If you spend any time in Wyoming, you have an appreciation for the vastness and abundance of natural resources. You may even wonder to yourself, who will be here to care for those natural resources after I am gone?

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Well, wonder no more! Wyoming Resources Education Days, fondly known as WyRED, connects youth and adults to the land through a 4 day, hands-on, field camp to build a knowledge base, skill set and appreciation for the management of Wyoming’s natural resources. This educational experience has been happening for 26 years!

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WyRED rotates throughout the state and was held at the H Diamond W Youth Camp near Grass Creek June 13-16, 2022. This camp is intended for youth ages 14-18 as well as adults who be on the ground working with local ranches and seeing best management practices for conservation. Really, who wouldn’t want to learn more about plant identification, soils, grazing, resource planning and management decisions? We had a great lineup of natural resource managers who involved students in their career field. The campers were led through an aspen revegetation assessment, learned about large predators and saw beaver dam analogs with the Wyoming Game & Fish Department. The US Forest Service brought us to a grazing lease and shared about public land management. We sat down with Donny Love from the LU Ranch to share campfire stories about drought, predators, knee high grass and keeping a bank account of grass, land or money, before helping him start a water well. With so many great subjects, campers had a lot to choose from when they picked a topic for their group presentations.

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Throughout the week, campers were learning components of the Range Contest held on the last day. This contest includes: plant identification, ecological site identification, similarity index, beef cattle habitat evaluation, sage grouse habitat evaluation and a ranch plan map. Glenrock 4-H won the contest with members, Anna, Cora and Kayla Grant. The Andrew family from Burlington won second place with members Raygen, Rulon and Raiden.

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Campers also received individual awards:

• Anna Grant – Top Wrangler, Top Returning Camper

• Kayla Grant – Top New Camper

• Raygen Andrew – Top Range Rider

• Raiden Andrew – Top Brush Popper

• Rulon Andrew – Most Improved Camper

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Adults competed in the contest and Daniel Holter, Powell NRCS, won the Adult division. At the end of the week, we celebrated the longtime service and dedication of Marji Patz who was the WyRED chairperson for 17 years. She is moving to Montana for her job, but her legacy will live on.

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WyRED moves to Northeast Wyoming in 2023 near either Buffalo or Sundance.  If this camp sounds like something you, your child, your youth group, your school or your business would like to become a part of, contact Mae Smith, msmith@sheridan.edu. Check out our website: https://www.wyomingrangelands.org/wyred for more information.