SUBLETTE COUNTY – Who doesn’t like happy hours?

The Sublette County Conservation District, with the Western Landowners Alliance and well-known local ranchers, are inviting the public and anyone interested in “working lands and the tools that support them” to its Working Lands Happy Hour from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 2.

The program at the Pinedale Library is titled “Sustaining Working Lands of the Upper Green River.”

The producer panel features ranch manager and Upper Green River Grazing president Coke Landers, writer-rancher Cat Urbigkit, Daniel rancher Andrea James and Boulder rancher Cotton Bousman.

Each will bring something from their own experiences on working lands – usually public lands – to the table. The goal is to inform a wider public about conservation tools that are now available.

This panel will be followed by agriculture agency heads and leaders including Jackie Byam, state conservationist for the Natural Resource Conservation Service; Bill Bunce, executive director of the Farm Service Agency; Julie Kraft, supervisor of Sublette County Weed & Pest; and Matt Collins, coordinator of the Western Lands Alliance (WLA) Wild Challenge.

These speakers will present up-to-date information about special conservation tools and resources. One will be opportunities for nonlethal carnivore management, according to WLA’s Shaleas Harrison.

To RSVP, go to www.westernlandownersalliance.org or contact the Sublette County Conservation District at 307- 367-2364 for more information.

Next up...

Savvy planners know one of the best times to hook ranchers and families with an event starts in November – after cattle roundups, after shipping to market, before the snow flies.

On Nov. 29 is the University of Wyoming’s Extension Office’s Green River Ranchers’ Workshop, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with presentations by UW beef specialist Shelby Rosasco, UW ag economics research scientist Brian Lee and Sublette County Extension educator Dagan Montgomery. Their expert topics include replacement heifer development, repro tract scoring, hay analysis, beef market updates and outlooks. at the Sublette County Extension Office, 9660 U.S. Highway 191, Pinedale. Linch is free for those who RSVP. For more info, contact Dagan Montgomery at 307-367-4380 or dmontgo@uwyo.edu.

Then comes...

Then on to SCCD range program manager Shari Meeks’ pilot project, “Virtual Fence in Sublette County.” Virtual fencing is a new technology that allows producers to track cattle without physical fences, by using GPS technology and “stimuli collars” worn by each animal.

If it sound like the invisible fencing some dog owners use to keep their animals in the yard, that is because the concept is similar. Meeks will discuss the new livestock management tool’s pilot project with ranchers who participated in the program.

The program takes place from 4-6 p.m. Stay tuned for more details!