~ SARAH HANLON GOES TO WASHINGTON ~

  At the end of August I was given an amazing opportunity to spend a week in Washington, DC. While in our nation’s capitol I had the honor of meeting with the leadership and range management professionals from the United States Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Natural Resources Conservation Service. This opportunity was awarded to me last February at the Society for Range Management’s annual meeting in Albuquerque, NM. I was not the only Springfield NRCS employee at the Albuquerque meeting, BJ O’ Doherty and Tim Steffens  were also among the best and brightest range professionals at this meeting. However, at the time of the meeting I was still attending as a student in range management, and had just been informed that I was going to be a returning fixture to the Springfield Field Office.

  Part of the annual meeting consists of contests that allow for some friendly competition among the range schools and students from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. These contests include research, presentations, plant ID, and a comprehensive knowledge based exam known as the

Undergraduate Range Management Exam or URME. The Forest Service, BLM, and NRCS all sponsor one of the student contest awards and provide the first place winner in the respective contest with an all expense paid trip to Washington, DC to meet with the leadership of the Federal Agencies. I participated in the plant ID and URME competitions, and came in first in the URME out of 23 schools and 170 students. The Forest Service sponsors the first place award for the URME.

  I returned with a much greater appreciation for what happens in all of the federal land management agencies at the national level.  I had the opportunity to see the National Agriculture Research Service experiment station in Beltsville, MD. I was able to gain more detailed knowledge as to the aims and operations in the agencies that I am not a part of.  Of course, I was given some time to see our country’s national landmarks and history, as it was my first adventure to Washington, DC. However, I also had the immense honor of meeting with the Chief of the NRCS, David White, seeing documents that were the foundation of the NRCS, and setting my eyes on the view that Hugh Hammond Bennett himself had every day from his office.  Not only this, but I was also able to discuss with national NRCS staff the issues and successes we are having right here in Baca County with putting conservation on the ground.  It was an honor and an opportunity that not many fresh out of college employees get, and one that I greatly appreciate getting to share.  ~ Sarah Hanlon, Springfield NRCS Range Conservationist