Evolution of a Land Ethic on Carrizo Valley Ranch
Conference Presentation pdf size: 4.97mb

EXPERIENCE:
• 48 years as owner-operator of the Carrizo Valley Ranch, 16 miles North, Capitan, New Mexico
• 46 years, piñon-juniper ecosystem manipulation, watershed rehabilitation and wildlife habitat enhancement in the southwestern United States
• 23 years, international livestock consultant - Australia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Madagascar, Iran, Dominican Republic, Trinidad Tobago, Nigeria
• 15 years, consultant and ranch manager, Tipperary Corporation of Midland, Texas - Colorado and Australia Divisions
• 6 years, member of the Users Advisory Board to the U. S. Secretary of Agriculture
• 2 ½ years, Provincial Range Advisor, Rift Valley Province; Kenya, Africa
• First manager, Fort Stanton Range Research Station; New Mexico State University; Fort Stanton, New Mexico
• Consultant to the Mountain Ute Reservation; Mid Kansas Ag. Co.; Cortez, Colorado
• Established First Short Duration Grazing or "Savory" method in the United States, which is still in operation with few changes
• Recipient of the National Cattlemen's Association's Environmental Stewardship Award, Region 6, 1995
• Recipient of the New Mexico Watershed Coalition's Watershed Steward Award, 1999
• Recipient of the Clarence Burch Award; The Quivira Coalition, 2003
• Recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Mexico Riparian Council - 2003
AFFILIATIONS:
Founder & President: Southern Rockies Agricultural Land Trust
Founding Member: New Mexico Riparian Council
Member: National Commission on Wildfire
Member: BLM Resource Advisory council, 1996-98
President: Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium
Board of Directors: Hubbard Museum of the American West, Ruidoso, New Mexico
New Mexico Watershed Coalition
New Mexico Cattle Growers Association
The Quivira Coalition, New Mexico

Linda Hasselstrom - Author and Rancher, Hermosa, S.D.
Linda M. Hasselstrom grew up on a small cattle ranch in western South Dakota, learning how cows can help sustain and improve arid grasslands.

Her ranch now hosts the Great Plains Native Plant Society's botanic garden and a riparian project by the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory as well as retreats for working writers and artists. Writing on the prairie allows her to enjoy its beauty while ranching helps to preserve it from settlement. "My primary job," she says, "is writing about this territory I love. I write to learn, and to provide knowledge. I want readers to appreciate the value of the grasslands so much they won't buy a ranchette here."

More than a dozen books reflect her 50 years of ranching experience and environmental concern. Between Grass and Sky, essays, was a finalist for Women Writing the West's WILLA award. Bitter Creek Junction won a Wrangler for best poetry book at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK. The Independent Publishers Association named Bison: Monarch of the Plains best environmental and nature book of the year. Her newest book is No Place Like Home: Field Notes from a Western Life, University of Nevada Press. Find details of her work and writing retreats at www.windbreakhouse.com, info@windbreakhouse.com; P.O. Box 169, Hermosa, SD 57744.

Tammy Herrera - Ojo Encino Chapter of the Navajo Nation, Cuba, N.M.

Managing Horses on the Navajo Nation for a Sustainable Future
Conference Presentation pdf size: 1.54mb

Tammy Herrera is from the Ojo Encino Chapter of the Navajo Nation. She serves as the project manager for the Ojo Encino Horse Management Program. In this role, Tammy is responsible for overseeing the Horse Reduction Program, the Range Ride Program, the Ojo Encino 4-H Sage Riders Youth Program, the Grazing Management Program, and all of the education/outreach events associated with these programs. In preparing for these roles, Tammy was trained in Holistic Resource Management (by Kirk Gadzia), and she attended a class in Montana on how to properly administer the PZP vaccine (horse birth control). In addition, Tammy serves on the Ojo Encino Rancher's Committee, and is a Project Leader for Hasbidito (a non-profit community organization dedicated to capacity building). Tammy has educated herself on rainwater harvesting, animal composting, and the Mobile Matanza model for small scale meat processing. Utilizing all of these different types of knowledge, Tammy's ultimate goal is to help create a healthy landscape (through proper grazing management) and a healthy community (through the localization of food) in which to raise her family.

