There is an African saying that it takes

a whole village to raise a child. The

message behind this quote is that

children flourish in an environment where

there is healthy community dynamics with

other children, extended family, and friends

participating in the life of each child. From this

diversity of interaction, action, and perception,

the child has the opportunity to experience the

richness of life and reaches adulthood with

greater knowledge of how to contribute back

to that community.

One of the reasons that many families are

attracted to Holistic Management and continue

to manage holistically is because they are able

to improve their family’s quality of life through

better decision-making and planning. In a

best-case scenario, both spouses or head of

household are trained and have an interest in

integrating Holistic Management into family

“procedures” that are already in place like

financial planning, decision-making, and

communication.

However, those who have been introduced

to Holistic Management separately from their

spouses or partners have found it challenging to

bring these new ideas forward without feeling

they are perceived as “preaching” a new path or

knowing more than the other family members.

Such a scenario can become fertile breeding

grounds for conflict if care isn’t taken to respect

differences while looking for common ground.

Every Head is a World

A key to successfully creating the latter

outcome rather than the former, is the

willingness to explore life rather than assume

that how we were raised is the only way to live

life. In doing so, we encourage creativity and

exploration, helping family members move

beyond those assumptions. We create our new

families believing we know what is “right” from

our experiences with our biological family, but

we have the opportunity of discovering what

best serves our family of choice through our

willingness to explore life together.

This is not to say that the families we grew

up in did things wrong; rather, we must

recognize life is dynamic and full of change.

We meet people who were possibly raised in

different ways or with different cultures. In

creating new protocol, standards, or ground

rules with our family of choice, it helps to have

a way to explore the values that are important

to them and create an environment where we

can nurture those values for everyone in the

family. Families practicing Holistic Management

have consistently found the holistic goal setting

to be immensely helpful in communicating

those values and helping families make

decisions toward the life they want.

The articles in this issue demonstrate that

heightened level of creativity, exploration,

communication and respect. In managing

holistically, these people have a greater

understanding and appreciation for their families

and what they have to offer to their families.

In “Building A Tribal Legacy,” the story of

the Colville tribe’s effort to better serve their

children, we learn that we need to move

beyond our own self-interest and comfort to

look at how we can best serve the needs of

children by more deeply integrating the

traditions that have served us and examining

the ones that haven’t.

If we truly want to make decisions that are

sustainable, then by definition we must consider

and include children in those decisions. To do

this effectively, we need to remember the

dynamic nature of children and of life, adapt

to the evolution of our families, question our

own assumptions, and make decisions in which

our children’s future is the top priority. And, if

we develop such a policy based not on sacrifice,

but on the philosophy or principle of

abundance and regeneration, we will have

moved a great deal closer to the future

resource base that we desire.

We’re Doing It for the ChildrenSteven Dahlberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Holistic Management and the Whole

FamilyMark Gardner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Building a Tribal LegacyAnn Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Okay Dad, I Get It—Introducing Holistic

Management to My FamilyPhil Metzger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

LAND & LIVESTOCK—A specialsection of IN PRACTICE

Into the Woods—Holistic Decisions in theForest

Jim Howell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9On the Circle Ranch—NourishingWilderness

Jim Howell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Savory Center Bulletin Board . . . . . . .15

Savory Center Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Certified Educators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Exploring Familiesby Ann Adams

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003 NUMBER 92

HOLISTICMANAGEMENT IN PRACTICEProviding the link between a healthy environment and a sound economy

in this Issue

As we create families of choice, we oftenmust learn to integrate different culturesand traditions. Holistic Management canhelp us address that challenge withimproved communication and creativityby providing us with an avenue formeaningful dialogue with our childrenand spouses.

The Savory Center

2 HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE #92

In many ways we are the standard

American family of today with a house,

kids (daughters, 12- and 14-years old, and

5-year old triplet boys), 2 cars, 2.5 jobs, and

debt. We are always way too busy (my wife’s

students call her Superwoman) and have no

time for many of the things we claim are

important.

Two years ago we decided something had

to give. My wife and I were investing a lot of

energy working for other peoples’ educational

success and our own daughters were falling

through the cracks. Even before learning about

Holistic Management, we chose to make the

financial sacrifices

necessary for Terrijann,

my wife, to home-school

our children. She did

double duty by also

teaching college courses

half-time, but still it

was a tremendous

improvement in our lives.

Without knowing it yet,

we were attempting to

live more in line with our holistic goal.

During that year we also decided that

our sons would not have the same

counterproductive school experiences that their

older sisters did. With that as partial motivation,

we made plans to start a school rooted in our

rather unconventional educational philosophy.

