Rangeland Judging

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Purpose

A major component of land stewardship is conserving and restoring native plant communities, ecosystems, and landscapes. Managing the whole ecosystem rather than one or two parts is complicated and offers a great challenge to our society in terms of education. 

 

Objectives

The objectives of the contest are to teach participants some of the principles of ecology including soil/plant relationships, plant/animal relationships, and plant succession as applied to the management of the land. 

 

Event Rules

1. No talking, comparing, or copying of cards. 
2. Clear plastic clipboards are allowed. 
3. Decisions of the judges are final. 
4. The authority for this information and judging work will be the most recent literature that is used for the National Rangeland Judging Contest. 
5. The Rangeland Contest will consist of three locations for ecological condition and land use and two locations for plant identification. 
6. Transportation to and from the actual contest site is the responsibility of the FFA chapters or 4-H leaders and will not be provided by OSU. 

 

Event Format

Team Make-Up

1. One range judging team composed of three or four members will constitute a team.
2. Schools not entering a team may enter one or two students on an individual basis. 

 

Equipment

1. A soft, #2, lead writing pencil with a good eraser. 
2. Clear plastic clipboard 

 

Event Schedule

The contest has 5 sites with 20 minutes allotted for each site. 

 

Scoring

Ecological Site 1 - 200
Ecological Site 2 - 200
Ecological Site 3 - 200
Plant ID 1 - 200
Plant ID 2 - 200

 

Total Points
Individual - 1,000
Team - 3,000

 

Tiebreakers

Tie scores will be broken as designated in the Rangeland Judging contest manual. 

 

References

For National contest guidelines, please visit the following website: www.rangejudging.com 

 

Supplemental Materials

Rangeland Manual - Judging Rangelands for Livestock and Wildlife Values 9th Edition

Scantron - 602OK-02 National Range Judging Contest Site Form