This is the first in a series of blog posts to highlight individuals within the UC Cooperative Extension (CE) working to bring science-based solutions to challenges facing rangeland stakeholders.
This first post features 11 county-based CE Advisors in Northern California.
Find a local UCCE range professional here!
County-based Northern California CE Advisors listed from North to South…
Humboldt and Del Norte: Jeff Stackhouse, Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor
Contact: (707) 445-7351 ● jwstackhouse@ucanr.edu ● 5630 S. Broadway, Eureka
Highlight: Working on creating a smart phone application “BeefTracker” for cattle producers to track: livestock grazing and pasture utilization, livestock transactions, field observations, and ranch improvements.
Siskiyou: Carissa Koopmann Rivers, Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor
Contact: (925) 216-0615 ● ckrivers@ucdavis.edu ● 1655 S. Main St., Yreka
Highlight: Conducting a comprehensive analysis of livestock production and water quality conditions on rangelands. The analysis covers primary pollutants, examines environmental fate of these pollutants, and identifies practical management practices to protect water quality.
Modoc: Laura Snell, Livestock and Natural Resource Advisor
Contact: (530) 233-6400 ● lksnell@ucanr.edu ● 202 W. 4th St., Alturas
Highlight: Monitoring wild horse utilization of springs on the Devil’s Garden Management Area of the Modoc National Forest. Specifically, analyzing the interactions between wild horses, wildlife and domestic livestock.
Shasta and Trinity: Larry Forero, Livestock Advisor
Contact: (530) 224-4900 ● lcforero@ucanr.edu ● 1851 Hartnell Ave, Redding
Highlight: Launched the “Ranch to Rail” program to improve California beef cattle producers understanding of the feeding attributes of their cattle. Ranchers receive feedlot performance data for cattle (e.g., ADG, cost of gain, carcass data).
Lassen, Plumas, and Sierra: David Lile, Natural Resources and Livestock Advisor
Contact: (530) 251-8133 ● dflile@ucanr.edu ● 707 Nevada St., Susanville
Highlight: Currently is in the process of correlating and quantifying grazing management practices and US Forest Service annual use standards with long-term condition and trend of mountain meadows and riparian areas.
Mendocino and Lake: John Harper, Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor
Contact: (707) 463-4495 ● jmharper@ucanr.edu ●890 N. Bush St., Ukiah
Highlight: Developing a smartphone application to help ranchers estimate feral pig damage and calculate forage loss. Information provided could be potentially used to calculate economic losses and for the development of ecosystem service payments.
Tehama, Glenn, and Colusa: Josh Davy, Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor
Contact: (530) 527-3101 ● jsdavy@ucanr.edu ● 1754 Walnut St., Red Bluff
Highlight: Currently working on mineral supplementation for beef cattle, economic drought forage supplementation, dryland range improvement including plant materials and planting strategies, and both dryland and irrigated pasture weed control.
Placer, Nevada, Sutter, Yuba Counties: Roger Ingram, Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor
Contact: (530) 889-7385 ● rsingram@ucanr.edu ● 11477 E Ave, Auburn
Highlight: Currently working on USDA inspected slaughter and processing business planning. Annually conduct the California Grazing Academy, as well as regular workshops regularly relating to soil health on range and irrigated pasture to grazing management.
Sonoma and Marin: Stephanie Larson, Livestock and Range Management Advisor
Contact: (707) 565-3442 ● slarson@ucanr.edu ● 133 Aviation Blvd., Santa Rosa
Highlight: Over 2.5 million people visit grazed open space annually in the Bay Area. In cooperation with regional parks, developed the “Understanding Working Rangelands” project to educate park decision makers, interpreters, and users about beef cattle production in this shared use landscape.
Napa, Solano, Yolo and Sacramento: Morgan Doran, Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor
Contact: (530) 666-8738 ● mpdoran@ucanr.edu ● 70 Cottonwood St., Woodland
Highlight: Working with ranchers to develop strategies and ranch plans to proactively resolve agency concerns about potential water quality impairments due to livestock. Revised the California Ranch Water Quality Planning (RWQP) short course curriculum to include the latest research findings on this topic.
Marin: David Lewis, Watershed Management Advisor
Contact: (415) 473-4204 ● djllewis@ucanr.edu ● 1682 Novato Blvd., Novato
Highlight: Documenting increased carbon and nitrogen in revegetated stream channels resulting from ranch stewardship to improve the environment. Analyzing bacteria water quality in the Tomales Bay Watershed to demonstrate the benefits of 20 years of ranch management to protect water quality.