For Immediate Release

Contact: Steven L. Miller, Senior Editor

Phone: (307) 766-6342

E-mail: slmiller@uwyo.edu

Archived News Site www.uwyo.edu/agadmin/news/news.htm

Date: June 20, 2006

Jackson, Alta workshops offer resources to small-acreage owners

            Small-acreage owners curious about issues unique to their lifestyle can hear from natural resource experts at small-acreage workshops in Jackson and Alta.

            The Jackson workshop is 5:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 28, at the Jackson 4-H Building, and the Alta workshop is the same time Thursday, June 29, at Alta Elementary School.

            Seminar topics include wildlife management, grazing, appropriate use of pesticides, landscaping with native plants, creating healthy yards and gardens, and weed control and management.

            The workshops are for all landowners but especially those new to living in rural areas.

            “We have hundreds of move-ins, and living in this part of Wyoming is very different from where people have lived before,” said Hudson Hill, University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service (UW CES) educator in Lincoln, Sublette and Teton counties. “We have people on our agenda who are very knowledgeable in their field talking about new and innovative ways of doing things.”

            The workshops are sponsored by the UW CES, Audubon Wyoming, Teton Conservation District, Teton Regional Land Trust, and Barnyards&Backyards, a quarterly magazine about rural living in Wyoming.

            Land parcels up to 49 acres are the fastest growing farm size in Wyoming, according to the 2002 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Census. Holdings with at least $1,000 in annual agricultural production are considered a farm by the USDA.

            “We are providing a very unique set of topics many people could be interested in,” said Hill. “Giving up any time in the summer is hard in this part of the world; however, the things at these workshops are things that will make their summertime more enjoyable in the end.”

            For more information about the workshops, visit www.barnyardsandbackyards.com or contact Alison Holloran, Audubon Wyoming Conservation Programs manager, at (307) 745-4848 or aholloran@audubon.org.