WERA_OLD1008: Rangelands West Partnership
(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)
Status: Inactive/Terminating
WERA_OLD1008: Rangelands West Partnership
Duration: 10/01/2006 to 09/30/2011
Administrative Advisor(s):
NIFA Reps:
Non-Technical Summary
Statement of Issues and Justification
Rangelands are the most extensive class of lands in the eleven western states (about 70% of the land area) and are also important in the Great Plains states. These lands provide many ecological services including forage production, wildlife habitat, watersheds, and recreation. Rangelands that are managed by federal and state agencies are commonly used by livestock operators as a critical component to whole ranch systems, complementing privately owned lands. One of the issues in the management and conservation of these lands is the ability of state land-grant universities to provide quality information and support through the Internet. As more people use the Internet for their first line, if not main source, of information, land-grant universities have the obligation to ensure that there is a source of credible information on the management and conservation of rangelands. This requires collaboration between subject, information, and technology experts.
The Rangelands West Partnership http://rangelandswest.org/ has been meeting for the past four years and involves a collaboration of rangeland specialists and agricultural and natural resource librarians from 19 western land-grant universities. This partnership is currently building a comprehensive web resource for rangelands information as part of the Agriculture Network Information Center (AgNIC) initiative. The proposed formation of the WCC is to formalize and facilitate this land-grant university partnership in the implementation and maintenance of state and regional web portals relevant to rangelands.
The general mission of the partnership is to provide researchers, educators, and public and private land managers with electronic access to the full scope of information in the field of rangeland ecology, management, and conservation. This is accomplished by collecting, creating, evaluating, and organizing relevant data, information, and educational modules.
Objectives
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To become the primary source on the Internet for reliable rangeland science and management information as documented by increasing numbers of site visitors each year.
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To develop, maintain, and continually improve a regional Rangelands West home page and related web pages, including the development of a database driven technical architecture to facilitate enhanced search capabilities.
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To develop, maintain, and continually improve state-specific Rangelands West web sites, including adding new content and entering metadata for their unique resources into the Rangelands West regional database.
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To insure that information provided through the Rangelands West web sites provide quality information based on the best available science.
Procedures and Activities
The primary procedures and activities will be related to the development, organization, and maintenance of the inter-connected Rangeland West websites. This will include implementing a new technical architecture and a new structure to accommodate expanded content. Other activities will center on an annual meeting to share information, provide training, and further develop and organize content for all of the Rangeland West portal.
Expected Outcomes and Impacts
- Organization and development of an expanded and more technically dynamic regional Rangelands West web portal.
- Initiation of all 19 state-specific Rangelands West websites.
- Greater access to evaluated, reliable, and current data, information, and educational modules for multiple audiences (as documented by collected website usage statistics).
- Specifically, educators and students of all levels will have access to reviewed information, data, links, learning modules, and other resources through a user-friendly Web portal organized around distinct topics related to the ecology and management of rangelands.
- Serve as an efficient and timely information source for rangeland owners and managers to access tools and other practical information that may be applied to decisions regarding the management of rangeland resources.
Projected Participation
View Appendix E: ParticipationEducational Plan
Continual development of a regional Rangeland West portal. 2. Continual development of state-specific Rangeland West websites. 3. Coordination with other committees (especially WCC-40 and W-55) to bring a wider specialist base of knowledge. 4. Conduct special workshops and symposia to alert potential users to these resources. 5. Conduct annual information and training meetings. 6. Utilize e-mail and listserv to coordinate activities and programs. 7. Continue to seek additional funding sources where appropriate.
Organization/Governance
Elect chair, co-chair, and secretary and confirm at the annual meeting. 2. Establish a governing body including the chairs, secretary, and a revolving number of members to make certain decisions on behalf of the membership as needed, after consulting the membership as a whole. 3. Meet in person at least once a year for updates, training, site development and planning.
Literature Cited
Hutchinson, B., J. Pfander and M. Haseltine. 2001. Rangeland Management Information on the Web. Arizonas Ranchers Guide. Tucson, AZ: Cooperative Extension.
Hutchinson, B.S. and G.B. Ruyle. 2000. Wired Without the Barbs: Using the Internet for rangeland information. Rangelands 22(6):19-22.
Hutchinson, B.S. and G. Ruyle. 2003. Partnering for Better Management of Western Rangelands: Using Web Technologies to Get the Word Out. Journal of Agricultural and Food Information 4(3):75-89.
Jones, D.E., G. Ruyle, and B. Hutchinson. 2003. Rangelands of the Western U.S.: Outreach Using the AgNIC Model. The Reference Librarian 82:125-140.