Wyoming Section Society for Range Management 2009 Annual Meeting

Dear Student/Teacher:

This letter and the attached High School Youth Forum (HSYF) Entry Form provide an introduction and call for student presentations at the Wyoming Section of the Society for Range Management (SRM) 2009 annual meeting. Since you may not be familiar with the annual HSYF or even SRM, I will briefly describe both entities. The SRM is an international professional/scholastic society whose goal in part is to foster advancement in the science and art of rangeland management. SRM strives to promote public awareness of the importance of sound management and use of rangeland (the world's largest land base). As such, in 1966, SRM recognized the need to involve youth with range-related activities and education, and since that time has provided educational opportunities for young people considering further study or careers in range-related fields (e.g., agricultural, ecological, biological/botanical, natural resources, wildlife). Thus, the HSYF was initiated and has become a highlight of SRM ever since. The goals of the HSYF include providing student opportunities: to learn about range management, ecology, natural resources, and future careers in these fields; to encourage thinking and enhancement of communicative skills; and to meet SRM members, learn about SRM's function, and foster camaraderie and lasting friendships.

The 2009 Wyoming Section SRM HSYF will be held in conjunction with the Section's annual meeting on Tuesday November 3 through Thursday November 5, at the Holiday Inn/Comfort Inn in Cody. This year the annual meeting will be held jointly with State Sections of the Soil and Water Conservation Society and Wildlife Society. The meeting agenda will be available shortly. High School student presentations are tentatively scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, November 4, but may be given at alternate times during the meeting to accommodate student/faculty schedules. Lunch (Wed.) will be provided for all student participants and chaperons. Often, multiple students from a single high school participate. Presentations can be: 1) in any format (past winners have had notable visuals--often power point presentations); 2) range-related (habitat, wildlife, agriculture) ideally centered on this year's meeting focus (native vs. domestic); and 3) 6 to 8 minutes in length. Presentations will be evaluated by a panel of judges, and cash awards will be provided to the top three contestants ($100 to the top two presenters and $50 for third place). In addition, and as in past years, the Wyoming SRM Section will also sponsor the top presenter's attendance and presentation at the national HSYF at SRM's International meeting February 7 – 11, 2010 in Denver, Colorado.

We are hopeful that this year will be the best year yet for student participation. Additional details can be provided by giving me a call/email. Thank you for taking the time to review these materials and, in the event you know of others who may be interested in the function (debate teams, speech classes), please feel free to duplicate and further distribute these materials.

Sincerely,

Pete Guernsey
WY SRM HSYF Committee Chair
Enclosure
High School Youth Forum
P.O. Box 68
Pinedale, WY 82941
(307) 367-2032
peter.guernsey@questar.com

Posted on Friday, October 09, 2009