#092, In Practice, Nov/Dec 2003

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT

IN PRACTICE

in this Issue

Providing the link between a healthy environment and a sound economy NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003

NUMBER 92

Exploring Families

by Ann Adams

T

here is an African saying that it takes a whole village to raise a child. The message behind this quote is that children flourish in an environment where there is healthy community dynamics with other children, extended family, and friends participating in the life of each child. From this diversity of interaction, action, and perception, the child has the opportunity to experience the richness of life and reaches adulthood with greater knowledge of how to contribute back to that community.

One of the reasons that many families are attracted to Holistic Management and continue to manage holistically is because they are able to improve their family’s quality of life through better decision-making and planning. In a best-case scenario, both spouses or head of household are trained and have an interest in integrating Holistic Management into family “procedures” that are already in place like financial planning, decision-making, and communication.

However, those who have been introduced to Holistic Management separately from their spouses or partners have found it challenging to bring these new ideas forward without feeling they are perceived as “preaching” a new path or knowing more than the other family members.

Such a scenario can become fertile breeding grounds for conflict if care isn’t taken to respect differences while looking for common ground.

Every Head is a World A key to successfully creating the latter outcome rather than the former, is the willingness to explore life rather than assume that how we were raised is the only way to live life. In doing so, we encourage creativity and exploration, helping family members move beyond those assumptions. We create our new families believing we know what is “right” from our experiences with our biological family, but we have the opportunity of discovering what

best serves our family of choice through our willingness to explore life together.

This is not to say that the families we grew up in did things wrong; rather, we must recognize life is dynamic and full of change.

We meet people who were possibly raised in different ways or with different cultures. In creating new protocol, standards, or ground rules with our family of choice, it helps to have a way to explore the values that are important to them and create an environment where we can nurture those values for everyone in the family. Families practicing Holistic Management have consistently found the holistic goal setting to be immensely helpful in communicating those values and helping families make decisions toward the life they want.

The articles in this issue demonstrate that heightened level of creativity, exploration, communication and respect. In managing holistically, these people have a greater understanding and appreciation for their families and what they have to offer to their families.

In “Building A Tribal Legacy,” the story of the Colville tribe’s effort to better serve their children, we learn that we need to move beyond our own self-interest and comfort to look at how we can best serve the needs of children by more deeply integrating the traditions that have served us and examining the ones that haven’t.

If we truly want to make decisions that are sustainable, then by definition we must consider and include children in those decisions. To do this effectively, we need to remember the dynamic nature of children and of life, adapt to the evolution of our families, question our own assumptions, and make decisions in which our children’s future is the top priority. And, if we develop such a policy based not on sacrifice, but on the philosophy or principle of abundance and regeneration, we will have moved a great deal closer to the future resource base that we desire.

As we create families of choice, we often must learn to integrate different cultures and traditions. Holistic Management can help us address that challenge with improved communication and creativity by providing us with an avenue for meaningful dialogue with our children and spouses.

We’re Doing It for the Children Steven Dahlberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Holistic Management and the Whole Family Mark Gardner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Building a Tribal Legacy Ann Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Okay Dad, I Get It—Introducing Holistic Management to My Family Phil Metzger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

LAND & LIVESTOCK—A special section of IN PRACTICE Into the Woods—Holistic Decisions in the Forest Jim Howell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 On the Circle Ranch—Nourishing Wilderness Jim Howell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Savory Center Bulletin Board

. . . . . . .15

Savory Center Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Certified Educators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

The Savory Center Ad definitum finem

THE SAVORY CENTER is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. The Savory Center works to restore the vitality of communities and the natural resources on which they depend by advancing the practice of Holistic Management and coordinating its development worldwide.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Rio de la Vista, Chair Allan Savory, Vice-Chair Leslie Christian, Secretary Richard Smith, Treasurer Manuel Casas Judy Richardson Bruce Ward Terry Word ADVISORY COUNCIL Jim Shelton, Chair, Vinita, OK Robert Anderson, Corrales, NM Michael Bowman,Wray, CO Sam Brown, Austin, TX Leslie Christian, Portland, OR Gretel Ehrlich, Gaviota, CA Jeff Fadiman, Half Moon Bay, CA Cynthia & Leo Harris, Albuquerque, NM Trudy Healy, Taos, NM Clint Josey, Dallas, TX Krystyna Jurzykowski, Glen Rose, TX Dianne Law, Laveta, CO Doug McDaniel, Lostine, OR Guillermo Osuna, Coahuila, Mexico Jim Parker, Montrose, CO Dean William Rudoy, Cedar Crest, NM York Schueller, El Segundo, CA Richard Smith, Houston, TX FOUNDERS Allan Savory Jody Butterfield

STAFF

Tim LaSalle, Executive Director; Shannon Horst, Senior Director, Strategic Projects; Kate Bradshaw, Director of Finance and Administration; Kelly Pasztor, Director of Educational Services; Constance Neely, International Training Programs Director; Lee Dueringer, Director of Development; Ann Adams, Managing Editor, IN PRACTICE and Director of Publications and Outreach; Jessica Stolz, Finance Coordinator; Lee Johnson, Project Assistant.

Africa Centre for Holistic Management Private Bag 5950, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe tel: (263) (11) 213529; email: rogpachm@africaonline.co.zw Huggins Matanga, Director; Roger Parry, Manager, Regional Training Centre; Elias Ncube, Hwange Project Manager/Training Coordinator HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE (ISSN: 1098-8157) is published six times a year by The Savory Center, 1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102, 505/842-5252, fax: 505/843-7900; email: savorycenter@holisticmanagement.org.; website: www.holisticmanagement.org Copyright © 2003.

2 HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE #92

We’re Doing it for the Children

by Steven Dahlberg

I

that I began the Holistic Management® Certified n many ways we are the standard Educator Training Program, and we took our American family of today with a house, first tentative steps towards practicing what I kids (daughters, 12- and 14-years old, and was learning. We have repeatedly seen the 5-year old triplet boys), 2 cars, 2.5 jobs, and value of the decision-making framework for debt. We are always way too busy (my wife’s improving our life, particularly as we find students call her Superwoman) and have no ourselves crashing into the apparent conflict time for many of the things we claim are between key parts of our holistic goal important. symbolized by time and money.

Two years ago we decided something had to give. My wife and I were investing a lot of Time & Money Conflicts energy working for other peoples’ educational I have been dealing rather uncreatively success and our own daughters were falling with this paradox all my adult life, and I’m through the cracks. Even before learning about quite certain that I’m not unique in this regard.

Holistic Management, we chose to make the The question is how do financial sacrifices we creatively balance necessary for Terrijann, the income necessary my wife, to home-school Holistic Management for the financial portions our children. She did of our goal with the double duty by also has given us the time we need for teaching college courses tools to simplify our children, our half-time, but still it relationships, and was a tremendous our lives. ourselves? I have to tell improvement in our lives. you now before you get Without knowing it yet, too excited that I do not we were attempting to have the answer to this question, but I think live more in line with our holistic goal. we have made some progress.

During that year we also decided that Obviously the first step was to create a our sons would not have the same holistic goal. With that we could begin to weed counterproductive school experiences that their the tangled jungle of our life. The first things older sisters did. With that as partial motivation, to go were a variety of professional and social we made plans to start a school rooted in our obligations that were clearly non-productive rather unconventional educational philosophy. in terms of our holistic goal. For example, I Last year we opened The Red River Valley have spent four years on the Environmental Academy, a for-profit toddler, preschool, and Education Advisory Board for the state of elementary school built on our integrated, Minnesota. Environmental education is a topic thematic, story and discovery-based curriculum. of supreme interest to me and there was some The school motto is, “The whole child is the prestige in the position, but I’ve been frustrated whole idea!” My wife is the director, and I am with the lack of tangible outcomes from our the CHDO (Chief Honey Do Officer). We have efforts as a board. When I compared the seven full-time employees, several part-timers, benefits of another term on the board with the and about 60 children enrolled. cost in time lost for my other responsibilities, This year has been a real mixed blessing both marginal reaction and my “gut check” of successes, tribulations, and very long hours said there was too little value to continue. as we walk a financial razor’s edge. Terrijann Terrijann and I have both been asked to continues to teach half-time (hence the publish or present the results of our Superwoman moniker). Within two months pedagogical work. We rarely accept these of starting the school, I also had a new job rich requests because they could only be in opportunity, but equally rich in commuting accomplished by sleeping less and/or spending and new responsibilities. less time with our children. These latter It was during this year of massive change

indicated that the jettisoned (or demoted) activities are critical to our quality of life and activities were less valuable than other uses of are extremely compromised already. The our time. Perhaps, more importantly, practicing benefits of being more professionally active Holistic Management helped clarify that such have little value for us and are not part of our decisions needed to be made in the first place. holistic goal. Therefore, the marginal reaction, For me personally another big stress and society and culture questions show the producer is my rather excessive suite of benefits of sleep and family usually outweigh hobbies that were making substantial those of greater professional recognition. demands on my time, money, and quality of Socially, we have eliminated every life. Here I used a modified form of the structured activity including those at church logjam. The logjam in “producing” our quality and attending theater productions. These of life are too many commitments and too decisions were much harder because they involve things that are important parts of our holistic goal. Our current situation is so stressful that any additional demands on our time and resources produce more stress than enjoyment no matter how pleasurable the activity.

We have so may have-to-do’s that we must limit ourselves to a very few want-to-do’s that are the most crucial to our holistic goal. For both of us these priority activities are our children and occasional exercise. I have to confess that I went straight to the gut for this one. My dirty little secret as a Holistic Management Giovanni, Natalija (14), Alejandro, Steve, Tatijana (12), practitioner is that I generally go first Terrijann, Fabian. to society and culture, and only resort to the other questions if I don’t get a clear answer there. much debt. The logjam test says that is where The second big change was a to invest our resources in order to improve reprioritization of some of our have-to-do’s. “production.” Hobbies are discretionary by To illustrate, in the past I would go to great definition and were an ideal place to address lengths to find a way to teach my classes even these weak links. Giving up all of them would if we had sick children or other home issues. adversely affect my quality of life though, so I While creating our holistic goal, it became needed to prioritize. clear to me that my obsession with work Once again, I used a combination of duties was driven more by external intuition and marginal reaction to help decide expectations than by my quality of life which hobbies would go and which would aspirations. I’m a work-to-live guy, not visa stay. It was actually pretty easy. I just ditched versa. Clear articulation of our holistic goal the ones I was feeling guilty about while demonstrated that the sacrifices I was making being engaged in obviously higher priority for my job were not proportional to the role activities. For example, I often found myself of work in that goal, and I needed to put thinking I should work on my truck as I family first in more situations. grabbed my bike to go exercise. For that reason, exercising stays and working on Testing Priorities the truck goes.

