ENHANCING LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION FROM RANGELANDS IN THE GREAT PLAINS

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: EXTENDED
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1019523
• Grant No.: 2019-68012-29819
• Project No.: TEX09787
• Proposal No.: 2018-09017
• Program Code: A9201
• Project Start Date: Jul 1, 2019
• Project End Date: Jun 30, 2025
• Grant Year: 2019

Project Director
Wilcox, B.

Recipient Organization
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
750 AGRONOMY RD STE 2701
COLLEGE STATION,TX 77843-0001

Performing Department
Ecosystem Science and Mgmt.

Non Technical Summary
Livestock production in the Great Plains of the United States faces a number of challenges from a changing environment and in particular a more extreme climate that will include more heat waves, longer droughts, and more extreme rainfall events. In addition, the vegetation is changing from one dominated by grasslands to that dominated by more trees and shrubs. And finally, wildfires are becoming more common. New management strategies are being developed that will help livestock producers better cope with these environmental challenges. These strategies include the strategic use of goats and fire. Goats are incredibly hardy and are able to cope with more extreme weather but in addition they can be used to the invasion by woody plants. Additionally the strategic use of fire also makes landscapes more productive and reduces that amount of woody cover. There are major social constraints with respect to using both goats and fire. Accordingly our project will establish 7 research and demonstration centers across the Great Plains that will demonstrate the benefits of these management strategies. These centers will be the focal point of intense education and activities designed to promote these kinds of management strategies.

Animal Health Component

20%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

100%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
121	0799	1070	100%

Knowledge Area
121 - Management of Range Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
0799 - Rangelands and grasslands, general;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;

Keywords

climate extreme

livestock produc

mixed animal grazing

pyric herbivore

rangeland

wildfire

woody plant

Goals / Objectives
1.1 Project Scope and GoalsGiven the rapidity with which change is taking place, we propose a Sustainable Agricultural Systems project for the rangeland production systems of the Great Plains region (GP-SAS) that will promote economic, ecological, and societal sustainability (see Logic Model). The key products and services on which this project will focus are forage and livestock production, but many other ecosystem services will benefit significantly as well--including increased carbon storage in soils, greater biodiversity, and improved water sustainability.The ultimate aim of the GP-SAS is to make rangeland production systems in the Great Plains more profitable, productive, sustainable, and beneficial to society at large, through promoting the widespread adoption of pyric herbivory and mixed-species grazing. We refer to this combination of strategies as best management practices. This project will lay the groundwork for increasing livestock production by at least 20%, thereby increasing the resilience of rural communities. Our proposed research-education-extension agenda, developed from more than a decade of intensive stakeholder interactions across the Great Plains, will powerfully facilitate the adoption of management practices that will lead to increased food production and more sustainable rangelands. Specifically, our project has the following goals:Short-Term Goals Establish Research and Demonstration Centers across the Great Plains where best management practices for increasing the resilience of livestock production operations can be evaluated and exhibited. These Centers (seven in all) will (a) enable us to both critically evaluate the effectiveness of pyric herbivory and mixed-species grazing and demonstrate their practical application, and (b) serve as training sites.Develop partnerships with Demonstration Ranches across the region.Establish education and extension programs aimed at overcoming social barriers to the use of prescribed fire and mixed-species grazing, through effective engagement of current and future land managers, natural resource professionals, and the general public.Engage stakeholder groups across the region, including producers, prescribed burn associations (PBAs), conservation groups, agencies, and state and local governments. The geographic and cultural diversity of the target region (prescribed fire is routinely used in the northern areas but not mixed-species grazing, whereas the opposite is true in the southern areas) will provide a unique opportunity for cultural exchange and learning.Characterize baseline environmental conditions at each of the Centers with respect to woody plant cover and rangeland health.Medium-Term GoalsDevelop, test, and implement decision-support tools, including (a) fire-forecasting models for region-wide use; and (b) spatial models for elucidating the extent of WPE.Produce well-documented case studies demonstrating the benefits of pyric herbivory and mixed-species grazing, through integrated research, education, and extension efforts.Implement high-impact education and extension programs that will lead to measurable progress in the perceptions and practices of land managers, the knowledge and skills of next-generation professionals, and the understanding and attitude of the general public.Long-Term Goals Improve rangeland condition, including a reduction in woody plant coverage, across the Great Plains.Measurably increase the production of livestock and the resilience of rangelands.Ultimately strengthen the link between society and active, productive livestock management, through (a) enhancement of the economics of livestock production and (b) engagement of stakeholders and the public.

Project Methods
Our research objectives and methods are described below3.1.1 Research Objective 1: Establish or continue pyric herbivory and mixed-species-grazing trials at the Research and Demonstration Centers3.1.2 Research Objective 2: Determine trends in livestock conditionAt each of the Centers, cattle and goats will be weighed and fecal-sampled monthly. Weights will be used to determine the condition of individual animals as well as livestock production per hectare. Fecal samples will be analyzed with near-infrared spectroscopy to determine the nutrient composition of diets, including the percentage of juniper. Two cattle and four goats will be outfitted with GPS collars to determine how ecological state and fire history affect grazing-site preferences.3.1.3 Research Objective 3: Determine trends in rangeland healthRangeland health will be monitored at each of the Centers, following the protocol outlined in Pellant et al..For the pasture-scale studies, which involve more intensive treatment comparisons, we will monitor rangeland health for each treatment implemented. For the ranch-scale studies, which do not involve treatment comparisons, we will assess rangeland health by monitoring trends over time.3.1.4 Research Objective 4: Determine WPE trends via remote sensingAt the Centers, we will conduct detailed remote sensing surveys to compare woody plant cover for the different treatments. All available GIS data on the biophysical attributes of the Sonora and Cross Timbers Centers, Martin and Read ranches, and the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, as well as historical remote sensing imageries, will be collected, processed, and incorporated into a GIS database for the pasture- and ranch-scale studies. In addition to regular maintenance and addition of new GIS remote sensing data, spatial data for the ongoing research--boundaries of pastures, spatially explicit treatments (grazing, mechanical/chemical, fire) and sampling data-- will be collected and incorporated, with adequate QA/QC, into the GIS database.3.1.4.1 Pasture-scale studiesAt the Sonora and Cross Timbers Centers, complete-coverage aerial imageries will be acquired twice a year: one at the time of peak biomass and another in winter/spring, for best separation of targeted woody species groups. High-resolution RGB/NIR (20 cm), hyper-spectral (50 cm), and thermal (80 cm) imageries will be acquired and processed in collaboration with the USDA-ARS Aerial Application Technology Research Unit at the Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center. Methods will be developed for classifying key woody plant groups, based on the aerial imageries (especially hyper-spectral imageries) and on ground-based vegetation sampling.3.1.4.2 Ranch-scale studies High-resolution remote sensing will be needed to classify woody plant types in Texas and Oklahoma because shrub diversity in those states is greater than in Nebraska. Complete-coverage aerial imageries will be acquired twice a year (one at the time of peak biomass and another in winter/spring, for best separation of targeted woody species groups) for the Martin and Read ranches (~2,000 hectares each) and for the portion of the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve included in this project (~4000 hectares). High-resolution imageries will be acquired and processed in collaboration with the USDA-ARS Aerial Application Technology Research Unit at the Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center. Methods will be developed for classifying key woody plant groups, based on the aerial imageries and on ground-based vegetation sampling.3.1.4.3 Cross-scale inventory of vegetation change Innovations in rangeland monitoring have emerged that are capable of unprecedented tracking of vegetation change. Machine learning and cloud-based computing combined with remote sensing data and long-term observations have provided, at a 30-m x 30-m pixel resolution, a continuous estimate of the percent cover of plant functional groups across western USA rangeland ecosystems for each year from 1984 to 2017 [76] This mid-resolution geospatial monitoring tool offers new opportunities to improve the usefulness of rangeland data for research, teaching, and extension applications. I3.1.5 Research Objective 5: Quantify and evaluate the effects of best management practices on hydrological properties and soil carbon under different scenarios of annual precipitationAt the Sonora and Cross Timbers Centers, detailed studies of the carbon and water balances are ongoing and will be complementary to our efforts [77-79]. These two locations differ significantly in annual precipitation: 940 mm at Cross Timbers vs 560 mm at Sonora. Our sampling designs will be similar for the two locations. At each, two experimental sites will be delineated: one under conventional grazing practices and the other under managed (fire + grazing) practices. At each site at least 20 random sampling points will be selected, where herbaceous vegetation will be clipped and litter layers removed to expose the mineral soil. A 30-cm-deep soil core will then be taken at each sampling point, for determination of bulk density, hydraulic conductivity, and soil organic carbon for the depths of 0-2 cm, 2-10 cm, and 10-30 cm. At the Cross Timbers Center, the impact of fire and grazing management on runoff has been monitored since 2009; our study will add sediment yield to the measured parameters. Collectively, these measurements and estimates will provide essential information for assessing the soil health and the long-range environmental sustainability of these ecosystems under best management practices.3.1.6 Research Objective 6: Identify factors influencing private landowners' adoption of best management practicesBecause the profitability, productivity, and, ultimately, the sustainability of rangelands is contingent on the adoption of best management practices by private landowners, we will identify factors that influence adoption. Using a mail survey, we will employ a multiple-contact approach to assess landowners' perspectives regarding these practices [80]. Our research team has achieved good response rates (30%-50%) using this approach. We will sample a total of 4,000 landowners and will employ stratified random sampling to ensure we obtain a sufficient number of respondents from each ecoregion.?3.1.7 Research Objective 7: Determine (a) producer-level costs and benefits of using goats in mixed-species grazing systems and (b) the economic potential and limitations of the goat market in the Great PlainsTo assess the costs and benefits of pyric herbivory and mixed-species grazing, this project will use a combination of economic methodologies, including enterprise, partial, and whole-farm budgeting, multi-year simulation analysis, and aggregate market analysis. Economic analysis models will incorporate biological and production data from other project components. Model outputs will include budgets and farm-level simulations for use in evaluating the individual-level economic potential for mixed-species grazing and pyric herbivory .Because both mixed-species grazing and increased use of pyric herbivory will result in increased cattle production, the likely effects on market prices must be considered when analyzing costs vs benefits for both goats and cattle. For example, in Texas the effects of goat numbers on market prices has been analyzed ; similar analyses will be needed for other Great Plains areas, to evaluate how a significant expansion of goat numbers will affect goat prices--including the value of goats in controlling WPE. Markets are likely to be substantially affected, which in turn will greatly affect the structure of the goat industry .

