There are several opportunities for youth in South Dakota to get exposed to rangeland ecology and management, with involvement from several partners across the state. Learn about some exciting opportunities offered each year!
Curriculum to teach students about the facets of rangelands.
South Dakota is home to many unique land, water and wildlife resources. Our experts and partners offer research-based information through to help people enjoy, preserve and profit from these natural resources.
Holistic ranch management offers ways to think about ranching as part of a diverse ecological system. Learn how two South Dakota operations have leveraged it to generate multiple income streams from shared resources.
Guide for judging South Dakota rangelands for livestock and wildlife values
March 20, 2023
SDSU Extension, Codington Conservation District and South Dakota Natural Resources Conservation Service are hosting Rangeland Days and Soil Days on June 14-15 in Watertown, South Dakota.
Volunteer trees can hinder the development of desirable wildlife habitat and livestock resources. Early control of volunteer woody species is the simplest and most cost-effective option for maintaining open grassland habitats.
When planned for and implemented appropriately fire is a tool that can have tremendous benefits to your grassland community.
Traditional rangeland management promotes uniform forage utilization, yet causes detrimental effects on the richness of plant species and wildlife habitat. Therefore, management practices that increase heterogeneity in vegetation play an important role in developing diverse habitat types and preserving grassland wildlife species.
Patch-burn grazing and winter patch grazing are heterogenous rangeland management practices that aim to increase the diversity of grass composition to benefit wildlife and maintain livestock production. To learn about producers’ desire to adopt these practices, we conducted an online survey between November 2019 and January 2020.