Neither of these sets of changes amounted Free Time Dilemma to that much time, but the reduction in stress was amazing. We had more flexibility in We had done our best to free up as much scheduling. We (OK, mostly I) had fewer time as possible, but we were still left with things to feel guilty about not devoting the question of how to use that time most enough time to them, and I didn’t feel so effectively. Time and money came into conflict much like I was letting my students down by in the process of determining how I would missing class occasionally. As I described, both spend my summer “vacation.” I had many the marginal reaction test and our feelings options for summer work, but we also didn’t

want our boys in the structure of day care (even at our school) all summer. Once again, the testing questions helped me decide on only two projects (well, it was four, but two of them I could do at home) that would allow me to be with the kids most of the summer.

Both “official” projects gave me the opportunity to learn things that were vital parts of my personal holistic goal in addition to earning money. Because of this, they clearly passed several of the tests (marginal reaction, energy/money, sustainability, and society and culture). We determined that the “opportunity costs” of all the others were more than the benefits they might generate (they weren’t that interesting, involved major time commitments, and/or didn’t pay that well).

In the past, I would have tried to do all of them and justify it by financial need, but our holistic goal clearly shows money is just one of many priorities in our life and cannot be the sole basis for a decision. I think we made a better choice by attempting to optimize the conflicting needs of income and time instead of maximizing one or the other. That decision passed the sustainability test because there was at least some progress towards both the financial and familial parts of our holistic goal, and it felt right.

As I said at the beginning of this article, we have not found a way to simultaneously create time and money. I doubt we have reached an optimal balance of familial, civic, personal, and financial responsibilities. We will continue to work on those fronts, but in the meantime the Holistic Management® decisionmaking framework has given us the tools to simplify our lives while still performing the most vital tasks for moving us toward our holistic goal. It has helped us balance, to some degree, the need for time and money. Most importantly, it reinforced for me what my wife has always known, that time with one’s children should always come first. Of course, making that work is still the $39 question.

Hence the need for my favorite part of Holistic Management—MonitorControlReplan, but that’s a whole other story.

If you are interested in learning more about our school or any of the other craziness described in this article, contact me at sdahlberg@wetcc.org.

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE • NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003 3

Holistic Management and the Whole Family

by Mark Gardner

B

was not always easy!

The importance of “being heard” has allowed us to communicate openly and honestly. We have found when we have focused on developing these conditions, we have made some great gains in our holistic goal formation and decision-making. We have found it important not to react to what each other is saying, but to listen, understand, respect and then inquire about what (if any) actions may be required. When we have practiced this, we found great gains in understanding each other’s values, fears and aspirations, all of which have found their way into the holistic goal. Without creating good conditions to communicate, we may not have been able to get to some very core understandings of the things important to us. Worse still, we may have made some incorrect assumptions.

plenty of thinking and a commitment to roadly speaking our “whole” family want to do it, but it has been worth it. consists of myself, Cassie (my wife), Emily (10), Caitlin (8) and William (5), A United Front Mr. Vincent (the cat), and Daisy (the dog). We Having created the time, we found the live in Dubbo, which is the “Hub of the West” holistic goal development process enabled in Central West New South Wales, Australia, Cassie and I to frame our thinking in a similar and operate our own Agricultural and style (culminating in our written holistic goal).

Management Consulting Business from home This helps us talk with the children from a (of which Holistic Management is the soul). position of unity.

Like most families working with Holistic Management, we have gone though some ups and downs as we have Involving The Children sought to manage ourselves and our Even though our children are resources. It hasn’t always been a young, they can often articulate what smooth progression. There are some is important to them, if we ask them aspects, which we are proud of (such appropriately and then listen to what as our holistic goal), and there are they say. We feel it is important to areas in which we continue to work create time to do this, however this on, particularly as we strive to adapt is not always easy! the process to our circumstances (a Often their needs appear simple, non-rural resource base and business). but can yield significant insights. For We see ourselves very much as example, Emily has told us that it is learners of the process (but with a bit important to her to spend time with of experience!) rather than experts. her friend, Anna (a value), therefore In this article we would like to Mark and Cassie Gardner ave learned how to include their as a family we try to create talk about the important part of children, William, Caitlin, and Emily, in much of their opportunities for this to occur (a Holistic Management to us—the planning. form of production). The underlying holistic goal, and how we are trying message, which we hope the whole to bring our young children into the family hears, is that Emily’s views are process of Holistic Management.

Developing the holistic goal has also important and that our family will do its best Creating Time helped us to think and to grow into an to allow the important things to her to occur. awareness of the things that are important to The same is true for the other children. This One of the biggest challenges we have us, to each other (our values), and the way in may sound very simple, but we feel we are faced over the last six years is getting the which we want our future to be. Being able sending a very powerful message. Over time, holistic goal settled and meaningful to Cassie the children have started to understand that and me, and then our children. We are a young to work through the steps of holistic goal formation allowed us to form joint ideas and our family values their opinions, and that they active family, and we are busy running our hence making decisions together became a lot are important people within our “whole.” At own business, so creating time to be able to easier over time (less emphasis on formalized times, our values don’t allow them to achieve think through our holistic goal (individually testing with more emphasis on the holistic their expectations (such as a Nintendo and TV and then together) has often been hard. On a goal). Creating a non-threatening environment in the bedroom), but we hope that the way in number of occasions, Cassie and I have hired a to communicate openly has been essential. which we have communicated this to the meeting room close by, and planned for the For us, this took some time, as I suppose my children has also helped them understand why. children to be “agisted” (farmed out) in order inclination was to race on quickly, talking The children have also become very open to get some thinking time and space. We have “Holistic Management speak” without making in talking about things of importance to them found that getting our combined thinking sure that Cassie understood what we were and are respectful to each other. Recently we organized has been necessary before we could doing and why. So, I had to learn to slow have gently started to ask them about the way start to make good decisions about the future down, think of how Cassie might best receive in which they might like to see their futures— or to start to involve the children at a information, speak less, and listen more! This starting the next phase of the process. significant level. This has taken time, and

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Passing on Values Our family lives in town, so it is important to Cassie and I that our children are aware of the environment around them and their impact on it. We also feel the need to develop ecological awareness in our children, and use our values (contained in our holistic goal) to help guide our discussions.

One of the important family activities is our recycling project. Each weekend we take our glass, plastic and paper to our local recycling depot. We have had many quality and enlightening discussions with the children around this activity such as “Why do we recycle?” Over the years, they have developed great pride in this activity, and we have all learned a lot about the ecosystem while working together. This increased awareness can be seen in the choices and decisions we can now start to make as a family (for example, how we want our garden to look).

We have been able to use the recent severe drought to talk about water, soils, and a whole range of relevant ecological topics. As a result, we have noted that the children are a lot more aware of what they see, such as the amount of water in farm dams, the condition of plants in the landscape, and the amount of water that they are using in the house. The family vegetable garden has also become a good learning activity, where William’s interest in bugs and his ability to find and identify them has developed significantly!

We have found that if we can do things with the children that are fun, then we can potentially create a great learning opportunity.

Allowing time (planned and informal) for this to occur is also essential.

Planning Ahead Planning has become an important component in our practice of Holistic Management. We have used the Holistic Management® Financial Planning process now for seven years, and the monthly monitoring process has been essential to us achieving many years of planned profits.

We are able to share with the children our plans for the profit, and to seek their comments. One example is our recent plans for a house renovation. The children have been involved in the planning and design (including “hands on” measuring up) and in the discussions on how our “ideal” needs to be modified by cost constraints. They have been involved in the decision-making, to their level of interest, and hence have taken strong

ownership in the project.

We have now also started to plan in advance our major family activities. For example, one of the best decisions we have made is to commit to our family holiday 12 months ahead. This has enabled us to plan backwards so that our business fits in with this event, and our financial plan allows for enough income to pay for the holiday and have some money when we come back. Prior to this “breakthrough,” we would struggle to get away for a week or so, always were rushed and didn’t get a quality break (inevitably lack of planning also cost us more for the holiday!).

Planning these family activities well ahead means we are now able to manage three weeks break, at little additional cost and in a

We find our family has a growing sense of unity and purpose.

more relaxed manner. This has also allowed the children to become involved in the decision and the planning for the holiday, and this creates added enjoyment.

Like many great breakthroughs, we realized that the way in which we were living our life was not in balance with what we had written down in our holistic goal. We have found that anytime we are feeling stressed, it is usually because one of our values is out of balance.

Understanding this concept gives us good insight as to changes that may be required.

It’s this form of monitoring that has helped us address family issues effectively.

Our kitchen table at mealtime has become a very effective planning tool, as we think ahead to school holidays and what we all want to do! Caitlin is now assuming the role of planning ahead the activities for school holidays (this plan is stuck on the fridge), which can also necessitate significant family decision-making, particularly when there are potential conflicts, usually around time and events. When this does occur, we have found that brainstorming is an important way to ensure that everyone’s needs are met, followed by the marginal reaction test. Following a process such as this means that often as not,

the children find a way to work things out themselves.

Monitoring Progress Apart from the essential monthly financial monitoring, we are finding asking simple questions can be a great way to “early warning” monitor how we are going as a family. If these informal questions (“How do you think our family is doing?”) yield a response which is not what we anticipate, then action and sometimes replanning may be required. This is particularly useful in relation to the amount of time which Cassie or I are away from the family. If this is becoming a problem, we can usually find this out fairly easily from a family member, and replan accordingly.

Often such replanning will involve Cassie or myself not taking on an income-producing opportunity, in order to balance work and family. Sometimes we’ve made hard decisions not to travel to attend really important meetings, as we have felt that our lives are out of balance (really way out) with our holistic goal. Sometimes we have made the even harder decision to take up a work opportunity, knowing that we are not living in balance with our holistic goal, but that there is a really important reason to do so.

When we are making these decisions we always consult each other. We always try to communicate the importance of this decision to the children and each other, and try to be understanding. In cases like this, we know we need to bring our lives back into balance with our holistic goal, and we make every effort to do so after the decision.

Holistic Management in our family has not been a steady linear progression. We have at times had great leaps, both towards and away from our holistic goal, as life deals its challenges to us. We continue to learn about the process and adapt it to our setting. What is important to us is that our united holistic goal gives us a “big picture;” it provides us with a central focus to draw our decision-making towards, whatever the situation. We find our family has a growing sense of unity and purpose, greater opportunities to make good choices and to monitor and celebrate the outcomes. For Cassie and me, it has provided a great framework by which to create a sense of family.

Mark Gardner is a Certified Educator and can be reached at: gardnerm@ozemail.com.au.