Tammy's father was the Chapter president of Ojo Encino, and one of the founders of the Ojo Encino Rancher's Committee. He was primarily responsible for her education in agriculture, and to this day, Tammy and her family raise a herd of sheep and goats. She attended school at Western Oregon State College, Monmouth, OR, and afterwards worked for 15 years with Native American juvenile delinquents in residential treatment centers in Durango, CO, Santa Fe, NM, Tucson, AZ, and Portland, OR. She returned to Ojo Encino in 2000, where she and her husband, Tracy Trujillo, built a Hogan and house and are currently raising 3 children.

Jen Johnson - 5th generation rancher and graduate student at the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, Texas

Navigating Sustainability: Perspectives for the Future
Conference Presentation pdf size: 1.07mb

Jen Johnson is a fifth generation rancher from Kit Carson, Colorado. She attended Princeton University, where she majored in anthropology and wrote her senior thesis about ranch women on the Great Plains. After college she worked for El Pomar Foundation in Colorado and then for The Nature Conservancy, where she collaborated with Colorado State University and the Colorado Cattlemen's Association to create the Ranching Legacy Program, which is designed to equip young ranchers to be leaders in land management and conservation. She currently lives in Texas, where she is the first woman to attend the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management.


Timm Kaminsky - Mountain Livestock Cooperative, Alberta, Canada
Timm is a Wildlife and Conservation Biologist and is currently a research associate with two conservation organizations; Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, Jackson, Wyoming, and Craighead Environmental Research Institute, Bozeman, Montana. In addition, he is the principal conservation biologist and investigator with the Mountain Livestock Cooperative (MLC) in Augusta, Montana, a regional conservation initiative and applied research effort designed to conserve and sustain the working ranch and large carnivore populations in the Mountain west. Tim and has colleagues have worked for more than a decade on working ranches in the mountain west to prevent and resolve conflicts between large carnivores and livestock at the interface of public and private lands. The focus of this work is merging rancher's knowledge about livestock, their land and surroundings, with a scientific understanding of carnivore behavior and ecology. Areas of current work where over a decade of experience working with ranchers and livestock is being applied are located in southern Alberta, northwest Wyoming and east-central Idaho.

Timm's education, professional and conservation experience span 30 years in the Rocky Mountains of the western U.S., Alberta and British Columbia. He has worked for state, federal, provincial and non-government organizations with principal missions involving wildlife and natural resource conservation. His experience has involved carnivores, endangered species and big game. He has participated in research and management efforts as biologist and Project leader on mule deer, elk, black-footed ferret, northern spotted owl, gray wolf, bald eagle, Canada lynx and grizzly bear conservation efforts spanning the Yellowstone region, Rocky Mountains of the U.S. and Canada, Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes regions.

Clare Kazanski - Great Granddaughter of Aldo Leopold, Policy Analyst, National Climate Campaign, Environmental Defense Fund, Washington, D.C.
Clare developed an early interest in ecology through frequent visits to the family "Shack" on the Wisconsin River and spending time at her late grandfather Luna Leopold's home outside Pinedale, Wyoming. In 2007 she graduated from Carleton College, where she majored in biology and minored in environmental studies and Spanish. She received the honor of distinction for her senior thesis on the role of plant-microbe mutualisms in terrestrial community response to elevated atmospheric CO2, and has published research on the ecosystem carbon dynamics of a north temperate forest in Forest Ecology and Management. At Carleton, Clare collaborated with peers on a plan for the college to become carbon-neutral. She also volunteered teaching elementary students about conservation and local environmental issues. Now with Environmental Defense Fund, Clare assists in promoting federal legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Tim and Katie Kline - Amish farmers, Ohio

Don't Forget the Old Agrarianism!: A Young Amish Family's Perspective on Horse Farming in the 21st century
Conference Presentation pdf size: 0.79mb



Tim and Katie Kline are Amish farmers in Fredericksburg, Ohio. They farm 80 acres all by horse traction and milk 60 cows with the help of their 4 children; Ryan 10, Erin 8, Demi 5 and Kara 2. Their farm is now organic and soon to be certified organic.




