{"id":2533,"date":"2025-09-03T09:00:57","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T09:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/westtexasrangelands\/?p=2533"},"modified":"2025-09-02T19:35:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T19:35:49","slug":"five-characteristics-of-a-rangeland-steward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/westtexasrangelands\/five-characteristics-of-a-rangeland-steward\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Characteristics of a Rangeland Steward"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/westtexasrangelands\/files\/2025\/09\/leeknoxrm.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-2534\" src=\"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/westtexasrangelands\/files\/2025\/09\/leeknoxrm.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"354\" height=\"496\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/westtexasrangelands\/files\/2025\/09\/leeknoxrm.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/agrilife.org\/westtexasrangelands\/files\/2025\/09\/leeknoxrm-214x300.jpg 214w, https:\/\/agrilife.org\/westtexasrangelands\/files\/2025\/09\/leeknoxrm-731x1024.jpg 731w, https:\/\/agrilife.org\/westtexasrangelands\/files\/2025\/09\/leeknoxrm-768x1075.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agrilife.org\/westtexasrangelands\/files\/2025\/09\/leeknoxrm-1097x1536.jpg 1097w, https:\/\/agrilife.org\/westtexasrangelands\/files\/2025\/09\/leeknoxrm-1463x2048.jpg 1463w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>What a privilege to be asked by <em>West Texas Rangelands<\/em> to write a short article about \u201cFive Characteristics of a Rangeland Steward!\u201d My range career started in the seventh grade when I participated in my first 4-H Rangeland Evaluation Contest in Junction, Texas.\u00a0 However, I didn\u2019t learn about rangeland stewardship until I was a junior in high school while attending the Texas Section Youth Range Workshop.\u00a0 Since the inception of YRW, the rangeland stewardship component has been a fundamental component.\u00a0 So important that we start and finish each day with STEWARDSHIP.\u00a0 The following five characteristics of a rangeland steward are in no particular order for I feel that the whole is greater than the parts.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rangeland stewards feel that they are \u201cPart of something bigger than themselves.\u201d They are the +H (Human) part of SWAPA (Soil, Water, Air, Plants, and Animals). The steward feels that he\/she is part of the system, not master of the system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Believing that \u201cThe Creation is Good,\u201d as we are told numerous times in Genesis, is another important characteristic of a rangeland steward. It\u2019s inspiring, liberating, and sometimes frustrating to admit that every part of creation has a good component.\u00a0 The rangeland steward seeks ways to exploit the good attributes of often misunderstood plants for the benefit of the whole.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rangeland stewards \u201dKnow and Appreciate Plants.\u201d Once you know the name of a plant, you can learn about that plant.\u00a0 Then, you will appreciate the role that plant serves in the ecosystem.\u00a0 This characteristic holds true to learning a person\u2019s name.\u00a0 Once you learn their name (plant or person), you can build a relationship them. (Fun fact: I correctly identified only two plants at that first contest about 40 years ago).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Knowing that \u201cRangelands are Sustainable\u201d inspires rangeland stewards. I enjoy listing to Dr. Tip Hudson\u2019s podcast, <em>The Art of Range<\/em>.\u00a0 Hudson often talks about how rangelands, when managed correctly, can provide multiple services to multiple communities without the degradation of the rangeland resource.\u00a0 Rangeland livestock enterprises have been sustainably managed over 300 years in parts of the United States.\u00a0 When grazed correctly, rangelands can produce food (beef, lamb, venison), clean water, fiber (wool and mohair), and wildlife habitat for previous generations and numerous generations to come.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rangeland stewards are \u201cLifelong Learners.\u201d There is always something to be learned. Whether you learn from reading quality research papers, observing the plant community\u2019s response to disturbances, how animals perform under different management, or listening to another person\u2019s perspective on management, you should always be learning. (Fun fact continued: I don\u2019t know how many plants I know now, but it\u2019s not enough).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Submitted by <a href=\"https:\/\/cse.tcu.edu\/faculty-staff\/view\/lee-a-knox\">Lee A. Knox,<\/a> Associate Professor, TCU Ranch Management Program<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What a privilege to be asked by West Texas Rangelands to write a short article about \u201cFive Characteristics of a Rangeland Steward!\u201d My range career started in the seventh grade when I participated in my first 4-H Rangeland Evaluation Contest in Junction, Texas.\u00a0 However, I didn\u2019t learn about rangeland stewardship until I was a junior&#8230; <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/westtexasrangelands\/five-characteristics-of-a-rangeland-steward\/\">Read More &rarr;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2037,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[98,13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2533","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-conservation-practices","7":"category-grazing-management","8":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Five Characteristics of a Rangeland Steward - West Texas Rangelands<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/westtexasrangelands\/five-characteristics-of-a-rangeland-steward\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Five Characteristics of a Rangeland Steward - West Texas Rangelands\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What a privilege to be asked by West Texas Rangelands to write a short article about \u201cFive Characteristics of a Rangeland Steward!\u201d My range career started in the seventh grade when I participated in my first 4-H Rangeland Evaluation Contest in Junction, Texas.\u00a0 However, I didn\u2019t learn about rangeland stewardship until I was a junior... 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