Showcasing Conservation Despite In-Person Tour Restrictions 09/28/2020
By Katrina Vaitkus
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has undoubtedly altered the day-to-day practices of conservation districts across the nation; however, conservation does not stop. The Northeast Elko Conservation District in Nevada found an innovative way to keep its annual Shoesole Resource Management Group Tour on the calendar and continue their important outreach work.
With a 2019 NACD Technical Assistance Grant, the district was able to bring on Morgan Root, and, even though Root started during COVID-19, she immediately began making a difference in the area. She has worked diligently to deliver and teach conservation.
One of Root’s tasks was helping to coordinate the Shoesole Resource Management Group Tour, which occurs every year in the summer. The Shoesole Resource Management Group is a collaborative group of three ranches working on natural resource management. The group is devoted to sustaining healthy and productive public and private landscapes.
“Typically, they update agency and community members about what they’ve been working on,” Root says.
Due to restrictions with COVID-19, the group wasn’t sure if they should cancel their June event. Root, who has been completing some trainings online, felt it would be possible to make the tour virtual given her experiences with Zoom.
“We decided to go along with the virtual tour due to the fact that we could reach people outside of the group we typically reach,” Root said. “It ended up being a great opportunity, where we were able to reach a diverse group of people and those who typically wouldn’t have been able to attend.”
The virtual tour used PowerPoints to showcase each ranch’s resource management practices and projects. Cottonwood Ranch discussed the results of over 20 years of holistic resource management practices. Boies Ranch was able to include aerial footage of Dry Creek to show the improvement that has been made to its riparian areas. The third ranch, Home Ranch, showcased its success with targeted cheatgrass grazing.
The tour was a success, allowing the ranches to showcase their work and answer questions, despite being unable to host a face-to-face event.
“Given its success, I think some virtual aspect will be integrated into future tours, even after we reach our new state of normalcy,” Root said.
The recorded tour videos can be found on the district’s YouTube page. You can also read more about the tour in this Progressive Rancher publication.