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE • NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003 5

Building a Tribal Legacy

by Ann Adams

I

f you’re looking for an early monitoring indicator of societal health, one canary is children’s health and well-being. Like the canary in the mine, children are more sensitive than adults, to the subtle and not so subtle nuisances of family and societal paucity or dysfunction.

In our efforts to improve the overall health of our society, we have added laws and agencies to protect, educate, and help our youth. But, often times the structure of these systems have actually hampered our ability to serve this population and the families and communities that are part of those children’s lives.

The Colville Confederated Tribe in Washington State had become increasingly sensitive to this conundrum over the past several years. However, in the fall of 2001, with the persistent efforts of several tribal members, they decided they needed to do something to address the situation.

very real meaning for the children, and particularly the youngest, whose families have limited resources with which to nurture and care for them at critical stages in their development.”

Those working with children daily knew all these statistics kept pointing to the same conclusion: The Tribe wasn’t adequately addressing the needs of the children through the current system. Agencies had to work together to make the system more effective.

Task Force that would work with the involved agencies to address the needs of tribal youth.

That task force could use the tribe’s holistic goal (a document that many tribal members have used since 1995 to make decisions and create policy) to guide their actions. They committed money to fund an interagency workshop and tasked each department to contribute to a unified solution. This meant that Children & Family Services, attendance, schools, Indian Health, and MINOC all had to work together.

Shifting Perspective

When one agency begins to demand changes from another and everyone isn’t on board there can be a lot of territory protecting. With the Tribal Council’s mandate for all those agencies involved with children to develop a system or program that addressed their needs, irregardless of current territories or systems, the focus finally was on the children and not departmental turf.

One small example of how this type of change was needed was the way school attendance and MINOC cases dealing with abuse and neglect were handled. In the past, such cases were addressed solely in court, rather than in a social service setting that dealt first The Colville Tribe has approximately 2,622 children. The Tribal The Scope of the Problem with the needs of the child. Such a Council, and tribal agencies and members, recently made system focused more on the legal To give you some perspective of great progress toward creating a better life for those children, concerns for the adults involved, and the need, the Colville Tribe’s legal so they can in turn become respected tribal elders. the children’s needs were secondary. office saw 110 children through the With such a system, the children were Minor-In-Need-of-Care (MINOC), getting short-changed. which is approximately one third of the 390To maximize creativity, the Juvenile Task 520 children that are the victims of violence on A Call to Collaboration Force began work on the “Then I Came Back: the Colville Reservation.

Jolene Marchand, who completed the Savory Juvenile Workshop I” in the spring of 2002. All Moreover, 27 percent of the Colville Tribe Center’s Certified Educator Training Program departments directly involved with children’s lives below the federal poverty guideline, a and works in the Legal Services Program, was services were to participate in finding new critical factor for families providing properly a key player in getting the Tribal Council ways to help “our children and families who for their children. Add to this dire statistic involved in mandating a change in the Colville are at risk; to improve the services we provide the issues of low high school graduation Tribe’s children’s advocacy system. She knew through our programs; to rejuvenate our vision percentages, increasing delinquency in schools, that the Tribe’s holistic goal could help them for our future; and to protect and strengthen and a growing problem of substance abuse, forge a new advocacy approach to address the our community and culture.” and the likelihood of a downward spiral in a needs of the Colville children.

Randy Tonasket and Lois Trevino, also family’s ability to provide opportunities for At one Tribal Council meeting late in 2001, trained in the Savory Center’s Certified the next generation increases.

Jolene presented the statistics that demonstrated Educator Training Program, were given relief Perhaps the most somber statistic of all the need for a better tribal advocacy system time from their work in other departments to is that national trends for the past 20 years and asked for the Council’s authority to make it help in the facilitation and preparation for the indicate that the number of suicide attempts happen. In an emotional meeting, the Council conference.

Using their knowledge of the among Indian adolescents has risen by 100 responded to Jolene’s request by acknowledging ® decision-making process Holistic Management percent. For the past 15 years, suicide has the tribal responsibility to address this issue and and consensus building, they worked with been the second leading cause of death for agreeing to support departments in an effort to agency workers to lay aside differences and 15-24 year-old Indians. combine resources and work together as a work toward the common focus of providing As one tribal member noted, “We may have whole to address these issues more efficiently. excellent support for tribal youth. become numb to these numbers; they have The first step was to develop a Juvenile

6 HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE #92

A Tribal Responsibility The list of objectives developed from that workshop would have been daunting for any government body already overwhelmed by other duties, but the Colville Tribe began taking action. One step the Juvenile Task Force took to meet one of the stated objectives of the workshop was to look at what untapped resources the Tribe already had that could address unmet needs.

Again using Census figures, they realized that there were approximately 2,700 households on the Reservation, and 44 percent were households with a married couple living alone. The tribe realized that these households were an untapped resource for foster care providers necessary to address the needs of some of these children and their families through times of transition. Likewise, the extended family nature of tribal culture could be integrated into custody situations.

Another immediate action after the workshop was meetings with the Law & Justice department to determine how tribal code would need to be redrafted to implement the ideas that had been developed in the workshop. The Juvenile Task Force also began work on selecting the core team to lead the work on renovating the children’s advocacy program and develop a comprehensive juvenile services program. Lastly, they began developing a peacemaking/family conferencing circle as part of their active advocacy work.

The core team’s many duties were to work on creating a model where the new department of Comprehensive Juvenile Services would track all children within the system from birth to adulthood based on a medical model of development rather than a legal model. Likewise, they would act as a central referral and coordinator for children and families in need of service rather than the current patchwork of service providers.

The emphasis of their programs would be on prevention, early intervention, and rehabilitation rather than a more punitive approach. Given that central engagement, this team would be better able to assess children at risk and make recommendations to the Children’s Court as an informed advocate.

Obviously, some of these steps would mean that tribal jurisdiction would be broadened with the children’s best interests as the standard.

The suggested staffing for this tribal department would be two full-time positions

of core team coordinators with one full-time clerk/support staff. They would coordinate the efforts of other social service professionals who are currently working in other departments to address these issues. That list would include a medical provider and a public health nurse at Indian Health Services, a law enforcement officer, a legal services representative, a behavioral health program director/ representative, and a case worker. This core team would meet with the core team coordinators twice a month to discuss new and ongoing cases. Additionally, they would have supplemental members such as tribal elders, housing staff, Birth To Three Program staff,

Lois Trevino with her grandson, Nathan.

spiritual leaders, and school staff, who would be asked to contribute to various cases as needed.

Besides providing effective and comprehensive services for children and their families by eliminating gaps and redundancies in existing programs, Comprehensive Juvenile Services would reinforce culture and sovereignty (a key component of the Colville Tribe’s holistic goal). Moreover, with greater efficiency in handling cases, there will be less multiple court cases which means less court and tribal costs for caseworkers, attorney, experts, and judges.

Likewise, a focus on family conferencing and the peacemaking circle would be an integral part of the plan to use a more traditional approach to conflict and justice by providing a less adversarial environment for children’s cases, resulting in fewer court cases.

In increasing family and community involvement within a structured environment that nurtures positive communication and decision-making, the Colville Tribe’s culture and sovereignty are reinforced and children and families learn and develop critical skills for

ongoing success.

While the Colville Tribe is still in the process of integrating these changes, they have a road map for where they want to go with their Comprehensive Juvenile Services, a road map that was created by all those involved in those services. “It was a challenge to take all this information, simplify and summarize it quickly, make the connections to other information and keep things flowing,” says Lois Trevino. “Having the Tribe’s holistic goal to use as a common language and focus on, and using the consensus-building process to really listen, helped us keep the momentum going in the planning for the workshop, during the workshop, and outlining action steps and those responsible for them after the workshop.”

This new road toward protecting the Colville Tribe’s legacy of their youth and those yet unborn began with one woman’s courage, passion, and conviction that the Colville Tribe had an obligation to better serve their youth through the services it provided. In turn, the tribal community rose to the challenge and found they already had many of the means and the resources to accomplish the task, by focusing on the quality of life described in their holistic goal. As the Task Force stated in their proceedings: “Caring for children is the responsibility of our community, our extended families, and not the isolated task of one or two people, or solely of our institutions. Our culture provides us with guidance. A newborn brings new strength to the community and assures preservation of tribal and community heritage.

Community involvement in pregnancy ensures that there is, and will be, support for the pregnant woman regardless of her status, that the birth is received with joy, and that the newborn is lovingly nurtured.

Pregnancy in this kind of supportive environment is a healthy experience and produces healthy babies. We must work to ensure that this is our children’s experience and also that the environment our children find as they grow continues to provide and care for them, to protect them, to teach them what they need to learn, and to love and sustain them.

Each of us can contribute to improving the lives of our children and theirs to come.”

To learn more about the Colville Tribe’s Comprehensive Juvenile Services, contact Lois Trevino at: lois.trevino@colvilletribes.com.

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE • NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003 7

Okay Dad, I Get It—

that resulted from that exercise and the many inaccurate assumptions we flushed out in our conversation.

We had worried that the boys got bored at the Lake as they were away from friends and there is no stereo, phone or TV. When we mentioned this concern, they said what they liked best was just hanging out together there and getting away from everything. We had One item in particular that the boys got right always made sure to go to town every few days away was what quality of life represented in and go to the movies and play miniature golf to the holistic goal. Tami, however, struggled with keep them entertained. They confessed that the concept. It wasn’t until I used a technique while that was fun as well, what they liked best suggested to me by my fellow trainee, Seth were the same things we went there for—peace Wilner, that Tami got the concept. In our and quiet and time spent with just the four of bedroom, there is a picture on the wall of a us. Amazing. It is my favorite place to be, and serene garden path through large trees and for the same reasons I love it, my boys love it. wildflowers that we had picked out together I had no idea. because we find it very inviting. “It’s like that,” The holistic goal forming process brought I blurted out. “That is what we want our life out things I had never heard my teenage sons say. It brought out feelings we had never expressed so clearly and in an atmosphere and through a process that made it easy. I got to hear my son Matt say, “I love my life right now!” There are no sweeter words to a parent’s ears than to hear your child express how happy he is. You can’t help but recognize the role you played in making that possible.

