Arizona Student Chapter of the Society for Range Management (SRM) garner high honors at the SRM annual meetings
Arizona Student Chapter of the Society for Range Management (SRM) and U of A individuals garner high honors at the annual meetings of the International SRM and the Arizona Section of the SRM
Tierra Seca, the University of Arizona Student Chapter of the SRM, attended the 65th Annual International SRM Meeting in Spokane, Washington from January 28-February 2, 2012. Dr. Mitch McClaran serves as Tierra Seca student advisor. Students raised funds for their travel through contracted data entry work for the Pima National Resource Conservation District, through t-shirt sales, and by assisting the AZ Section of the SRM with their Summer 2011 and Winter 2012 meetings. They also received donations from the School of Natural Resources and the Environment (SNRE), the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Alumni Association, and from the Harry Wayne Springfield Endowment. Additionally, the students received donations at the Research Insights for Semiarid Ecosystems (RISE) Symposium in 2011, as well as from a variety of private individuals.
Nine undergraduates from the SNRE participated in the Undergraduate Range Management Exam (URME) in Spokane where they competed against 203 students from 25 universities and colleges that came to Spokane from across North America. The U of A URME team (see photo) consisted of Keith Arnold, Cameron Becker, Erin Boyd, Beth Freniere, Kelsey Hawkes, Matt Jewell, Evan Kipnis, Bridger Skaarer, and Alanna Riggs. Dr. Larry Howery served as the U of A URME Team coach. The U of A URME team placed 5th overall, with Bridger Skaarer placing 4th individually. Both the URME Team and Bridger received plaques for their outstanding scores. The top 3 scores from the U of A URME Team came from Bridger Skaarer (top 1% overall), Evan Kipnis (top 10% overall), and Erin Boyd (top 15% overall). Scoring in the top 10% of all URME students automatically qualified Bridger and Evan to apply for Certified Professional of Range Management (CPRM) status. The purpose of the SRM-sanctioned CPRM program is “To certify individuals who have the professional credentials required to plan and implement sound management of rangelands as a means of improving the standards of professional expertise used in managing public and private rangelands.”
Two awards were also given to URME Team members at the annual Arizona section SRM meeting on January 19, 2012. Kelsey Hawkes received the Marcelle E. Schmutz Memorial Scholarship ($850) due to her tireless contributions to the Tierra Seca student club, and for her dedication to preparing for the URME. Alanna Riggs received the SRM Outstanding Student Scholarship ($330) for her academic performance as a Natural Resources student in Rangeland Ecology and Management. Rangeland professionals at the Arizona SRM meeting in Tucson and at the international SRM meeting in Spokane were very impressed by the strong showing of U of A range students in the student competitions and at the job fair.
Other individuals with U of A affiliations were authors or co-authors on one or more professional papers (number) at the Spokane SRM meeting, including: John Kava (2), Sapana Lohani (1), Andrew Brishke (1), Sarah Noelle (1), Kim McReynolds (1), Amber Dalke (1), Retta Bruegger (4), Robin Pinto (1), and, Drs. George Ruyle (2), Doug Tolleson (2), Barbara Hutchinson (1), Barron Orr (1), Mitch McClaran (1), and Larry Howery (3). Sapana Lohani’s poster paper won second prize in the Ph.D. competition for 2012. In addition, Bruegger and Howery were co-authors on the 1st place poster paper in the 2011 Ph.D. SRM student competition (Billings, MT, redisplayed in Spokane in 2012), and, on the 1st place poster paper in the 2012 M.S. SRM student competition (Spokane, WA).
Congratulations to these folks for their hard work and dedication to SRM and for the many contributions of Tierra Seca to SRM and SNRE!
Photo caption: The University of Arizona Undergraduate Range Management Exam (URME) Team on January 30, 2012, just before taking the competitive URME at the annual international SRM meeting held in Spokane, WA:
(L-R, standing) – Erin Boyd, Alanna Riggs, Evan Kipnis, Matt Jewell, Bridger Skaarer, and Cameron Becker.
(L-R, kneeling) – Kelsey Hawkes, Keith Arnold, and Beth Freniere.