Last year we opened The Red River Valley

Academy, a for-profit toddler, preschool, and

elementary school built on our integrated,

thematic, story and discovery-based curriculum.

The school motto is, “The whole child is thewhole idea!” My wife is the director, and I am

the CHDO (Chief Honey Do Officer). We have

seven full-time employees, several part-timers,

and about 60 children enrolled.

This year has been a real mixed blessing

of successes, tribulations, and very long hours

as we walk a financial razor’s edge. Terrijann

continues to teach half-time (hence the

Superwoman moniker). Within two months

of starting the school, I also had a new job rich

in opportunity, but equally rich in commuting

and new responsibilities.

It was during this year of massive change

THE SAVORY CENTER is a 501(c) (3) non-profitorganization. The Savory Center works torestore the vitality of communities and thenatural resources on which they depend byadvancing the practice of Holistic Managementand coordinating its development worldwide.

BOARD OF DIRECTORSRio de la Vista, Chair

Allan Savory, Vice-ChairLeslie Christian, SecretaryRichard Smith, Treasurer

Manuel CasasJudy Richardson

Bruce WardTerry Word

ADVISORY COUNCILJim Shelton, Chair, Vinita, OK

Robert Anderson, Corrales, NMMichael Bowman,Wray, CO

Sam Brown, Austin, TXLeslie Christian, Portland, ORGretel Ehrlich, Gaviota, CA

Jeff Fadiman, Half Moon Bay, CACynthia & Leo Harris, Albuquerque, NM

Trudy Healy, Taos, NMClint Josey, Dallas, TX

Krystyna Jurzykowski, Glen Rose, TXDianne Law, Laveta, CO

Doug McDaniel, Lostine, ORGuillermo Osuna, Coahuila, Mexico

Jim Parker, Montrose, CODean William Rudoy, Cedar Crest, NM

York Schueller, El Segundo, CARichard Smith, Houston, TX

FOUNDERSAllan Savory

Jody Butterfield

STAFFTim LaSalle, Executive Director; ShannonHorst, Senior Director, Strategic Projects; Kate Bradshaw, Director of Finance andAdministration; Kelly Pasztor, Director of Educational Services; Constance Neely,International Training Programs Director; Lee Dueringer, Director of Development;Ann Adams, Managing Editor, IN PRACTICEand Director of Publications and Outreach;Jessica Stolz, Finance Coordinator; LeeJohnson, Project Assistant.

Africa Centre for Holistic ManagementPrivate Bag 5950, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe tel: (263) (11) 213529; email:rogpachm@africaonline.co.zwHuggins Matanga, Director; Roger Parry,Manager, Regional Training Centre; Elias Ncube,Hwange Project Manager/Training Coordinator

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE (ISSN:1098-8157) is published six times a year by TheSavory Center, 1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM87102, 505/842-5252, fax: 505/843-7900; email:savorycenter@holisticmanagement.org.; website: www.holisticmanagement.org Copyright © 2003.

Ad definitum finem

that I began the Holistic Management® Certified

Educator Training Program, and we took our

first tentative steps towards practicing what I

was learning. We have repeatedly seen the

value of the decision-making framework for

improving our life, particularly as we find

ourselves crashing into the apparent conflict

between key parts of our holistic goal

symbolized by time and money.

Time & Money Conflicts

I have been dealing rather uncreatively

with this paradox all my adult life, and I’m

quite certain that I’m not unique in this regard.

The question is how do

we creatively balance

the income necessary

for the financial portions

of our goal with the

time we need for

our children, our

relationships, and

ourselves? I have to tell

you now before you get

too excited that I do nothave the answer to this question, but I think

we have made some progress.

Obviously the first step was to create a

holistic goal. With that we could begin to weed

the tangled jungle of our life. The first things

to go were a variety of professional and social

obligations that were clearly non-productive

in terms of our holistic goal. For example, I

have spent four years on the Environmental

Education Advisory Board for the state of

Minnesota. Environmental education is a topic

of supreme interest to me and there was some

prestige in the position, but I’ve been frustrated

with the lack of tangible outcomes from our

efforts as a board. When I compared the

benefits of another term on the board with the

cost in time lost for my other responsibilities,

both marginal reaction and my “gut check”

said there was too little value to continue.