We heard Alex talk about his deep interest in the environment and his plans to study various natural systems that The Metzger family enjoying a vacation in Hawaii. interest him. Tami and I heard the nicest things about us, as parents, that we will forever value. To hear your children tell you they understand you are fallible, but that to be like, like that picture.” She got it they know that love is the only motivation immediately, and we were on our way. behind your actions, was precious. Again, the Beyond Assumptions process was so enlightening and revealed to all of us how strong a family we are and how After two more sessions of discussion much we truly care about each other. and exercises from At Home with Holistic I never would have heard those things Management, and of Dad explaining the without us working together to try and model, everyone, including me, began to tire of articulate what we want in our lives. What listening to Dad try to explain the model. It was came through clearly was how big an impact time to craft our family holistic goal. As we did, our values and standards have had on our kids. we heard things we had never heard from each To hear them articulate that was extremely other and were amazed that more often than powerful and truly satisfying. While my family not what we desired in our lives closely might not have had the smoothest introduction mirrored each other’s wishes. In the end, the to Holistic Management, and I stumbled temporary holistic goal we put to paper was occasionally as their facilitator, I’m glad I took very representative of what we wanted in our the risk of introducing them to this decisionlives as a family, and it amazed me how little making process. The experience made me difference there was in our individual opinions appreciate my family even more. of what should be included.

One particular example that surprised Tami Phil Metzger is in the 2001 Certified Educator and I was when we used a picture of our Training Program and lives in Norwich, New York. summer cottage on Lake Ontario to practice He can be reached at: phil.metzger@ny.usda.gov. mind mapping. I was amazed at the discussion

Introducing Holistic Management to My Family

by Phil Metzger

I

ntroducing Holistic Management to people who have never heard about it and have not asked to learn about it can be challenging. And while I have faced that situation on numerous occasions, I know that I’ve not yet had a more supportive or engaged audience than my own family when it came to introducing Holistic Management. Two years ago, after attending my first week-long Certified Educator training program, I was ready and full of anticipation for tackling my first challenge— bringing my family on board the Holistic Management Express and exploring how to manage our lives holistically. I think I learned more from that experience than they did.

A Garden Path When I called a family meeting the response of my two teenage sons, Matt and Alex, was guarded; we don’t have too many of those types of meetings unless there are issues needing sorting out, usually involving them. My wife, Tami, was patiently supportive, although this whole Holistic Management thing had her wondering what I was into this time.

We began with me explaining that I needed their support in my learning, and they were quick to let me know that if I needed their participation, they were game. Starting with At Home with Holistic Management, we had some fun with the exercises found in the workbook.

They serve as a great introduction and gave everyone a sense that this stuff was going to be deep and take some thoughtful engagement.

During the introduction of the principles and concepts of Holistic Management, I tried to go easy on the jargon, and it seemed to pay off.

At one point my older son Matt, a college freshman at the time, finally said, “Okay Dad, I get it. Holistic Management helps you to make good decisions so you can lead a better life and accomplish what you want.” Not convinced that he really had gotten it so quickly, I tried to continue, “Uh, yeah, that’s essentially it, you see Holistic Management. . . . .” but he cut me off at the pass. “Dad, I get it. Can we move on?” Taking the subtle cue, we moved on.

8 HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE #92

LAND&LIVESTOCK A Special Section of

IN PRACTICE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2003

#92

Into the Woods— Holistic Decisions in the Forest

In our timber enterprise, we work toward our future landscape description, splitting our 900 acres of timber into six management blocks. One block had a high percentage of straight, large diameter Engleman spruce which we are now marketing as house logs for log home construction.

by Jim Howell

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his section of IN PRACTICE tends to focus on grass and cow stories. It’s called Land and Livestock, though, and land, if you think about it, encompasses more than grass. Many, if not most, readers of IN PRACTICE probably also have a few trees gracing their landscapes. Trees are actually a major topic of conservation out here in the semi-arid West at the moment. Last year’s fires (Colorado’s two worst forest fires in history were both burning simultaneously during the summer of 2002), caused by record drought conditions combined with a century of fire suppression and a dearth of browsing herbivores, devastated massive tracts of forest. They were extremely hot—most likely unnaturally hot—crown fires, resulting from exceptionally dense tree growth and massive accumulations of fallen, dead timber. Many areas displayed what fire ecologists call “vertical continuity,” which means that highly combustible fuel sources spread vertically from the forest floor, through a lower shrub canopy, up through smaller diameter trees, and then into the crowns of larger trees. When flames climb such a fuel ladder, devastation results.

Under more natural conditions, when periodic lightning-caused fires clean out a developing shrub canopy and thin out younger trees, this overburden of material never develops. Large herds of grazing and browsing herbivores also do their part in cycling carbon back into the soil, helping suppress a buildup of woody fuel. Where the shrub and grass plants are kept hedged and grazed by animals, fires have much less chance of starting, and if they do, they burn at a low intensity and tend not to kill large, mature trees.

Just as we attempt to mimic nature in the management of our grasslands, we also need to refer to nature’s model when making management decisions in the woods. So, mimicking nature in the woods—what exactly does that mean? Does the recent spate of propaganda urging aggressive thinning and prescribed burning honor natural processes? Do we really know what’s natural? Does a natural state even exist given the current state of the world? In Holistic

Management, we don’t really manage for “natural conditions.” We manage for what we want on the land and in our lives. In most cases, it’s no surprise that a natural state of affairs (i.e., healthily functioning ecosystem processes) is what we end up describing in our future landscape descriptions, but from the perspective of the forest, what does that mean?

Megaherbivores or Fire?

Humans all over the world have acted as major instigators of fire for thousands of years. Here in America, this is true since their arrival 10,000 or more years ago. But as Allan Savory likes to remind us, any fire started by a human is not a natural fire—not even those lit by indigenous cultures. The world ecosystem wasn’t prepared for the evolution of our ability to harness this tool and use it so extensively, and ecosystem processes and biodiversity have suffered extensively as a result. Nature’s model in brittle environments has historically dealt with an overburden of vegetation, including excessive tree density, with great big herbivores.

I’m not talking cows or even rhinos—I’m talking elephants. Not too long ago, they, or their close relatives, thrived in every brittle environment of the world except Australia, where a giant marsupial filled a similar niche.

In Eurasia and North America, the mastodons and mammoths dominated, while in South America the more ancient gomphotheres survived right up to the arrival of humans.

In isolated corners of Africa, where elephants still can be found in significant numbers, their browsing habits prevent dense, impenetrable forests from forming. Because elephants have to eat for 19 hours a day just to maintain themselves, the majority of their diet has to consist of high energy grasses. They browse quite a bit too, especially to meet protein needs, but lose condition rapidly without abundant grass. In other words, an elephant can’t afford to let its habitat convert to solid woodland. Through it’s browsing behavior (which includes knocking

continued on page 10

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Holistic Decisions in the Forest continued from page 9

over and killing entire trees, not just browsing branches), elephants meet much of their protein needs, and they maintain a savanna-like setting with lots of grass. Research in Tsavo National Park in Kenya suggests that elephants wantonly knock over trees without browsing the branches at all, presumably to merely maintain a more abundant grassland.

So, the question is, what do we have to do to return our forests to a healthy condition? Leaving them alone and suppressing all disturbance has led us to the mess we’re in today. Do we attempt to manage for slow, cool burns? Do we imitate elephants and mastondons with our chainsaws? What are some practical guidelines that forest owners can refer to when tackling the management of their woodlands? That’s what this article is all about.

spruce/fir/aspen forests need to display a wide range of age structure and density, multiple canopy layers, and vigorous and productive annual growth. The forest also has to contain enough standing and fallen dead timber to support a diverse wildlife population of birds, small mammals, and insects. To support populations of large wild and domestic herbivores, it also must display a mosaic of more open areas to permit the development of an understory of grasses, forbs, and shrubs. We had spots that looked like this, but the majority of the forest was a long ways from this description, so we had to do something.

A Case Study on the Howell Ranch Like lots of the stuff I write, this one is going to come largely from my own personal experience. I also will refer to a book I recently came across called Wild Logging, by Bryan Foster. That title intrigued me from the second I read it. If we are to mimic nature, that means we have to imitate a wild, and untamed, model. I wish I’d have had the book six years ago when we began to implement our forest This was typical density in our previously fire-prone forest with mixed stands of management plan on our high place. We’ve done a lot of spruce, fir, and aspen prior to commencement of our forest management program good things in our forest, but have made some mistakes, in October 1998. too. Wild Logging would have steered us clear of some of our setbacks.

We have roughly 400 acres of timbered country lying at an elevation Getting Started of about 9,500 feet (2,894 meters). It’s a mixed stand of evergreen conifers Since we were more familiar with how to manage cows and grass and deciduous aspen trees. In some places than trees, we hired a consulting forester to come in and give us a little the conifers dominate, and in others the aspen take over. The conifers direction. We knew where we wanted to go, but weren’t real clear on consist of Engleman spruce, blue spruce, inland Douglas fir, and how to go about getting there. We explained to our hired forester how subalpine fir. With its straight lines, minimal taper from butt to tip, and we wanted our country to look, and he pointed out lots of things that overall abundance, the Engleman spruce is our most valuable species. we were previously unaware of, such as the amount of beetle infestation Like nearly everywhere else in the West, our forest has suffered from a we had and the degree to which the aspen was diseased. He also did a lack of management over the past 100 years. My granddad “high-graded” forest inventory and gave us a clue as to just how much standing timber the biggest, most valuable Doug fir trees over the course of several cuts we really had. Through a combination of his expertise and our vision, in the ‘40s and again in the ‘70s. we got to work that first fall of 1997.

The logging crews also pulled out the largest Englemans, particularly We first determined which areas of our forest were in the most dire in the ‘70s. This opened up areas for seedlings to establish, and the result need of immediate attention and focused our efforts there. Methodically in 1997, when Daniela and I returned to Colorado to begin managing this and purposefully, we began to walk grid patterns through the forest, and place, was a dense stand of relatively small diameter timber, lots of dead literally looked at thousands of individual trees. Is this tree diseased and and dying trees from beetle infestations, and an incredibly fire-prone an obvious candidate for removal? Is it an old growth specimen and landscape. This was especially so in areas dominated by the conifers. therefore providing critical habitat needs and serving as a valuable seed Because of heavy shading, very little to no understory existed on the source? Will removing this large tree “release” the several smaller trees in forest floor. In the mixed forests containing significant aspen, many of its immediate vicinity, resulting in an overall greater amount of sunlight those aspen were diseased and nearing the end of their lifespans. Many harvest and tree growth in that patch of woods? Or should those three were falling over during spring windstorms. The red tree squirrels smaller, twisted, forked trees be harvested instead of the nice, straight, seemed to be thriving, but not much other wildlife seemed to appreciate large diameter tree in the middle—a tree that will be a valuable log in the landscape we had inadvertently created. another 20 years? How will the removal of a tree, or patch of trees, affect Holistic Management forces us to get really clear on how our land bird nesting, the abundance of elk forage, or small mammal cover? has to look if it’s going to sustain our economic needs and human values In Wild Logging, Foster describes the operation of Ben Love, an far into the future. For us, that means that our spruce and mixed

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IN PRACTICE #92

independent forestry consultant and logger near Kalispell, Montana.

