Description:
Behavior-Based Management Topics of Discussion: • Causes of dietary preference, influences on food and habitat selection and implications for dispersing grazing across landscapes • Palatability, the roles of nutrients and toxins, and implication for supplementation and poisonous plants • The importance of dietary variety, interactions among nutrients and toxins, and implications for managing animals on rangelands Throughout, Fred will discuss principles and processes of plant and animal behavior as they pertain to food and habitat selection, and illustrate implications for enhancing dispersion of grazing across landscapes, thereby changing traditional patterns of use for managing riparian areas; for controlling weeds and maintaining fire breaks; for minimizing damage to economically valuable crops by wild and domestic herbivores; for enhancing and maintaining biodiversity; and for reducing losses in animals from toxic plants and “hard” introductions into unfamiliar environments. February 24th & 25th, 2010 Platte Valley Community Center Sponsored by the SER and Medicine Bow Conservation Districts Registration by January 15, 2010 Cost $60 per person For more information contact: gleavengood@gmail.com mbcd@carbonpower.net Dr. Fred Provenza Fred Provenza is a professor in range animal production at Utah State University who works closely with cattle ranchers helping them understand animal grazing behavior throughout the west. He is a world authority on understanding the behavior of grazing livestock, how they interact with their environment and the implications for management. His work on the application of behavioral principles includes issues in rangeland livestock production, ecosystem restoration, wildlife damage management, and enhancing and maintaining biodiversity.