Terrijann and I have both been asked to

publish or present the results of our

pedagogical work. We rarely accept these

requests because they could only be

accomplished by sleeping less and/or spending

less time with our children. These latter

We’re Doing it for the Childrenby Steven Dahlberg

Holistic Management has given us thetools to simplify

our lives.

activities are critical to our quality of life and

are extremely compromised already. The

benefits of being more professionally active

have little value for us and are not part of our

holistic goal. Therefore, the marginal reaction,

and society and culture questions show the

benefits of sleep and family usually outweigh

those of greater professional recognition.

Socially, we have eliminated every

structured activity including those at church

and attending theater productions. These

decisions were much harder because they

involve things that are important

parts of our holistic goal. Our current

situation is so stressful that any

additional demands on our time and

resources produce more stress than

enjoyment no matter how

pleasurable the activity.

We have so may have-to-do’s that

we must limit ourselves to a very

few want-to-do’s that are the most

crucial to our holistic goal. For both

of us these priority activities are our

children and occasional exercise. I

have to confess that I went straight

to the gut for this one. My dirty little

secret as a Holistic Management

practitioner is that I generally go first

to society and culture, and only

resort to the other questions if I don’t

get a clear answer there.

The second big change was a

reprioritization of some of our have-to-do’s.

To illustrate, in the past I would go to great

lengths to find a way to teach my classes even

if we had sick children or other home issues.

While creating our holistic goal, it became

clear to me that my obsession with work

duties was driven more by external

expectations than by my quality of life

aspirations. I’m a work-to-live guy, not visa

versa. Clear articulation of our holistic goal

demonstrated that the sacrifices I was making

for my job were not proportional to the role

of work in that goal, and I needed to put

family first in more situations.

Testing Priorities

Neither of these sets of changes amounted

to that much time, but the reduction in stress

was amazing. We had more flexibility in

scheduling. We (OK, mostly I) had fewer

things to feel guilty about not devoting

enough time to them, and I didn’t feel so

much like I was letting my students down by

missing class occasionally. As I described, both

the marginal reaction test and our feelings

want our boys in the structure of day care

(even at our school) all summer. Once again,

the testing questions helped me decide on

only two projects (well, it was four, but two

of them I could do at home) that would allow

me to be with the kids most of the summer.

Both “official” projects gave me the

opportunity to learn things that were vital

parts of my personal holistic goal in addition

to earning money. Because of this, they

clearly passed several of the tests (marginal

reaction, energy/money, sustainability, and

society and culture). We determined

that the “opportunity costs” of all the

others were more than the benefits

they might generate (they weren’t

that interesting, involved major time

commitments, and/or didn’t

pay that well).

In the past, I would have tried

to do all of them and justify it by

financial need, but our holistic goal

clearly shows money is just one of

many priorities in our life and cannot

be the sole basis for a decision. I

think we made a better choice by

attempting to optimize the conflicting

needs of income and time instead of

maximizing one or the other. That

decision passed the sustainability

test because there was at least some

progress towards both the financial and

familial parts of our holistic goal, and it

felt right.

As I said at the beginning of this article,

we have not found a way to simultaneously

create time and money. I doubt we have

reached an optimal balance of familial, civic,

personal, and financial responsibilities. We will

continue to work on those fronts, but in the

meantime the Holistic Management® decision-

making framework has given us the tools to

simplify our lives while still performing the

most vital tasks for moving us toward our

holistic goal. It has helped us balance, to some

degree, the need for time and money. Most

importantly, it reinforced for me what my

wife has always known, that time with one’s

children should always come first. Of course,

making that work is still the $39 question.

Hence the need for my favorite part of

Holistic Management—MonitorControlReplan,

but that’s a whole other story.

If you are interested in learning moreabout our school or any of the othercraziness described in this article, contact me at sdahlberg@wetcc.org.

indicated that the jettisoned (or demoted)

activities were less valuable than other uses of

our time. Perhaps, more importantly, practicing

Holistic Management helped clarify that such

decisions needed to be made in the first place.

For me personally another big stress

producer is my rather excessive suite of

hobbies that were making substantial

demands on my time, money, and quality of

life. Here I used a modified form of the

logjam. The logjam in “producing” our quality

of life are too many commitments and too

much debt. The logjam test says that is where

to invest our resources in order to improve

“production.” Hobbies are discretionary by

definition and were an ideal place to address

these weak links. Giving up all of them would

adversely affect my quality of life though, so I

needed to prioritize.

Once again, I used a combination of

intuition and marginal reaction to help decide

which hobbies would go and which would

stay. It was actually pretty easy. I just ditched

the ones I was feeling guilty about while

being engaged in obviously higher priority

activities. For example, I often found myself

thinking I should work on my truck as I

grabbed my bike to go exercise. For that

reason, exercising stays and working on

the truck goes.