Progress 07/01/22 to 06/30/23

Outputs
Target Audience:Target Audience General Public: The general public has continued to be very engaged in the Prairie Project via the project's virtual media efforts. For example, our social media reached over 1,000,000 rural and urban Facebook and Instragram users, providing unique science-informed management informationin Year 4. Through this outreach, we generated more than 2,000 link clicks to factsheets, the Prairie Project website, and scientific journal articles. We have also received requests for field days, podcasts, and webinars and have seen our infographic-style visuals used on local news stations and in presentations given by rangeland professionals across the region. Land Managers: In Yr 4, the project continued to utilize Extension and outreach efforts to target and support land managers who are interested in using goals and/or prescribed fire. Resource Specialists/Academics: As demonstrated in this report and previous reports, the project has generated a plethora of scientific publications. Educators: In Yr 4, the project continued its activities and support for the 3rd teacher/faculty cohort, composed of 7 secondary teachers and 8 IHE faculty. As in prior years, many of the teachers and faculty were employed at minority-serving institutions. Students served at these schools and IHEs comprise a sub-section of the target audience. (2022-23 data for secondary public institutions in Texas were not available as of the writing of this report, so 2021-22 data are provided.) Teacher: Katy ISD/Katy High School (TX). At this campus 33.6% of students are identified as economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black--10.4%, Hispanic/Latino--36.6%, American Indian--0.2%, 2 or more races--3.2% Teacher: St. John's Independent K-12 Day School (TX).Percent of students identified as economically disadvantaged unavailable for this school. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black--7.4%, Hispanic/Latino--9.6%, American Indian--0.1%, 2 or more races--4.3% Teacher: Omaha Public Schools/Westview HS (NE). At this campus 37% of students areeconomically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black--24.4%, Hispanic/Latino--15.3%, American Indian--0.7%, 2 or more races--8.2% Teacher: Kearney Pub Schools/Kearney HS (NE). At this campus, 36% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American or Black--2.7%, Hispanic/Latino--14.4%, American Indian--0.4%, 2 or more races--0.9% Teacher: Tulsa Pub Schools/Memorial JHS (OK). At this campus, 86.3% of students are identified as economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black--33.8%, Hispanic/Latino--30.1%, American Indian--3.9%, 2 or more races--9.9% Teacher: Morrison Pub Schools/Morrison HS (OK). At this campus, 34.6% of students areeconomically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black--0.0%, Hispanic/Latino--4.7%, American Indian--4.7%, 2 or more races--27.6% Teacher:ASTEC Charter Schools/Aztec M/HS (OK). At this campus, 95.8% of students areeconomically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black--1.8%, Hispanic/Latino--93.3%, American Indian--0.6%, 2 or more races--0.0% Faculty: Southwestern Oklahoma State University (OK). At this IHE40% of students areeconomically disadvantaged . Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black--5%, Hispanic/Latino--13%, American Indian--4%, 2 or more races--10% Faculty: Peru State College (NE). At this IHE,50% of students areeconomically disadvantaged. Undergraduate racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black--9%, Hispanic/Latino--2%, American Indian--1%, 2 or more races--11% Faculty: Trinity University (TX). At this IHE 12% of students areeconomically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black--4%, Hispanic/Latino--20%, American Indian‚0%, 2 or more races--5% Faculty: Emporia State University (KS). At this IHE 41% of students areeconomically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black--3%, Hispanic/Latino--6%, American Indian--1%, two or more races--10% Faculty: St. Edward's University (TX). At this HSI 22% of students areeconomically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black--5%, Hispanic/Latino--13%, American Indian--3%, two or more races--10% Faculty: University of Oklahoma Norman (OK). At this IHE 22% of students areeconomically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black--5%, Hispanic/Latino--13%, American Indian--3%, 2 or more races--10% Faculty: University of Nebraska-Kearney (NE). At this IHE 36% of students areeconomically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black--2%, Hispanic/Latino--14%, American Indian--0%, 2 or more races--3% Faculty: Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TX). At this HSI 64% of students areeconomically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black--4%, Hispanic/Latino--71%, American Indian--0%, 2 or more races--1% For 2022-23, the second cohort of educators continued in the project, with 9 participants: five teachers and 4 faculty members. (This cohort originally had 12 members, but two participants from OK and one from NE withdrew from the project.) Teacher: Davila Middle School (TX). At this campus 82% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & minority population demographics: African American/Black-18.1%, Hispanic/Latino-65.5%, American Indian-0.4%, 2 or more races-1.7%% Teacher: Omaha PubSchools (NE)/Zoo Academy.In this district 55.7% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-24.7%, Hispanic/Latino-37.3%, American Indian-0.8%, 2 or more races-5.8%. Specific campus-level data are not available for this magnet school. Teacher: Grand Island PubSchools/Grand Island SHS (NE). At this campus 53% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American-4.9%, Hispanic/Latino-57.5%, American Indian-0.04%, 2 or more races-2.3% Teacher: Loup City PubSchools (NE)/Loup City HS. At this campus, 46% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-0.0%, Hispanic/Latino-6.6%, American Indian-0.7%, 2 or more races-0% Teacher: Hastings Pub Schools (NE)/Hastings MS: At this campus 64.2% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American-1.4%, Hispanic/Latino-24.9%, American Indian-0.5%, 2 or more races-4.6% Faculty: Texas A&M University--Kingsville (TX). At this HSI 67% of students areeconomically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-5%, Hispanic/Latino-74%, American Indian-0%, 2 or more races-1% Faculty: Texas State University (TX). At this HSI 41% of students are economically disadvantaged.Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-10%, Hispanic/Latino-41%, American Indian-0%, 2 or more races-4% Faculty: St. Edward's University (TX). At this HSI42% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American or Black-3%, Hispanic/Latino-51%, American Indian-0%, 2 or more races-3% Faculty: University of Central Oklahoma (OK). At this IHE 38% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-9%, Hispanic/Latino-14%, American Indian-4%, 2 or more races-11% Changes/Problems:CHANGES: Dr. Maria Macik, the original Project Manager for thePrairie Project Education Program, accepted another position and left the Prairie Project in summer 2022. Although Dr. Macik had been a great asset to the project and everyone was sad to see herleave, they were pleased for her in her new position. Luckily, the Project Leadership identified a very qualified individual to assume the Project Manager position. Ms. Sakina Dixon, M.A., MSED, DFLE (the new Project Manager for the Prairie Project Education Program) began working with the project in late summer 2022. Dixon is currently a Ph.D candidate in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications at Texas A&M University. Among her other accomplishments, Dixon received an MSEd. in Curriculum & Instruction from Baylor University;anMA in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University;and a B.S. in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences from University of Florida. She has received multiple awards throughout her academic career, including theWillie Mae Harris Fellowship for Outstanding Teaching Assistants in the TAMU College of Agriculture & Life Sciences in 2021, the Dean's Outstanding Achievement Award for Graduate Teaching in the TAMU College of Agriculture& Life Sciences in 2020, and the Excellence Fellowship award in the TAMU College of Agriculture & Life Sciences in 2018-20. CHANGES: One member of Cohort 1 withdrew in August 2022. Participant expanded that his work responsibilities had changed and the Prairie Project fell outside of the scope of his new responsibilities--thus he did not wish to continue his involvement in the project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?PD: Lippy, B. (PhD stu). American Society of Animal Science, Southern Section.Raleigh, NC. Networked with industry professionals from across the US. Participated in discussion regarding multi-species grazing and future partnerships. Jan 2023. PD: Lippy, B. (PhD stu). 34th Biennial Conference of the Australian Association of Animal Sciences, Cairns, Australia. Student networked with industry professionals from across Australia; involved in conversations regarding multispecies grazing and future partnerships. . July 2022. PD: Adhikari, S., O. Joshi, & S. Fuhlendorf (2022, Oct). Exploring role of values, attitudes, and norms on patch-burn grazing adoption behavior of the range landowners: A case study from southern Great Plains. Rural Renewal Symposium. ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center, OSU, Stillwater, OK. PD: Lippy, B. Extension Field Day for 40 participants (male & female ranchers & farmers aged 25-70). Sum 2022. PD: Watts, M., A. Russell, & O. Joshi.Factors affecting prescribed burn costs in the Southern Great Plains. Undergraduate Research Scholars symposium, OSU, Stillwater. Apr 2023. PD: Watts, M., A. Russell, & O. Joshi. An analysis of prescribed burn costs and associated variables in the Great Plains. Wentz and Purdie Research Scholars Symposium, OSU, Stillwater, OK. Apr 2023. PD: Veldman, J. W. Conducted public demonstration prescribed burn at the Ecology and Natural Resources Teaching area. 20 participants. Apr 4, 2023. PD: Veldman, J. W. Old-Growth Concepts for Grasslands, Savannas, and Woodlands. Webinar for Cohort 3 of The Prairie Project. 16 participants. April 5, 2023. PD: Treadwell, M.L. & Sullivan, E. Workshop titled "Monitoring and preventing grassland lost with today's tech" hosted June 13, 2023, over Zoom. 60 Registrants learned how they could use the Rangeland Analysis Platform (RAP) and yield gap website to monitor woody plant encroachment. Registrants included NRCS, Extension agents, and TX Master Naturalists. PD: Treadwell, M.L. & & Sullivan, E. Rangeland Analysis PlatformTraining hosted at Bamberger Preserve for 19 college students. Participants learned to use the RAP to collect data on ranches partnered with the Prairie Project. Spring 2023. PD: Treadwell, M.L. & Sullivan, E. Rangeland analysis platform training hosted at Sherman high school for 17 students. Participants learned how to use the RAP to collect data on ranches partnered with The Prairie Project. Spring 2023. Workshop. Treadwell, M.L. & Sullivan, E. A rangeland analysis platform training was hosted over Zoom for 8 TX Master Naturalists. Participants learned to use the RAP to collect data on ranches partnered with The Prairie Project. Summer 2023. Workshop. Treadwell, M.L. & Sullivan, E. Taught 75 high school students from youth range workshop and ranch brigades the importance of fire, grazing, and The Prairie Project. Locations: Junction and Santa Anna, TX. Summer 2023. Workshop. Treadwell, M.L. & Sullivan, E. Taught 9 high school students to use the RAP to collect data on ranches partnered with The Prairie Project. Big Springs Charter School in Leakey, TX. Spring 2023. Workshop. Treadwell, M.L. & Sullivan, E. Taught 37 college students to use the RAP to collect data on ranches partnered with The Prairie Project. Texas A&M in College Station, TX. Spring 2023. Workshop. Treadwell, M.L. & Sullivan, E. Agent training workshop was hosted at the AgriLife and Extension Research Center in San Angelo. Four Extension agents attended tolearn about The Prairie project and attended a ranch tour. Summer 2022. Ranch Tour.Treadwell, M.L. & Sullivan, E. Conducted Summer ranch tour at Prairie project demonstration ranches for ~ 35 high school students & 5 Texas Master Naturalists. Students learned the importance of fire and grazing. Christoval, San Angelo, Ozona, TX. Spring-Summer 2022. Workshop. Treadwell, M.L. & Sullivan, E. Taught ~75 high school students from youth range workshop and ranch brigades the importance of fire and grazing. Junction and Santa Anna, TX. Summer 2022. Workshop. Treadwell, M.L. & Sullivan, E. Taught RAP workshop for 9 college students at Collin College in Wiley, TX. Students learned how to use the RAP to collect data on ranches partnered with The Prairie Project. Winter 2022. Training. Twidwell, D. "Woody Plan Encroachment Strategies and Education (12 agency personnel). 2023. Training. Walker, J. Presentation on multi-species grazing to ~ 20 participants at the Northeast TX Small Acreage/New Landowner Conference, Farmersville, TX. June 2023. Training. Walker, J. Participated in field demonstration with ~10 NRCS employees on using goals to manage woody plant encroachment at the Caddo National Grassland. Nov 2022. Training. Yang, C. Advised 1 research associate working on the project on multispectral imaging mosaicking and hyperspectral image processing. July 2022-June 2023. PD. Wu, X. & S. Dixon. Monthly meetings for Education Cohorts 2 & 3. Attendees include faculty & teachers from TX, OK, & NE. Cohort meetings include collaborative learning as part of an education learning community peer presentations, and scientific presentations related to Prairie Project concepts: --July 6, 2022, meeting for Education Cohort 3; ~20 attendees --July 13, 2022, meeting for Education Cohort 2; ~11 attendees --August 3, 2022, meeting for Education Cohort 3; ~17 attendees --Aug 10, 2022, meeting for Education Cohort 2; ~13 attendees --Sept 7, 2022, meeting for Education Cohort 3; ~18attendees --Sept 14, 2022, meeting for Education Cohort 2; ~14 attendees --Oct 5, 2022, meeting for Education Cohort 3; ~20 attendees --Oct 12, 2022. Meeting for Education Cohort 2; ~17 attendees --Nov 2, 2022, meeting for Education Cohort 3; ~17 attendees --Nov 9, 2022. Meeting for Education Cohort 2; ~8 attendees --Dec 7, 2022, meeting for Education Cohort 2; ~16 attendees --Jan 4, 2023, meeting for Education Cohort 3. ~17 attendees --Jan 11, 2023, meeting for Education Cohort 2; ~15 attendees --Feb 1, 2023, meeting for Education Cohort 3; ~16 attendees --Feb 8, 2023, meeting for Education Cohort 2; ~11 attendees --Mar 1, 2023, meeting for Education Cohort 3; ~16 attendees --Mar 3, 2023, meeting for Education Cohort 2; ~13 attendees --Apr 5, 2023, meeting for Education Cohort 3; ~16 attendees --Apr 11, 2023, meeting for Education Cohort 2; ~12 attendees --May 3, 2023, meeting for Education Cohort 3; ~18 attendees --May 10, 2023, meeting for Education Cohort 2; ~13 attendees --June 7, 2023, meeting for Education Cohort 3; ~17 attendees -PD Activities. Prescribed Burn School - Optional burn school online course offered to Prairie Project Educators. One educator has registered for the course, with plans to encourage additional educators to participate. This course places an emphasis on fire behavior, how to employ the correct firing technique, and equipment & safety. April, 2023. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?-Other. Goodman, L. Woody Plant Encroachment Strategies and Education. Nebraska City (12 agency personnel). -Other. Goodman, L. Mississippi State Conservation District Tour. Stillwater, OK (87 landowners). -Other. Goodman, L. Rangeland Health for OK GLC. Claremore, OK (32 landowners). -Other. Goodman, L. NRCS Prescribed Fire Burn School. Stillwater, OK (22 agency personnel). -Other. Goodman, L. Rangeland Pasture Management for Livestock and Wildlife 4-H Round Up. Stillwater, OK (14 students). -Other. Goodman, L. Managing for Drought in Oklahoma. Enid, OK (24 landowners). -Other. Goodman, L. The Prairie Project Teacher Workshop. Various Locations in TX and OK (12 teachers). -Other. Goodman, L. Burning and Browsing Field Day. Stillwater, OK (72 landowners). -Other. Goodman, L. Mixed-grass Prairie Management Field Tour for St. Edwards University. Bessie, OK (12 students). -Other. Goodman, L. Multi-Species Grazing Veterinary Student Field Tour. Stillwater, OK (22 students). -Other. Goodman, L. Prescribed Fire for Goat Grazing. Meat Goat Bootcamp. Ada, OK (50 ranchers). -Other. Goodman, L. Multispecies Grazing for Woody Plant Control. Go Bob Pipe. Mounds, OK (148 ranchers) -Other. Goodman, L. Grass Recovery After Wildfire. Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory Field Day. Whitman, NE (187 ranchers) -Other. Goodman, L. Rangeland Wildfire Recovery and Fuels Management. Blaine County Cattlemen's. Watonga, OK (43 ranchers) -Other. Goodman, L. Rangeland Health Indicators. Oklahoma Grazing Lands Coalition. Claremore, OK (36 ranchers) -Other. Goodman, L. Patch Burn Grazing and Multispecies Grazing for Rangelands. Southeast Research and Extension Center Field Day. Parsons, KS (134 ranchers) -Other. Goodman, L. Drought Impacts on Rangeland Pastures and Their Management. DEWS Drought Meeting. Norman, OK (42 policy makers, agency personnel, and tribal leaders) -Other. Goodman, L. Broadleaf Flower Plant Responses to Different Burn Seasons. NRCS Burn School. Stillwater, OK (21 NRCS staff) -Other: Goodman, L. Patch Burn Grazing and Native Grass Responses to Fire. NRCS Burn School. Stillwater, OK (21 NRCS staff) -Other:Goodman, L. Prescribed fire for Livestock and Wildlife. 4H Round Up. Stillwater, OK (14 high school students) -Other: Goodman, L.The Prairie Project and Rangeland Management Strategies for Drought. Southern Plains Climate Hub Field Day. Enid, OK. (17 ranchers) -Other:Goodman, L. Native Rangeland Management During and After Drought. Oklahoma Cattlemens Association. Norman, OK (213 ranchers) -Other:Goodman, L. Multi-Species Grazing for Resprouting Woody Species Control. Prairie Project Teacher Tour. Stillwater, OK (12 teachers) -Other:Goodman, L. Patch Burn Grazing for Livestock and Wildlife. Prairie Project Teacher Tour. Stillwater, OK (12 teachers) -Other: Goodman, L. Patch Burning and Multi-Species Grazing for Native Pastures. Okmulgee County Conservation District. Okmulgee, OK. (17 minority/tribal ranchers) -Other: Goodman, L. Multi-Species Grazing Management. Stillwater Range Research Veterinary Student Training. Stillwater, OK (21 Veterinary students) -Other: Briguglio, E., B. Lippy, & R.R. Reuter, 2022. Creating a database through DNA Barcoding to Quantify the Diets of Co-grazing Goals & Cattle. Oklahoma State University Freshman Research Scholars symposium -Support Materials: Google Drive created where Prairie Project educators can share project materials, curricular materials, resources, and scientific articles. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0AO3_ciqo3OL-Uk9PVA -Website: Website updated with descriptions of educator participant lesson overviews: https://www.theprairieproject.org/resources/education/overview -Extension Publication: Fogarty, D.T., Baldwin, C.E., Bauman,P., Cram, D., Goodman, L., Thompson, A., Treadwell, M.L., and Twidwell, D. 2023. Conservation Planning and Design to Reduce Woody Encroachment. Great Plains Grassland Extension Partnership, GPGEP-PB-01. >30,000 copies were requested, printed, and distributed to individuals. -Extension Publication: Baldwin, C., J. Weir, M. Treadwell, P. Bauman, D. Scasta, D. Cram, L. Bammerlin, D. Twidwell. 2022. Benefits of Rangeland Burning. GPE Publication 2022-1. 2p. -Extension Publication: Hagerman, A., J. Weir. 2022. Wildfire Preparation checklist. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 1p. -Television: Sunup TV: Wildfire Preparedness -Factsheet: Treadwell, M., Brooke, C., & Sullivan, E. Targeted Grazing with goats and Sheep. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. (2023). -Factsheet: Matzke, C., Sullivan, E., & Treadwell, M. Rangeland Analysis Platform. Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service. (2023). -Factsheet: Sullivan, E., Matzke, C., & Treadwell, M. Using the Rangeland Analysis Platform to Measure Landcover Change. Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service. (2023. -Factsheet: Benefits of Rangeland Burning. Great Plains Fire Science Exchange Factsheet 2022-1. -Factsheet: Wildfire: Fuego Salvaje: Preparando el Rancho y la Granja E-1048 May 2023. -Factsheet: Baldwin, C., Weir, J, Treadwell, M. Bauman, P., Scasta, D., Cram, D. Bammerlin, L. & Twidwell, D. 2022. Benefits of Rangeland Burning. Great Plains Fire Science Exchange Factsheet 2022-1. -Factsheet: Weir, J, Treadwell, M. Cram, D. Baldwin, C., Bauman, P. & Scasta, D. 2023. Wildfire: Fuego Salvaje: Preparando el Rancho y la Granja E-1048 May 2023 -Popular Press: 2022 Fall Prairie Project Newsletter -Popular Press: 2023 Winter Prairie Project Newsletter -Popular Press: 2023 Spring Prairie Project Newsletter -Facebook: (Prairie Restored). Posts: 131; reach: 287,484 (2,195/post), Engagements: 10,199 (78/post), Link Clicks: 1052 (13/post) -Twitter (Prairie Restored). Posts: 135, Impressions: 28,994 (215/post), Engagements: 1,180 (9/post), Link Clicks: 138 (1/post) -Instagram (Prairie Restored). Posts: 100, Reach: 26034 (260/post), Engagements: 2,762 (28/post) -Facebook (OklahomaLands). Posts: 74, Reach: 650,588 (8,792/post) Engagements: 18,294 (247/post), Link Clicks: 851 (12/post) -Twitter (OklahomaLands). Posts: 91, Impressions: 23,477 (258/post), Engagements: 902 (10/post), Link Clicks: 85 (1/post) -Instagram (OklahomaLands). Posts: 59, Reach: 43,673 (740/Post), Engagements: 4,001 (68/post) -YouTube. "Low-Stress Goat Handling with a Bud Box!" -YouTube. "Should You Add goats to Your Cattle Pasture? Goat Herd Numbrs for 2022!" -YouTube. "OSU Students Burning Cattle Pasture for Forage." What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?*A PhD student (Jose Mata) has been identified to conduct a research project using a combination of soundscape recording, game came, and vegetation sampling (UAV and field) at 23 locations on Martin Ranch to explore the vegetation changes in different years after burn and the effect on livestock, wildlife, and breeding birds. *Continue expanding the information and knowledge store withinthe Prairie Project Knowledge Hub. Increase the number of researchers and practitioners contributing to the Knowledge Hub. *Completethe work of the third Educator Cohort by helping them prepare for their conference presentations and journal publications. Provide professional development through monthly cohortmeetings. *Showcase the education projects and products of the Educator Cohort 2and 3 members on the Prairie Project website and share with interested peers. *Organize a drive-in professional development half-day event for educators not currently involved with our project in either Texas or Oklahoma. Showcase the work from our participants in Cohorts 1, 2, & 3 and lead a field tour at one of our participating ranches. *Assist with the development of free response questions (FRQ) for The College Board's Advanced Placement Environmental Science exam. This initiative evolved from conversations with our Cohort 3 high school educator participants. *Complete the work with the third Educator Cohort. *Showcase education products and projects of all three Educator Cohorts on The Prairie Project website and share with colleagues and peers.