The Small Acreage Conservation Education and Outreach Project:

Mission Statement:

“To create a culture of stewardship among small acreage land managers by promoting sustainable practices which enhance the ecological, economic and social aspects of the land and its people."

Wyoming and the Western United States in general are undergoing a very rapid shift in land use. Thousands of acres of former ranch, farm or wildlands are being subdivided into small acreage parcels. As this occurs, the number of small acreage landowners is growing. To meet the educational needs of these landowners a collaborative, multi-pronged approach to land management education is needed. Recognizing this need the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service (CES), Historic Trails Resource Conservation and Development Council (RC&D), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Resource and Conservation Districts joined forces as the Small Acreage Issue Team to create the Small Acreage Conservation Education and Outreach Project.

The mission of this project is to provide Wyoming landowners with the information they need to sustainably manage their land. We strive to help landowners maintain or improve the quality of life in Wyoming by raising healthier crops, lawns, and animals, while protecting their natural resources such as water, soil and plants.

Working in cooperation with landowners this project includes a series of activities: door-to-door visits with landowners in pilot areas of the state, surveys of landowner needs, publication of the Barnyards & Backyards magazine, and informational workshops.

Magazine: Barnyards & Backyards is a quarterly informational magazine that contains articles written by natural resource experts on topics such as; feeding or grazing animals, maintaining pastures, landscaping, irrigation, drinking water quality, weed control, and septic system maintenance. Each issue also features landowners who practice good land management. They discuss the challenges they have faced as landowners in Wyoming and the strategies they used to overcome them.

Landowner Visits (1MB pdf file): Door-to-door visits will be conducted in pilot areas of the state by CES interns and Student Conservation Association volunteers during 2005 & 2006. These visits serve several purposes. One purpose is to inform landowners of the many land management resources available to them and to discuss any particular needs they have. The second purpose is to allow the project to better understand landowners' educational needs. The visits also provide interns and volunteers with the opportunity to learn more about Wyoming's natural resources and to provide them with important work skills.

Workshops: Another aspect of this project is informational workshops in pilot areas. These workshops are an opportunity for landowners to get together and talk about problems they have encountered and to attend expert-led sessions to learn about different topics regarding land management. Feedback gained from these workshops will help the project team improve future programming efforts.

All these activities are made possible through cooperation with partnering organizations and sponsors.