Five FFA students earn range evaluation scholarships – KOTA Territory News
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Five students are celebrating their hard work after earning one-of-five $100 scholarships for placing first in the three SD regional Range Evaluation Competitions this fall.
According to the South Dakota FFA Foundation, the scholarships are designed to encourage and reward students’ accomplishments in the field of range management.
This year’s scholarship recipients are: Tessa Hinman, Sunshine Bible Academy; Jackson Cammack, of Sturgis; Hayes Christensen, of Wessington Springs; Izzie Smithback, of Harrisburg; and Lidia Dpraz, of Deubrook.
Scholarships are made possible by a contribution to the SD FFA Foundation from LeRoy and Cathie Draine of Rapid City.
“These scholarships represent a good combination of three important beliefs; first, our respect for the integrity of the land, our soils and water; second, the imperative to provide educational opportunities for understanding and the wise use and care of the land; third, faith in the process of developing knowledgeable custodians for the future,” said Cathie Draine.
The Range Evaluation Competition, hosted by the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, SDSU Extension and the US Forest Service, provides students insight into the basic tools used in land stewardship, which is the application of ecological principles and historically significant disturbance such as grazing.
The goals of the contest are to teach participants some of the principles of ecology including soil/plant relationships, plant/animal relationships, and plant succession as applied to management of the land resource. Beef cattle and grouse have been chosen to demonstrate the concept of habitat evaluation. Both species are ecologically and economically important and their relationship to different stages of plant succession is well known.
For more information about the South Dakota FFA Foundation and South Dakota’s FFA programs, visit www.sdffafoundation.org
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