Love practices what he calls “Zen logging,” the core philosophy of which is to focus just as much on what you leave in the forest as what you remove. Foster describes how Love approached one of his client’s 40-acre blocks of forest: “When Love first came to these 40 acres, he spent a full day just walking it. He listened for birds and noted the sizes of trees that different bird species were using for nests. He looked for animal tracks, which told him where the animals fed and traveled.

Ospreys, herons, and kingfishers hunted in the pond, red squirrels nested in limbs, and snowshoe hare hid in dog-hair thickets to elude predatory goshawks and owls. Love looked for old stumps that told him when the area was last harvested and which tree species had grown there. . . . Love saves dominant trees that have bark thick enough to resist fire and thins out small competing trees, while leaving some of the wood on the ground for nutrient recharge. He cuts down patches of small trees that act as fire tinder, although he retains some of the dense growth for wildlife cover. Love prunes maple and serviceberry in the understory to encourage green browse, for example, but leaves some thickets for bird nests.”

In his promotional pamphlet, Love states: “Like a wolf who spots the cripples in a caribou herd, you must identify a surplus that can be removed without harming the integrity and nature of the pre-settlement forest. You must respect the dominant trees in the forest as mature and battle-tested bucks to be saved.”

Back on our place, while a lot of thought was put into all of these ecological considerations, we also had to think about the crew that would actually be doing the logging. It would be fantastic to be able to remove mostly diseased, deformed trees, as well as lots of the small diameter stuff

ones, too. The loggers weren’t the only ones with an economic interest.

My family also was counting on some reasonable income, so we had the incentive to take some good trees as well. Luckily, there were (still are) lots of good ones that needed to be thinned, so everybody ended up happy.

So that was year one. It was a little disconcerting to see all those trees being hauled off the ranch, the trails left by the log skidders, and all that slash on the ground. I grew up cherishing our forest and resenting the ugly patches left by past logging crews. It was a tough decision to allow them back in. But we still had a forest, and, at least in terms of tree density and our desire for a more open, park-like landscape, it was a lot closer to our future landscape description than it was a few months previous. Only time would tell if we’d made the right decisions.

Developing a Plan

We logged about 60 acres that fall, and that winter Daniela and I decided we needed to come up with a well-conceived overall forest management plan for the whole ranch if we were going to continue doing this. We conceded that there were still lots of old aspen that needed to be harvested before they toppled and were rendered useless, and that it would be good to continue thinning the diseased areas, but we wanted to be sure we were doing the right thing. Most significantly, we wanted to come up with a plan that honored our future landscape description, but that also ensured a steady stream of income long into the future. That meant we had to harvest within the annual growth rate of our forest. In other words, we knew we didn’t want to take out any more tree volume per year than was being annually produced over the ranch as a whole.

We split the forest up into six management blocks according to specific features of the forest. Most blocks were mixed forests, but some had more immediately merchantable trees than others. One big block was 90 percent aspen, the result of a fire that passed through about 80 years previous. One block had a high percentage of straight, large diameter Engleman spruce. One block out on an isolated ridge escaped the old fire just to its south and contained our highest numbers of old growth (200+ years) Douglas fir. In each block, we detailed the species present and their relative abundance, described past management history, made estimates of total harvestable board feet of timber, described specifically how that block fit into our future landscape description, described its wildlife attributes and habitat niches, and laid out future management plans over a 20 year period.

Over the ranch as a whole, we estimated how many board feet of conifers and truckloads of aspen we could sustainably harvest on an annual basis, forever.

In late May of year two, just after enough snow finally melted off the road, I made it up into the country that we worked on the previous fall. Lots of things seemed to be happening on the forest floor. Forbs and grasses appeared to be establishing all over, and the slash close to the soil surface This is a typical view of how our forest looks now (September 2003). We are working was covered in thick fungus. As the spring and summer toward a more open park-like setting, with multiple canopy layers, a diverse age progressed, the country really came alive, producing more structure of diverse tree species, and an abundant understory. understory vegetation than it ever had in my lifetime. Elk scattered through the trees nearly every time we arrived.

That summer, we hired a fantastic two-man logging crew to come harvest that the mastodons should be knocking over. But the logger has to make a good chunk of our older aspen in the mixed forests. a living, and there is currently not much of a market for small diameter, Then, in the spring of year three, we suffered our first hard lesson. deformed, diseased trees. The crew we had working were good sports, however, and they took lots of trees they probably would have rather continued on page 12 left in the forest, but we had to even the loads out with some good

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Holistic Decisions in the Forest

could make just as much or more money logging as I could cowboying.

I negotiated a contract with the sawmill just down the highway, bought a good Husqvarna chainsaw, and for a couple of days a week I continued from page 11 switched out my riding chaps for a new pair of logging chaps. I talked Upon arriving to the block logged in year one, we were devastated to my dad into using our small John Deere farm tractor for a skidder, and find hundreds of trees blown to the ground by the wind. In March or we got to work, harvesting five semi-loads a year (about 25,000 board April of that year, western Colorado received incredibly strong winds out feet) in both years four and five. We also diversified into corral poles in of the east, which is the opposite direction from which they usually year four, and sold about 600 of them that summer. I enjoyed the time arrive. When a stand of trees is thinned, the wind can whistle through it we spent working in the woods (not sure my dad feels the same way), much more fiercely than under denser conditions. It takes the remaining but by the time I’d cut and skidded five loads, I concluded that I trees several years preferred punching to develop the cows over running a stronger root chainsaw. systems necessary As our former to withstand strong logging contractor, wind events.

Dave Goodrich, told If unusually me once, “Logging is strong winds do honest work.” That’s arrive, and for sure. We have plans especially if they to eventually buy a arrive from an team of draft horses to unusual direction, a handle our log thinned stand of skidding chores. My timber can be assumption is that highly susceptible horse logging will be to blowdown. That’s more fun than what happened to skidding with a tractor, us. Due to the but I’ll have to get blowdown, that back to you on that. block of forest was Since year three, opened to a when we had the significantly greater blowdown event, our degree than called level of harvest has The left photograph is a view of a healing log skid trail taken in June 2000, two years after for in our future been less intensive, logging but before grazing with cattle. Note abundant grasses and forbs especially on the trail’s landscape and blowdown hasn’t edge. The right photograph is the same view in early September 2003. Note the abundance of aspen description. been an issue. The saplings, which weren’t present three years previously. This photograph was taken after cattle Thankfully, we understory continues grazed this area. were able to get to improve every year, back our two man and we are harvesting crew from the year before, and were able to salvage the majority of those about three times the forage from the logged blocks than we did in the trees—about 1,000 in all—in addition to about 20 more loads of old aspen. past. The elk hunting is getting better every year, and the forest is The good news was that the understory vegetation was continuing to generating solar dollars. The only thing happening that doesn’t excite us too explode—not just an impressive diversity of grasses, but a menagerie of much is the density of aspen regeneration. We opened up a lot of country, highly palatable, incredibly vigorous forbs. We learned that our level of and expected it to stay open and maintain the park-like setting we had thinning in year one was too extreme to successfully survive strong wind created, but the aspen had other plans. It regenerates asexually from roots, events, and vowed to leave more trees as we worked our way through and if the level of harvest is too intense, saplings emerge everywhere. the other blocks.

For a couple years we thought the elk were going to stay on top of it, but last year it was obviously getting ahead of them, and this year Hands-on in the Woods it’s really taking off. The good news is that there is a strong local market for aspen saplings for landscaping purposes, so that is going By year four, we had worked our way through thousands of old to be next spring’s project. Last year and this year, we have been too aspen and much of our beetle infested patches of spruce and fir, and busy with other projects to do much in the forest, but the good thing were ready to drop back to our sustainable annual level of harvest. As about trees is that they’re pretty patient. They’ll still be there when the Foster emphasizes in Wild Logging, “The growth rate should generally be mastodon (the nickname I gave my chainsaw) returns to the woods. the ceiling for your harvest volume; this way you are harvesting the For landowners striving to learn more about managing their interest from the forest, not the principal.” That level wasn’t sufficient to forests for economic and ecological soundness, pick up a copy attract a logging crew—not even the two-man crew that had done such a of Bryan Foster’s Wild Logging, published by Mountain Press great job for us. Faced with the proposition of having to change hats and Publishing Company, Missoula , Montana, 2003. become a logger, I called around to several sawmills and found out that I

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IN PRACTICE #92

On the Circle Ranch— Nourishing Wilderness

by Jim Howell

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dove flash above the landscape, and pronghorn antelope sprint across the open, grassy plains.

Close to two years ago, Chris tracked down and bought a herd of 52 elk from a struggling farm in Minnesota. Merriam’s elk, an extinct North American subspecies, herded across the west Texas deserts up to the turn of the 19th century. Now, thanks to the Gills, the next best thing—the Rocky Mountain elk—calls the Trans-Pecos home. It’s a diverse, fantastic place. For a hunter or wildlife enthusiast, it’s paradise.

Their hunting culture and love of wild, remote landscapes drew the Gills to this spot. Without this background—this affinity for wilderness— the Gills would probably be flying past this desert ranch just as everyone else. I’ve spent a total of about a week with the Gills on Circle Ranch, and not just with Chris and Laura. I’ve met the whole family, and their contagious enthusiasm for this place impressed me deeply. With the exception of mealtimes and bedtimes, the cozy, attractive ranch house and its surrounding oasis stay empty. The Gills, every one of them, are out in their habitat, hiking, hunting, exploring, working, and learning their new place. It’s heartening to see and experience.

iablo Peak, at 6,519 feet (1,986 meters) above sea level, is the highest point on the Circle Ranch. In Spanish, diablo means devil, and it’s a fitting name for this apex. It caps the adjacent 30,000 plus acres (12,146 hectares) of wild and chaotic terrain, full of rattlesnakes, tarantulas, jagged rocks, and thorny scrubland. North of the sleepy town of Van Horn, and deep into the western extreme of Texas known as the Trans-Pecos, Circle Ranch lies in the sort of country that most modern day human beings prefer to drive around or through as fast as possible.

The former owner joked that the rain prefers to avoid Circle Ranch, which is how it New Perspectives acquired its name: “the rain just circles around that place.” A Upon acquiring the ranch, few stout and hardy families— the Gills had no plans of living remnants of a long, deep becoming ranchers. They ranching culture—still call the bought the place for the Trans-Pecos home. Fewer still wild animals, and had no choose to establish here from interest in their domestic other, less severe walks of life, counterparts. But a meeting but, incredibly, such people do with Allan Savory opened exist. I’ve had the great fortune their minds to new to meet and work with such a possibilities. They learned family over the past couple from Allan that the Chris and Laura Gill come from a long line of keen outdoorsmen. They and years—the Gills. concentrated, periodic their children bought the Circle Ranch for its diverse and abundant wildlife.

