February 2, 2024
The University of Montana Western Environmental Sciences Department and Terra Verde Club are proud to present “Reinventing an Ancient Cattle Culture: How Humans and Livestock can Bring Healing to Western Rangeland” by guest speaker Glenn Elzinga. The presentation will be held on Tuesday, February 20 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in UMW’s Lewis & Clark Room in Mathews Hall.
Montana Western is partnering with local ranchers and conservation organizations to explore conservation-focused range rider certifications and internship positions. As part of these conversations, students in the Terra Verde club have invited Glenn Elzinga to campus to learn more about rotational grazing and regenerative agricultural practices.
After wolves killed an unprecedented number of their range cattle in one grazing season, Glenn and Caryl Elzinga of Idaho’s Pahsimeroi Valley were not only in economic trouble, but also a crisis of confidence as to whether or not public lands grazing should even be a part of their operation. However, after researching historical stockmanship practices, they learned a new approach to grazing on their 70 square mile rangelands. Embarking on this new journey in practice on horseback allowed them to completely restore riparian habitats, coexist with wolves, sequester carbon in both riparian areas and uplands, precisely target their grazing anywhere on the landscape, employ young people seeking a range riding vocation, and have their cattle achieve better weight gains. Glenn will present slides showing the process in action on a slice of rugged Central Idaho mountain rangelands.
This presentation is free and open to the public and will feature light refreshments and a Q&A session. For more information, please contact UMW Associate Professor of Environmental Sustainability, Dr. Arica Crootof: [email protected] or 406-683-7075.