Free Time Dilemma

We had done our best to free up as much

time as possible, but we were still left with

the question of how to use that time most

effectively. Time and money came into conflict

in the process of determining how I would

spend my summer “vacation.” I had many

options for summer work, but we also didn’t

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE • NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003 3

Giovanni, Natalija (14), Alejandro, Steve, Tatijana (12),Terrijann, Fabian.

4 HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE #92

Broadly speaking our “whole” family

consists of myself, Cassie (my wife),

Emily (10), Caitlin (8) and William (5),

Mr. Vincent (the cat), and Daisy (the dog). We

live in Dubbo, which is the “Hub of the West”

in Central West New South Wales, Australia,

and operate our own Agricultural and

Management Consulting Business from home

(of which Holistic Management is the soul).

Like most families working with Holistic

Management, we have gone though

some ups and downs as we have

sought to manage ourselves and our

resources. It hasn’t always been a

smooth progression. There are some

aspects, which we are proud of (such

as our holistic goal), and there are

areas in which we continue to work

on, particularly as we strive to adapt

the process to our circumstances (a

non-rural resource base and business).

We see ourselves very much as

learners of the process (but with a bit

of experience!) rather than experts.

In this article we would like to

talk about the important part of

Holistic Management to us—the

holistic goal, and how we are trying

to bring our young children into the

process of Holistic Management.

Creating Time

One of the biggest challenges we have

faced over the last six years is getting the

holistic goal settled and meaningful to Cassie

and me, and then our children. We are a young

active family, and we are busy running our

own business, so creating time to be able to

think through our holistic goal (individually

and then together) has often been hard. On a

number of occasions, Cassie and I have hired a

meeting room close by, and planned for the

children to be “agisted” (farmed out) in order

to get some thinking time and space. We have

found that getting our combined thinking

organized has been necessary before we could

start to make good decisions about the future

or to start to involve the children at a

significant level. This has taken time, and

was not always easy!

The importance of “being heard” has

allowed us to communicate openly and

honestly. We have found when we have

focused on developing these conditions, we

have made some great gains in our holistic

goal formation and decision-making. We have

found it important not to react to what each

other is saying, but to listen, understand,

respect and then inquire about what (if any)

actions may be required. When we have

practiced this, we found great gains in

understanding each other’s values, fears and

aspirations, all of which have found their

way into the holistic goal. Without creating

good conditions to communicate, we may

not have been able to get to some very core

understandings of the things important to

us. Worse still, we may have made some

incorrect assumptions.

Involving The Children

Even though our children are

young, they can often articulate what

is important to them, if we ask them

appropriately and then listen to what

they say. We feel it is important to

create time to do this, however this

is not always easy!

Often their needs appear simple,

but can yield significant insights. For

example, Emily has told us that it is

important to her to spend time with

her friend, Anna (a value), therefore

as a family we try to create

opportunities for this to occur (a

form of production). The underlying

message, which we hope the whole

family hears, is that Emily’s views are

important and that our family will do its best

to allow the important things to her to occur.

The same is true for the other children. This

may sound very simple, but we feel we are

sending a very powerful message. Over time,

the children have started to understand that

our family values their opinions, and that they

are important people within our “whole.” At

times, our values don’t allow them to achieve

their expectations (such as a Nintendo and TV

in the bedroom), but we hope that the way in

which we have communicated this to the

children has also helped them understand why.

The children have also become very open

in talking about things of importance to them

and are respectful to each other. Recently we

have gently started to ask them about the way

in which they might like to see their futures—

starting the next phase of the process.

Holistic Management and the Whole Familyby Mark Gardner

plenty of thinking and a commitment to

want to do it, but it has been worth it.

A United Front

Having created the time, we found the

holistic goal development process enabled

Cassie and I to frame our thinking in a similar

style (culminating in our written holistic goal).

This helps us talk with the children from a

position of unity.

Developing the holistic goal has also

helped us to think and to grow into an

awareness of the things that are important to

us, to each other (our values), and the way in

which we want our future to be. Being able

to work through the steps of holistic goal

formation allowed us to form joint ideas and

hence making decisions together became a lot

easier over time (less emphasis on formalized

testing with more emphasis on the holistic

goal). Creating a non-threatening environment

to communicate openly has been essential.