Chris and Laura Gill come grazing and hoof action of The headquarters sit below the Sierra Diablo escarpment... from a long line of keen herbivores, wild or domestic, outdoorsmen (see IN can be a good thing if it’s PRACTICE #84 for a brief managed right. In their sort introduction to the Gills and Circle Ranch). Laura’s father, William Negley, of highly brittle country, it’s not just good, it’s vital. Overrest not only successfully hunted the African “Big 5” (elephant, rhino, lion, leopard, and stagnates and eventually kills perennial grass plants; it also renders them buffalo) with a primitive recurve bow under the rules of fair chase, with highly unpalatable and under-nourishing to wild herbivores. no rifle backup whatsoever. He took his last elephant, also with a Suddenly, the Gills found themselves faced with becoming ranchers, recurve, at the age of 70. Chris and Laura regularly fish in Patagonia, and but without much of an idea of how to go about it. Since The Savory have taken other fishing excursions deep into the Falkland Islands, Center would soon be launching their Ranch and Rangeland Manager Iceland, Siberia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Amazon Basin.

Training Program, Chris decided to sign up. His experiences in the program convinced him that other family members needed to attend as Love of the Wild well. That was the only way, he reasoned, to really get everybody on the They and their children bought Circle Ranch in 1999 for its long term same page. Since they are all partial owners, that was critical. So during investment value, but more immediately, for its diverse and abundant the second year of the program, Laura, daughter Carolyn, and daughter-inwildlife. The Sierra Diablo Mountains, which transect a large swath of the law Sterling began their Holistic Management education as well. ranch, contain one of west Texas’ most successful reintroduced Grazing Planning Deliberations populations of desert bighorn sheep. The severe, gnarled cliffs of the Sierra Diablo escarpment are deceptively productive, harboring a diversity Immediately after the girls’ first session in August of 2002, I made of desert forbs, grasses, succulents, and shrubs. Their extreme aspect also my first trip to Circle Ranch. My task was to facilitate a dormant season provides the bighorns with the rugged escape terrain they depend on for grazing planning session, and to establish some initial biological predator evasion. On the mountain tops, down into the sloping foothills, monitoring transects. With such a great diversity of terrain—flat plains, on the desert mesas, and even down in the desert shrub thickets, desert steep cliffs, rugged limestone mountains, lush drainages, and shrubby mule deer abound. Profusions of scaled quail and gambel’s quail, and occasionally mearn’s quail, flush out of the brushy draws, white-winged continued on page 14

IN PRACTICE • NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003 LAND & LIVESTOCK

13

Nourishing Wilderness continued from page 13 desert flats—we had our work cut out for us. Based on the principal of “greatest numbers for the shortest time,” and without any desire to own their own livestock, the Gills had previously settled on a policy of seasonal contract grazing during the winter.

The Gills had already developed and implemented two grazing plans, but insufficient water infrastructure limited the size of their herd and precluded large areas of the ranch from being properly grazed. During the months prior to my visit, Charlie King, the versatile and ever-cheerful Circle Ranch manager, had ramrodded the installation of several miles of This highly productive sacaton draw is one of the many natural assets of the new pipe, booster pumps, and new water points. With these Circle Ranch, which feeds a diverse wildlife population including bighorn, desert, improvements, we could count the whole ranch as available for mule deer, pronghorn antelope, and three kinds of quail. grazing during the winter of 2002-2003.

But did it all need to be grazed? Huge tracts of the ranch A lot of those areas were right on the edge of the Sierra Diablo obviously did. Years of little grazing pressure and partial rest had resulted in escarpment, right where the bighorns hang out. On my visit last week, thousands of acres of overrested grasses and soil surfaces. Like most arid those pastures were growing vigorously and abundantly—good news for ranches, the opposite condition also characterized broad tracts of country. the wild sheep.

The easy, flat, and rolling pastures, with well-distributed and abundant water The flat country that we left out of last year’s plan was also looking sources, had been continuously hammered and severely overgrazed for better. The dead plants were still dead, but the plants that were spared decades. A lot of that country is home to scattered bunches of pronghorn still contained last year’s growth, and this year’s leaves, on the whole, antelope, and the Gills are passionate about increasing their numbers.

The weak link in the life cycle of a pronghorn occurs during the first were vigorously climbing through it. We estimated there to be two to few weeks of life, when they are highly vulnerable to coyote predation. three times the forage volume on these spots compared to last year. The Abundant, tall vegetative cover, where the scentless pronghorn fawns can more productive draws had also accumulated significant areas of cover be successfully hidden by their mothers, provides the critical habitat for the pronghorn fawns, and I’ll be darned if the little guys weren’t feature necessary for increased fawn survival. This country had been so running all over the place. As we drove around the ranch, however, severely overgrazed that even the more potentially productive draws, penetrating areas that were skipped during last year’s forage inventory, where runoff from intense thunderstorms concentrates to support a more we realized there was still tons of work to be done. dense and abundant plant community, had insufficient fawning cover.

On the whole, we underestimated the forage on hand last year, and Up out of the draws, many plants—approaching 40 percent—were the cattle didn’t have sufficient incentive to use big areas of country— dead, probably from a combination of years of management abuse and areas that were a lot more overrrested than overgrazed. In order to get the extended drought that has plagued the Southwest for a decade now. the cattle into those areas, and to condition that forage for the wild The plants still alive didn’t need to be grazed. They were a long, long herbivores, cattle numbers and stock density needed to increase. To keep ways from being overrested. The draws needed the chance to accumulate the animals from hanging on the easy, historically overgrazed country, significant quantities of older vegetation for pronghorn fawn cover. where the forage on the whole is much more palatable (due to the So those were the ecological considerations. What about economics? absence of any older growth in the plants), we made the collective The primary purpose of the grazing enterprise isn’t to make money. If it decision that a little strategically-placed, portable electric fencing would does turn a profit (and so far it has), that’s great, but their primary focus be needed. Charlie said he could get it done, so we planned it out. It’s a with the cattle is on using them to improve habitat for wildlife. Taking challenging but doable plan, and Charlie will learn a lot as the winter into account all of these considerations, last year we made the decision progresses. I look forward to getting back to see what I can learn. not to graze several thousand acres of this historically overgrazed, The Gill Family is still in its infancy on the Circle Ranch. There is a lot topographically gentle, pronghorn-inhabited country. to learn, a lot of work to be done, a lot of land to heal. The Gills are on a Just this fall the Gills gave me another chance to come help with the habitat enhancement mission, and as Chris emphasizes, “the best habitat 2003-2004 winter grazing plan. We started off by going over last year’s for cattle is also the best habitat for our wild herbivores. One doesn’t plan, discussing what did and didn’t work, what Charlie learned, how the exclude the other; they enhance each other. We have essentially five current season was shaping up relative to last year’s, etc. We made a species of large herbivore here—cattle, bighorns, mule deer, pronghorn, couple of logistical errors in planning our cattle moves last year, but on and elk. Given our habitat diversity and the evolutionary history of this the whole, and considering we planned the use of country in which country, I think we should have at least 12 species on this land. What neither Charlie nor the cattle had had much or any experience, the plan should be here is mostly extinct, so we have to find exotics to fill the worked awfully well. niches left by the extinct natives, and learn how to manage them.”

Higher stock densities and better water availability enabled Charlie That’s big thinking, but with their zest for nature, their love of to push the cattle into much of the overrested country, mainly in the wildlife and hunting, their open minds, and their long term perspective, mountains, and big areas ended the winter minus their rank overburden. the future looks promising.

14

LAND & LIVESTOCK

IN PRACTICE #92

Savory Center Bulletin Board Nothing like fine dining in fresh air with interesting people from six countries to prompt great conversations.

Everyone enjoyed hearing the walkabout leaders’ observations about land and how to interpret it.

(Clockwise from top left): Allan Savory, Walt Davis, Malcolm Beck, and Steve Rich.

Peggy Sechrist speaking at the Rendezvous 2003 opening ceremony.

Rendezvous Central at the L.O. Ranch.

Rendezvous Riproaring Success

T

he Savory Center would like to extend a whole hearted thanks to HRM of Texas and Clint Josey for their outstanding efforts in making Rendezvous 2003, held September 26-28 in Leo, Texas at Clint Josey’s L.O. Ranch, a great success. With a full schedule of workshops to choose from participants had a hard time choosing.

One of the highlights of the Rendezvous, besides the gourmet food provided by Clint Josey, was the Saturday morning walkabout, which involved round-robin sessions with Allan Savory, Walt Davis, Steve

Holistic Managers Win Awards

T

wo long-time Savory Center members, the Work Ranch and Frasier Farms, have won the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s 2003 Environmental Award for their respective regions.

The Environmental Stewardship Award Program recognizes progressive cattle producers who incorporate innovative, conservation-friendly and cost-effective stewardship practices into their operations.

Judges also consider the nominees’ leadership abilities, the productivity and profitability of their operations, and their involvement with local, regional and national efforts to improve

Rich, and Malcolm Beck. Everyone came away feeling renewed, recharged, and recommitted to spreading the word about Holistic Management.

Special thanks to Pat Richardson and her Rendezvous committee for their tireless efforts in making this a memorable experience for everyone. Rumor has it that Dr. Manuel Casas will pick up the challenge and we’ll have the next Holistic Management Gathering in Chapa de Mota, Mexico in 2005.

stewardship practices and the public perception of the cattle industry.

The George and Elaine Work family, who own and operate a cattle ranch east of San Miguel in southeastern Monterey County, won the 2003 Environmental Stewardship Award for Region 6.

The Works were nominated by The Nature Conservancy because they recognize “that here on the Central Coast, and throughout California, ranching families like the Works are responsible for maintaining important natural areas, wildlife habitat and wildlife corridors,” said Conservancy Field Representative Anne McMahon.

Marshall Frasier, and his sons Joe, Mark, and Chris, won the same Environmental Stewardship Award for Region 5. Frasier Farms is a family owned and operated ranch in Woodrow and Limon, Colorado.

Kim Burgess, manager of policy for the Colorado Division of Wildlife notes that “the Frasiers have actively managed their properties for the benefit of wildlife species. These management practices have been evaluated, and the Frasiers have received the highest possible scores for maintenance of valuable habitat and actions to improve habitat.”

Congratulations to both the Work Ranch and Frasier Farms.

