One of our partners, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, collaborates with private landowners in northern Mexico to support working ranches and improve grassland habitat for birds and other wildlife. They produced this great video about sustainable ranching in Chihuahuan Desert grasslands earlier this year.
NEWS & EVENTS
Holistic Management Rendezvous Nov. 7-9
The Dixon Water Foundation and Holistic Management International are co-hosting the Holistic Management Rendezvous November 7 – 9 at Leo Unit in Cooke County and the Running High Ranch in Bowie.
Learn, grow and connect as we get out on the land, learn from each other, swap stories, and share ideas on how best to manage land for a sustainable future. This unique event will include the Josey Pavilion Grand Opening, HMI’s 30th Anniversary Celebration, and two Open Gate Ranch Days at Dixon Ranches Leo Unit and the Running High Ranch in Bowie.
While we are expecting a large contingent of land stewards, ranchers and organic farmers from Texas, we’ve already got a number of confirmed producers flying in from around the US and several continents. While there will be plenty of time to network with your peers, enjoy fine dining and live entertainment, we’ve also got a number of in-depth learning opportunities for you to expand your skills and knowledge of Holistic Management. This includes an optional post Rendezvous workshop following the main events.
To register, view the schedule, or learn more about this event, visit HMI’s website.
Certification process begins for Josey Pavilion
To be certified as a Living Building, the Betty and Clint Josey Pavilion must meet the rigorous standards set by the Living Building Challenge for one year of operation. That evaluation period officially started on October 1, 2014, and if all goes as expected, the pavilion will become the first building of its kind in the state of Texas.
Architects Lake|Flato have published an online brochure describing how the pavilion functions as a Living Building, and you can also learn more about the pavilion on our website.
The grand opening of the Josey Pavilion is coming up on November 7 and will kick off Holistic Management International’s Rendezvous 2014 and 30th Anniversary. Registration is still open for this weekend of celebration and learning for anyone interested in sustainable land management.
The new brochure describing the pavilion is available on Lake|Flato’s website.
Rodent recovery at Mimms in Texas Wildlife magazine
The recovery of small mammals at Dixon Ranches Mimms Unit in Marfa, following the 2011 Rock House Fire, was featured in the September 2014 issue of Texas Wildlife magazine. Writing for the Texas Wildlife Association publication, graduate student Bobby Allcorn and Professor Bonnie Warnock of Sul Ross State University‘s Borderlands Research Institute describe their Dixon-supported research on rodents at Mimms and a neighboring ranch in Presidio County. They write:
Rodents are such an integral part of their ecosystems that management plans for a landscape, or a species, should take into account the potential state of the small mammal population. The research being conducted here will help landowners and wildlife professionals make more informed decisions and develop better strategies to achieve their goals.”
Society for Range Management to visit Mimms and Alamito Creek
“Borderland Conservation: Two Countries, One Cause,” the 65th Annual Meeting for the Texas Section of the Society for Range Management, is being held in Alpine and Marfa October 7-9. A ranch tour of Dixon Ranches Mimms Unit is scheduled for Wednesday, with presentations on field recognition of ecological sites, soil interpretation, map unit design, and soil inclusions.
“The Marfa Triptych: The Desert” on Mimms Overlook
The Overlook at Dixon Ranches Mimms Unit will be the site of Ballroom Marfa’s second performance by Austin-based composer Graham Reynolds on Saturday, October 4. More information on this event is on Ballroom Marfa’s website.
“The Desert is a solo performance for layered piano, a production that uses means both digital and site-specific to process the acoustic instrument’s sounds. With The Marfa Triptych, Reynolds is composing three musical portraits of West Texas. While the first and last parts examine people and their place in this part of the world, The Desert focuses on the natural world itself. In researching the piece, Reynolds has been exploring the landscape and the natural history of the area. When he performs the concert, the hope is for the audience to focus a bit less on the performer and more on being part of nature.” — Ballroom Marfa
Dixon grazing system featured in Big Bend Courier
The Big Bend Courier featured grazing management at Mimms Unit, as part of an article about the Holistic Management International Open Gate held there this September.
Photo: Richard Mark Glover/Big Bend Courier
Open Gate at Mimms on Marfa Public Radio
You can now listen to the Sept. 8 Talk at Ten interview with Dixon Ranches Mimms Unit manager Casey Wade. He spoke with K. Yoland at Marfa Public Radio about the upcoming Open Gate, sustainable ranching, and other news at Mimms. Ann Adams from Holistic Management International also called in for the interview, and Megan Wilde, who manages communications for the foundation, joined them in the studio.
Dixon presents Sul Ross check for sustainable ranching program
Officers of the Dixon Water Foundation presented a $200,000 check to Sul Ross State University on Tuesday, Sept. 2. The check represents the first of six annual $200,000 increments to fund the creation of both a B.S. degree and a certificate program in sustainable ranch management at Sul Ross, as well as a permanent endowment for the Clint Josey Chair of Sustainable Ranch Management. The check presentation was featured on NewsWest9.
Pictured (from left) are: Dr. Robert Kinucan, Dean of the College of Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences; Robert Potts, DWF President and CEO; Melissa Bookout, DWF secretary-treasurer and Education Program director; Clint Josey, Vice President and Chairman of the Board; Dr. Bonnie Warnock, professor of Natural Resource Management, who will be the program’s endowed professor; and Sul Ross President Dr. Bill Kibler. Warnock is developing a curriculum this year, with the first students to be enrolled in the program in fall 2015. (Photo by Steve Lang/Sul Ross State University)
Registration opens for Sept. 13 Open Gate at Mimms
Open Gate at Dixon Ranches Mimms Unit to focus on improving rangeland in drought
Registration is now online for an Open Gate at Dixon Ranches Mimms Unit from 9am to 4pm on Sept. 13 in Marfa.
Agricultural producers, wildlife managers, local agency representatives, and anyone else interested in sustainability, drought mitigation and biological research findings: this is a day for you. Learn about “Improving Land, Animal, and Water Health in a Drought” through short presentations and small group exercises.
Our speakers will share ranching techniques that improve rangeland productivity, water-holding capacity, wildlife habitat, and soil health. Participants will improve their land-monitoring skills, while learning about key soil-health indicators and ways to improve their soil. How to mitigate wildfire’s impact on soil health will also be covered.
Presenters include Robert J. Potts, president and CEO of the Dixon Water Foundation; Casey Wade, assistant general manager of Dixon Ranches in Marfa; Dr. Bonnie Warnock, associate professor and chair of the Sul Ross State University Department of Natural Resource Management; Dr. Lisa Bellows, Holistic Management Certified Educator-in-Training and chair of math and science initiatives at North Central Texas College; and Peggy Cole, Holistic Management International program manager.
This event at Dixon Ranches Mimms Unit is part of Holistic Management International’s Open Gate Learning Series of peer-to-peer, action-based field programs, during which participants share discoveries and management techniques with guidance from experienced facilitators and producers. Holistic Management® enables producers to better manage risk, make better decisions, and enjoy the benefits of sustainable agriculture.
Advance registration before Sept. 9 is $20 per person, including lunch. If space is still available, walk-in registration on Sept. 13 is $30 per person. To register or find out more, visit http://holisticmanagement.org/mimms/ or call 505-842-5252.
HMI hosted an Open Gate at Mimms Unit in 2011.