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? SHORT-TERM Goal 1: Research was initiated in OK at the Stillwater Range Research station, Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, & Marvin Klemme Research station. All 3 sites have patchburn grazing treatments. In Central OK, patchburn grazing with cattle is being compared to patchburn grazing with cattle & goalts. In northeast OK, research focuses on patchburn grazing with/without herbicide for invasive species control and effects on livestock performance and non-target vegetation. In TX, mixed species grazing has continued at Sonora Research Station, Martin Ranch, & Read Ranch. Research is ongoing at Loess Canyons Experimental Landscape, a 280,000-acre landscape of cooperating landowners who use fire and cattle to manage rangelands(Loess Canyons Science Report). Goal 2:The Prairie Project continues to be successful in partnering with Demonstration Ranches stocked with combinations of cattle, goats, & sheep,in the 3-state region (TX, OK, & NE). Severa ranches sponsored Demonstration Tours with high school student groups in summer 2022. Goal 3:Extensive education/extension outreach continued in Year 4. Field days at participating ranches were hosted to facilitate rancher/student interactions to collectively learnabout WPE and how to utilizefire/mixed species grazing practices. Additional outreach was provided through venues such as the TX Youth Range Workshop & 4-H round-up in OK. The third educator cohort composed of teachers/faculty from secondary schools and IHEs in TX, NE, & OK was recruited and has completed their first year. This component includes monthly cohort meetings and on-demand individual consultations, which supports participants in designing, implementing, and assessing innovative pedagogical projects related to prescribed fire and multi-species grazing for their classes & share their work at professional conferences. Several educators are interested in publishing research related to their classroom projects, with support and guidance frommembers of the Education Staff. Goal 4: The Project continued to engage stakeholder groups in Year 4, providing training & information at conservation district and cattlemen's meetings at state/local levels, as well as through various extension podcasts. The project also assisted in the establishment of goat browsing on 2,424 acres in the Caddo National Grassland. The Forest Service goal is to use fire/browsing to reduce Woody Plant cover and return this area to a savanna. The numbers of products/outputs, opportunities for training/professional development, and dissemination efforts offered in this report further illustrate the extensive efforts made to engage stakeholder groups. Goal 5:Baseline measurements have been ongoing at Research and Demonstration Centers in TX & OK. Rangeland health was measured at the The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Year 3, and the relationships between the indicators and timesince fire were examined. Permanent array (60m) locations sampled with Daubenmire frames for cover and point center quarter is used for plant density with woody plans identified to species. in western OK, plant cover was measured to the species for all plants. MEDIIUM-TERM Goal 1:Prairie Project participants were awarded the AFRI Extension, Education, & USDA Climate Hubs Partnership Program grant, "Promoting climate-smart agricultural practices to reduce risk and impacts of drought, wildfire, and woody encroachment on livestock production in Great Plains rangelands." The first Advisory Board meeting was held in El Reno, OK, in May 2023. The Adivosry Board recognized the success of The Prairie Project, and it was determined that activities for the Climate Hub grant would fall under the Prairie Project brand. One graduate student for each of the three project states (TX, OK, & NE) have been recruited and began their coursework in fall 2023. Goal 2:Project participants documented ongoing case studies in TX & OK, where mixed animal grazing and pyric herbivory were applied. In NE, results from the project have helped support emergence of new case studies, such as implementation of pyric herbivory at demonstration ranches located at UNL's Barta Brothers Research Station. Goal 3:The 2022-24 Educator Cohort (Cohort 3)completed its first year in the Project in 2022-23. The 15 cohort members are designing and sharingpedagogical projects related to prescribed fire and multi-species grazing for their respective classes. Year 5 will be their final year in the Project. With project support, the TAMU extension program has supported multiple important extension programs in Year 3, including a 3-day Prescribed Burn School in April 2023 in San Angelo TX. The total number of acres owned/managed by the participants was 371,750. Participants identified the perceived economic value of information received at the Burn School at $724.44 per acre. On a Likert-type scale of 1--5, with 1 representing "strongly disagree" and 5 representing "strongly agree," the event received a 4.9/5 in regard to the statement, "I have an improved understanding of fire effects;" a 4.7/5 in regard to the statement, "I plan to implement a prescribed burn in the near future," and a 4.4/5 in regard to the statement, "Following the workshop, I feel comfortable burning." Moreover, 100% of the participants expressed that they intended to adopt prescribed fire as a part of their management strategy. Dr. Laura Goodman, Range Extension Specialist and Asst. Professor of Natural Resource Ecology & Management at Oklahoma State University, reported that news stations in Oklahoma are beginning to use visuals from The Prairie Project. One of the Cohort 3 high school educators conducted a virtual presentation for the Houston Chapter of the Native Prairies Association of Texas with her students anddiscussed theirclassroom Project, A faculty participant from Cohort 3 had her lesson plan on fire ecology published on the K20 Center website, a site that provides educational resources for educators in Grades k-12: https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/lesson/3003 A Cohort 3 faculty participant expressed her appreciation of her Prairie Project experiences to the Project Manager of the Prairie Project Education Program thus: "I have thoroughly enjoyed working on this grant with you and Ben (Dr. X. Ben Wu, Prairie Project Co-PI). Being in education for nearly 4 decades, I have been involved with many grants, and this is one of the best administered that I have personally experienced." LONG-TERM Long term goals are by nature aspirational and cannot be achieved in the life of a 5 year project. We do feel like we have laid the groundwork such that these goals will ultimately be achieved. For example, we feel that we have been successful in engaging stakeholders and in enhancing the understanding and attitude of the general public via education and extension programs supported by the grant. We are cognizant of the fact, however, that some of the goals outlined in our original proposal are extremely challenging to implement and to measure progress toward achieving. In addition, project activities have been the impetus for larger scale collaborations--this has been particularly true with respect to synergistic collaborations between extension services across the Great Plains. We have demonstrated that these management systems can increase production and are hopeful that they can be adapted by a wider group of stakeholders. Our progress continues to be significant in terms of achievement of our short-term and medium-term goals. We believe that achievement of these short- and medium-term goals will, over time, contribute to achievement of the long-term goals.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Wu XB. 2023. Developing agents of change and innovations in K-16 education to promote rangeland literacy. Prairie Project Symposium Cultivating future rangeland professionals and rangeland-literate public  An integrated cross-boundary approach of the Prairie Project at the 2023 Society for Range Management Annual Meeting.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Yockers, B. 2023. Fire Ecology Research Station for Teaching (JenksFERST): Opportunities for science communication. Prairie Project Symposium Cultivating future rangeland professionals and rangeland-literate public  An integrated cross-boundary approach of the Prairie Project at the 2023 Society for Range Management Annual Meeting.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Watts, M., A. Russell, and O. Joshi. 2023. Factors affecting prescribed burn costs in the Southern Great Plains. Undergraduate Research Scholars Symposium. Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma. April 10, 2023.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Watts, M., A. Russell, and O. Joshi. 2023. An analysis of prescribed burn costs and associated variables in the Great Plains. Wentz and Purdie Research Scholars Symposium. Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma. April 27, 2023.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Adhikari, S., O. Joshi., M. Sorice and S. Fuhlendorf. 2023. Factors affecting the adoption of patch-burn grazing in the southern Great Plains in the US. Land Use Policy. 125: 106458.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Adhikari, S., K. Hurst., and O. Joshi. Understanding the barriers to the adoption of mixed species grazing in rangelands of the United States. Rangeland Ecology and Management (under review).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Adhikari, S., O. Joshi., and S. Fuhlendorf. 2022. Exploring role of values, attitudes, and norms on patch-burn grazing adoption behavior of the range landowners: a case study from southern Great Plains. Rural Renewal Symposium. ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma. October 5, 2022.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Barnes, A.*, S. Fuhlendorf, L.E. Goodman. 2022. Multi-Species Pyric Herbivory Impacts on Woody Plant Encroachment. Great Plains Fire Summit. North Platte, NE, USA.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Barnes, A.*, S. Fuhlendorf, L.E. Goodman. 2022. Multi-Species Pyric Herbivory Impacts on Woody Plant Encroachment. Society for Range Management. Albuquerque, NM, USA.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Basant, S., B.P. Wilcox, C. Parada, B.M. Wyatt, and B.D. Newman. 2023. Thicketized oak woodlands reduce groundwater recharge. Science of the Total Environment, 862, 160811
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Binfield, J. 2023. Teaching Rangeland Literacy in the Middle Grades. 2023 Nebraska Cattlemens Classic, Winter Edition, FFA Day
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Brooke C. 2023. Burn it, graze it, teach it, use it: Building effective extension programming to demonstrate best range management practices with landowners. Prairie Project Symposium Cultivating future rangeland professionals and rangeland-literate public  An integrated cross-boundary approach of the Prairie Project at the 2023 Society for Range Management Annual Meeting.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Burrough, R. & 5 Katy High School students. The New tiger Prairie at Katy High School. Virtual Presentation to the Houston Chapter of the Native Prairies Association of Texas. https://texasprairie.org/the-new-tiger-prairie-at-katy-high-school/?fbclid=IwAR24V07qZGgaJ_uJ7YSR7Qx3zTuRv-6NIO-WCj6-lAik3PQnD7laI2RffMw
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Concilio A, Macik M, Wu XB. 2022. An interrupted case study focused on urban prairie restoration: Impacts on student knowledge and perspective of rangeland ecosystems. 2022 Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Donovan V. 2023. Using the Rangeland Analysis Platform to track Woody Plant Encroachment
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Ekhoff, R. & Walters, T. 2022 Improving Rangeland Literacy. 2022 Nebraska Association of Teachers of Science Fall Conference
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Goodman L. 2023. Bridging the divide between research and management: A new approach for extension programming. Prairie Project Symposium Cultivating future rangeland professionals and rangeland-literate public  An integrated cross-boundary approach of the Prairie Project at the 2023 Society for Range Management Annual Meeting.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Fogarty DT, CR Allen, D Twidwell. 2023. Incipient woody plant encroachment signals heightened vulnerability for an intact grassland region. Journal of Vegetation Science 33: e13155 https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13155
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Gao W, Angerer J, Wu XB, Tolleson DR. 2022. Understanding landscape use pattern of multispecies livestock grazing in patch burning management. 2022 Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Goodman, L. E., M. Treadwell, M., B. Wilcox, J. Walker, S. Fuhlendorf, D. Twidwell, & B. Wu. The Prairie Project: Learning to do and doing to learn. Society for Range Management, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Haile, K., L.E. Goodman, S. Fuhlendorf. (2022). Pyric Herbivory Effects on Rangeland Forage Quality and Avoided Grazable Areas. Texas and Southwest Cattle Raisers Association. Fort Worth, TX, USA.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Haile, K.*, L. E Goodman, S. Fuhlendorf. 2022. Pyric Herbivory Effects on Rangeland Forage Quality and Avoided Grazable Areas. Christmas Mountains Research Symposium. Brewster County, TX, USA.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Haile, K.*, L.E. Goodman, S. Fuhlendorf. 2022. Pyric Herbivory Effects on Rangeland Forage Quality and Avoided Grazable Areas. Great Plains Fire Summit. North Platte, NE, USA. 1st place poster.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Haile, K.*, L.E Goodman, S. Fuhlendorf. 2022. Pyric Herbivory Effects on Rangeland Forage Quality and Avoided Grazable Areas. Society for Range Management. Albuquerque, NM, USA.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Ingram, E., Leising, A., & Wilson, K. The Prairie Project: High school experiences exploring fire ecology and rangeland sustainability. 2022 Nebraska Summit on Math and Science Education.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Jaime XA, Angerer JP, Yang C, Tolleson D, Fuhlendorf SD, Wu XB. 2022. Exploring effective detection of Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia lindheimerii) from airborne imagery before and after prescribed fires in the Edwards Plateau. 2022 Great Plains Fire Summit.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jones, Z. & natural resource management college students 2023. Juniper Stand Structure of Burned vs. Unburned Plots Following a Prescribed Fire Near Crowder Lake, OK 2023 Oklahoma Research Day, University of Central Oklahoma
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jones, Z. & natural resource management college students 2023. Using a UAV to Estimate Cover and Fire Impacts at Two Landscape Scales Near Crowder Lake, OK 2023 Oklahoma Research Day, University of Central Oklahoma
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: King, C. 2022 Integrating Education and Research: Using Scale to Understand Fire Effects. 2022 Oklahoma Academy of Science Technical Meeting.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Leite, PAM., A.E. Castelanos, B.P. Wilcox, M Vega-Puga. 2022. Contrasting effects of native and exotic vegetation on soil infiltrability in the Sonoran Desert. Science of the Total Environment 852, 158544
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Sullivan, E.N., M.L. Treadwell, M.L. Macik. Woody Plant Encroachment in Grasslands: Teaching by Rapping. Poster presented at 2023 Diversity in Science symposium, April 5, 2023. College Station, TX.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Sullivan, E.N., M.L. Treadwell, M.L. Macik. The Prairie Project: Learning about Woody Brush Encroachment Outside the Classroom. Poster presented at 2022 Texas Section Society for Range Management annual meeting, Denton, TX.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Sullivan, E.N., M.L. Treatwell, M. L. Macik. The Prairie Project: Learning about Woody Brush Encroachment Outside the Classroom. 3-minute Thesis talk presented at the Texas Section Society for Range Management Meeting, October 19-21, 2022, Denton, TX.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Sullivan, E.N., M.L. Treadwell, M.L. Macik. The Prairie Project: Learning about Woody Brush encroachment Outside the Classroom. Poster presented at 2022 Great Plain Fire Summit & Patch Burn Grazing Conference, North Platte, NE.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Tanner EP. 2023. Utilizing thermal landscapes as an impetus towards integrating climate science into patch-burn management education in undergraduate curriculum. Prairie Project Symposium Cultivating future rangeland professionals and rangeland-literate public  An integrated cross-boundary approach of the Prairie Project at the 2023 Society for Range Management Annual Meeting.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Thompson A. 2023 Social Media - What works for extension? Prairie Project Symposium Cultivating future rangeland professionals and rangeland-literate public  An integrated cross-boundary approach of the Prairie Project at the 2023 Society for Range Management Annual Meeting.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2023 Citation: Thompson, A.J. and L. Goodman. Social MediaWhat Works for Extension? Society for Range Management Annual Meeting, Boise, ID.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Treadwell M. 2023. Rangeland literacy: Learning from the rancher on the ranch. Prairie Project Symposium Cultivating future rangeland professionals and rangeland-literate public  An integrated cross-boundary approach of the Prairie Project at the 2023 Society for Range Management Annual Meeting.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Treadwell, M.L. 2023.Beef Cattle Short Course, Prescribed Fire: Not your Average Tool, College Station, TX
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Treadwell, M.L.Texas Master Naturalists, Telling the Grassland Story, Online
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Treadwell, M.L. RWFM Stewardship Webinar, Growing More Grass with Prescribed Fire, Seminar/Webinar, Landowners, Online
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Treadwell, M.L.International Fire Ecology and Management Congress, Global Application of Prescribed Fire, Florence, Italy
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Treadwell, M.L. Fire Science Exchange NetworkJoint Fire Science Programs, Prescribed Burning in the Great Plains, Manhattan, KS.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Treadwell, M.L. 2023.International Society for Range Management, Rangeland literacy: Learning from the rancher on the ranch, Boise, ID.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Treadwell, M.L. Bennett Land Trust Stewardship Conference, Prescribed Fire Tools and Resources, Kerrville, TX.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Treadwell, M.L. Texas A&M University, Guest Lecture, RWFM 317, Ranching with Fire, College Station, TX.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Treadwell, M.L. Texas Master Naturalist  Coastal Prairie Chapter, Prescribed Fire, Online
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Treadwell, M.L. Texas A&M Forest Service, Opportunities and Strategies Following Wildfire, Abilene, TX
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Treadwell, M.L. Kerr WMA, Prescribed Fire Laws and Regulations, Hunt, TX
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Treadwell, M.L. Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers, Whether the Weather, Online
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Treadwell, M.L International Fire Ecology and Management Congress, Private Land Burning around the World, Florence, Italy
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Erd?s, L., P. T�r�k, J.W. Veldman, Z. B�tori, �. Bede?Fazekas, M. Magnes, Gy�rgy Kr�el?Dulay, C. T�lgyesi. 2022. How climate, topography, soils, herbivores, and fire control forestgrassland coexistence in the Eurasian forest?steppe. Biological Reviews 97: 2195-2208
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Kreuter, U.P., B.P. Wilcox, J.W. Veldman, N.L. May. 2022. Recommended Land Management for the Water Quality Protection Lands Austin, Texas.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Leite, PA, L. Schmidt, D.M. Rempe, B.P. Wilcox, K. J. McInnes and J.W. Walker. Eight decades of woody plant encroachment greatly increased bedrock permeability of a semiarid karst landscape. Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jeffries, K, B. Mishra., A. Russell, and O. Joshi. Using Prescribed Fire to Control Eastern Redcedar Encroachment in the Southern Great Plains. Rangeland Ecology and Management. 86. 73-79.
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Johnson. Land management practices on belowground carbon in the ecosystem transitional zone in the southcentral Great Plains.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jones, Z. & natural resource management college students 2023. Prescribed Fire Effects on Ground Cover Among Encroaching Juniper Near Crowder Lake, OK 2023 Oklahoma Research Day, University of Central Oklahoma
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Li Z, Angerer JP, Wu XB. 2022. Prefire vegetation structure of high severity wildfires in non-herbaceous dominated rangelands in the western United States. Earth's Future 10(10), e2021EF002624. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EF002624.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Li Z, Angerer JP, Jaime X, Yang C. Wu XB. 2022. Estimating rangeland fine fuel biomass in western Texas using high-resolution aerial imagery and machine learning. Remote Sensing 14:4360, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14174360.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Li Z, Angerer JP, Wu XB. 2022. The impacts of wildfires of different burn severities on vegetation structure across the western United States rangelands. Science of the Total Environment 845: 157214, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157214.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Macik, M., Wu, X., & Sandoval, C. (2022). The impact of authentic inquiry on undergraduate students self-reported understanding of scientific practices [published]. Education Research International.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Mcmillan N., S. Fuhlendorf, L. Goodman, C. Davis , B. Luttbeg, R. Hamilton. 2022. Does fire and herbicide benefit cattle production in invaded grassland landscapes? Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2022.108163.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Morford SL, BW Allred, D Twidwell, MO Jones, JD Maestas, CP Roberts, DE Naugle. 2022. Herbaceous production lost to tree encroachment in United States rangelands. Journal of Applied Ecology 59: 2971-2982 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14288
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Olariu, H, S.C. Popescu, M.Lonesome, and B.P. Wilcox. 2022. Evaluating the potential for Using ICESat-2 to map forest cover. Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Perotto, H. Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Using drone imagery in the classroom to compare vegetation changes after a prescribed fire. Prairie Project Symposium Cultivating future rangeland professionals and rangeland-literate public  An integrated cross-boundary approach of the Prairie Project at the 2023 Society for Range Management Annual Meeting.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2023 Citation: Raub, H.D, N. Rajan, K.J. McInnes, J.B. West. In press. Excess energy and photosynthesis: Responses to seasonal water limitations in co-occurring woody encroachers of the semi-arid Southern Great Plains. Photosynthetica.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Roberts CP, DR Uden, S Cady, BW Allred, SD Fuhlendorf, MO Jones, JD Maestas, D Naugle, AC Olsen, J Smith, J Tack, D Twidwell. 2022. Tracking spatial regimes as an early warning for a species of conservation concern. Ecological Applications 32:e02480 https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2480
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Quinn W. 2022. A case study approach to teaching community dynamics in a senior-lever ecology course. 2022 Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Scholtz R, D Twidwell. 2022. The last continuous grasslands on Earth: identification and conservation importance. Conservation
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2023 Citation: Sullivan, E.N., M.L. Treadwell, & M.L. Macik. The Prairie Project: Learning about Woody Brush Encroachment Outside the Classroom. Poster presented at 2023 Society for Range Management Annual Meeting, Feb. 12-16, 2023
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Sullivan, E.N., M.L. Treadwell, M.L. Macik. Learning about Woody Brush Encroachment outside the Classroom through the Prairie Project. Society for Range Management Annual Meeting, Boise ID
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Sullivan, E.N., M.L. Treadwell, M.L. Macik. Woody Plant Encroachment in Grasslands: Teaching by RAPping. Poster presented at: 2023 Student Research Week, March 22nd, 2023, College Station, TX.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Sullivan, E.l N., M.L. Treadwell, M.L. Macik. Woody Plant Encroachment in Grasslands: teaching by RAPping. Poster presented at the 2023 Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, March 23-25, 2023, Ft. Worth, TX.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Veldman, J.W. 2022. Can rainy season burns conserve tropical savannas, protect tropical forests, and maintain cattle production? Symposium: Fire and rangelands: science meets policy in a culturally diverse and changing world. Organized by Daniel Rubenstein and Norma Fowler. In: 107th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America. Montreal, Canada. (15 August 2022
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2023 Citation: Walker, J.W., B.M. Shoemake, D.G. Quadros, J.W. Thorne, and N.C. Cahill. 2023. Selecting goats for juniper consumption did not improve their liver Phase I detoxification. J. Anim. Sci.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Walker, J.W., D.G. Quadros, and M.Rector. 2023. Dietary preference nature or nurture. In Abstr. 76th Ann. Meeting. Soc.Range Manage. February 12-16. Boise, ID.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2023 Citation: Watts, M., A. Russell , S. Adhikari*, J., Weir, and O. Joshi. Analysis of the Cost and Cost Components of Conducting Prescribed Fires in the Great Plains. Rangeland Ecology and Management (under review)