For us, this took some time, as I suppose my

inclination was to race on quickly, talking

“Holistic Management speak” without making

sure that Cassie understood what we were

doing and why. So, I had to learn to slow

down, think of how Cassie might best receive

information, speak less, and listen more! This

Mark and Cassie Gardner ave learned how to include theirchildren, William, Caitlin, and Emily, in much of theirplanning.

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE • NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003 5

the children find a way to work things out

themselves.

Monitoring Progress

Apart from the essential monthly financial

monitoring, we are finding asking simple

questions can be a great way to “early warning”

monitor how we are going as a family. If these

informal questions (“How do you think our

family is doing?”) yield a response which is not

what we anticipate, then action and sometimes

replanning may be required. This is particularly

useful in relation to the amount of time which

Cassie or I are away from the family. If this is

becoming a problem, we can usually find this

out fairly easily from a family member, and

replan accordingly.

Often such replanning will involve Cassie

or myself not taking on an income-producing

opportunity, in order to balance work and

family. Sometimes we’ve made hard decisions

not to travel to attend really important

meetings, as we have felt that our lives are out

of balance (really way out) with our holistic

goal. Sometimes we have made the even

harder decision to take up a work opportunity,

knowing that we are not living in balance with

our holistic goal, but that there is a really

important reason to do so.

When we are making these decisions we

always consult each other. We always try to

communicate the importance of this decision

to the children and each other, and try to be

understanding. In cases like this, we know we

need to bring our lives back into balance with

our holistic goal, and we make every effort to

do so after the decision.

Holistic Management in our family has not

been a steady linear progression. We have at

times had great leaps, both towards and away

from our holistic goal, as life deals its

challenges to us. We continue to learn about

the process and adapt it to our setting. What is

important to us is that our united holistic goal

gives us a “big picture;” it provides us with a

central focus to draw our decision-making

towards, whatever the situation. We find our

family has a growing sense of unity and

purpose, greater opportunities to make good

choices and to monitor and celebrate the

outcomes. For Cassie and me, it has provided

a great framework by which to create a sense

of family.

Mark Gardner is a Certified Educator and can be reached at:gardnerm@ozemail.com.au.

ownership in the project.

We have now also started to plan in

advance our major family activities. For

example, one of the best decisions we have

made is to commit to our family holiday

12 months ahead. This has enabled us to plan

backwards so that our business fits in with this

event, and our financial plan allows for enough

income to pay for the holiday and have some

money when we come back. Prior to this

“breakthrough,” we would struggle to get away

for a week or so, always were rushed and

didn’t get a quality break (inevitably lack of

planning also cost us more for the holiday!).

Planning these family activities well ahead

means we are now able to manage three

weeks break, at little additional cost and in a

more relaxed manner. This has also allowed

the children to become involved in the

decision and the planning for the holiday,

and this creates added enjoyment.

Like many great breakthroughs, we realized

that the way in which we were living our life

was not in balance with what we had written

down in our holistic goal. We have found that

anytime we are feeling stressed, it is usually

because one of our values is out of balance.

Understanding this concept gives us good

insight as to changes that may be required.

It’s this form of monitoring that has helped

us address family issues effectively.

Our kitchen table at mealtime has become

a very effective planning tool, as we think

ahead to school holidays and what we all

want to do! Caitlin is now assuming the role

of planning ahead the activities for school

holidays (this plan is stuck on the fridge),

which can also necessitate significant family

decision-making, particularly when there are

potential conflicts, usually around time and

events. When this does occur, we have found

that brainstorming is an important way to

ensure that everyone’s needs are met, followed

by the marginal reaction test. Following a

process such as this means that often as not,

Passing on Values

Our family lives in town, so it is important

to Cassie and I that our children are aware

of the environment around them and their

impact on it. We also feel the need to develop

ecological awareness in our children, and use

our values (contained in our holistic goal) to

help guide our discussions.

One of the important family activities is

our recycling project. Each weekend we take

our glass, plastic and paper to our local

recycling depot. We have had many quality

and enlightening discussions with the children

around this activity such as “Why do we

recycle?” Over the years, they have developed

great pride in this activity, and we have all

learned a lot about the ecosystem while

working together. This increased awareness

can be seen in the choices and decisions we

can now start to make as a family (for

example, how we want our garden to look).

We have been able to use the recent

severe drought to talk about water, soils, and a

whole range of relevant ecological topics. As a

result, we have noted that the children are a

lot more aware of what they see, such as the

amount of water in farm dams, the condition

of plants in the landscape, and the amount of

water that they are using in the house. The

family vegetable garden has also become a

good learning activity, where William’s interest

in bugs and his ability to find and identify

them has developed significantly!

