Sagebrush Saturday to Highlight Research, Offer Family Fun

BELLEVUE, Idaho — The public is invited to a family friendly educational workshop Saturday, June 4 at University of Idaho’s scenic Rinker Rock Creek Ranch, located in central Idaho’s Wood River Valley.

The event, Sagebrush Saturday, is free to attend and includes a complimentary lunch. Participants will learn about ongoing research at the ranch, partake in learning activities for all ages and go on a walk to discuss pollinating plants and insects.

The event begins 9 a.m. at the kiosk at Little Rock Creek, off Glendale Road. The presentations end 2 p.m.

At the kiosk, Timothy Prather, senior associate director of the U of I Rangeland Center, will discuss annual grass management. Jim Sprinkle, extension beef specialist at the Nancy M. Cummings Research and Extension Center in Carmen, will discuss outcome-based land management.

The group will then move to the ranch’s barn, where lunch will be served and there will be family activities, including the Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission’s Idaho Rangeland Outdoors Adventure Mobile youth education trailer. There will also be additional discussions at the barn. Cameron Weskamp, Rinker Rock Creek Ranch operations manager, and Wyatt Prescott, the ranch’s livestock manager, will present information about wildlife friendly fencing. Jason Karl, Harold F. and Ruth M. Heady endowed chair of rangeland ecology, and Grant Loomis, UI Extension Blaine County educator, will offer advice on the use of drones by livestock operators. A pollinator walk will follow lunch, led by Dusty Perkins, the Nature Conservancy’s land stewardship manager.

The next stop, at 1 p.m., will be the lower corrals near the junction of Rock Creek and Glendale roads, where John Hall, an Extension beef specialist who works with the Nancy M. Cummings Research and Extension Center and as cattle management lead with Rinker Rock Creek Ranch, will offer a comparison of grazing conditions at the two facilities. Sprinkle will discuss the attributes of the ideal cow for Idaho’s rangelands.

U of I acquired the ranch, which includes 10,400 acres of rangeland plus access to 11,000 acres of surrounding federal and state grazing allotments, in 2019. The unique facility — devoted to research, education, conservation, community outreach and recreation — is jointly managed by U of I’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and College of Natural Resources. The ranch’s advisory board includes representatives from the Nature Conservancy and the Wood River Land Trust; the nonprofit organizations were crucial in the university’s acquisition of the property.

Attendees are encouraged to bring sunscreen, hats, camp chairs, closed-toed shoes, water bottles and long pants.

Registration in advance is not required. Anyone seeking additional information may reach Cameron Weskamp at (208) 721-4134 or cpacker@uidaho.edu.

Media Contact:
John O’Connell
Assistant Director of Communications, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
(208) 530-5959
joconnell@uidaho.edu