Dr. Rick Knight - Professor of Biology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins

Natural Beauty, Land Health, and the Still Unlovely Mind
Conference Presentation pdf size: 0.4mb

Richard Knight is interested in the nexus of land use and land health in the American West. A professor of wildlife conservation at Colorado State University, he received his graduate degrees from the University of Washington and the University of Wisconsin. While at Wisconsin he was an Aldo Leopold Fellow and conducted his research at Aldo Leopold's farm, living in "The Shack." Before becoming an academic he worked for the Washington Department of Game developing the nongame wildlife program. Presently, he sits on a number of boards including the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust, The Quivira Coalition, the Science Board of the Malpai Borderlands Project, the Diablo Trust, the Rancher's Stewardship Alliance, Resources First Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy's Colorado Council. He is on the Board of Editors for both Conservation Biology, and for Ecological Applications. He was selected by the Ecological Society of America for the first cohort of Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellows which focus on leadership in the scientific community, communicating with the media, and interacting with the business and corporate sectors. In 2007, Colorado State University honored him with the Broad of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award. He is a three-time recipient of the students' choice for Outstanding Faculty Member in the Warner College of Natural Resources. In 2008, he was a recipient of the Colorado Book Award for an anthology and, with Courtney White, edited Conservation for a New Generation (Island Press).

Jed Meunier - Great grandson of Leopold and graduate student at CSU, Fort Collins, Colo.

Preserving the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation: a Case for Restoration
Conference Presentation pdf size: 2.7mb

Presentation title: Preserving the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation: A Case for Restoration
Jed Meunier grew up along the banks of the Wisconsin River, a landscape with a rich legacy and hunting tradition. Jed is an ecologist whose work relates to the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources. Currently, this includes fire ecology research in northern Mexico, which aims to guide restoration efforts and forest management in northern Mexico and the U.S. southwest as a Ph.D. candidate at Colorado State University. Jed received his M.S. in wildlife ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison after studying the effects of hunting on declining American woodcock populations. He was the first ever masters student to receive the Donald H. Rusch Memorial Game Bird Research Scholarship from The Wildlife Society. He was also awarded the Terry Amundson Memorial Scholarship from the Ruffed Grouse Society. Jed recognizes the importance of hunting as a dynamic tool for wildlife management and conservation, but one with an uncertain future.

Stephen Monroe - Hydrologist, National Park Service, Flagstaff, Ariz.

History of Induced Meandering at Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site
Water Symposium Presentation pdf size: 5.79mb

Steve is a hydrologist and aquatic ecologist with the National Park Service. In this position he oversees the Southern Colorado Plateau Inventory and Monitoring Network's Water Resources program, encompassing the disciplines of hydrology, riparian ecology, and aquatic ecology. The primary focus of the program is development and implementation of an integrated long-term monitoring program for these resources in a diverse group of national parks in the Four Corners region. Steve previously worked for more than 15 years with the U.S. Geological Survey, participating in projects addressing complex water issues such as the potential effects of groundwater mining on spring ecosystems in the Grand Canyon; studies of the downstream effects of dams on the Colorado, Elwha, and Green Rivers; and the effects of groundwater withdrawals related to mining activities on springs and streams on the Hopi and Navajo Reservations. Based in Flagstaff, Arizona, Steve is an avid explorer of the Four Corners region's canyons and mountains. Steve holds an M.S. in Forestry from Northern Arizona University and has a deep commitment to the conservation and restoration of the rivers and freshwater ecosystems of the western United States.

Glenda Muirhead - Albuquerque Wildlife Federation, Albuquerque, N.M.

Sticks and Stones in Riparian Zones: Hand Built Structures
Water Symposium Presentation pdf size: 5.21mb

Originally from western New York State, Glenda Muirhead has lived in New Mexico since 1983 in the Manzano Mountains east of Albuquerque. Currently President of Albuquerque Wildlife Federation, she first joined the group to participate in field projects, where she met and studied with Bill Zeedyk, project chair for AWF. Over the course of several years and dozens of outings, she has developed a keen appreciation for Bill's "hands-on" restoration techniques, and especially enjoys putting the finishing touches on one-rock dams at AWF's beautiful project locations around the state, especially Valle Vidal, Rio de las Vacas, Cebolla Canyon, Cedro Creek, Wind River Ranch, and Limestone Canyon in the San Mateo Mountains. With a degree in English and an MBA, Glenda writes the AWF monthly newsletter, and is also a runner and online contact for Albuquerque Road Runners Club.

Gary Nabhan - Author and Research Social Scientist, University of Arizona, Tucson.

