Yuma County Conservation District

10/09/2026

🐂🌾 COME SEE THE FUTURE OF GRAZING IN ACTION!

What happens when traditional ranching meets cutting-edge technology?

Join us for the Bonny Reservoir Adaptive Grazing Field Day and find out!

📅 Tuesday, October 20, 2026
⏰ 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
📍 Bonny Reservoir – Wagon Wheel Campground Gazebo

Discover how innovative conservation partnerships are using:

🐂 Halter virtual fencing technology to manage cattle from a smartphone.

🌱 RangeView forage monitoring to make informed grazing decisions.

💧 Livestock water infrastructure to support grazing and habitat restoration.

🦌 Adaptive grazing to improve wildlife habitat and reduce wildfire fuel loads.

🍲 FREE CHUCKWAGON LUNCH prepared by John Schaffner!

Whether you're a rancher, landowner, conservation professional, or simply curious about the future of agriculture, we'd love to see you there!

📰 Want to learn more about the project?

Read the full story about how YCCD and our conservation partners are bringing innovative grazing technology to Bonny Reservoir!

👉 https://www.ycconservation.com/post/bonny-reservoir-field-day-to-showcase-innovative-grazing-technology-and-conservation-partnerships

✅ Ready to join us? Register here:

👉 https://www.ycconservation.com/events/bonny-reservoir-adaptive-grazing-field-day

Help us spread the word by sharing this post!

See conservation in action! Explore adaptive grazing, virtual fencing, forage monitoring, and habitat restoration at Bonny Reservoir.

10/09/2026

🌾 Celebrate 150 Years of Colorado Agriculture with Us! 🚜📖

Join the Wray Museum and Yuma County Conservation District on Thursday, October 29, for The Centennial Harvest!

🛍️ 3–5 PM: Yuma County Vendor Showcase featuring local producers, businesses, and products.

📖 5 PM: Setting Colorado's Table book talk with author Dr. Rachael Storm, plus book signing opportunities!

📍 Wray Community Center (Roundhouse)

❤️ Help us give back! Bring a nonperishable food item to support Manna Pantry.

Come celebrate the people, traditions, and agricultural heritage that make our community special!

👇 Read more about this exciting event!

Yuma County Vendor Showcase and “Setting Colorado's Table” Book Talk Set for October 29WRAY, Colo. — From the fields and pastures of eastern Colorado to the tables of families across the state, agriculture has helped shape Colorado's history for 150 years. This fall, the Wray Museum and the Yu...

10/08/2026

Yuma County Conservation District is looking for a dependable, organized person to join our small team. This position helps keep the District office, finances, meetings, and public programs running smoothly. The ideal candidate enjoys varied work, pays close attention to detail, and is comfortable working with numbers, records, partner agencies, and the public.

For additional information please visit our website at https://www.ycconservation.com/post/yuma-county-conservation-district-hiring-part-time-office-assistant.

10/07/2026

It's poster contest time!! Soil. Where It All Begins.

09/09/2026

The YCCD will be sharing details about the Bonny Grazing Project this evening. Come join us!

Clear skies on the horizon for our star gazing event at Fox Ranch tomorrow. Hope to see you there.

08/25/2026

🌾 CHEATGRASS SOLUTIONS WORKSHOP – SEPTEMBER 17! 🌾

Cheatgrass continues to be a growing concern across eastern Colorado—impacting forage production, rangeland health, and wildfire risk. If you're a producer, landowner, or simply interested in learning more about what we can do about it, we hope you'll join us in Joes, Colorado, on September 17!

This FREE workshop will cover:

🌱 Cheatgrass identification and monitoring
🐄 Practical management tools
🔬 The science behind control methods
💰 Cost-share opportunities available to landowners
🚜 Local field demonstrations

We'll start the morning with coffee and donuts, followed by presentations, a provided lunch, and afternoon site visits where you can see management efforts firsthand.

📅 September 17, 2026
📍 Grassroots Community Center – Joes, CO
💲 FREE to attend!
🍽️ Lunch and refreshments provided

Please RSVP by September 10 to guarantee lunch!

👉 RSVP online using the QR code on the flyer or at the Eastern Colorado Grasslands Coalition website.

Please share with your neighbors, producers, and anyone who may be dealing with cheatgrass. We hope to see you there!

08/11/2026

08/04/2026

🌱🐄 Years of Planning...Now It's Finally Happening! 🐄🌱

The Bonny Reservoir Adaptive Grazing Demonstration Project has officially begun!

After nearly four years of planning, partnership building, grant writing, environmental review, and project coordination, cattle are now grazing nearly 5,000 acres of the former Bonny Reservoir and surrounding rangelands.

This project is about much more than grazing cattle.

Working alongside an incredible team of partners, the Yuma County Conservation District is demonstrating how adaptive grazing can be used to:
🌾 Improve rangeland health
🦌 Enhance wildlife habitat
🔥 Reduce wildfire fuels
💧 Strengthen drought resilience
🌱 Restore a healthier, more diverse landscape

The project also showcases some exciting new technology, including:
📍 Halter GPS-enabled virtual fencing, allowing cattle to be managed without permanent interior fencing.
🛰️ RangeView satellite-based monitoring to track forage production, grazing utilization, and vegetation changes throughout the grazing season.

This project would not be possible without the collaboration of our steering team partners:
🤝 Bureau of Reclamation
🤝 Colorado Parks and Wildlife
🤝 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
🤝 Natural Resources Conservation Service
🤝 Colorado State University Extension
🤝 Republican River Water Conservation District

We also want to thank our funding partners:
✔️ Colorado Parks and Wildlife
✔️ Habitat Partnership Program
✔️ Mule Deer Foundation
✔️ Colorado Association of Conservation Districts

A special thank you goes to Darrell and Arleen Smith, our grazing cooperators, for embracing innovative technology and helping make this demonstration project a reality.

📸 Over the coming months, we'll be sharing updates, photos, drone imagery, and the lessons we're learning as the project progresses.

Stay tuned for details about our Bonny Reservoir Field Day later this year—we'd love for you to come see the project in action!

👉 Read the full story on our website:
https://www.ycconservation.com/post/bonny-reservoir-adaptive-grazing-demonstration-project-enters-implementation-phase-across-nearly-5-0

07/10/2026

06/05/2026

🚨 LAST CHANCE! EQIP SIGN-UP DEADLINE IS MONDAY, JUNE 8! 🚨

Producers and landowners in Yuma, Phillips, and Sedgwick Counties who are interested in addressing cheatgrass and other invasive annual grasses are encouraged to contact their local NRCS office and sign up for EQIP by Monday, June 8.

Through a recently funded Targeted Conservation Program (TCP), conservation assistance is available to help address invasive annual grasses, improve rangeland health, increase forage production, and enhance wildlife habitat across the three-county area.

This is a unique opportunity made possible through a collaborative effort between local conservation partners and NRCS, and only a limited number of these targeted programs were funded statewide.

📞 Contact your local NRCS office as soon as possible to discuss eligibility and begin the application process.

Don't wait until the last minute—the deadline is Monday!