We have found that if we can do things

with the children that are fun, then we can

potentially create a great learning opportunity.

Allowing time (planned and informal) for this

to occur is also essential.

Planning Ahead

Planning has become an important

component in our practice of Holistic

Management. We have used the Holistic

Management® Financial Planning process now

for seven years, and the monthly monitoring

process has been essential to us achieving

many years of planned profits.

We are able to share with the children

our plans for the profit, and to seek their

comments. One example is our recent plans

for a house renovation. The children have

been involved in the planning and design

(including “hands on” measuring up) and in

the discussions on how our “ideal” needs to be

modified by cost constraints. They have been

involved in the decision-making, to their level

of interest, and hence have taken strong

We find our family has a growing sense of

unity and purpose.

6 HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE #92

If you’re looking for an early monitoring

indicator of societal health, one canary is

children’s health and well-being. Like the

canary in the mine, children are more sensitive

than adults, to the subtle and not so subtle

nuisances of family and societal paucity or

dysfunction.

In our efforts to improve the overall health

of our society, we have added laws and

agencies to protect, educate, and help our

youth. But, often times the structure

of these systems have actually

hampered our ability to serve this

population and the families and

communities that are part of those

children’s lives.

The Colville Confederated Tribe

in Washington State had become

increasingly sensitive to this

conundrum over the past several

years. However, in the fall of 2001,

with the persistent efforts of several

tribal members, they decided they

needed to do something to address

the situation.

The Scope of the Problem

To give you some perspective of

the need, the Colville Tribe’s legal

office saw 110 children through the

Minor-In-Need-of-Care (MINOC),

which is approximately one third of the 390-

520 children that are the victims of violence on

the Colville Reservation.

Moreover, 27 percent of the Colville Tribe

lives below the federal poverty guideline, a

critical factor for families providing properly

for their children. Add to this dire statistic

the issues of low high school graduation

percentages, increasing delinquency in schools,

and a growing problem of substance abuse,

and the likelihood of a downward spiral in a

family’s ability to provide opportunities for

the next generation increases.

Perhaps the most somber statistic of all

is that national trends for the past 20 years

indicate that the number of suicide attempts

among Indian adolescents has risen by 100

percent. For the past 15 years, suicide has

been the second leading cause of death for

15-24 year-old Indians.

As one tribal member noted, “We may have

become numb to these numbers; they have

Task Force that would work with the involved

agencies to address the needs of tribal youth.

That task force could use the tribe’s holistic

goal (a document that many tribal members

have used since 1995 to make decisions and

create policy) to guide their actions. They

committed money to fund an interagency

workshop and tasked each department to

contribute to a unified solution. This meant

that Children & Family Services, attendance,

schools, Indian Health, and MINOC all had to

work together.

Shifting Perspective

When one agency begins to demand

changes from another and everyone isn’t on

board there can be a lot of territory

protecting. With the Tribal Council’s

mandate for all those agencies involved

with children to develop a system or

program that addressed their needs,

irregardless of current territories or

systems, the focus finally was on the

children and not departmental turf.

One small example of how this type

of change was needed was the way

school attendance and MINOC cases

dealing with abuse and neglect were

handled. In the past, such cases were

addressed solely in court, rather than

in a social service setting that dealt first

with the needs of the child. Such a

system focused more on the legal

concerns for the adults involved, and

the children’s needs were secondary.

With such a system, the children were

getting short-changed.

To maximize creativity, the Juvenile Task

Force began work on the “Then I Came Back:

Juvenile Workshop I” in the spring of 2002. All

departments directly involved with children’s

services were to participate in finding new

ways to help “our children and families who

are at risk; to improve the services we provide

through our programs; to rejuvenate our vision

for our future; and to protect and strengthen

our community and culture.”

Randy Tonasket and Lois Trevino, also

trained in the Savory Center’s Certified

Educator Training Program, were given relief

time from their work in other departments to

help in the facilitation and preparation for the

conference. Using their knowledge of the

Holistic Management® decision-making process

and consensus building, they worked with

agency workers to lay aside differences and

work toward the common focus of providing

excellent support for tribal youth.

Building a Tribal Legacyby Ann Adams

very real meaning for the children, and

particularly the youngest, whose families have

limited resources with which to nurture and

care for them at critical stages in their

development.”

Those working with children daily knew

all these statistics kept pointing to the same

conclusion: The Tribe wasn’t adequately

addressing the needs of the children through

the current system. Agencies had to work

together to make the system more effective.