Where's Aldo?: Ranching to Sustain Wild Biodiversity while Producing Tacos sin Carbon
Conference Presentation pdf size: 2.5mb

Gary Paul Nabhan, PhD., is an Arab-American writer, lecturer, food and farming advocate, rural lifeways folklorist, and conservationist whose work has long been rooted in the U.S./Mexico borderlands region he affectionately calls "the stinkin' hot desert." He recently accepted a tenured professorship as a Research Social Scientist based at the Southwest Center of the University of Arizona--- his alma mater.
He teaches in Geography, as well as interacting with faculty and graduate students engaged in creative writing and reconciliation ecology research. He continues advising or consulting with many non-profits--including the Renewing America's Food Traditions collaborative - although he will no longer serve as administrator or principal investigator on any grant-funded research or community development projects in order to devote more time to creative writing and field work.
For his literary non-fiction, grassroots conservation and community-based ethnobiology projects, Nabhan has been honored with the John Burroughs Medal for Nature Writing, a MacArthur "genius" award, a Lannan Literary Award, a Pew Fellowship in Conservation and Environment, a Lifetime Acheivement Award from the Society for Conservation Biology, and a Quivira Coalition award for excellence in science that contributes to "the radical center."
Nabhan's books have been translated in five languages, and he has lectured at universities in Mexico, Lebanon, Peru, Oman, Guatemala, and Italy, including Slow Food's University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo.
When not gardening, caring for heritage breeds of sheep and turkeys, or hiking with his digs, he is active in the Order of Ecumenical Franciscans, the Orion Society and the local foods movement.

Amber Reed - Quivira CARLY apprentice at the San Juan Ranch, Saguache, Colo.

Navigating Sustainability: Perspectives for the Future
Conference Presentation pdf size: 6.35mb

Growing up on a backwoods homestead in Maine, I became interested in agriculture at an early age starting with nursing goats and bantam chickens. I received my B.A. in Environmental Studies and Visual Art from Bowdoin College; and worked as a canoe guide, farm hand, and schoolteacher before becoming the first Quivira Coalition CARLY apprentice. I am thrilled to be the first Quivira Coalition CARLY apprentice at the San Juan Ranch in Colorado. I expect to spend these two or three years learning how to create a sustainable and economical operation from dedicated ranchers and farmers. Through the apprenticeship, I hope to become an ambassador and leader for sustainable ranching. Ranchers and farmers must be adaptive and observant; therefore, they thrive when they understand the specifics of their land. I believe that sustainable agriculture is the most important component of conservation, and grass-based ranching is the most efficient use of our natural resources and the healthiest, happiest system for animals and people. I want to be part of the movement forward with ranchers and farmers who are innovative, skeptical, and care deeply for their land, animals, and communities.

Steve Reichert - Tierra y Montes SWCD, Las Vegas, N.M.

Using Induced Meandering Techinques on the Sapello Watershed
Water Symposium Presentation pdf size: 10.4mb

Coming from the heartland, Steve Reichert along with his wife and two young boys went to Bolivia to work in community service for 7 years before settling in Las Vegas, New Mexico in 1995. After several years working with local acequia users he was assigned project facilitator for Tierra y Montes Soil and Water Conservation District. He first met Bill Zeedyk at a New Mexico Riparian Council conference in 1999 where Bill was doing a presentation. From his past experiences working with individuals with limited resources, he was attracted to Bill's philosophy on land restoration; working with nature to improve conditions instead of forcing it to do what you want.

Over the past 8 years Steve has worked with Bill on several projects in their district, attended various workshops by Bill applying his soft techniques to help restore the land. These techniques and Bill's approach were a perfect fit for the work Steve was involved in with Nina Wells, project reviewer of NM Environment Department's Surface Water Quality Bureau for EPA 319 funds on the Pecos, Gallinas and Sapello rivers. Steve was able to use Bill's ideas of using local materials along with nature's processes to heal and restore many degraded areas.

Steve's presentation will show restoration work on Manuelitas Creek, upper Arroyo Horno and Cañon del Medio located in San Miguel County NM. Induced meandering and stream bank stabilization were successfully accomplished using; rock, boulders, root wads, logs and plant material to build vanes, weirs and baffles.