Progress 07/01/21 to 06/30/22

Outputs
Target Audience:General Public: The general public has continued to be very engaged via our virtual media efforts. Our FaceBook page, for example, has been accessed over 800,000 times. Land Managers: The project continues to utilize Extension and outreach efforts to target land managers who are interested in using goats or prescribed fire. Resource Specialists/Academics. As demonstrated in this report and previous reports, the project has generated many scientific publications. Educators: For Year 3, the project recruited its third teacher/faculty cohort, composed of 7 secondary school teachers and 8 IHE faculty. As in Years 1 and 2, efforts were made to identify and engage teachers and faculty from minority-serving institutions. Students served at these schools and IHEs comprise a sub-section of the target audience. Teacher: Katy ISD/Katy High School (TX). At this campus 30.8% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-10.3%, Hispanic/Latino-35.4%, American Indian-0.2%, 2 or more races-3.1% Teacher: St. John's School/Independent K-12 Day School (TX). Percent of economically disadvantaged students unavailable. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-10.1%, Hispanic/Latino-10.1%, American Indian-0.0%, 2 or more races-5.0% Teacher: Omaha Pub Schools/Burke HS (NE). At this campus 52% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-24.7%, Hispanic/Latino-17.4%, American Indian-0.7%, 2 or more races-6.7% Teacher: Kearney Pub Schools/Kearney HS(NE). At this campus, 36% of students are identified as economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American or Black-2.7%, Hispanic/Latino-14.4%, American Indian-0.05%, 2 or more races-1.0% Teacher: Tulsa Pub Schools/Memorial JHS (OK). At this campus, 87.1% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-32.7%, Hispanic/Latino-34.1%, American Indian-4.6%, 2 or more races-9.4% Teacher: Morrison Pub Schools/Morrison HS (OK). At this campus, 51.2% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial % ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-0.0%, Hispanic/Latino-4.1%, American Indian-2.9%, 2 or more races-30.8% Teacher: ASTEC Charter Schools/Aztec M/HS(OK). At this campus, 96.5% are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-1.8%, Hispanic/Latino-90.4%, American Indian-0.6%, 2 or more races-0.6% Faculty: Southwestern Oklahoma State University (OK). At this IHE 45% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-5%, Hispanic/Latino-11%, American Indian-3%, 2 or more races-10% Faculty: Peru State College (NE). At this IHE 66% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-8%, Hispanic/Latino-8%, American Indian-1%, 2 or more races-3% Faculty: Trinity University (TX). At this IHE 21% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-4%, Hispanic/Latino-21%, American Indian-0%, 2 or more races-5% Faculty: Emporia State University (KS). At this IHE 39% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-5%, Hispanic/Latino-13%, American Indian-0%, 2 or more races-5% Faculty: St. Edward's University (TX). At this HSI 42% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-4%, Hispanic/Latino-49%, American Indian-0%, 2 or more races-3% Faculty: University of Oklahoma Norman (OK). At this IHE 23% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-5%, Hispanic/Latino-11%, American Indian-3%, 2 or more races-9% Faculty: University of Nebraska-Kearney (NE). At this IHE 38% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-2%, Hispanic/Latino-12%, American Indian-0%, 2 or more races-3% Faculty: Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TX). At this HSI 39% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-5%, Hispanic/Latino-15%, American Indian-0%, 2 or more races-1% For 2021-22, the project's second cohort of 7 teachers and 5 IHE faculty have continued into their second year of participation. (One teacher from Cohort 2 withdrew from the program.) Teacher: The Summit School/Waco (TX). At this campus 28% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & minority population demographics: African American/Black-10%, Hispanic/Latino-15%, American Indian-0.0%, 2 or more races-5.0% Teacher: Omaha Pub Schools (NE)/Zoo Academy. In this district 78% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-24.8%, Hispanic/Latino-37.3%, American Indian-0.8%, 2 or more races-5.9%. Specific campus-level data are not available for this magnet school. Teacher: Grand Island Pub Schools/Grand Island SHS (NE). At this campus 59% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American-4.9%, Hispanic/Latino-56.2%, American Indian-0.04%, 2 or more races-2.4% Teacher: Loup City Pub Schools/Loup City HS (NE). At this campus, 46% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-0.0%, Hispanic/Latino-6.6%, American Indian-0.08%, 2 or more races-2.0% Teacher: Lincoln Pub Schools/Science Focus Program (NE). In this district 45% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-6.8%, Hispanic/Latino-14.9%, American Indian-0.6%, 2 or more races-8.8% *Campus-level data were not available for the Program at time of this report Teacher: Hastings Pub Schools/Hastings MS (NE): At this campus 66% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American-1.4%, Hispanic/Latino-26.8%, American Indian-0.6%, 2 or more races-4.4% Teacher: Stillwater Pub Schools/Stillwater HS (OK). At this campus, 33.5% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-5.0%, Hispanic/Latino-8.3%, American Indian-4.6, 2 or more races-11.3% Faculty: Texas A&M University--Kingsville (TX). At this HSI 59% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-5%, Hispanic/Latino-74%, American Indian-0%, 2 or more races-1% Faculty: Texas State University (TX). At this HSI 40% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-10%, Hispanic/Latino-41%, American Indian-0%, 2 or more races-4% Faculty: St. Edward's University (TX). At this HSI 42% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American or Black-4%, Hispanic/Latino-49%, American Indian-0%, 2 or more races-3% Faculty: University of Nebraska-Omaha (NE). At this IHE 44% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-7%, Hispanic/Latino-16%, American Indian-0%, 2 or more races-5% Faculty: University of Central Oklahoma (OK). At this IHE 38% of students are economically disadvantaged. Racial & ethnic minority population demographics: African American/Black-9%, Hispanic/Latino-13%, American Indian-3%, 2 or more races-11% Changes/Problems: Initially, Educator Cohorts 1 and 2 each had 12 participants. Over time, however, three participants withdrew from each cohort, leaving nine members in each group. The attrition was caused by changes in participants' employment (e.g., moving to a new school with different teaching duties, leaving the classroom to enter graduate school or assume a different position) and one retirement. Restrictions caused by the Coronavirus pandemic appeared to impact retention as well. The fact that the project was unable to conduct in-person workshops (replaced with a shortened virtual workshop, plus follow up in-state field trips that only some of the participants were able to attend), also made it difficult to build a strong sense of community and peer support. After much discussion, project leaders decided to expand Cohort 3 to include 15 participants instead of 12. Additionally, the project was able to provide Cohort 3 with a 2-day virtual training followed by a 3-day site tour. This has had a huge impact on the motivation and interest of participants, particularly in regard to fostering connections among team members. Both monthly cohort meetings since the week-long kick off have been well-attended, and several participants are starting their classroom projects during the fall of 2022. Participants have expressed interested in collaborating on joint projects such as creating pyric herbivory and multi-species grazing related practice Free Response Questions for the College Board AP Environmental Science exam. With the drought conditions in Texas we are finding it difficult to conduce pyric herbivory as we originally invisioned. There has been insuffecient fuel to burn some of our experimental pastures. It may be that pyric herbivory is not feasible for semiarid conditions typical of west Texas. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Presentation: Wildlife Society Symposium on Future of Grasslands Virtual meeting. Rangeland Conservation and Management in the Anthropocene: Is it time to lose our fantasy of restoring the pre-Columbian grassland biome? Unknown # of attendees Plenary Speaker: Open2Preserve Conference-Almeria, Spain. Pyric Herbivory: Concepts and applications. ~100 part. Plenary Speaker: Open2Preserve Conference, Pamplona, Spain. Socio-ecological perspective of fire and grazing. ~100 part. Advised 1 doctoral student on image radiometric reflectance calibration & processing Advised 1 research associate on multispectral image mosaicking a and hyperspectral image processing Ranch Field Day: Burwell, NE for 9 FFA advisors/Ag educators. Focus:Introducing interactive games, online resources, and field sampling protocols that could be incorporated into classroom learning modules related to rangeland productivity and sustainability Invited speaker: NE Summit on Math & Science Education. Shared information re: Prairie Project PD opportunity. Co-presented with 2HS science teachers from the Prairie Project 2020 educator cohort; shared experiences designing and implementing personalized learning experiences that promote understanding of rangeland sustainability & ecosystem services Monthly mtgs (Sept 2021-June 2022): Educator Cohort 1; ~9 attendees + faculty/teachers from TX, OK, NE. Cohort meetings include collaborative learning as part of an education learning community, peer presentations, and scientific presentations related to Prairie Project concepts TX Educator Field Tour to collaborating ranches in TX; 5 educators attended Monthly mtgs (Sept 2021-June 2022): Educator Cohort 2; ~12 attendees + faculty/teachers from TX, OK, & NE. Cohort meetings include collaborative learning as part of an education learning community, peer presentations, and scientific presentations related to Prairie Project concept Prescribed Burn School - Optional burn school online course offered to Prairie Project Educators. One educator currently has registered for the course. Course emphasis on fire behavior, how to employ correct firing technique, equipment & safety Combined meeting of Education Cohorts 1 & 2. ~21 attendees. Meeting included presentation by Dr. Joseph Veldman Workshop & Field Day for 4-H/FFA advisors/educators in Burwell, NE.Included presentations from Prairie Project scientists, pedagogical sessions, interactive lesson development, & hands-on field sampling demonstrations Week-long intensive workshop for Education Cohort 3. Activities included online presentations from Prairie Project scientists, pedagogical sessions, & group discussions. Concluded with hands-on field tours of ranches in TX& OK Graduate student Brittany Lippy spent ~80 hours working one-on-one with Dr. Darren Hagen and students in the genetics lab developing a DNA barcoding technique in-house. These techniques may be used to analyze samples and compare to commercial DNA barcoding methods that are available. Lippy also designed the experiment and collected fecal samples from goats and cattle in mixed-species grazing systems of burned pastures to compare diet selection Members of Dr. Veldman's lab participated in a 3-day ranch tour in San Angelo, TX, area, highlighting work related to the project and commercial demonstrations of project objectives. Participants included Reuter (PI), Brittany Lippy (graduate student), and Mariano Menghing (visiting scientist from Argentina) Prescribed Fire Training Summit: TAMU AgriLife Extension Service. 30 County Extension Agents attended a 6-hr, online prescribed fire training webinar explaining fire effects, brush encroachment, do's & don'ts of prescribed fire, and laws and regulations of implementing a safe prescribed fire in Texas Prescribed Burn School: 214 participants completed the online 24-hr prescribed fire course through AgriLife Learn 4-hour presentation on October 15, 2021, to Angelo State University's Range Management Capstone class, 40 students Hosted and facilitated Fire Field Day on October 29, 2021. Five participants burned 100acres Hosted and moderated Texas Section Society for Range Management on 10/21/21 in Victoria, TX, touring prescribed fire pastures; 200 part. Presented on Brush Management for Dickens County Range & Beef Program, 2/27/2022; 20 landowners attended Delivered "Prescribed Fire" presentation to Austin County on March 18, 2022. 31 landowners Delivered "Rangeland Analysis Platform" to Texas Cattlewomen in Canyon, TX, on April 30th to ~ 75 parts. Presented Prescribed Burn Associations for The Cooperative Extension Service presentation on 4/21/2022, to ~ 150 part. Presented "Rain or No Rain: Rangeland Management Strategies" to 4 participants at Upton County Range Day on 5/10/2022, in Rankin Presented "Wildfire Recovery: Opportunities and Strategies" to 45 participants at the Post-Fire Recovery Meeting in Stephenville on 5/18/2022 Conducted Prairie Project: Duff Ranch Tour with Schleicher CEA to 6 youth on 5/6/2022 Guest lecture on Prescribed Fire for the RWFM Field Course on 5/23/2022, @ the Selah Bamberger Ranch in Johnson City to 19 RWFM students Guest lecture on Prescribed Fire for the RWFM Field Course on 5/23/2022, at the Selah Bamberger Ranch in Johnson City to 19 RWFM students Presented Webinar on multispecies grazing to Educator Cohort 2. ~11 teacher & IHE faculty part. Participated in Texas Educator Field Tour Manned a booth at the 8th National Grazing Lands Coalition annual conference in Myrtle Beach, N.C. More than 400 ranchers, academics, researchers, land managers, conservationists, & students attended the conference; many visited the booth & engaged in discussions regarding environmentally sustainable and economical management of grazing lands Provided a presentation on "Grazing and Prescribed Burn Management of Juniper" at the Ozona Stewardship Blowout in Ozona, TX. Participants incl. ~75 landowners & land managers from across West Texas Presentation on Grazing and Prescribed Burn Management of Juniper at the big Country Range Management mtg. Incl. 150 landowners & land managers Webinar on using goats & fire to manage woody plants for Prairie Project Educator Cohort 3, ~10 teachers + IHE faculty part. Prairie Project Educator Cohort 3 field tour: Caddo National Grassland. ~10 teacher & IHE faculty part. Lake of the Arbuckles Watershed Association Board of Directors meeting, Update on Economics of prescribed burning planning, Davis, OK. 20 part. Great Plains Grasslands Initiative mtg.,What is the initiative & PBAs role, Alva, OK. 2021. 35 part. Great Plains G PD Activities Grasslands Initiative meeting, What is the initiative & PBAs role? Perry, OK. 45 part. USDA-NRCS State Technical Committee meeting, Update on PBAs & Extension activities, online. 78 part. Lake of the Arbuckles Watershed Association Board of Directors meeting, Economics of prescribed burning, Davis, OK. Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition--Chaining for cedar skeleton removal following fire field day. Use of the ball and chain for live and dead cedars. Lake City, KS 2021. 75 part. US Fish & Wildlife Partners Program meeting, Funding for PBAs from USFWS, Stillwater, OK. 2021. 20 part. USDA-NRCS ND, Prescribed Burn Training Course, Fargo, ND 40 part. Quail Forever Outdoor Classroom, How to conduct a prescribed burn, Stillwater, OK 45 part. Prescribed Fire Training Summit for County Agents, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Basic Fire Ecology & Prescribed Fire for Livestock Production, online. 10 part. OK Association of Conservation Districts and Pittsburg County Conservation District prescribed fire planning workshop, How to write a fire plan, McAlester, OK. 35 part. Increasing Capacity for Private Lands Burning, Liability: Prescribed Fire's Scapegoat, Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals 2021 Conference. Online. 50 part. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?*Facebook: OklahomaLands. From July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, the site received a total of 61 Posts; 813,486 Reaches; 13,336 Posts; 24,679 Engagements; and 1,837 Link Clicks (30/post). *Twitter: OklahomaLands: From July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, the account received a total of 64 Posts; 37,248 Impressions (582/post); 2,033 Engagements (32/post); 64 Link Clicks (1/post). *Instagram: OkllahomaLands: From July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, the account received a total of 33 Posts; 12,782 Reaches; (387/post); 833 Engagements (25/post). *YouTube: Land Cover Change in Union County, NM, and Cimmaron County, OK. 14 Views; 0 Likes. *YouTube: Goat Pro 2.0. 35 Views; 1 Like. *YouTube: Burning at the OSU Botanic Gardens. 21 Views; 0 Likes. *Youtube: 360 View of Prescribed Fire in Action. 52 views; 0 Likes. *Youtube. Chaining Eastern Redcedar Skeletons in the Kansas Prairie. 10 Views; 1 Like. *Youtube. Goat Pro 3.0. 12 Views; 0 Likes. *Youtube. Feeding Supplement in Multi-Species Pasture. Cattle + Goats! 25 Views; 0 Likes. *Popular Press Article. Article in TTI's Transportation Researcher Magazine mentioning the Prairie Project. *Support Materials. Newsletter developed and distributed to Prairie Project constituents. *Support Materials. Updated recruitment flyer created and distributed. *Support Materials. Website. Google Drive created where Prairie Project educators can share project materials, curricular materials, resources, and scientific articles.https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0AO3_ciqo3OL-Uk9PVA *Abstract. Submitted session proposal "Private land burning around the world" for the Association of Fire Ecology 2022 meeting in Florence, Italy. *Podcast. Ag Law in the Field "Prescribed Fire"https://aglaw.libsyn.com/website/episode-128-dr-morgan-treadwell-tx-prescribed-burning-law. *Abstract. Treadwell, M.L. 2021.Fire in the Backyard: A Community Link to Stewardship") for Ecological Society of America Conference August 14-19, 2022. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. *Abstract: Treadwell, M.L. 2021.•Submitted Society for Range Management Annual Meeting abstract (The Prairie Project) February 6-10 Albuquerque, NM. *Video. Treadwell, M.L. and U.Kreuter. 2022.Fighting Fire with Fire" video was released on Great Plains Fire Science Exchange:https://gpfirescience.org/resources/fighting-fire-with-fire/. *Radio. Provided a 30-minute radio interview for Ag All Day Agents, Andy Hart - Hale County and Mark Carroll - Floyd County.https://www.allagnews.com/caprock-cattle-educational-series-brush-management/. *Extension Publication. Treadwell, M.L.Texas A&MAgriLifeExtension Service Prescribed Fire Guidelines.RWFM-PU-380. *Extension Publication. Baldwin, C., M.L. Treadwell.Benefits of Rangeland Burning" Great Plains Fire Science Exchange 2022-1. *Extension Publication. Treadwell, M.L.Texas A&MAgriLifeExtension Service Ex.RWFM-PU-380. *Extension Publication. Treadwell, M.L. andW.Fox. 2022. Prescribed Fire Checklist. RWFM-PU-387.https://agrilifelearn.tamu.edu/s/product/prescribed-fire-checklist/01t4x000004P8BEAA0. *Extension Publication. Treadwell, M.L. and T.Lashmet. 2021.Prescribed Burning: Liability Considerations.ERM-035.https://agrilifelearn.tamu.edu/s/product/prescribed-burning-liability-considerations/01t4x000002dp4oAAA *Extension Publication. Treadwell, M.L., T.Lashmet, and C. Brooke. 2021. On-Site Brush Pile Burning in Texas. RWFM-PU-124.https://agrilifelearn.tamu.edu/s/product/onsite-brush-pile-burning-in-texas/01t4x000002dq8UAAQ *Extension Publication. Treadwell, M.L. and T.Lashmet. 2021. Texas Open Burning Laws and Regulations.RWFM-PU-374.https://agrilifelearn.tamu.edu/s/product/texas-open-burning-rules-and-regulations/01t4x000004OUuuAAG. *Extension Publication. Treadwell, M.L., C. Baldwin, L.Bammerlin, C.Wonkka, and M. Watson. 2021. Prescribed Burning Communication Kit. RWFM-PU-352.https://agrilifelearn.tamu.edu/s/product/prescribed-burning-communication-kit/01t4x000002dFW9AAM *Extension Publication. Weir, J. and D.Twidwell. 2021. Reducing Woody Brush Encroachment in Grasslands. Oklahoma State University. E-1054. *Online Course. Continuing Fire Training -AgriLifeLearn.https://agrilifelearn.tamu.edu/s/product/continuing-fire-training/01t4x000002dGL0AAM *Popular Press. Texas A&MAgrilife(2021, Sept. 23).Saving the Great Plains with prescribed fire, mixed grazing: The Prairie Project focuses on research, extension, and education. Retrieved fromhttps://www.morningagclips.com/saving-the-great-plains-with-prescribed-fire-mixed-grazing/ *Popular Press. Russell, Adam. (2021, Sept. 22). Saving the Great Plains with prescribed fire, mixed grazing. Retrieved fromhttps://www.drovers.com/news/beef-production/saving-great-plains-prescribed-fire-mixed-grazing?mkt_tok=ODQzLVlHQi03OTMAAAF_sWcki8siZAHulkO5rLQ7qwDfPSR14YFnVQhnaFJLpRP-nAHn-whmBw_8rJ_yY4sDbKS-jpxi9pF7al4f1Rg6G8buah_UqmOhe-r7q4Elv4SGuGuQnYA *Popular Press. AgrilifeToday. (2021, Sept. 20). Retrieved fromhttps://agrilifetoday.tamu.edu/2021/09/20/saving-the-great-plains-with-prescribed-fire-mixed-grazing/ *Other. FaceBook. https://www.facebook.com/prairierestored *Other. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/prairierestored/ *Other. Twitter. https://twitter.com/prairierestored?lang=en *Website. https://www.theprairieproject.org/ *Website. https://prairieproject.tamu.edu/ *Podcast. Management the limiting factor in grazing management.https://mediahub.unl.edu/media/17385 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The project plans to continue to implement extension, education, and research activities as outlined in the proposal, to accomplish identified goals. In addition, the following activities are planned and/or under consideration: Continue developing the information and knowledge contained within the Prairie Project Knowledge Hub. Broaden the number of people contributing content to the knowledge hub to accelerate content. Continue development of fire-forage-grazing models that will be the foundation of decision support tools. Complete the work with the second Educator Cohort and continue the work of the third Educator Cohort. Showcase education projects and products of Educator Cohort 1 members on the Prairie Project website and share with interested peers. Organize a symposium focused on the education and extension components of the Prairie Project for the 2023 Society for Range Management annual meeting. Tentative title: "Cultivating future rangeland professionals and rangeland-literate public--An integrated cross-boundary approach of the Prairie Project" Develop a proposal to the AFRI Extension, Education & USDA Climate Hub's Partnership Program to expand the work of the Prairie Project. Tentative title: "Promoting climate-smart agricultural practices to reduce risk and impacts of drought, wildfire and woody encroachment on livestock production in Great Plains rangelands"