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE • NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003 15

Savory Center Forum A Family Business

by Kelly Sidoryk

O

ne of the aspects of Holistic Management that first appealed to me was the emphasis on the human resource. It was the first program I had come across in agriculture that even acknowledged the importance of people, let alone referred to them as the most underutilized resource.

Since then and through the process of becoming a Certified Educator, I have continued to be interested in the people side of things. This has led, in addition to working in our own family ranching operation, to working with other families in business. One of the families I have learned a great deal from is the Campbell family.

Evolving Goal The Don and Bev Campbell family, from BC Ranch at Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada, has been managing holistically for over 15 years. Over that time, as their children, Scott, Mark, Marie and Grace have grown, married, chosen career paths, and had children, Don and Bev realized it was important to revisit their holistic goal, develop a transition plan and, at the same time, build their team. I had the opportunity to work with them and guide that process during two sessions, each one and a half days long, in which we revisited the family’s holistic goal, looked at roles and responsibilities, legal structure, remuneration and benefits and created a long-range plan.

From working with them, I would have to say that their commitment to strengthening the “team,” how their family works together, is a key ingredient in their success as a family and as a business.

In Holistic Management, development of a holistic goal, and the values intrinsic to this process, is a powerful tool for families in business. The trust and acceptance and level of open, honest communication required to share values and develop a holistic goal builds strength and increases commitment. The Campbells believe the goal setting is essential because it helps them understand each other and have a common vision. Or as Don puts it, “Goal setting helps us walk our talk and hold ourselves and each other accountable.”

16 HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE #92

The People Part But even with a new holistic goal, the Campbells knew that management is an ongoing challenge. The Campbells say some of the biggest challenges they face being in a family ranching operation are: prioritizing objectives, communication, transitioning the operation, having regular meetings, and accepting differences in other people. Don adds, “Holistic Management helped us realize that people are the most important. This allowed us to set time aside for serious goal setting and team building.

This time helped us know each other better and focus on our common vision, not our Kell Sidoryk and her differences. nephew, Dalen.

Each person is important and unique, all contribute.”

As part of their management structure, the Campbells divided their business into four parts: people, finance, marketing and production. It is difficult for one person to wear all these hats, but a family business has an advantage with more people of differing skills. And as Don notes, “This division of labor leads to clear communication and responsibility. All people have input, but one specific person is responsible.” However, management of the ranch is by consensus, and ownership of the ranch is divided equally.

But consensus and collaborative decisionmaking only works if there is a high level of trust built upon a strong foundation of effective communication and follow through of proposed action. It requires a commitment of working through the hard stuff as well as celebrating the successes.

Putting this into practice sometimes requires a great leap from where people

normally operate. Often this is one of the most difficult aspects of goal development, facing those unspoken issues. It can be much easier to go build fences or work on books, than to take the time to sit down with those we work and live with and share what is truly important to us. But the benefits to building trust and, hence, a stronger, more united team are immeasurable. It is also a process and not just a one-time event.

Making a commitment to regular and effective meetings is, therefore, critical to good relationships and positive results. Such meetings may sound simple, but they are sometimes hard to execute, as the Campbells have found. Nonetheless, they have committed to monthly meetings for all the family and weekly Monday morning meetings for those working directly on the ranch. They keep persevering because they believe it is important to continually work on improving communication; it helps to assure long-term success, and the more people involved, the more important this commitment is.

Change Takes Time It is important to remember that our operations and families are constantly changing. Flexibility, something I think Holistic Management encourages, is important to all aspects of the operation. In the book, The Daughter Also Rises, author Anne Francis writes, “Human frailty and our ability to both manage it and embrace it are part of being a healthy adult and a healthy family. Commit yourself to the idea that change takes time; it is often difficult and always requires individual responsibility, courage and hope.” Francis also says, “Healthy business families, like healthy families in general, are able to build upon their common interests and values so they support and trust one another, address and solve problems openly, exercise leadership flexibly and appropriately, and plan for the future growth of their business collaboratively.”

This quote certainly describes the Campbells. Their work on developing goals and plans has benefited them greatly. They feel it has given them clearer direction and helps them to make better decisions. Their team is strong because all the members feel committed to be part of the team, and they each have a better understanding of their team members.

These characteristics put the Campbell family ahead of the pack when it comes to families in business, and they believe that Holistic Management has played a big role in helping them get to where they are today.

NEW MEXICO

Certified Educators To our knowledge, Certified Educators are the best qualified individuals to help others learn to practice Holistic Management and to provide them with technical assistance when necessary. On a yearly basis, Certified Educators renew their agreement to be affiliated with the Center. This agreement requires their commitment to practice Holistic Management in their own lives, to seek out opportunities for staying current with the latest developments in Holistic Management and to maintain a high standard of ethical conduct in their work.

For more information about or application forms for the U.S., Africa, or International Certified Educator Training Programs, contact Kelly Pasztor at the Savory Center or visit our website at www.holisticmanagement.org/wwo_certed.cfm? ❖ These Educators provide Holistic Management instruction on behalf of the institutions they represent.

UNITED STATES ARIZONA Kitty Boice P.O. Box 745, Sonoita, AZ 85637 520/907-5574; KatieMackK@aol.com ARKANSAS Preston Sullivan P.O. Box 4483, Fayetteville, AR 72702 479/443-0609; 479/442-9824 (w) prestons@nwaisp.com CALIFORNIA Monte Bell 325 Meadowood Dr., Orland, CA 95963 530/865-3246; mbell@glenncounty.net Julie Bohannon 652 Milo Terrace, Los Angeles, CA 90042 323/257-1915 JoeBoCom@pacbell.net Bill Burrows 12250 Colyear Springs Rd. Red Bluff, CA 96080 530/529-1535; burrows@cwnet.com Richard King 1675 Adobe Rd., Petaluma, CA 94954 707/769-1490; 707/794-8692 (w) richard.king@ca.usda.gov Christopher Peck P.O. Box 2286, Sebastopol, CA 95472 707/758-0171 ctopherp@holistic-solutions.net COLORADO Cindy Dvergsten 17702 County Rd. 23, Dolores, CO 81323 970/882-4222 info@wholenewconcepts.com Rio de la Vista P.O. Box 777, Monte Vista, CO 81144 719/852-2211; riovista@rmi.net Daniela and Jim Howell P.O. Box 67, Cimarron, CO 81220-0067 970/249-0353 howelljd@montrose.net Tim McGaffic P.O. Box 476, Ignacio, CO 81137 970/946-9957; tim@timmcgaffic.com Chadwick McKellar 16775 Southwood Dr. Colorado Springs, CO 80908 719/495-4641; cmckellar@juno.com

Chandler McLay P.O. Box 262, Dolores, CO 81323 970/882-8802 mcchand@msn.com Byron Shelton 33900 Surrey Lane, Buena Vista, CO 81211 719/395-8157 landmark@my.amigo.net GEORGIA Constance Neely 1160 Twelve Oaks Circle; Watkinsville, GA 30677 706/310-0678 cneely@holisticmanagement.org IOWA Bill Casey 1800 Grand Ave.; Keokuk, IA 52632-2944 319/524-5098; wpccasey@interl.net KENTUCKY Joel Benson 1180 Fords Mill Rd.; Versailles, KY 40383 859/879-6365; joel@growgdp.com LOUISIANA Tina Pilione P.O. 923, Eunice, LA 70535 phone/fax: 337/580-0068 tinamp@charter.net MASSACHUSETTS ❖ Christine Jost Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine 200 Westboro Road; North Grafton, MA 01536 508/887-4763; christine.jost@tufts.edu MINNESOTA Terri Goodfellow-Heyer 4660 Cottonwood Lane N; Plymouth, MN 55442 612/559-0099; tgheyer@attbi.com MONTANA Wayne Burleson RT 1, Box 2780 Absarokee, MT 59001 406/328-6808; rutbuster@montana.net

❖ Ann Adams The Savory Center 1010 Tijeras NW Albuquerque, NM 87102 505/842-5252 anna@holisticmanagement.org Amy Driggs 1131 Los Tomases NW Albuquerque, NM 87102 505/242-2787 adriggs@orbusinternational.com Kirk Gadzia P.O. Box 1100 Bernalillo, NM 87004 505/867-4685; fax: 505/867-0262 kgadzia@earthlink.net Ken Jacobson 12101 Menaul Blvd. NE, Ste A Albuquerque, NM 87112 505/293-7570 kbjacobson@orbusinternational.com ❖ Kelly Pasztor The Savory Center 1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102 505/842-5252 kellyp@holisticmanagement.org Sue Probart P.O. Box 81827 Albuquerque, NM 87198 505/265-4554 tnm@treenm.com Vicki Turpen 03 El Nido Amado SW Albuquerque, NM 87121 505/873-0473; mvt9357@aol.com Arne Vanderburg P.O. Box 904 Cedar Crest, NM 87008 505/286-6133 asvanderb@hotmail.com NORTH CAROLINA Sam Bingham 394 Vanderbilt Rd. Asheville, NC 28803 828/274-1309; sbingham@igc.org NORTH DAKOTA ❖ Wayne Berry University of North Dakota—Williston P.O. Box 1326; Williston, ND 58802 701/774-4269 or 701/774-4200 wayne.berry@wsc.nodak.edu OHIO

Roland Kroos 4926 Itana Circle; Bozeman, MT 59715 406/522-3862; KROOSING@earthlink.net

❖ Deborah Stinner Department of Entomology OARDC 1680 Madison Hill Wooster, OH 44691 330/202-3534 (w); stinner.2@osu.edu

❖ Cliff Montagne Montana State University Department of Land Resources & Environmental Science Bozeman, MT 159717 406/994-5079; montagne@montana.edu

OKLAHOMA Kim Barker RT 2, Box 67 Waynoka, OK 73860 580/824-9011; barker_k@hotmail.com

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE • NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003 17

OREGON Cindy Douglas 2795 McMillian St. Eugene, OR 97405 541/465-4882; cdouglas@omri.org Jeff Goebel P.O. Box 2503 Redmond, OR 97756-0560 goebel@palouse.net TEXAS Christina Allday-Bondy 2703 Grennock Dr. Austin, TX 78745 512/441-2019; tododia@peoplepc.com Guy Glosson 6717 Hwy 380 Snyder, TX 79549 806/237-2554; glosson@caprock-spur.com ❖ R.H. (Dick) Richardson University of Texas at Austin Department of Integrative Biology Austin, TX 78712 512/471-4128; d.richardson@mail.utexas.edu

Peggy Sechrist 25 Thunderbird Rd. Fredericksburg, TX 78624 830/990-2529; peggy@fbg.net

Doug Warnock 151 Cedar Cove Rd..