Dr. Patricia Richardson - Soil Scientist from the University of Texas, Austin, Texas
Area of interest: Soil Ecology and Land Management

Dung Beetles Like it When Poop Happens: How They Benefit Both Land and Profit
Range School Presentation pdf size: 3.79mb

After my Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Texas I continued research as a biochemist, doing protein sequencing and enzyme purification. I worked for several years with a University sponsored start-up company developing a technique to detect insect infestation in grains. I began working in natural resource management with my husband Dick Richardson in the early 1990s - doing aerial photography of rangeland, co-teaching Natural Resource Management at the University of Texas, studying the effect of dung beetles on pasture and rangeland, and currently exploring videography of soil mesofauna. A strong objective of all our research is to recognize and promote the use of nature's free tools to simultaneously build ecological health and enhance economic wellbeing. Having grown up an urbanite, (and thinking that all food came from grocery stores), I now espouse to audiences the need to recognize and honor the skill and knowledge required to produce healthy food and healthy land. Good farmers, good ranchers, and good land managers have risen to the top of my list of "essential natural resources".
I am a Board Member of Holistic Management International Texas.

Larry Schmidt - Larry J. Schmidt, Watershed Consultant, Minden, Nev. (Formerly Program Manager of the USFS National Stream Systems Technology Center located at Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, Colo.)

Channel Incisions: Causes, Consequences and Cures
Water Symposium Presentation pdf size: 3.76mb

Mr. Schmidt is a Registered Professional Forester in the State of California with over 40 years of experience in wildland watershed management and hydrology. He is also a Certified Professional Erosion and Sediment Control Specialist. His primary areas of technical expertise are in assessing watershed conditions, performing problem analyses leading to watershed treatment prescriptions designed to improve conditions in small watersheds and Best Management Practice Prescriptions for wildland activities. Mr. Schmidt has been involved in a number of projects that have lead to improved watershed conditions, better water quality and flood reduction. He has also designed courses and instructed other professionals in hydrologic analysis approaches. He has held professional and leadership assignments with the USDA Forest Service at forest, region and national offices. These assignments focused on riparian management, stream systems, watershed improvement and emergency burn rehabilitation. He has worked collaboratively with a variety of other federal, state and local agencies to seek workable watershed improvement outcomes. His work has often relied on watershed use histories to explain existing conditions and to provide a basis for recommended treatment options.

Craig Sponholtz - Dryland Solutions, Inc., Santa Fe, N.M.

Maintaining and Repairing Induced Meandering Structures
Water Symposium Presentation pdf size: 5.27mb

The Art of Re-connecting People, Places, and Processes with Watershed Restoration
Conference Presentation pdf size: 3.53mb


Craig Sponholtz, founder and president of Dryland Solutions Inc., is a watershed restoration specialist and agro-ecologist currently residing in Santa Fe, NM. He spent a decade with the U.S. Forest Service in New Mexico and Arizona working mostly in Wildland Fire Management. Craig studied Permaculture in Australia at Bill Mollison's Tagari Farm. In 2005 he received a Master of Arts degree in Agro-Ecological Restoration from Prescott College. As an undergrad Craig studied natural resource management as well as sculpture, printmaking and ceramics. His interest in the visual arts continues today and finds it's outlet in the rockwork he sculpts for stream restoration projects. He works throughout the southwest with private landowners, non-profits, tribes and government agencies. Craig has a passion for teaching and getting the word out. He leads workshops in erosion control and passive waterharvesting techniques that seek to give his students the skills and encouragement needed to go out and make a difference in their home watersheds.


Julie Sullivan - Environmentalist and Rancher, San Juan Ranch, Saguache, Colo.

Walking Between the Wild and the Back 40
Conference Presentation pdf size: 2.04mb

Growing up on the beach in Southern California, Julie was more at ease with cats and dogs than humans. So she isn't completely surprised to find herself living in an isolated valley, working with her husband on their certified organic cattle ranch. Prior to ranching, Julie was an actor, administrator for non-profit theatres and public television, Waldorf teacher, and vegetarian. For 13 years Julie served as faculty for the graduate and undergraduate interdisciplinary environmental studies programs offered by the Audubon Expedition Institute at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. The program required living and studying in the field all semester, and the curriculum focused on ecology, cultural diversity, environmental issues, community dynamics and conflict resolution and progressive education, in order to develop critical thinking and creative responses to the challenges of our time.

