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Rangeland symposium to discuss climate, wildfiresRangeland symposium to discuss climate, wildfires

The Symposium serves as a forum to connect ranchers, land managers, conservationists, policymakers, and scientists.

Farm Press Staff

January 27, 2025

1 Min Read
Wildlife on rangeland
Wildlife roam on rangeland.USDA ARS

Climate change, wildfire resilience and ranchers’ encounters with wolves will be the focus of the University of California’s annual Rustici Rangeland Science Symposium on Feb. 18 at UC Davis.

Established in 2012, the symposium serves as a forum to connect ranchers, land managers, conservationists, policymakers and scientists to drive meaningful change in California’s rangelands, according to the university.

Featured speakers at this year’s conference will include:

  • Bianca Soares Shapero, the fourth generation in her family’s sheep company and an experienced prescribed grazing practitioner operating throughout California. She will share her valuable insights into building effective prescribed grazing programs for vegetation management, UC officials say..

  • Ken Tate, professor and Cooperative Extension specialist in Rangeland Watershed Sciences at UC Davis, who will discuss wolves.

  • Tina Saitone, professor of Extension, UC Davis Agricultural and Resource Economics, who will probe the economic impacts of ranching with wolves.

  • Daniel Swain, climate scientist, California Institute for Water Resources, UC ANR and Institute of the Environment & Sustainability, UCLA. He will discuss what he calls the increasing hydroclimate whiplash in California and the implications for California's grasslands and shrublands. Swain authors the widely-read Weather West blog (https://weatherwest.com), which provides real-time perspectives on California weather and climate.

Related:Learn to measure your water diversions

The Rustici Rangeland Science Symposium is named for Russell L. Rustici, who was a Lake County cattle rancher and philanthropist who worked with university rangeland researchers and established gifts that perpetually fund three endowed rangeland faculty positions, a rangeland and cattle research and outreach support program, and a scholarship program for undergraduates.

For more information and to register, visit https://bit.ly/2025RusticiSymposium.

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