Ellensburg, WA 98926 509/925-9127; warnockd@ elltel.net

WASHINGTON Craig Madsen P.O. Box 107, Edwall, WA 99008 509/236-2451; madsen2fir@centurytel.net

WISCONSIN Elizabeth Bird Room 203 Hiram Smith Hall 1545 Observatory Dr., Madison WI 53706 608/265-3727; eabird@facstaff.wisc.edu

Sandra Matheson 228 E. Smith Rd., Bellingham, WA 98226 360/398-7866; smm1@gte.net ❖ Don Nelson Washington State University P.O. Box 646310, Pullman, WA 99164 509/335-2922; nelsond@wsu.edu Maurice Robinette S. 16102 Wolfe Rd., Cheney, WA 99004 509/299-4942; mlr@icehouse.net Lois Trevino P.O. Box 615, Nespelem, WA 99155 509/634-4410; 509/634-2430 (w) lois.trevino@colvilletribes.com

Larry Johnson W886 State Road 92 Brooklyn, WI 53521 608/455-1685; lpjohn@rconnect.com WYOMING Miles Keogh 450 N. Adams Ave. Buffalo WY 82834 307/684-0532; mkeogh@trib.com Tim Morrison P.O. Box 536, Meeteese, WY 82433 307/868-2354; mcd@tctwest.net

INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA Helen Carrell “Hillside” 25 Weewondilla Rd. Glennie Heights, Warwick, QLD 4370 61-4-1878-5285; 61-7-4661-7383 helenc@upfrontoutback.com

CHINA/GERMANY Dieter Albrecht 2, Yuan Ming Yuan Xi Lu Beijing 10094 86-10-6289 1061; alialb@gmx.net (international)

Steve Hailstone 5 Lampert Rd., Crafers, SA 5152 61-4-1882-2212; shailstone@internode.on.net

MEXICO Ivan Aguirre La Inmaculada Apdo. Postal 304; Hermosillo, Sonora 83000 tel/fax: 52-637-377-8929 rancho_inmaculada@yahoo.com

Graeme Hand “Inverary” Caroona Lane; Branxholme, VIC 3302 61-3-5578-6272; 61-4-1853-2130 gshand@hotkey.net.au Mark Gardner P.O. Box 1395, Dubbo, NSW 2830 61-2-6882-0605; gardnerm@ozemail.com.au Brian Marshall “Lucella”; Nundle, NSW 2340 61-2-6769 8226; fax: 61-2-6769 8223 bkmrshl@northnet.com.au Bruce Ward P.O. Box 103, Milsons Pt., NSW 1565 61-2-9929-5568; fax: 61-2-9929-5569 blward@holisticresults.com.au Brian Wehlburg c/o “Sunnyholt”, Injue, QLD 4454 61-7-4626-7187; ijapo2000@yahoo.com CANADA Don and Randee Halladay Box 2, Site 2, RR 1; Rocky Mountain House, AB T0M 1T0; 403/729-2472 donran@telusplanet.net Noel McNaughton 5704-144 St., Edmondton, AB, T6H 4H4 780/432-5492; noel@mcnaughton.ca Len Pigott Box 222, Dysart, SK SOH 1HO 306/432-4583; JLPigott@sk.sympatico.ca Kelly Sidoryk Box 374, Lloydminster, AB, S9V 0Y4 403/875-4418 hi-gain@telusplanet.net

18 HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE #92

Elco Blanco-Madrid Cristobal de Olid #307 Chihuahua Chih., 31240 52-614-415-3497; fax: 52-614-415-3175 elco_blanco@hotmail.com Manuel Casas-Perez Calle Amarguva No. 61, Lomas Herradura Huixquilucan, Mexico City CP 52785 52-558-291-3934; 52-588-992-0220 (w) tolintepec@aol.com Jose Ramon “Moncho” Villar Av. Las Americas #1178 Fracc. Cumbres Saltillo, Coahuila 25270 52-844-415-1542; ffmh@prodigy.net.mx NAMIBIA Gero Diekmann P.O. Box 363, Okahandja 9000 264-62-518091; nam00132@mweb.com.na Colin Nott P.O. Box 11977; Windhoek 264-61-228506; canott@iafrica.com.na Wiebke Volkmann P.O. Box 182, Otavi, 067-23-44-48 wiebke@mweb.com.na NEW ZEALAND John King P.O. Box 3440, Richmond, Nelson 64-3-547-6347 succession@clear.net.nz

SOUTH AFRICA Sheldon Barnes P.O. Box 300; Kimberly 8300 Johan Blom P.O. Box 568, Graaf-Reinet 6280 27-49-891-0163 johanblom@cybertrade.co.za Ian Mitchell-Innes P.O. Box 52, Elandslaagte 2900 27-36-421-1747 blanerne@mweb.co.za Norman Neave Box 141, Mtubatuba 3935 27-35-5504150 norboom@saol.com Dick Richardson P.O. Box 1806, Vryburg 8600 tel/fax: 27-53-927-4367 judyrich@cybertrade.co.za Colleen Todd P.O. Box 21, Hoedspruit 1380 27-82-335-3901 (cell) colleen_todd@yahoo.com ZIMBABWE Mutizwa Mukute PELUM Association Regional Desk P.O. Box MP 1059, Mount Pleasant, Harare 263-4-74470/744117 fax: 263-4-744470 pelum@mail.pci.co.zw Liberty Mabhena Spring Cabinet P.O. Box 853, Harare 263-4-210021/2; 263-4-210577/8 fax: 263-4-210273 Sister Maria Chiedza Mutasa Bandolfi Convent P.O. Box 900, Masvingo 263-39-7699, 263-39-7530 Elias Ncube P. Bag 5950, Victoria Falls 263-3-454519 rogpachm@africaonline.co.zw

Local Networks There are several branch organizations or groups affiliated with the Center in the U.S. and abroad (some publish their own newsletters.) We encourage you to contact the group closest to you:

United States ARIZONA HRM of Arizona Norm Lowe 2660 E. Hemberg, Flagstaff, AZ 86004 928/214-0040; loweflag@aol.com

NEW YORK Regional Farm & Food Project Tracy Frisch, contact person 148 Central Ave., 2nd floor Albany, NY 12206; 518/427-6537

CALIFORNIA Holistic Management of California Tom Walther, newsletter editor 5550 Griffin St., Oakland, CA 94605 510/530-6410; tagjag@ aol.com

USDA/NRCS - Central NY RC&D Phil Metzger, contact person 99 North Broad St., Norwich, NY 13815 607/334-3231, ext. 4 phil.metzger@ny.usda.gov

COLORADO Colorado Branch of the Center For Holistic Management Jim and Daniela Howell newletter editors 1661 Sonoma Court, Montrose, CO 81401 970/249-0353;howelljd@montrose.net

NORTHWEST Managing Wholes Peter Donovan 501 South St., Enterprise, OR 97828-1345 541/426-2145 www.managingwholes.com

GEORGIA Constance Neely 1160 Twelve Oaks Circle Watkinsville, GA 30677 706/310-0678 cneely@holisticmanagement.org

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma Land Stewardship Alliance Charles Griffiths Route 5, Box E44, Ardmore, OK 73401 580/223-7471; cagriffith@brightok.net

MONTANA Beartooth Management Club Wayne Burleson RT 1, Box 2780, Absarokee, MT 59001 406/328-6808; rutbuster@montana.net

PENNSYLVANIA Northern Penn Network Jim Weaver, contact person RD #6, Box 205, Wellsboro, PA 16901 717/724-7788; jaweaver@epix.net

Africa Centre for Holistic Management (A subsidiary of the Savory Center since 1992) Board of Trustees

Staff

Allan Savory, Chair

Huggins Matanga, Director Alan Sparrow, Director of Education Elias Ncube, Community Programmes Manager Emeldah Nkomo, Community Training Coordinator Andrew Moyo, Village Banking Coordinator Otilia Mpofu, Office Manager Sylvia Nyakujawa and Vusa Mangena, Bookkeepers

Ignatius Ncube, Vice Chair Chief D. Shana II Chief A. J. Mvutu Chief B.W. Wange Chief D. Nelukoba Chief S.R. Nekatambe Councilor Ndubiwa Mary Ncube Lot Ndlovu Emeldah Nkomo (Staff Representative) Elias Ncube (Staff Representative) Osmond Mugweni - Masvingo Hendrik O’Neill - Harare Sam Brown, Austin, Texas, ex-officio

Dimbangombe Ranch and Conservation Safaris: Roger Parry, Manager Trish Pullen, Assistant Manager, Catering Albert Chauke, Ranch Foreman

To order products inAustralia/New Zealand or southern Africa contact: Australia: Holistic Decision Making Association, Lennie Chaplain, P.O. Box 1157, Moree NSW 2400, tel: 61-2-6752-9065; cvchaplain@bigpond.com South Africa: Whole Concepts cc, PO Box 1806, Vryburg 8600; tel/fax: 27-53-9274367; judyrich@cybertrade.co.za TEXAS HRM of Texas Peggy Jones, newsletter editor 101 Hill View Trail Dripping Springs, TX 78620 512/858-4251 hrmoftx@earthlink.net

West Station for Holistic Management Peggy Maddox P.O. Box 694 Ozona, TX 76943 325/226-3042 westgift@earthlink.net

International AUSTRALIA Holistic Decision Making Association (AUST+NZ) Lennie Chaplain P.O. Box 1157 Moree NSW, 2400 tel: 61-2-6752-9065 cvchaplain@bigpond.com CANADA Canadian Holistic Management Lee Pengilly Box 216, Stirling, AB, T0K 2E0 403/327-9262 MEXICO Fundación para Fomentar el Manejo Holístico, A.C. Jose Ramon Villar, President Ave. Las Americas #1178

Fracc. Cumbres Saltillo, Coahuila 25270 tel/fax: 52-844-415-1542 ffmh@prodigy.net.mx NAMIBIA Namibia Centre for Holistic Management Anja Denker, contact person P.O. Box 23600 Windhoek 9000 tel/fax: 264-61-230-515 unicorn@iafrica.com.na SOUTH AFRICA Community Dynamics Judy Richardson P.O. Box 1806 Vryburg 8600 tel/fax: 27-53-9274367 judyrich@cybertrade.co.za

Come Visit Us! AT DIMBANGOMBE

We Offer: • Guided Bush Walks • Horseback Tours • Game-Viewing Drives • Anti-Poaching Patrol Experience • And much more!

In an unforgettable setting with comfy lodging, memorable meals

Private Bag 5950 Victoria Falls Zimbabwe

Roger Parry Email: rogpachm@africaonline.co.zw Tel. (263)(11)213 529

www.africansojourn.com HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE • NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003 19