Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center (EOARC) has been investing in the development of a strong outreach and education rangeland management program. Technology transfer is critical if science-based management practices are ultimately adopted by managers to protect and improve sagebrush steppe ecosystems. This presentation will describe the strategies EOARC has utilized to increase adoption of science-based management. A priority in this effort has been to develop and produce user-friendly, decision support technology transfer for site specific management. Our outreach and education is designed around a systems-based framework for management following a step-by-step planning process. The focus is on increasing knowledge of key ecological processes occurring on sagebrush steppe rangelands, rather than on symptoms. Once an ecological foundation is presented the program emphasizes how to apply adaptive management to develop science-based management plans. It is important to guide end-users through the systems-thinking process and provide ecological principles on which to make management decisions. The program is reinforced with field-based activities to engage participants in systems thinking and how to integrate science into their management. EOARC and cooperators work together to present topics during outreach events using consistent terminology, giving clarity to our overall message of managing ecological processes that direct vegetation change. Key components of the outreach and education programs have been the use of landscape scale demonstrations, field schools and camps for intensive training. Curricula and programs have been developed for all levels of learners. Training and presentations are accompanied with useful written guidelines, informative videos and a website to provide strong decision support and ongoing learning. To continue to improve EOARC's program offerings, participant surveys are collected after each event. The program is designed to introduce students and practitioners to a systems approach toward management and to support managers in applying science-based management for successful improvement of degraded sagebrush steppe.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.