The Colville Tribe has approximately 2,622 children. The TribalCouncil, and tribal agencies and members, recently madegreat progress toward creating a better life for those children,so they can in turn become respected tribal elders.

A Call to Collaboration

Jolene Marchand, who completed the Savory

Center’s Certified Educator Training Program

and works in the Legal Services Program, was

a key player in getting the Tribal Council

involved in mandating a change in the Colville

Tribe’s children’s advocacy system. She knew

that the Tribe’s holistic goal could help them

forge a new advocacy approach to address the

needs of the Colville children.

At one Tribal Council meeting late in 2001,

Jolene presented the statistics that demonstrated

the need for a better tribal advocacy system

and asked for the Council’s authority to make it

happen. In an emotional meeting, the Council

responded to Jolene’s request by acknowledging

the tribal responsibility to address this issue and

agreeing to support departments in an effort to

combine resources and work together as a

whole to address these issues more efficiently.

The first step was to develop a Juvenile

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE • NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003 7

ongoing success.

While the Colville Tribe is still in the

process of integrating these changes, they have

a road map for where they want to go with

their Comprehensive Juvenile Services, a road

map that was created by all those involved in

those services. “It was a challenge to take all

this information, simplify and summarize it

quickly, make the connections to other

information and keep things flowing,” says Lois

Trevino. “Having the Tribe’s holistic goal to use

as a common language and focus on, and using

the consensus-building process to really listen,

helped us keep the momentum going in the

planning for the workshop, during the

workshop, and outlining action steps

and those responsible for them after

the workshop.”

This new road toward protecting

the Colville Tribe’s legacy of their youth

and those yet unborn began with one

woman’s courage, passion, and

conviction that the Colville Tribe had

an obligation to better serve their youth

through the services it provided. In

turn, the tribal community rose to the

challenge and found they already had

many of the means and the resources to

accomplish the task, by focusing on the

quality of life described in their holistic

goal. As the Task Force stated in their

proceedings:

“Caring for children is the

responsibility of our community, our extended

families, and not the isolated task of one or two

people, or solely of our institutions. Our culture

provides us with guidance. A newborn brings

new strength to the community and assures

preservation of tribal and community heritage.

Community involvement in pregnancy ensures

that there is, and will be, support for the

pregnant woman regardless of her status, that

the birth is received with joy, and that the

newborn is lovingly nurtured.

Pregnancy in this kind of supportive

environment is a healthy experience and

produces healthy babies. We must work to

ensure that this is our children’s experience and

also that the environment our children find as

they grow continues to provide and care for

them, to protect them, to teach them what they

need to learn, and to love and sustain them.

Each of us can contribute to improving the

lives of our children and theirs to come.”

To learn more about the Colville Tribe’sComprehensive Juvenile Services, contact LoisTrevino at: lois.trevino@colvilletribes.com.

of core team coordinators with one full-time

clerk/support staff. They would coordinate the

efforts of other social service professionals who

are currently working in other departments to

address these issues. That list would include a

medical provider and a public health nurse at

Indian Health Services, a law enforcement

officer, a legal services representative, a

behavioral health program director/

representative, and a case worker. This core

team would meet with the core team

coordinators twice a month to discuss new and

ongoing cases. Additionally, they would have

supplemental members such as tribal elders,

housing staff, Birth To Three Program staff,

spiritual leaders, and school staff, who would be

asked to contribute to various cases as needed.

Besides providing effective and

comprehensive services for children and their

families by eliminating gaps and redundancies

in existing programs, Comprehensive Juvenile

Services would reinforce culture and

sovereignty (a key component of the Colville

Tribe’s holistic goal). Moreover, with greater

efficiency in handling cases, there will be less

multiple court cases which means less court

and tribal costs for caseworkers, attorney,

experts, and judges.

Likewise, a focus on family conferencing

and the peacemaking circle would be an

integral part of the plan to use a more

traditional approach to conflict and justice by

providing a less adversarial environment for

children’s cases, resulting in fewer court cases.

In increasing family and community

involvement within a structured environment

that nurtures positive communication and

decision-making, the Colville Tribe’s culture and

sovereignty are reinforced and children and

families learn and develop critical skills for

A Tribal Responsibility

The list of objectives developed from that

workshop would have been daunting for any

government body already overwhelmed by

other duties, but the Colville Tribe began

taking action. One step the Juvenile Task Force

took to meet one of the stated objectives of

the workshop was to look at what untapped

resources the Tribe already had that could

address unmet needs.