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? SHORT-TERM Goal 1: Research was initiated in OK at the Stillwater Range Research Station, Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, & Marvin Klemme Research Station. All 3 sites have patchburn grazing treatments; the Stillwater location also has multispecies grazing with goats. In central OK, patchburn grazing with cattle is being compared to patchburn grazing with cattle & goats. In northeast OK, research focus is patchburn grazing with/without herbicide for invasive species control and effects on livestock performance and non-target vegetation. In TX, mixed species grazing has continued at Sonora Research Station, Martin Ranch, & Read Ranch. Research is ongoing in NE at Loess Canyons Experimental Landscape, a 280,000-acre landscape of cooperating landowners who use fire and cattle to manage rangelands. Fire has been implemented every year of the project. (Loess Canyons Science Report) Goal 2. The Project continues to be successful in partnering with Demonstration Ranches in the 3-state region. The ranches are stocked with combinations of cattle, goats, & sheep, and owners/managers have a range of experience in using prescribed fire/patch burning and small ruminant grazing to control woody species. Several ranches sponsored Demonstration Tours with 4H & FFA groups in summer 2021. Goal 3. Extensive education/extension outreach continued in Yr 3. 4H/FFA field days at participating TX ranches were hosted to facilitate rancher/student interactions to collectively learn about WPE & how to utilize prescribed fire/mixed species grazing practices. Additional outreach was provided through venues such as the TX Youth Range Workshop & 4H Round Up in OK. The OK extension group integrated multi-species grazing & patchburn grazing into multiple existing extension programs for livestock producers & wildlife managers; and field-days, workshops, and other Project-focused programs were offered to stakeholders. The 3rd educator cohort composed of teachers/faculty from secondary schools and IHEs in TX, NE, & OK was recruited. This component includes support for participants in designing, implementing, and assessing innovative pedagogical projects related to prescribed fire and multi-species grazing for their classes & share their work at professional conferences. Links to a representative sample of educator projects from Cohorts 1 & 2: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1QhLaPmdjzeoQGJLtRPhiufQChfjL-8pa https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UFDVPzpod3zjMPtdDPteRyOHqzkdmLKi https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_ORs_Ls9ZNSWjLJWhP_2wo_b2OUhOltF https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HsMA1oEuN3AGGuFEE_V4UBih5pnXD5z_ Goal 4. The Project continued to engage stakeholder groups in Yr. 3, providing information & training at conservation district and cattlemen's meetings at state/local levels and collaborating on outreach & training with federal/state agency personnel. The Project also assisted the U.S. Forest Service to establish goat browsing on 2,424 acres in the Caddo National Grassland. Grazing will continue year-round except for hunting season. The Forest Service goal is to use fire/browsing to reduce woody plant cover and return this area to a savanna. The numbers of products/outputs, opportunities for training/professional development, and dissemination efforts detailed in this report further illustrate the extensive efforts made to engage stakeholder groups. Goal 5: Baseline measurements have been ongoing at Research & Demonstration Centers in TX & OK. Rangeland health was measured at The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Yr 3, and relationships between the 17 indicators and time since fire are being examined. Baseline functional group cover and woody cover, height, and densities were measured at the Stillwater Range Research Station. Permanent array (60m) locations are being sampled with Daubenmire frames for cover and point center quarter is used for plant density with woody plants identified to species. In western OK, plant cover was measure to the species for all plants, as well as biomass pre- and post-burning and grazing. MEDIUM-TERM Goal 1: Strong progress was made in developing decision-support tools related to fire forecasting and vegetation production in Yr 3. A Prairie Project Knowledge Hub (www.prairieprojectknowledgehub.org), intended to be used to catalog descriptions of all the data collected during the project along with other information that promotes the reuse of the data, is under development. The hub will also serve as a platform for quantitative decision support tools developed during this project. The development of fire and grazing models to be used as decision support tools has also been a focus. The goal is to make these tools/models available through the project knowledge hub. Decision support and modeling efforts have continued to focus on the use of fire and plant production models to develop spatially explicit maps of the entire Great Plains region to determine where the application of fire as a management tool is realistic and how grazing pressure modifies potential to apply fire. Changes in woody plant cover across the region have been assessed using the RAP model (https://rangelands.app/about/rapUserGuide.pdf). An Early Warning System for Woody Transitions has been used in this product to elucidate various scales of grassland transitions to woodland dominance (Twidwell et al. 2021) and has been integrated into the RAP and used to inform the Risk Map for the Central Grasslands Roadmap. In addition, decision support tools have been adopted for use by USDA NRCS and partnering organizations for regional planning and prioritization of conservation investments. Goal 2: Project participants are working to document ongoing case studies in TX & OK, where mixed animal grazing and pyric herbivory are being applied. In NE, results from the Project have helped support emergence of new case studies, such as implementation of pyric herbivory at demonstration ranches located at UNL's Barta Brothers Research Station. Goal 3: The 2022-24 Educator Cohort has been recruited. The cohort completed its summer workshop, including field visits to research and demonstration ranches in TX & OK. Cohort members are designing pedagogical projects related to prescribed fire & multi-species grazing for their respective classes. Currently, the OSU extension webpage houses 112 factsheets & 115 videos relevant to the Project, and social media infographics have reached more than 800,000 people. The average reach per post is over 10,000 people. These products, as well as integration of multi-species/patch-burn grazing into existing extension programming, has allowed extension faculty & staff to directly speak with more than 3,400 people at over 150 extension events. We are tracking land-owner attitudes and likelihood of adoption through event surveys. With Project support, the TAMU extension program has supported multiple important extension programs in Yr 3, including 3 Prescribed Fire Field Days, with 300 participants completing a landscape-scale burn. Participants valued the Fire Field Days at $8.90/acre, representing a value-added of $5.3 million for landowners. The Texas Section Society for Range Management hosted the Project at a Young Professionals Training that showcased prescribed fire. 100% of the 45 participants reported feeling more confident in offering prescribed fire to landowners as a management strategy. LONG-TERM Progress toward achievement of long-term goals continues to be somewhat uneven. We recognize that these goals are complex, aspirational in nature, and challenging to accomplish in the project time-period. Moreover, progress toward these goals is difficult to measure, due to their imprecise metrics. Progress toward achievement of our short-term and medium-term goals is significant, however, and ultimately will support progress toward the long-term goals.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: EP Tanner, SD Fuhlendorf, JA Polo, JM Peterson. 2021. Woody encroachment of grasslands: Near-surface thermal implications assessed through the lens of an astronomical event. Ecology and Evolution 11 12886-12901.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: D Twidwell, CH Bielski, R Scholtz, SD Fuhlendorf. 2021. Advancing Fire Ecology in 21st Century Rangelands. Rangeland Ecology & Management 78, 201-212.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Wilcox, B. P., Fuhlendorf, S. D., Walker, J. W., Twidwell, D., Wu, X. B., Goodman, L. E., ... & Birt, A. (2021). Saving imperiled grassland biomes by recoupling fire and grazing: a case study from the Great Plains.�Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Bradford P. Wilcox, B.P., Fuhlendorf, S.D., Walker, J.W., Twidwell, D., Wu X.B. Laura E. Goodman, L.E. Treadwell. M., Andrew Birt, A. 2021. Saving Imperiled Grassland Biomes by Recoupling Fire and Grazing: A Case Study from the Great Plains. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. doi:10.1002/fee.2448
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2022 Citation: Zou, C.B.; Lambert, L. H.; Everett, J.; Will, R. E. Effects on surface runoff and sediment of converting marginal grassland to grow switchgrass as a bioenergy feedstock in southern Great Plains of the United States. Land 2022, x, x. https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxxxx
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Novak, E.N., M. Bertelsen, D. Davis, D.M. Grobert, K.G. Lyons, J.P. Martina, W.M. McCaw, M. OToole, and J.W. Veldman. 2021. Season of prescribed fire determines grassland restoration outcomes after fire exclusion and overgrazing. Ecosphere 12: e03730.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Treadwell, M.L. and R.L. Stevens. 2021. Global Applications of Prescribed Fire (Prescribed Burn Associations: US landowners getting fire on the ground). https://www.publish.csiro.au/book/7909
• Type: Books Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2022 Citation: Weir, J.R., J.D. Scasta. editors. Final edits. Global Application of Prescribed Fire. CSIRO Publishing, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: S. Basant*, B.D. Newman, and B.P. Wilcox. 2021. Soil water and chloride profiles in a mesic woodland: opportunity for savanna restoration and groundwater recharge. Annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. New Orleans.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Chatwin, S. et al. (2022). Using an experiential research project to teach high-school students about the importance of Prairie Range management and multi species herbivory. Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Range Management.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: E. M. Ingram, J. Keshwani, D. R. Keshwani, and J. Binfield, Prairie Protector: Systems thinking and STEM-informed decision-making in agroecosystems through game-based learning, presented at the 2022 ASEE Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, USA, Jun. 2022.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Flegal-Smallwood, J. (2021). Cultural Fire: Passing the Tradition. Presentation at the Annual Ecological Society of America Meeting.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Havrilchak, Nicole and West, Jason. Gas exchange strategy differs among co-occurring C4 grass species and is highly sensitive to water availability. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Leising, A., & Sykes, T. (2022). Minds on Fire: A Cross-Curricular, Research and Project-Based Approach to Teaching Prairie Ecology Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the National Science Teaching Association.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Leite, P.A.*, B.P. Wilcox, J.W. Walker, K.J. McInnes. 2021.Soil moisture sensors for monitoring water dynamics in weathered rock: field tests to check the applicability. Annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. New Orleans.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Li. Z. et al. (2022). Estimating rangeland herbaceous biomass in west Texas using high spatial resolution images. Poster presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Range Management.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Macik, M. et al. (2022). Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Rangelands, Woody Encroachment, Grazing, and Fire: Development, Validation, and Use of a Survey. Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Range Management.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Olariu, H.*, C.Virgil, M. Lonesome, S. Popescu, and B.P. Wilcox. 2021. Classifying tree species in a semiarid woody encroached landscape using ML and Dl algorithms from remotely sensed imagery. Annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. New Orleans.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Peel, D. WAEA Selected Paper, Santa Fe, NM, June 2022: Economic Analysis of Pyric Herbivory Rangeland Management in the Great Plains
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Walker, J.W., A. Kelly, B. Wilcox, S. Fuhlendorf. 2021. Managing juniper with goats and prescribed fire. 8th National Grazing Confernce. Myrtle Beach, SC Dec 6-9,2021
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Walker, J.W. 2021. Management the limiting factor in grazing management. Nebraska Grazing Conference. Kearne, NE. August 9-11, 2021. https://mediahub.unl.edu/media/17385
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Walker, J.W. 2022. Goats or Trees. In Abstr. 75th Ann. Meeting. Soc.Range Manage. February 6-10. Albuquerque, NM.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Wied, J. et al. (2022). Prairie Project on Zooniverse: Connecting Research and Education through Citizen Science. Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Range Management
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Wu, XB. et al. (2022). Educating the voters and policy-makers of tomorrow to ensure the future of rangelands. Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Range Management
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: BW Allred, BT Bestelmeyer, CS Boyd, C Brown, KW Davies, MC Duniway, LM Ellsworth, TA Erickson, SD Fuhlendorf, TV Griffiths, V Jansen, MO Jones, J Karl, A Knight, JD Maestas, JJ Maynard, SE McCord, DE Naugle, HD Starns, D Twidwell, DR Uden. 2021. Improving Landsat predictions of rangeland fractional cover with multitask learning and uncertainty. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 12, 841-849.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Basant, S., B.P. Wilcox, P.M. Leite, and C.I. Morgan. 2020. When savannas recover from overgrazing, ecohydrological connectivity collapses. Environmental Research Letters 15, 054001.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: A Butler, CA Davis, SD Fuhlendorf, SM Wilder. 2021. Effects of fire on ground-dwelling arthropods in a shrub-dominated grassland. Ecology and evolution 11 (1), 427-442
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: SM Cady, CA Davis, SD Fuhlendorf, R Scholtz, DR Uden, D Twidwell. 2021. Generalist bird exhibits site?dependent resource selection. Ecology and Evolution 11 (18), 12714-12727
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Dobson, A., G. Hopcraft, S. Mduma, J.O. Ogutu, J. Fryxell, T.M. Anderson, S. Archibald, C. Lehmann, J. Poole, T. Caro, M. Borgerhoff Mulder, R.D. Holt, J. Berger, D.I. Rubenstein, P. Kahumbu, E.N. Chidumayo, E.J. Milner-Gulland, D. Schluter, S. Otto, A. Balmford, D. Wilcove, S. Pimm,�J.W. Veldman, H. Olff, R. Noss, R. Holdo, C. Beale, G. Hempson, Y. Kiwango, D. Lindenmayer, W. Bond, M. Ritchie, A.R. Sinclair. 2022. Savannas are vital but overlooked carbon sinks.�Science�375: 392-392.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Hoariu, H.G., L. Malambo, S.C. Popescu, C.Virgil, and B.P. Wilcox. Woody plant encroachment: evaluating methodologies for semiarid woody species classification from drone images. Remote Sensing 14: 1665.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: KL Kauffman, RD Elmore, CA Davis, SD Fuhlendorf, LE Goodman, CA Hagen, EP Tanner. 2021. Role of the thermal environment in scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) nest site selection and survival. Journal of Thermal Biology 95: 102791
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Leite, P. A. M., B. P. Wilcox, K. J. McInnes, and J. W. Walker. 2021. Applicability of soil moisture sensors for monitoring water dynamics in rock: A field test in weathered limestone. Vadose Zone Journal 20, doi.org 10.1002/vzj2.20164.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Leite, P.A.M., B.P.Wilcox, and K.J. McInnes. 2021. Woody plant encroachment enhances soil infiltrability of a semiarid karst savanna. Environmental Research Communications 2:115005.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2021 Citation: DW. Londe RD Elmore CA. Davis SD. Fuhlendorf TJ. Hovick B Luttbeg J Rutledge 2021. Weather Influences Multiple Components of Greater Prairie?Chicken Reproduction. The Journal of Wildlife Management 85:121-134
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Londe, DW, JM Carroll, RD Elmore, CA Davis, SD Fuhlendorf. 2021. Avifauna assemblages in sand shinnery oak shrublands managed with prescribed fire. Rangeland Ecology & Management 79, 164-174.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: DW Londe, RD Elmore, CA Davis, SD Fuhlendorf, TJ Hovick, B Luttbeg, J Rutledge. 2022. Fine-scale habitat selection limits trade-offs between foraging and temperature in a grassland bird. Behavioral Ecology (Early View)
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Loss, SR, BH Noden, SD Fuhlendorf. 2022. Woody plant encroachment and the ecology of vector?borne diseases. Journal of Applied Ecology (Early View)
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: NA. McMillan, SD. Fuhlendorf, B Luttbeg, LE Goodman, CA Davis, BW Allred, RG Hamilton. 2021. Are bison movements dependent on season and time of day? Investigating movement across two complex grasslands. Ecosphere 12: e03317
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Novak, E.N., M. Bertelsen, D. Davis, D.M. Grobert, K.G. Lyons, J.P. Martina, W.M. McCaw, M. OToole, and�J.W. Veldman. 2021. Season of prescribed fire determines grassland restoration outcomes after fire exclusion and overgrazing.�Ecosphere�12: e03730.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Reeves JT, SD Fuhlendorf, CA Davis, SM Wilder. 2021. Arthropod prey vary among orders in their nutrient and exoskeleton content. Ecology and Evolution 11 17774-17785.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Roberts, CP, DR Uden, SM Cady, B Allred, SD Fuhlendorf, MO Jones, JD Maestas, D Naugle, AC Olsen, J Smith, J Tack, D Twidwell. 2021. Tracking spatial regimes as an early warning for a species of conservation concern. Ecological Applications 32, e02480
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: EP Robertson, EP Tanner, RD Elmore, SD Fuhlendorf, JD. Mays, J Knutson, JR. Weir, SR. Loss. Fire management alters the thermal landscape and provides multi-scale thermal options for a terrestrial turtle facing a changing climate. Global Change Biology 28: 782-796.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: CW Sherrill, SD Fuhlendorf, LE Goodman, RD Elmore, RG Hamilton. 2022. Managing an invasive species while simultaneously conserving native plant diversity. Rangeland Ecology & Management.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: R. Scholtz, SD Fuhlendorf, DR Uden, BW Allred, MO Jones, DE Naugle, D Twidwell. 2021. Challenges of Brush Management Treatment Effectiveness in Southern Great Plains, United States. Rangeland Ecology & Management 77, 57-65.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Sun, X., B.P. Wilcox, C.B. Zou, E. Stebler, J.B. West, and B. Wyatt. 2021. Isotopic partitioning of evapotranspiration in mesic grassland during two wetting drying episodes. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 301: 108321
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: EP Tanner, AM Tanner, SD Fuhlendorf, RD Elmore, CA Davis, JA Polo Land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program supports roosting ecology of the lesser prairie-chicken. Global Ecology and Conservation. 32: e01916.

