Wells FFA Wins Western National Rangeland CDE

On November 9, 2021 the Wells FFA Chapter won its 3rd national title in the Western National Rangeland Career Development Event. Team members consisted of Carolina Johnson (1st place), Madison Wachtel (7th place), Jackson Dahl, Grant Kington and Truman Kington.

The competition was held in Baker City, Oregon and 17 teams from five states traveled to eastern Oregon to vie for the title. It was an especially special day for sophomore Carolina Johnson who also won the “Top Range Hand Award” for being 1st high individual, the “Top Plant Identification Award” and the “Top Range Management Award”. For her accomplishment Carolina won a custom belt buckle and several plaques, all donated by the Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission. The Wells FFA Range team was coached by Ryan Kindall and Don Noorda.

This is a premier range judging event uniquely designed to be relevant to issues faced by land managers on Western rangelands. Rangeland dominates the Western states, yet many people who live near or even on rangelands know little about the resources they provide or principles of their management. Approximately 80% of Nevada is comprised of rangelands so it is important for agriculture education students and the public to understand how to manage this precise resource. Agriculture science teacher and Wells FFA advisor, Don Noorda feels it is vital to teach rangeland management to all students. Noorda teaches rangeland management units in each of his introductory Agriculture Science classes and in his CTE completer course Natural Resource Management. In each class, rangeland management career opportunities are discussed and many of his students decide to join the FFA team to continue their training with hopes of a career in range management. Although he primarily teaches Agricultural Mechanics, Ryan Kindall coached the rangeland management team. Kindall comes to Wells High School from Idaho where he taught general agriculture education 6-12, incorporating rangeland management into his curriculum. Kindall is an alumni of the rangeland management competition and strongly believes in the value of this Career Development Event as the most career and industry based competition students participate in through FFA.

This FFA hands-on event is comprised of five categories that are each equally important to rangeland management. The five categories include 1) plant identification (including plant characteristics) and ecological site description, 2) rangeland biodiversity and management, 3) habitat evaluation for domestic grazers, 4) habitat evaluation for wildlife and 5) stocking rate and management recommendations. Each category addresses important issues relevant for ranchers and rangeland managers. The Western National Rangeland competition is in its thirteenth year and will take place in Utah next year. The Wells FFA team would like to thank Dr. Karen Launchbaugh and the University of Idaho for organizing the event. They also would like to thank the following groups and organization for either financially sponsoring, or providing training during the event: Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission, Natural Resources Conservation Service, local Bureau of Land Management agencies, University of Idaho, College of Natural Resources, UNR, Society for Range Management, Montana State University, Public Lands Foundation for America’s Heritage.

From the left: Truman Kington, Madison Wachtel, Carolina Johnson, Jackson Dahl, and Norman Kington are all thrilled with their achievements after winning first high team.

Written by Morgan Noorda

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