Julie and her husband, George Whitten, run a grass-fed cow/calf-to-finished steer operation, with the long-term goals of re-localizing food systems while increasing the ecological health of all the land with which they work. They received the 2006 Clarence Burch Award, which they shared with Carol and Jim Thorpe. In 2003 Julie created an intern program on the ranch; and in 2008, in conjunction with The Quivira Coalition, created the CARLY ranching apprenticeship program. The first CARLY apprentice arrived at the ranch in April of 2009.

The through line in this wide-ranging journey is a fervent belief in the intrinsic value of all life, and a special commitment to the relationship between humans and other animals.
Julie's life and work is grounded in Deep Ecology and Buddhism, as well as a commitment to living the paradox inherent in loving the earth while making a living from and with it.

Gene Tatum - Albuquerque Wildlife Federation, Albuquerque, N.M.

Sticks and Stones in Riparian Zones: Hand Built Structures
Water Symposium Presentation pdf size: 5.21mb

I am currently Project Committee Chair for the Albuquerque Wildlife Federation. I assumed this position after serving a 4 year term as AWF President. During my tenure with AWF, I am proud to have seen participation in our service projects increase from 5 or 6 volunteers per project to as many as 60. There are many reasons for this success; primarily it is the type of project- riparian restoration- and their location- mostly on Federal Public Lands.

Before joining the AWF, I worked for Albuquerque Bureau of Land Management. As a BLM employee, I met Bill Zeedyk. In 2001, I began work with Bill and AWF on building induced meanders structures on Cebolla Creek in El Malpais National Conservation Area. As a result, my interest in induced meandering was sparked. Looking for opportunity to gain experience, I joined the Albuquerque Wildlife in 2003 to become involved in volunteer projects. Before retirement from BLM in May 2005, I became President of AWF. As I became increasing involved with AWF, I realized that planning, organizing, and leading service projects is very rewarding. Over the years, we have built many types of riparian restoration structures. In support of Bill and Van's new book, we are pleased to speak to you all about our experience and work.

Dan Taylor - Bat Conservation International, Calif. and Austin, Tex.

What Do Bats and Cows Have in Common? Or, Improving Water Quality and Access for Wildlife and Livestock at Range Water Developments
Range School Presentation pdf size: 5.31mb

Dan directs the Water for Wildlife Project for Bat Conservation International, the Texas-based non-profit dedicated to bat conservation, education, and research. The Project's goals are to ensure safe and reliable water resources for both livestock and wildlife, in the face of climate change and drought. Dan previously directed BCI's Forests and Abandoned Mine Lands programs, and received his BS. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana and an MS. in Forestry from Northern Arizona University. Dan has more than 25 years of experience working on a wide range of wildlife conservation projects in North and Central America and Africa. Prior to BCI, Dan was a biologist with the Forest Service on the Kootenai National Forest in Montana, Oregon's Mount Hood National Forest, and the Prescott National Forest in Arizona. Dan was also the first director of the Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Preserve while serving in the U.S. Peace Corps in Belize and is particularly passionate about balancing natural resource utilization and wildlife conservation.

Randy Udall - Energy Expert, Basalt, Colo.

Land Ethic Yes, But what about Energy?
Conference Presentation pdf size: 6.62mb

Randy Udall, former director of the Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE), is one of the nation's leading activists in promoting energy sustainability. CORE's partnerships with electric utilities and local governments have led to remarkable accomplishments, including Colorado's first solar energy incentive program, the world's first Renewable Energy Mitigation Program which has raised $7 million, and some of the most progressive green power purchasing programs in the country.

Udall is co-founder of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil-USA and has keynoted annual conferences for the Rocky Mountain Electric League and American Wind Energy Association. In recent months he has addressed the Nebraska Municipal Power Pool, Colorado Rural Electric Association, Colorado Association of Municipal Utilities, Utah Association of Municipal Utilities, and the Northern California Power Association. Udall was recently featured in a CNBC documentary The Hunt for Black Gold.

Chet Vogt - Rancher and Winner of the 2008 Leopold Conservation Award, Elk Creek, Calif.