Progress 07/01/20 to 06/30/21

Outputs
Target Audience:General Public:The general public have been very engaged via our virtural media efforts. As reported here--our Facebook Page has been accessed around 800,000 times. Land Managers:Extention and outreach efforts have targeted land managers who are interested in using goats or prescribed fire Resource Specialists/Academics:Many scientific publications have been generated from this project. Educators:For Year 2, the project recruited its second teacher/faculty cohort of 7 secondary school teachers and 4 IHE faculty. The cohort included one person with a dual role as a secondary teacher and an adjunct faculty member at an IHE.* As in Year 1, efforts were made to identify and engage teachers and faculty from minority-serving institutions. Students served at these schools and IHEs comprise a sub-section of the target audience. Teacher: International Leadership of Texas/Brazos Campus. At this campus, 41.2% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations: African American or Black-10.1%, Hispanic/Latino-36.8%, American Indian-0.2%, 2 or more races-4.2%. Teacher: Omaha Public Schools (NE)/Zoo Academy*. In this district 73.67% of students are identified as economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations: African American or Black-24.46%, Hispanic/Latino-36.82%%, American Indian-0.76%, 2 or more races-5.65%. Specific campus-level data are not available for this magnet school. Teacher: Grand Island Public Schools/Grand Island Senior High School (NE). At this campus, 68% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations: African American-4.61%, Hispanic/Latino-56.81%, American Indian-0.55%, 2 or more races-1.68%. Teacher: Loup City Public Schools (NE)/Loup City High School. At this campus, 52% of students economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations: African American-0.00%, Hispanic/Latino-5.52%, American Indian-1.38%, 2 or more races-0.00%. Teacher: Lincoln Public Schools (NE)/Science Focus Program. In this district 46.69% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations: African American or Black-6.60%, Hispanic/Latino-14.34%, American Indian-0.61%, 2 or more races-8.40%. Campus-level data were not available for the Program at time of this report. Teacher: Hastings Public Schools (NE)/Hastings Middle School: At this campus 65% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations: African American-1.41%, Hispanic/Latino-26.73%, American Indian-0.1%, 2 or more races-5.35%. Teacher: Stillwater Public Schools (OK)/Stillwater High School. At this campus, 33.5% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are: African American-5.0%, Hispanic/Latino-8.3%, American Indian-4.6, 2 or more races-11.3%. Teacher: Pawhuska Public Schools (OK)/Pawhaska High School. At this campus, 61% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations: African American-3.8%, Hispanic/Latino-3.8%, American Indian-50%, 2 or more races-8.8%. Faculty: Texas A&M University--Kingsville (TX). At this HSI 57% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations: African American or Black-4%, Hispanic/Latino-74%, American Indian-0%, 2 or more races-1%. Faculty: Texas State University (TX). At this HSI 41% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations: African American or Black-9%, Hispanic/Latino-40%, American Indian-0%, 2 or more races-4%. Faculty: St. Edward's University (TX). At this HSI 39% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations: African American or Black-4%, Hispanic/Latino-46%, American Indian-1%, 2 or more races-3%. Faculty: University of Nebraska-Omaha (NE).* At this IHE 40% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations: African American or Black-7%, Hispanic/Latino-14%, American Indian-0%, 2 or more races-5%. Faculty: University of Central Oklahoma (OK). At this IHE 42% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations: African American or Black-3%, Hispanic/Latino-12%, American Indian-3%, 2 or more races-10%. For 2020-21, members of the project's first cohort of 7 teachers and 5 IHE faculty have continued into their second year of participation. Teacher: Greenwood ISD/Greenwood HS (TX). At this campus, 29.3% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations: African American-0.7%, Hispanic/Latino-49.8%, American Indian - 1%, 2 or more races - 8%. Teacher: Omaha Public Schools (NE)/Zoo Academy. In this district 73.67% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black-24.46%, Hispanic/Latino-36.82%, American Indian-0.77%, 2 or more races-5.65%. Due to the fact that this school is a magnet school drawing students from various schools in the area, campus-level data are not available. Teacher: Lincoln Public Schools (NE)/Lincoln High School. At this campus, 60% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations: African American-10.91%, Hispanic/Latino-22.41%, American Indian-1.19%, 2 or more races-9.72%. Teacher: Papillion/LaVista Community Schools (NE)/Zoo Academy. In this district 23.82% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations: African American or Black-4.82%, Hispanic/Latino-10.98%, American Indian-0.24%, 2 or more races-5.39%. Due to the fact that this school is a magnet school drawing students from various districts, campus-level data are not available. Teacher: Boone Central Schools (NE)/Boone Central High School. At this campus, 30% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations: African American-1.94%, Hispanic/Latino-1.45%, American Indian-0.97%, 2 or more races-0.0%. Teacher: Owasso Public Schools (OK)/Owasso High School. At this campus, 23.2% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are: African American-5.56%, Hispanic/Latino-10.8%, American Indian-12.3%, 2 or more races-6.8%. Teacher: Caney Valley Public Schools (OK)/Caney Valley High School. At this campus, 59.3% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are: African American-0.9%, Hispanic/Latino-2.8%, American Indian-36.9%, 2 or more races-3.7%. Faculty: Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TX). At this HSI 57% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are: African American or Black-4%, Hispanic/Latino-74%, American Indian-0%, 2 or more races-1%. Faculty: St. Edwards University (TX). At this HSI 39% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are: African American or Black-4%, Hispanic/Latino-46%, American Indian-1%, 2 or more races-3%. Faculty: Redlands Community College (OK). At this NASNTI 50% of students are economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are: African American or Black-4%, Hispanic/Latino-10%, American Indian-11%, 2 or more races-1%. Faculty: Rogers State University (OK). At this NASNTI 57% of students are identified as economically disadvantaged. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are: African American or Black-4%, Hispanic/Latino-6%, American Indian-14%, 2 or more races-16%. Changes/Problems:The pandemic has, of course, resulted in some unexpected delays and some modification on how we approach our tasks. This is especially true with respect to the education, extension and outreach efforts that traditionally require face to face interactions. We have addressed these challenges by increasing our online and virtual presence. As noted in the report--the project has been extremely active on social media with great success. In addition, the first two years of the teacher education program has been conducted virtually. In spite of these challenges, we feel good about what has been accomplished. Communication within and between team members has been good and we have been able to resume face to face meetings. We were able to have an in-person "all hands" meeting at the Sonora Research Station during the first week of June and we are planning a second in-person meeting in Nebraska in September of 2021. One result is that we have not spent our travel funds as quickly as planned and we anticipate that we will request a one year no cost extension. Extending the project has clear advantages in allowing us to continue working toward achieving our long-term goals. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training Activities Mentoring of 4 PhD students (2 females, 2 Hispanic) conducting their dissertation studies associated with the Prairie Project. (Wu, X.B., Prairie Project co-PI) Mentoring of 1 Postdoc who serves as project manager for the education component of the Prairie Project and conducts educational research associated with the Prairie Project. (Wu, X.B., Prairie Project co-PI) Mentoring of 1 Research Associate who conducts remote sensing and field-based ecological research work and provides support to others working on the Prairie Project. (Wu, X.B., Prairie Project co-PI) Mentoring of 1 undergraduate student who worked on the Prairie Project. (Wu, X.B., Prairie Project co-PI) Developed and implemented a module on "Disturbance Regimes and Sustainability of the Great Plains" in a Fundamentals of Ecology class of with over 450 students. Topics covered included (a) Historical disturbance regimes: fire and grazing; Current issues: Woody encroachment (with fire suppression) reduces biodiversity and limits livestock production; and (c) Potential solution: Use pyric herbivory (dynamic fire-grazing regime) to sustain livestock production and promote biodiversity. (Wu, X.B.) Taught NREM 3631: Principles of Range Management class, including lectures on patch burning and mixed species, for 42 students. (Goodman, L.E., OSU Range Extension Specialist) Developed and taught NREM 4613: Rangeland Resource Planning course, including lectures on patch burning and mixed species, for 8 students. (Goodman, L. E., OSU Range Extension Specialist) Developed and taught ANSI4203/NREM 4603: Range and Pasture Utilization course for 35 graduate/undergraduate students. (Goodman, L.E., OSU Range Extension Specialist) Advised doctoral student on how to perform imaging mosaicking and radiometric calibration on multispectral images collected for the project. (Yang, C.) Advised two doctoral students and one research associate on hyperspectral image correction to minimize data noise. (Yang, C.) Advised one research associate on radiometric calibration of hyperspectral images. (Yang, C.) Project supported the thesis field work of one female master's student, who graduated with a M.Sc. in Ecosystem Science and Management from Texas A&M in fall 2020. (Veldman, J., Prairie Project Co-PI) Project supported undergraduate field research experience for two female Texas A&M students to study grasslands and fire in Texas under the guidance of co-PI Veldman Project supported travel for 1 Ph.D. student to participate in the Prairie Project meeting and gain important experience interacting with other students and scientists studying grasslands and fire. (Advised by Dr. J. Veldman, Prairie Project co-PI) Constructed four prescribed burns with students of Texas A&M University. These burns provided important training opportunities to 13 students and two staff members. The areas burned serve as demonstration sites for visitors to the Texas A&M Ecology and Natural Resource Teaching Area (Veldman, J., Prairie Project co-PI) US Army Corps of Engineers Basic Prescribed Fire Training Tulsa District, Texoma Project Office, Week long training course with 10 USACE rangers. Course covers all aspects of the use of prescribed fire, including hands on application. US Army Corps of Engineers Basic Prescribed Fire Training Tulsa District, Ft Gibson Project Office, Week long training course with 14 USACE rangers. Course covers all aspects of the use of prescribed fire, including hands on application. US Army Corps of Engineers Advanced Prescribed Fire Training Tulsa District, Texoma Project Office, Week long training course with 2 USACE rangers. Course covers all aspects of being fire boss, including writing plans and hands on application. US Army Corps of Engineers Advanced Prescribed Fire Training Tulsa District, Texoma Project Office, Week long training course with 2 USACE rangers. Course covers all aspects of being fire boss, including writing plans and hands on application. Growing Season Fire Field Day Ames, OK. Training for 35 landowners, NGO and agency personnel about the use and effects of burning in during the growing season months. Field day for extension and agency personnel on control of Old World Bluestem with herbicide and fire. 15 people from county extension, state and federal agencies. Jenks High School Fall Fire Festival, provided training to 60 high school students on the importance and effects of fire. Included burning research plots located on Jenks HS property. Growing Season Fire Field Day Kellyville, OK. Training for 65 landowners, NGO and agency personnel about the use and effects of burning in during the growing season months. Included hands-on burn training. Rogers State University prescribed fire training, Training for 30 university staff and students about the use of prescribed fire including hands-on activities. Oversaw activity and provided information for seven coordinators for Oklahoma Prescribed Burn Association, these coordinators conducted 153 training activities related to prescribed fire, to over 1500 participants including landowners, NGOs, state and federal agency personnel. UC Berkley Extension,Sustainable Management of California's Fire-Prone Landscapes: Using Grazing to Help Keep Communities Safe,Online (November 19, 2020). Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers,Prescribed Fire Podcast,Online (October 7, 2020). Fighting Fire with Fire Workshop,Research Project Introduction, Online (July 27, 2020). Ranch Brigades,Prescribed Fire, Coleman, TX (July 21, 2020). Prescribed Fire Benefits and Safety Training. 2020. Claremore, OK (22 students and faculty from Rogers State University). Oklahoma Forestry Service Invasive Grass Identification Training. 2020. Stillwater, OK (7 OK Forestry Service personnel). Old World Bluestem Control Training. 2020. Bessie, OK (16 agency personnel). Professional Development Activities Three-day workshop for Education Cohort 2 with 12 participants (7 male and 5 female; 7 high school & 4 university. In addition, the cohort included one person with a dual role as a secondary teacher and an adjunct faculty member at a 4-year IHE.). The workshop focused on current science of rangeland ecology and ecosystem services, pyric herbivory, and multi-species grazing, as well as the current learning science and inclusive and high-impact pedagogy. Cohort 2, Summer 2021 Workshop Materials: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ITp7YLH76G0FcJIWUemS1EGeYb_kFs6hCOJEKXLge-w/edit Monthly Zoom meetings for Cohort 1 educators (12) and facilitators, focused on professional development in ecology and education, sharing and supporting of participants' work, and community building. Appointed to the USDA Secretary of Agriculture's Air Quality Task Force for two- year term How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Publications and Support Materials Developed Extension Publications Bidwell, T.G., J.R. Weir, J.D. Carlson, M.E. Moseley, R.E. Masters, P. McDowell, D.M. Engle, S.D. Fuhlendorf, J. Waymire, S. Conrady. 2003. Revised 2021. Using Prescribed Fire in Oklahoma. Circular E-927. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 30p. Elmore, D., M. Beem, J.R. Weir. 2021. Calendar for land and pond management practices NREM-9032 Cooperative Extension Service, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 8p. Fagen, C., J.R. Weir, D. Payne. 2021. Using drones with infrared capabilities to monitor fire behavior NREM-2907 Cooperative Extension Service, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 4p. Goodman, L. E. 2020. Chapter 11: Grazing Management. Master Cattlemen Manual. Kevin, K., M. Treadwell, R. Knight, U. Kreuter, and R. Lopez. 2020. Prescribed Fire: A Tool for Landowners Large and Small. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service ERM-049. Treadwell, M, R. Redden, & D. Tolleson. 2020. Managing Juniper (Cedar) with Goats. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service ERM-053. Weir, J.R. 2020. Fire Effects: Fencing. NREM-2906 Cooperative Extension Service, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 4p. Weir, J.R., P. Bauman, D. Cram, J.K. Kreye, C. Baldwin, J. Fawcett, M. Treadwell, J.D. Scasta, and D. Treadwell. 2020. Prescribed Fire: Understanding Liability, Laws and Risk. NREM-2905 Cooperative Extension Service, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 8p. Weir, J.R., J.D. Carlson. 2008. Revised 2021. Smoke Management for Prescribed Burning. E-1008. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 13 p. Popular Press Articles Treadwell, Morgan L. 2020. "Prescribed Fire as a Pasture Management Tool." Progressive Cattlemen. Treadwell, Morgan L. 2020. "Wildlife Potential." TAMU RWFM Newsletter. Websites Prairie Project Website: The Prairie Project, 2020. https://www.facebook.com/prairierestored From January 2020 through May 2021 the project website received 412,331 total Reaches, 484,506 total Impressions, and 23,504 total Engagements. QUBES Prairie Project Educator Mentoring Network (https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/prairie) - an online educator mentoring network that hosts resources, communications, and products of the Prairie Project Educator Cohort 1. Oklahoma Prescribed Burn Association: Website for information about burn associations and prescribed burning www.ok-pba.org Other - Social Media Prairie Project Twitter Account: The Prairie Project, 2020. https://twitter.com/prairierestored From January 2020 through May 2021, the project Twitter account received a total of 20 Twitter posts, 20,971 Total Impressions, and 1,144 Total Engagements. Prairie Project Instagram Account: www.instagram.com/prairierestored From August 2020 through June 8, 2021, the project Instagram account received a total of 28 Instagram posts, had 238 followers, and had a Reach of 476. YouTube or other Videos Sunup TV, Preventing Woody Encroachment, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJBJ7GETodQ Sunup TV, Looking at Stocking Rate, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI_FIA5ZTBY Sunup TV, Extension Explains--Carbon Sequestration, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDZezVpraL0 Sunup TV, Old World Bluestem Research, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKG9Bce-y4Y Prairie Project-Related Videos (24) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJNaHV4Rt5n4bI4XBu6n8n94cxme3g2Jy Abstracts Rogers, W.E., L.S. Culpepper, Q.A. Hiers*, V. Preiss, M.B. Dickinson, K.L. Kavanagh, A.G. Lodge, H.D. Starns, D.R. Tolleson,M.L. Treadwell, D. Twidwell, and C.L. Wonkka. 2020. Assessing the effects of prescribed fire energy on soils and the persistence of resprouting shrubs and grasses in a semi-arid savanna. Ecological Society of America. Abstr. Wonkka, C.L., M.B. Dickinson, K.L. Kavanagh, A. G. Lodge, W.E. Rogers, H.D. Starns, D. R. Tolleson,M.L. Treadwell, and D. Twidwell. 2020. High-energy fires reduceJuniperus virginianaandProsopis glandulosadensities in invaded rangelands. Ecological Society of America. Abstr. Kreuter, U.P.,M.L., Treadwell, C.L. Wonkka, D. Toledo, D.L. Stroman, and D. Twidwell. 2021. Fighting Wildfire with Prescribed Fire in the Southern Great Plains, USA: Liability, Regulatory and Social Factors. Proceedings of the Joint XXIV International Grassland Congress and XII International Rangeland Congress, 25-30 October 2021, Nairobi, Kenya. Kreuter, U.P.,M.L. Treadwell, C.L. Wonkka, D. Toldeo, D.L. Stroman, and D. Twidwell. Fighting Wildfire with Prescribed Fire in the Southern Savanna. Science Network Meeting. Kreuger National Park 2021. Coleman, L.*, C. Wonkka,M. Treadwell, and U. Kreuter. Landowner perception of information about prescribed burning: Influence on the application of this land management tool in the Southern Great Plains. Great Plains Fire Science Exchange 2020-3 Science Brief. Hinojosa, A.*, C. Wonkka,M. Treadwell, and U. Kreuter. Prescribed fire: in the Southern Great Plains: District judges' perspectives of prescribed fire. Great Plains Fire Science Exchange 2020-2 Science Brief. Kreuter, U. andM. Treadwell. Fighting Wildfire with Prescribed Burning in the Southern Great Plains: Social and Regulatory Barriers and Facilitators. Great Plains Fire Science Exchange 2020-4 Science Brief. McDaniel, T.*, C. Wonkka,M. Treadwell, and U. Kreuter. Prescribed Fire in the Southern Great Plains: Factors influencing county commissioners' decisions about burn bans. 2020. Great Plains Fire Science Exchange 2020-1 Science Brief. Radio or Television Sunup TV, Prescribed fire planning, 2020 Sunup TV, Wildfire preparation in the dry season, 2020 Sunup TV, Fire in the wheat field, how to keep everyone safe, 2020 Sunup TV, Teaching extension specialist the benefits of prescribed burning, 2020 Sunup TV, Importance of Regular Prescribed Burning, 2020 Sunup TV Oklahoma State University. Teaching Extension Agents the Benefits of Prescribed Burning. February 2020. Treadwell, M.L. http://sunup.okstate.edu/category/seg/2020-first-half/020120-burning/?searchterm=020120-burning Sunup TV Oklahoma State University. Preventing Woody Encroachment. December, 2020. Treadwell, M. L. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJBJ7GETodQ Other Thompson, A., & Goodman, L.E. 2020. Social Media Engagement: Rangeland Partnership Newsletter. Jenks Fall Fire Festival. 2020. Jenks, OK (46 students from Jenks High School). Prescribed Fire Field Day. 2020. Major County, OK (47 landowners and agency personnel). Prescribed Fire Field Day. 2020. Major County, OK (47 landowners and agency personnel). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The project plans to continue to implement extension, education, and research activities as outlined in the proposal, to accomplish identified goals. In addition, the following activities are planned and/or under consideration: Enhance the experiences of the 4H/FFA student cohorts by providing them opportunity to showcase their findings from the student field days, on-site training, and ranch tours and present their results at regional or national 4H/FFA meetings. They may also present with collaborating ranch managers at extension events. Encourage a stronger partnership with the National Resources Conservation Center (NCRS). Efforts to reach out to NCRS personnel in Oklahoma and Texas are underway, and a group of Prairie Project participants is exploring the possibility of a visit to the Fort Worth technical center. Strengthen ties to the Society for Range Management (SRM). Several initiatives are being discussed in regard to this objective: (a) plan a symposium when the next call for proposals is released, (b) develop stronger relationship with the president of SRM, (c) highlight the Prairie Project at state-level meetings, (d) develop Prairie Project promotional materials for a booth, to be displayed at different meetings, (e) explore opportunities to co-sponsor a Prairie Project field trip during a Texas state-level meeting. Promote opportunities to highlight the work of the Prairie Project with the various burn associations in Texas and Oklahoma. Reach out to the Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland and propose a collaboration between the Prairie Project and that organization. Explore the possibility of setting up a North American Breeding Bird Survey route around Martin Ranch (~24.5 miles along roads). https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/index.cfm__;!!KwNVnqRv!UTg95ecpEh8iVYhBxzNxQYRgX3oef2p8exz-UCn-VavBv5eVQDBedF76ELro2mzNnw$ Investigate opportunities to link the Prairie Project with the 2022 Youth Range Workshop, using Martin Ranch for some of the workshop's activities. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://tssrm-youthrangeworkshop.com/__;!!KwNVnqRv!UTg95ecpEh8iVYhBxzNxQYRgX3oef2p8exz-UCn-VavBv5eVQDBedF76ELqoyp0Exg$

