Do our current university rangeland curricula prepare professionals for the modern challenges of rangeland management? The current rangeland curriculum was largely defined by academics in the 1970's and rests on a handful of core rangeland courses. No significant changes have been made to the basic rangeland curriculum in the last 40 years despite significant changes in the management context. Is our profession keeping up with the new demands, new trends, and new tasks required to manage rangelands? Do new rangeland science graduates have the academic, social, and technological skills to meet today's land management challenges? In this workshop we will facilitate a series of engaging discussions on ways to modernize rangeland curricula and draft a set of skills, knowledge and abilities needed by rangeland management professionals today and into the future. We will report on the results of surveys and focus group discussions that examine the gap between university education programs and the needs of modern rangeland managers, extension specialists and scientists. A facilitated panel of leaders from selected land management agencies and conservation organizations, along with university educators and land management consultants will discuss the changing context for the rangeland management profession. Finally, workshop participants will discuss changes in education programs needed to prepare the rangeland management workforce for the challenges facing our profession. We anticipate that this workshop will guide revision of federal hiring requirements, accreditation criteria, and university course offerings. Everyone interested in the future of our profession and rangeland education is invited to participate.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.