Stuff I have Learned
Conference Presentation pdf size: 2.38mb

"STUFF I HAVE LEARNED"
Ranch raised in Northern California, Chet Vogt has spent the last 35 years developing land management and restoration skills thru cattle grazing. He has worked on private deeded lands as well as State and Federal lands where working with various individuals,agencies and environmental groups he has established grazing regimes to restore health to the lands. He will share some of the succeses and failures he has experienced during this time


Steve Vrooman - Steve Vrooman Restoration Ecology, Santa Fe, N.M.

Monitoring isn't as Boring as it Sounds
Water Symposium Presentation pdf size: 1.37mb

Steve Vrooman currently lives in Santa Fe and is the owner of Steve Vrooman Restoration Ecology. He has a M.S. in Biology (Plant Community Ecology) from UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada. For the last 8 years, Steve has been an environmental consultant and designer of riparian and wetland restoration projects. His design philosophy involves a holistic understanding of the fluvial geomorphology of the system to design passive restoration designs with the minimum of disturbance to the ecosystem.
Steve Vrooman Restoration Ecology
200 Navajo
Santa Fe, NM 87505
505-490-0594
stevevrooman@gmail.com


Peter Warshall - Conservationist and former student of Luna Leopold, Tucson, Ariz.

The Legacy of Luna Leopold - Channeling Watershed Thought
Water Symposium Presentation pdf size: 5.51mb

Peter worked with Luna Leopold when he was environment editor for the Whole Earth Catalog and its magazines in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1976, the CoEvolution Quarterly produced the first issue for the US public on watershed thought. Peter was, at the same time, the director of a small utilities district in northern California involved with in-stream flows, recycling sewerage systems, sedimentation in Bolinas Lagoon, and public policy during the mid-1970s drought crises in California. He has subsequently worked on watershed management issues in the Lake Chad basin, in the sudd swamps of the White Nile, as well as various watersheds of western North America and northern Mexico. He lives in Tucson and works on farming and food system (including climate, ranching and commercial crop) futures as well as environmental consequences of renewables in New Mexico (the Dreaming new Mexico projects) as well as conservation ranching and biodiversity protection for the northernmost jaguar in Sonora. He has a PhD in biology and anthropology and owns a small consulting firm that specializes in conservation and development conflicts in smaller communities.

Nina Wells - NMED - SWQB , Santa Fe, N.M.

Using Induced Meandering Techinques on the Sapello Watershed
Water Symposium Presentation pdf size: 10.4mb

Nina Wells is an environmental scientist with the New Mexico Environment Department Surface Quality Bureau. She works with landowners, agencies and watershed groups to maintain and restore water quality, through grants from the Clean Water Act. In the southwest one of the challenges is to keep water in rivers, and urban watersheds pose particular problems of nonpoint source pollution entering our rivers. She is an advocate of grass roots responsibility and common sense in how we live in our landscape. A graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Earth Science, she has been working with watershed restoration projects for 15 years with Surface Water Quality Bureau, New Mexico Environment Department.

Bill Zeedyk - Zeedyk Ecological Consulting, Sandia Park, N.M.

Let the Water Do the Work: Concepts & Fundamentals
Water Symposium Presentation pdf size: 6.46mb

Bill owns and operates a small consulting business specializing in the restoration of wetland and riparian habitats using low tech, hands-on methods and native materials.

Bill holds a BS degree in Forestry (Wildlife Management) from the University of New Hampshire, Class of 1956. Bill retired from the US Forest Service in 1990 with 34 years of service. His career included assignments as Research Forester, Assistant District Ranger, Forest Wildlife Biologist, Staff Officer for Wildlife and Watershed Management, Endangered Species Biologist and finally Staff Director for Wildlife and Fisheries Management, Southwestern Region, Albuquerque, NM where he served for fourteen years.

Following retirement, he began to develop a second career focusing on simple techniques for stabilizing and restoring incised stream channels and gullied wetlands on public and private lands in the Southwestern US and Mexico. Bill likes to share what he knows with others and has conducted numerous hands-on training workshops featuring his own low tech measures utilizing readily available native materials. His workshops have been sponsored by various state, federal and tribal agencies as well as non-profit organizations such as the Quivira Coalition, New Mexico Riparian Council, National Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, Edgewood Soil and Conservation District, University of Missouri and others. In support of the workshops Bill has prepared several field manuals including "Managing Roads for Wet Meadow Ecosystem Recovery" a publication for which he received a national award in wetlands conservation from Ducks Unlimited and the Forest Service.