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? SHORT-TERM Goal 1: Research has been initiated at the Sonora Research Station, the Read Ranch, and the Martin Ranch in TX. All three locations are stocked with cattle and goats. The Martin Ranch was burned in 2019 and 2020, and the Read Ranch was burned in 2019. Because of low levels of fire fuels and burn bans, the Read Ranch was not burned in 2020. A mosaic of different levels of woody plant encroachment was created at the Sonora Research Station to evaluate the effect of management alternatives on woody plant dynamics. The different woody plant covers are untreated woodlands with greater than 30% woody plant canopy, savanna where woody plant canopy was mechanically reduced to about 20%, and grassland where woody plant canopy was reduced to about 5%. These levels of woody plant cover correspond to the USDA-NRCS ecological site descriptions for these different ecological states. The four treatments for woody plant management are (a) fire only, (b) goats only, (c) fire and goats, and (d) a control. All alternatives are grazed by cattle at light moderate stocking rate. In addition, four exclosures on two different soil types were constructed to monitor the effect of no grazing or fire. Cattle and goats were co-grazed at the Sonora Research Station at a stocking rate that was over two times as high as the cattle-only pasture, with no effect on weight gain of either species. Goal 2: The project has been successful in meeting its goal of partnering with Demonstration Ranches across the 3-state region: https://www.theprairieproject.org/about-us/collaborating-ranches .Partner ranches are stocked with various combinations of cattle, goats, and/or sheep. Ranch owners/ managers have a variety of experiences with using prescribed fire/patch burning and small ruminant grazing to control woody species. Partner ranches actively work with their County Extension Agents, and although the COVID-19 travel restrictions prevented the ranches from hosting Field Days and Demonstrations Tours in summer 2020, several ranches are sponsoring Ranch Demonstration Tours with 4H and FFA groups in summer 2021. Goal 3: 4H/FFA field days at participating ranches are being hosted in summer 2021, to facilitate rancher/student interactions to collectively learn about WPE and how to successfully utilize prescribed fire and mixed species grazing practices to combat brush and maintain grassland savanna productivity. On-site training and ranch tours will take place prior to data collection at each field day to allow students to gain first-hand experience working with vegetation data; in addition, they will have the opportunity to learn from the knowledgeable ranchers in our area that have been effectively implementing conservation strategies to increase livestock production and promote rangeland health. Additionally, the project has recruited two separate 2-year educator cohorts from secondary schools and IHEs in TX, NE, and OK. Cohort I has successfully completed its first year of project participation, and Cohort II has begun its first year. Educator Cohort 1 (2020-22) includes IHE faculty from four separate MSIs.. Cohort 2 (2021-23) includes faculty from three separate MSIs. Several teachers in each cohort represent districts in which over 50% of students are identified as members of a minority group. Goal 4: The project has been successful in engaging stakeholder groups during 2020-21, as demonstrated by the numbers of products/outputs, pportunities for training and PD, and dissemination efforts detailed in this report. A robust social media campaign (FB, Instagram, and Twitter) has been implemented; and platform analytics indicate growing interest in the work of the project. The project plans to participate in multiple upcoming opportunities to increase engagement with stakeholder groups, such as the upcoming joint meeting of the Great Plains Fire summit and Patch Burn Grazing Working Group Meeting, hosted by the NE Prescribed Fire Council. Project team members will be attending and promoting the project with like-minded colleagues. In addition, the Project has engaged with the Audubon Society and the Nature Conservancy in developing education and citizen science activities, and intends to directly engage stakeholders in (a) the Society for Range Management, (b) the Natural Resource Conservation Service, (c) the birding and other conservation communities, and (d) prescribed fire organizations. Goal 5: Complete coverage of aerial imageries for the pasture scale experimental at all locations were acquired twice a year, beginning in 2019: one at the times of peak biomass and a second in winter/spring for best separation of targeted woody species groups. High resolution RGB/NIR (30 cm), hyper-spectral (50 cm), and thermal (80 cm) imageries were acquired and processed for these areas. Ground truth data were also collected. Intensive sampling of species composition prior to any grazing or fire treatments was collected at the Sonora Research Station in 2020. At Martin and Read Ranches, pre- and post-burn vegetation sampling were conducted. A set of permanent transects were also setup in each ranch and sampled in rotation. A set of methods are being developed to characterize the vegetation, including cover of woody species groups, plant diversity, and herbaceous biomass, based on remote sensing data. We have repaired and maintained weather stations at the Read, Sonora, and Martin research stations and are providing environmental data to project principal investigators on a pers-request basis. We have also maintained and recently repaired the eddy flux tower at the Martin ranch. These results are also in the process of being analyzed, although they are unlikely to yield publishable results for at least another year. Measurements of carbon gain and transpiration of dominant C4 grasses across the three sites are continuing. MEDIUM-TERM Goal 1: Our decision support and modeling efforts have focused on the use of fire and plant production models to develop spatially explicit maps of the entire Great Plains region to determine where the application of fire as a management tool is realistic and how grazing pressure modifies the potential to apply fire. Changes in woody plant cover across the region have been assessed using the RAP model (https://rangelands.app/about/rapUserGuide.pdf) . We will continue these efforts in Yr 3 with the aim of developing at least two publications. Goal 2: Project members have developed a plan for ranch-scale implementation of pyric herbivory and multi-species grazing on the Martin and Read Ranches. They have begun the implementation of the plan with the first set of burns, allowed open access to pastures for livestock, and conducted monitoring of livestock movement using GPS-collars and game cams. A Zooniverse Project, based on game cam data collected in Martin Ranch, has been set up to enable students associated with the Educator Cohort and the general public to engage in citizen science activities and contribute to the research. A plan has been developed for the 4H/FFA Cohort 1 to conduct monitoring research at the Demonstration Ranches starting in Fall 2021. Goal 3: Two Educator Cohorts have been recruited. Project personnel have facilitated the Yr 1 activities of Cohort 1 in developing high-impact educational resources and becoming agents of change in secondary and higher education, and participants have developed high-impact educational materials that are being implemented in their classes. They plan to present their work and assessment in professional and education conferences in Yr 2. LONG-TERM Progress toward achieving the long-term goals is uneven at this point, due to some extent to effects of the pandemic over the last 15 months. Engagement of stakeholders and the public has been challenging; in addition, these complex goals cannot be accomplished in a short period of time. The project plans to place a stronger emphasis on addressing them in Yrs 3-5.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Basant, S., B.P. Wilcox, P.M. Leite, & C.I. Morgan. 2020. When savannas recover from overgrazing, ecohydrological connectivity collapses. Environmental Research Letters 15: article number 054001.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Fleischman, F., S. Basant, A. Chhatre, E.A. Coleman, H.W. Fischer, D. Gupta, B. G�neralp, P. Kashwan, D. Khatri, R. Muscarella, J.S. Powers, V. Ramprasad, P. Rana, C. Rodriguez, & J.W. Veldman. 2020. Pitfalls of tree planting show why we need people-centered natural climate solutions. BioScience 70: 947-950.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Haddad, T.M., R.A.G. Viani, M.G.B. Cava, G. Durigan, & J.W. Veldman. 2020. Savannas after afforestation: Assessment of herbaceous community responses to wildfire versus native tree planting. Biotropica 52: 1206-1216.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Hoffman, K., R.P. Bixler, M.L. Treadwell, L.G. Coleman, T.W. McDaniel, & U.P. Kreuter. 2020. The impact of affective heuristics on prescsribed fire implementation on private rangelands in the Southern Great Plains, USA. Society and Natural Resources. USNR-2020-0044.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Nerlekar, A.N. & J.W. Veldman. 2020. High diversity and slow recovery of old-growth grasslands. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 117: 18550-18556.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Leite, P.A.M., B.P. Wilcox, & K.J. McInnes. 2021. Woody plant encroachment enhances soil infiltrability of a semiarid karst savanna. Environmental Research Communications 2: article number 115005.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Li, Z., J.P. Angerer, & X.B. Wu. 2021. Temporal patterns of large wildfires and their burn severity in rangelands of western United States. Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2020GL091636. Doi:10.1029/2020GL091636.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Noden, B.H., E.P. Tanner, J.A. Polo, & S.D. Fuhlendorf. 2021. Journal of Vector Ecology, 46(1).
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Scholtz, R., S.D. Fuhlendorf, D.R. Uden, B.W. Allred, M.O. Jones, D.E. Naugle. Challenges of brush management treatment effectiveness in Southern Great Plains, United States. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 77, 57-65.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Starns, H., D. Tolleson, R. Agnew, E. Schnitzler, & J.R. Weir. 2020. Smoke in the Great Plains, USA: An increasing phenomenon with potential policy and health implications. Fire Ecology 16, 12.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Hiers, Q.A., M.L. Treadwell, M.B. Dickinson, K.L. Kavanagh, A.G. Lodge, H.D. Starns, D.R. Tolleson, D. Twidwell, C.L. Wonkka, & W.E. Rogers. 2020. Grass bud responses to fire in a semi-arid savanna system. Ecology and Evolution. ECE-2020-09-01358. http://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7516
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Sun, X., B P. Wilcox, C.B. Zou, E. Stebler, J.B. West, & B. Wyatt. 2021. Isotopic partitioning of evapotranspiration in a mesic grassland during two wettingdrying episodes. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 301: article number 108321.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Wu, X.B., C. Sandoval, S.L. Knight, X.A. Jaime, M. Macik, & J.F. Schielack. 2021. Web-based authentic inquiry experiences in large introductory classes consistently associated with significant learning gains for all students. International Journal of STEM Education, 8, 31. Doi101186/s40594-021-00290-3
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Novak, E.N., M. Bertelsen, D. Davis, D.M. Grobert, K.G. Lyons, J.P. Martina, W.M. McCaw, M. OToole, & J.W. Veldman. 2021. Season of prescribed fire determines grassland restoration outcomes after fire exclusion and overgrazing. Ecosphere.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Wilcox B. P., S.D. Fuhlendorf, J.W. Walker, D. Twidwell, X.B. Wu, L. E. Goodman, M. Treadwell, & A. Birt. 2021. Saving Imperiled Grassland Biomes by Recoupling Fire and Grazing: A Case Study from the Great Plains. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environments.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Zhong, Y., R. Will, T. Ochsner, A Saenz, L. Zhu, & C.B. Zou. Sediment response to mechanical removal of encroached juniper woodland and establishment of grasslands: A paired experimental watershed study.
• Type: Books Status: Under Review Year Published: 2021 Citation: Weir, J.R., & J.D. Scasta. Editors. Global application of prescribed fire. CSIRO Publishing, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Under Review Year Published: 2021 Citation: Scasta, J.D., & J.R. Weir. Introduction to Global Application of Prescribed Fire. In: Global Application of Prescribed Fire, J.R. Weir & J.D. Scasta, ed. CSIRO Publishing, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Under Review Year Published: 2021 Citation: Weir, J.R., & Scasta, J.D. Epilogue. In: Global Application of Prescribed Fire, J.R. Weir & J.D. Scasta, ed. CSIRO Publishing, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.

Progress 07/01/19 to 06/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:RESEARCH Through publication and outreach are targe audience are professionals in government, academia, and in the private sector EXTENSION Our extension activities are aimed toward professional land managers, agency professionals, and 4 H students. EDUCATION We aim to reach K 1-12 Teaching professional--see details below For Year 1, the project recruited the first teacher/faculty cohort, composed of seven high school teachers and five faculty from 2- and 4-year institutions of higher education. Particular effort was made to identify engage teachers and faculty from minority-serving institutions. Students served at these schools and IHEs will comprise a sub-section of the target audience. (a) Teacher from Greenwood Independent School District (TX). In this district 40% of students are identified as economically/educationally disadvantaged, based on their eligibility for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 0.6%, Hispanic - 49.8%, American Indian - 0.2%, two or more races - 1.1%. (b) Teacher from Omaha Public Schools (NE). In this district 72% of students are identified as economically/ educationally disadvantaged, based on their eligibility for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 24.7%, Hispanic - 36.2%, American Indian - 0.09%, two or more races - 5.4%. (c) Teacher from Lincoln Public Schools (NE). In this district 46% of students are identified as economically/ educationally disadvantaged, based on their eligibility for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 6.5%, Hispanic - 13.8%, American Indian - 0.07%, two or more races - 8.2%. (d) Teacher from Papillion/LaVista Community Schools (NE). In this district 24% of students are identified as economically/ educationally disadvantaged, based on their eligibility for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 0.3%, Hispanic - 10.3%, American Indian - 0.3% - two or more races - 5.1%. (e) Teacher from Boone Central Schools (NE). In this district 33% of students are identified as economically/ educationally disadvantaged, based on their eligibility for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 0.7, Hispanic - 2.8%, American Indian - 1.2%, two or more races - 0.0%. (f) Teacher from Owasso Public Schools (OK). In this district 32.1% of students are identified as economically/ educationally disadvantaged, based on their eligibility for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 4.7%, Hispanic - 9.9%, American Indian - 11.7%, two or more races - 9.5%. (g) Teacher from Caney Valley Public Schools (OK). In this district 63.3% of students are identified as economically/educationally disadvantaged, based on their eligibility for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 0.6%, Hispanic - 5.5%, American Indian - 27%, two or more races - 13%. (h) Faculty from Blinn College (TX). At this IHE 30% of students are identified as economically disadvantaged, based on Pell Grants received in 2017-18. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 10%, Hispanic - 22%, American Indian - 1%, two or more races - 4%. (i) Faculty from Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TX). At this IHE 57% of students are identified as economically disadvantaged, based on Pell Grants received in 2017-18. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 5%, Hispanic - 75%, American Indian - 0%, two or more races - 1%. (j) Faculty from St. Edwards University (TX). At this IHE 44% of students are identified as economically disadvantaged, based on Pell Grants received in 2017-18. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 4%, Hispanic - 44%, American Indian - 0%, two or more races - 3%. (k) Faculty from Redlands Community College (OK). At this IHE 51% of students are identified as economically/ disadvantaged, based on Pell Grants received in 2017-18. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 3%, Hispanic - 9%, American Indian - 13%, two or more races - 2%. (l) Faculty from Rogers State University (OK). At this IHE 53% of students are identified as economically disadvantaged, based on Pell Grants received in 2017-18. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 4%, Hispanic - 6%, American Indian - 15%, two or more races - 14%. Changes/Problems:Well.....the major uncertainty is what will be the impact of the corona virus pandemic. We anticipate requesting a one-year no cost extension in this project since the education and in person extension efforts have been put on hold. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Outreach & Education - Texas County Programming/Agent-Supported · Presentation on "Balancing Rangeland Opportunities" to ~72 participants attending the Big Country Beef Conference in Abilene, TX, on 8.22.19 · Presented 1-hr program on "Integrating Goats and Prescribed Fire" to 70 women at the Bennett Trust Women's Conference 9.30.19. · Presented 1-hr "Wildfire Mitigation and Management" presentation on 10.30.19 to ~6 participants attending the Western Rolling Plains Cattle Conference in Spur, TX. · Tom Green County 4H Range Team, Plant Identification and the Prairie Project, in San Angelo, TX, on 12.17.19 to 20 youth. · Callahan County Forage Seminar, Prescribed Burning: The Importance of Burning Coastal Fields and Pastures, Cross Plains, TX, to 120 participants on 1.21.20. Presentations & Workshops · Prescribed burn demonstration to the Ranch Brigade youth group in Coleman County, TX, to ~30 youth and 10 adults on 7.23.19. · "Using Prescribed Fire to Benefit Cattle and Wildlife" presentation during the Beef Cattle Short Course Wildlife, Livestock, and Private Land Stewardship symposium on 8.6.19 in College Station, TX, to ~175 participants. · Three 20-minute presentations on "Pyric Herbivory: Using Goats and Fire to Manage Brush" at the 8.16.19 Sheep and Goat Field Day to ~208 participants in San Angelo, TX. · Two 1-hr presentations on prescribed burning during the Growing Season Prescribed Burn Workshop in Gainesville, TX, on the Stark Ranch, on 8.29.19. Later that day assisted with a 500-ac prescribed burn demonstration led by the Noble Research Institute, 50 participants attended. · "Prescribed Burning" presentation on 9.4.19 to ~100 participants at the Hill Country Master Naturalist program at the Kerr WMA. · "Patch-Burn Grazing" presentation to ~75 participants at the Patch-Burn Grazing Workshop in Decatur, TX, 9.17.19--9.18.19. · "Prescribed Burning" presentation on 10.1.19 to ~70 participants at the Bennett Trust Land Stewardship Women's Conference in Fredericksburg, TX. · Presentation during the Fire Congress meeting on 11.20.19 on "Prescribed Fire Effects" to ~50 attendees. · Presentation during the Fire Congress meeting on 11.21.19 on "Enhancing Adoption of Prescribed Fire in Texas" to ~20 attendees. Big Country Beef Conference held in Abilene, TX on 8.22.19. Provided updates on new technologies for cow/calf and stocker operations for 71 landowners from Taylor, Jones, Callahan, and Nolan counties. Hill Country Master Naturalist Program held at the Kerr Wildlife Management Area on 9.4.19. Provided appropriate training on prescribed burning for 50 individuals pursuing Texas Master Naturalist Certification. Patch-Burn Grazing Workshop, hosted by the Great Plains Fire Science Exchange, held in Decatur, TX, on 9.17.19-9.18.19 to combat misconceptions about post-fire grazing management for 30 landowners interested in combining grazing and prescribed fire. The event was designed to combat misconceptions about post-fire grazing management and increase participants' understanding of balancing fire and grazing strategies and soil nutrient supplies following fire. Western Rolling Plains Cattle Conference held in Dickens County on 10.30.19 to provide updates on new management practices to landowners, including absentee landowners. The event was designed to increase participants' understanding of fire safety for land and benefits of prescribed fire, including improved production, efficiency, and risk management. Early Summer Rangeland Nutrition Program held in Briscoe County on 6.23.19 to provide updates on new management practices to five landowners in preparation for the upcoming summer season. The event was designed to increase participants' understanding of effects of prescribed fire on native plant communities and the role of weed and brush management practices in improving rangeland health. Outreach and Education - Oklahoma · Weir, J. Prescribed Fire Planning Workshop, Stillwater, OK. 2020, (100 landowners and agency personnel) · Weir, J. USDA-NRCS National Technical Training Course, Burning in the Growing Season, Stillwater, OK, 2019 (25 agency personnel). · Weir, J. Burn Workshop, Ardmore, OK· Fire Workshop, Stillwater, OK· · Fire Field Day. Stillwater, OK Fire Field Day. Stillwater, OK Goodman, L.E. 2019. Increasing Wildlife Food Plants on Rangeland. Women, Wine and Wings. Quail Forever. Tulsa, OK. Field Days or Events · "Women, Wine, or Wings." 2019. Tulsa, OK. (40 landowners) · "Pasture Management in SE Oklahoma Field Day." 2019. Clayton, OK. (28 landowners) · "NRCS ESD Training for the Great Plains." 2019. Stillwater, OK. (8 NRCS employees from 8 states) · "Growing Season Prescribed Fire Field Day." 2019. Stillwater, OK. (120 landowners, agency personnel, burn contractors, and fire fighters). · "Forest Management Field Day." 2019. Clinton, OK (30 landowners and agency personnel). "Jenks FESRT Teacher Workshop." 2019. Jenks, OK (26 teachers). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Publications and Support Materials Developed Extension Publications · Baldwin, C., P. Bauman, M. Treadwell, C. Bielski, and J. Weir. 2019. Fire and Grasslands. Kansas State University Cooperative Extension Service Publication MF3459. · Brooke, C.T and M. Treadwell. 2019. Managing Texas Juniper with Prescribed Burning. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Publication ERM-046. · Knapick, K., M. Treadwell, R. Knight, U. Kreuter, and R. Lopez. 2019. Prescribed Fire: A Tool for Landowners Large and Small. Texas &M AgriLife Extension Publication. In Press. · Treadwell, M.L. 2019. Prescribed Fire Ignition. Great Plains Fire Science Exchange. YouTube Video https://youtu.beyXlucCz4YAU · Treadwell, M.L. 2019. Managing Pricklypear with Prescribed Fire. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. YouTube Video https://youtu.be/pq_tVQBpkJo. · Treadwell, M.L. 2019. Managing Juniper with Prescribed Fire. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. YouTube Video https://youtu.be/-AdMEjH1kSc. · Treadwell, M.L. 2019. Becoming a Certified and Insured Prescribed Burn Manager. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. YouTube Video https://youtu.be/kT5BKKiF768 · Weir, JR, P. Bauman, D. Cram, J.K. Kreye, C. Baldwin, J. Fawcett, M. Treadwell, J. D. Scasta, D. Twidwell. 2020. Prescribed Fire: Understanding Liability, Laws and Risk. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Stillwater, OK. NREM-2905 · Weir, J.R., R.S. Coffey, M.L. Russell, C.E. Baldwin, D. Twidwell, D. Cram, P. Bauman, and J. Fawcett. 2019. Prescribed Fire Liability and Law. 2019. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service Publication NREM-2905. · Sunup Prairie Project video - http://sunup.okstate.edu/category/seg/2020-first-half/020120-burning Abstracts submitted: · Treadwell, M. L. Submitted "Establishing Acceptance and Utilization of Prescribed Fire in Texas" abstract as lead author to the Association for Fire Ecology Congress meeting in Tucson, AZ November 18-22, 2019 · Treadwell, M. L. Submitted "Using Prescribed Fire to Maximize Above-and-Belowground Diversity for Livestock" abstract as lead author to the Association for Fire Ecology Congress meeting in Tucson, AZ November 18-22, 2019 Popular Press Articles · AgriLife Today press release on the Growing Season Prescribed Burn Workshop, 8.31.19 · AgriLife Today press release on the Maintaining a Fiery Legacy: Prescribed Fire in Texas, 9.14.19 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to continue our extension, education, and research activities as outlined in the proposal.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We have made excellent progress in advancing our short term goals. The Demonstration and Research Centers have been established. The grazing and burning trails have been initiated at two sites in Oklahoma and two sties in Texas. We are currently establishing treatements at the Sonora Research Station and anticipate that the trail will be initiated by August 2020. Partnerships have been initated in each region. We have identified participating partner ranches. Our education and extension program is in full swing. We have begun engaging stakeholders across the region And we are currently monitoring baseline conditions in each of the treatment locations. In terms of the Medium term goals we have begun development of fire modeling tools to better understand regional relationships between rainfall, baseline productivity, grazing pressure, and ability to burn. Our case-studies are well under way and documentation efforts are on schedule. Our education program is in the early stages and has been partially set back by the corona virus pandemic. It is unclear if we will be able to have in person classes and field trips at this time. We will be having some activities using video conferencing.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2020 Citation: Spiess, JW, DA McGranahan, B. Geaumont, K. Sedivic et al. 2020. Patch-burning buffers forage resources and livestock performance to mitigate drought in the northern Great Plains. Rangeland Ecology and Management doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2020.03.003

Progress 04/01/19 to 03/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:RESEARCH Through publication and outreach are targe audience are professionals in government, academia, and in the private sector EXTENSION Our extension activities are aimed toward professional land managers, agency professionals, and 4 H students. EDUCATION We aim to reach K 1-12 Teaching professional--see details below For Year 1, the project recruited the first teacher/faculty cohort, composed of seven high school teachers and five faculty from 2- and 4-year institutions of higher education. Particular effort was made to identify engage teachers and faculty from minority-serving institutions. Students served at these schools and IHEs will comprise a sub-section of the target audience. (a) Teacher from Greenwood Independent School District (TX). In this district 40% of students are identified as economically/educationally disadvantaged, based on their eligibility for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 0.6%, Hispanic - 49.8%, American Indian - 0.2%, two or more races - 1.1%. (b) Teacher from Omaha Public Schools (NE). In this district 72% of students are identified as economically/ educationally disadvantaged, based on their eligibility for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 24.7%, Hispanic - 36.2%, American Indian - 0.09%, two or more races - 5.4%. (c) Teacher from Lincoln Public Schools (NE). In this district 46% of students are identified as economically/ educationally disadvantaged, based on their eligibility for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 6.5%, Hispanic - 13.8%, American Indian - 0.07%, two or more races - 8.2%. (d) Teacher from Papillion/LaVista Community Schools (NE). In this district 24% of students are identified as economically/ educationally disadvantaged, based on their eligibility for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 0.3%, Hispanic - 10.3%, American Indian - 0.3% - two or more races - 5.1%. (e) Teacher from Boone Central Schools (NE). In this district 33% of students are identified as economically/ educationally disadvantaged, based on their eligibility for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 0.7, Hispanic - 2.8%, American Indian - 1.2%, two or more races - 0.0%. (f) Teacher from Owasso Public Schools (OK). In this district 32.1% of students are identified as economically/ educationally disadvantaged, based on their eligibility for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 4.7%, Hispanic - 9.9%, American Indian - 11.7%, two or more races - 9.5%. (g) Teacher from Caney Valley Public Schools (OK). In this district 63.3% of students are identified as economically/educationally disadvantaged, based on their eligibility for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 0.6%, Hispanic - 5.5%, American Indian - 27%, two or more races - 13%. (h) Faculty from Blinn College (TX). At this IHE 30% of students are identified as economically disadvantaged, based on Pell Grants received in 2017-18. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 10%, Hispanic - 22%, American Indian - 1%, two or more races - 4%. (i) Faculty from Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TX). At this IHE 57% of students are identified as economically disadvantaged, based on Pell Grants received in 2017-18. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 5%, Hispanic - 75%, American Indian - 0%, two or more races - 1%. (j) Faculty from St. Edwards University (TX). At this IHE 44% of students are identified as economically disadvantaged, based on Pell Grants received in 2017-18. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 4%, Hispanic - 44%, American Indian - 0%, two or more races - 3%. (k) Faculty from Redlands Community College (OK). At this IHE 51% of students are identified as economically/ disadvantaged, based on Pell Grants received in 2017-18. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 3%, Hispanic - 9%, American Indian - 13%, two or more races - 2%. (l) Faculty from Rogers State University (OK). At this IHE 53% of students are identified as economically disadvantaged, based on Pell Grants received in 2017-18. Demographics for racial and ethnic minority populations are as follows: African American or Black - 4%, Hispanic - 6%, American Indian - 15%, two or more races - 14%. Changes/Problems:Well.....the major uncertainty is what will be the impact of the corona virus pandemic. We anticipate requesting a one-year no cost extension in this project since the education and in person extension efforts have been put on hold. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Outreach & Education - Texas County Programming/Agent-Supported · Presentation on "Balancing Rangeland Opportunities" to ~72 participants attending the Big Country Beef Conference in Abilene, TX, on 8.22.19 · Presented 1-hr program on "Integrating Goats and Prescribed Fire" to 70 women at the Bennett Trust Women's Conference 9.30.19. · Presented 1-hr "Wildfire Mitigation and Management" presentation on 10.30.19 to ~6 participants attending the Western Rolling Plains Cattle Conference in Spur, TX. · Tom Green County 4H Range Team, Plant Identification and the Prairie Project, in San Angelo, TX, on 12.17.19 to 20 youth. · Callahan County Forage Seminar, Prescribed Burning: The Importance of Burning Coastal Fields and Pastures, Cross Plains, TX, to 120 participants on 1.21.20. Presentations & Workshops · Prescribed burn demonstration to the Ranch Brigade youth group in Coleman County, TX, to ~30 youth and 10 adults on 7.23.19. · "Using Prescribed Fire to Benefit Cattle and Wildlife" presentation during the Beef Cattle Short Course Wildlife, Livestock, and Private Land Stewardship symposium on 8.6.19 in College Station, TX, to ~175 participants. · Three 20-minute presentations on "Pyric Herbivory: Using Goats and Fire to Manage Brush" at the 8.16.19 Sheep and Goat Field Day to ~208 participants in San Angelo, TX. · Two 1-hr presentations on prescribed burning during the Growing Season Prescribed Burn Workshop in Gainesville, TX, on the Stark Ranch, on 8.29.19. Later that day assisted with a 500-ac prescribed burn demonstration led by the Noble Research Institute, 50 participants attended. · "Prescribed Burning" presentation on 9.4.19 to ~100 participants at the Hill Country Master Naturalist program at the Kerr WMA. · "Patch-Burn Grazing" presentation to ~75 participants at the Patch-Burn Grazing Workshop in Decatur, TX, 9.17.19--9.18.19. · "Prescribed Burning" presentation on 10.1.19 to ~70 participants at the Bennett Trust Land Stewardship Women's Conference in Fredericksburg, TX. · Presentation during the Fire Congress meeting on 11.20.19 on "Prescribed Fire Effects" to ~50 attendees. · Presentation during the Fire Congress meeting on 11.21.19 on "Enhancing Adoption of Prescribed Fire in Texas" to ~20 attendees. Big Country Beef Conference held in Abilene, TX on 8.22.19. Provided updates on new technologies for cow/calf and stocker operations for 71 landowners from Taylor, Jones, Callahan, and Nolan counties. Hill Country Master Naturalist Program held at the Kerr Wildlife Management Area on 9.4.19. Provided appropriate training on prescribed burning for 50 individuals pursuing Texas Master Naturalist Certification. Patch-Burn Grazing Workshop, hosted by the Great Plains Fire Science Exchange, held in Decatur, TX, on 9.17.19-9.18.19 to combat misconceptions about post-fire grazing management for 30 landowners interested in combining grazing and prescribed fire. The event was designed to combat misconceptions about post-fire grazing management and increase participants' understanding of balancing fire and grazing strategies and soil nutrient supplies following fire. Western Rolling Plains Cattle Conference held in Dickens County on 10.30.19 to provide updates on new management practices to landowners, including absentee landowners. The event was designed to increase participants' understanding of fire safety for land and benefits of prescribed fire, including improved production, efficiency, and risk management. Early Summer Rangeland Nutrition Program held in Briscoe County on 6.23.19 to provide updates on new management practices to five landowners in preparation for the upcoming summer season. The event was designed to increase participants' understanding of effects of prescribed fire on native plant communities and the role of weed and brush management practices in improving rangeland health. Outreach and Education - Oklahoma · Weir, J. Prescribed Fire Planning Workshop, Stillwater, OK. 2020, (100 landowners and agency personnel) · Weir, J. USDA-NRCS National Technical Training Course, Burning in the Growing Season, Stillwater, OK, 2019 (25 agency personnel). · Weir, J. Burn Workshop, Ardmore, OK· Fire Workshop, Stillwater, OK· · Fire Field Day. Stillwater, OK Fire Field Day. Stillwater, OK Goodman, L.E. 2019. Increasing Wildlife Food Plants on Rangeland. Women, Wine and Wings. Quail Forever. Tulsa, OK. Field Days or Events · "Women, Wine, or Wings." 2019. Tulsa, OK. (40 landowners) · "Pasture Management in SE Oklahoma Field Day." 2019. Clayton, OK. (28 landowners) · "NRCS ESD Training for the Great Plains." 2019. Stillwater, OK. (8 NRCS employees from 8 states) · "Growing Season Prescribed Fire Field Day." 2019. Stillwater, OK. (120 landowners, agency personnel, burn contractors, and fire fighters). · "Forest Management Field Day." 2019. Clinton, OK (30 landowners and agency personnel). "Jenks FESRT Teacher Workshop." 2019. Jenks, OK (26 teachers). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Publications and Support Materials Developed Extension Publications · Baldwin, C., P. Bauman, M. Treadwell, C. Bielski, and J. Weir. 2019. Fire and Grasslands. Kansas State University Cooperative Extension Service Publication MF3459. · Brooke, C.T and M. Treadwell. 2019. Managing Texas Juniper with Prescribed Burning. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Publication ERM-046. · Knapick, K., M. Treadwell, R. Knight, U. Kreuter, and R. Lopez. 2019. Prescribed Fire: A Tool for Landowners Large and Small. Texas &M AgriLife Extension Publication. In Press. · Treadwell, M.L. 2019. Prescribed Fire Ignition. Great Plains Fire Science Exchange. YouTube Video https://youtu.beyXlucCz4YAU · Treadwell, M.L. 2019. Managing Pricklypear with Prescribed Fire. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. YouTube Video https://youtu.be/pq_tVQBpkJo. · Treadwell, M.L. 2019. Managing Juniper with Prescribed Fire. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. YouTube Video https://youtu.be/-AdMEjH1kSc. · Treadwell, M.L. 2019. Becoming a Certified and Insured Prescribed Burn Manager. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. YouTube Video https://youtu.be/kT5BKKiF768 · Weir, JR, P. Bauman, D. Cram, J.K. Kreye, C. Baldwin, J. Fawcett, M. Treadwell, J. D. Scasta, D. Twidwell. 2020. Prescribed Fire: Understanding Liability, Laws and Risk. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Stillwater, OK. NREM-2905 · Weir, J.R., R.S. Coffey, M.L. Russell, C.E. Baldwin, D. Twidwell, D. Cram, P. Bauman, and J. Fawcett. 2019. Prescribed Fire Liability and Law. 2019. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service Publication NREM-2905. · Sunup Prairie Project video - http://sunup.okstate.edu/category/seg/2020-first-half/020120-burning Abstracts submitted: · Treadwell, M. L. Submitted "Establishing Acceptance and Utilization of Prescribed Fire in Texas" abstract as lead author to the Association for Fire Ecology Congress meeting in Tucson, AZ November 18-22, 2019 · Treadwell, M. L. Submitted "Using Prescribed Fire to Maximize Above-and-Belowground Diversity for Livestock" abstract as lead author to the Association for Fire Ecology Congress meeting in Tucson, AZ November 18-22, 2019 Popular Press Articles · AgriLife Today press release on the Growing Season Prescribed Burn Workshop, 8.31.19 · AgriLife Today press release on the Maintaining a Fiery Legacy: Prescribed Fire in Texas, 9.14.19 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to continue our extension, education, and research activities as outlined in the proposal.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We have made excellent progress in advancing our short term goals. The Demonstration and Research Centers have been established. The grazing and burning trails have been initiated at two sites in Oklahoma and two sties in Texas. We are currently establishing treatements at the Sonora Research Station and anticipate that the trail will be initiated by August 2020. Partnerships have been initated in each region. We have identified participating partner ranches. Our education and extension program is in full swing. We have begun engaging stakeholders across the region And we are currently monitoring baseline conditions in each of the treatment locations. In terms of the Medium term goals we have begun development of fire modeling tools to better understand regional relationships between rainfall, baseline productivity, grazing pressure, and ability to burn. Our case-studies are well under way and documentation efforts are on schedule. Our education program is in the early stages and has been partially set back by the corona virus pandemic. It is unclear if we will be able to have in person classes and field trips at this time. We will be having some activities using video conferencing.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2020 Citation: Spiess, JW, DA McGranahan, B. Geaumont, K. Sedivic et al. 2020. Patch-burning buffers forage resources and livestock performance to mitigate drought in the northern Great Plains. Rangeland Ecology and Management doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2020.03.003