Again using Census figures, they realized

that there were approximately 2,700

households on the Reservation, and 44 percent

were households with a married couple living

alone. The tribe realized that these

households were an untapped resource

for foster care providers necessary to

address the needs of some of these

children and their families through times

of transition. Likewise, the extended

family nature of tribal culture could be

integrated into custody situations.Another immediate action after the

workshop was meetings with the Law &Justice department to determine howtribal code would need to be redraftedto implement the ideas that had beendeveloped in the workshop. The JuvenileTask Force also began work on selectingthe core team to lead the work onrenovating the children’s advocacyprogram and develop a comprehensivejuvenile services program. Lastly, theybegan developing a peacemaking/familyconferencing circle as part of their activeadvocacy work.

The core team’s many duties were to work on creating a model where the newdepartment of Comprehensive JuvenileServices would track all children within thesystem from birth to adulthood based on amedical model of development rather than alegal model. Likewise, they would act as acentral referral and coordinator for childrenand families in need of service rather than the current patchwork of service providers.

The emphasis of their programs would be on prevention, early intervention, andrehabilitation rather than a more punitiveapproach. Given that central engagement, thisteam would be better able to assess children atrisk and make recommendations to theChildren’s Court as an informed advocate.Obviously, some of these steps would mean thattribal jurisdiction would be broadened with thechildren’s best interests as the standard.

The suggested staffing for this tribal

department would be two full-time positions

Lois Trevino with her grandson, Nathan.

8 HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE #92

Introducing Holistic Management to people

who have never heard about it and have

not asked to learn about it can be

challenging. And while I have faced that

situation on numerous occasions, I know that

I’ve not yet had a more supportive or engaged

audience than my own family when it came to

introducing Holistic Management. Two years

ago, after attending my first week-long Certified

Educator training program, I was ready and full

of anticipation for tackling my first challenge—

bringing my family on board the Holistic

Management Express and exploring how

to manage our lives holistically. I think I

learned more from that experience than

they did.

A Garden Path

When I called a family meeting the

response of my two teenage sons, Matt

and Alex, was guarded; we don’t have

too many of those types of meetings

unless there are issues needing sorting

out, usually involving them. My wife,

Tami, was patiently supportive, although

this whole Holistic Management thing

had her wondering what I was into

this time.

We began with me explaining that I needed

their support in my learning, and they were

quick to let me know that if I needed their

participation, they were game. Starting with AtHome with Holistic Management, we had some

fun with the exercises found in the workbook.

They serve as a great introduction and gave

everyone a sense that this stuff was going to be

deep and take some thoughtful engagement.

During the introduction of the principles

and concepts of Holistic Management, I tried to

go easy on the jargon, and it seemed to pay off.

At one point my older son Matt, a college

freshman at the time, finally said, “Okay Dad, I

get it. Holistic Management helps you to make

good decisions so you can lead a better life and

accomplish what you want.” Not convinced that

he really had gotten it so quickly, I tried to

continue, “Uh, yeah, that’s essentially it, you see

Holistic Management. . . . .” but he cut me off at

the pass. “Dad, I get it. Can we move on?” Taking

the subtle cue, we moved on.

that resulted from that exercise and the many

inaccurate assumptions we flushed out in our

conversation.

We had worried that the boys got bored at

the Lake as they were away from friends and

there is no stereo, phone or TV. When we

mentioned this concern, they said what they

liked best was just hanging out together there

and getting away from everything. We had

always made sure to go to town every few days

and go to the movies and play miniature golf to

keep them entertained. They confessed that

while that was fun as well, what they liked best

were the same things we went there for—peace

and quiet and time spent with just the four of

us. Amazing. It is my favorite place to be, and

for the same reasons I love it, my boys love it.

I had no idea.

The holistic goal forming process brought

out things I had never heard my teenage

sons say. It brought out feelings we had

never expressed so clearly and in an

atmosphere and through a process that

made it easy. I got to hear my son Matt

say, “I love my life right now!” There are

no sweeter words to a parent’s ears than

to hear your child express how happy he

is. You can’t help but recognize the role

you played in making that possible.

We heard Alex talk about his deep

interest in the environment and his plans

to study various natural systems that

interest him. Tami and I heard the nicest

things about us, as parents, that we will

forever value. To hear your children tell

you they understand you are fallible, but that

they know that love is the only motivation

behind your actions, was precious. Again, the

process was so enlightening and revealed to all

of us how strong a family we are and how

much we truly care about each other.

I never would have heard those things

without us working together to try and

articulate what we want in our lives. What

came through clearly was how big an impact

our values and standards have had on our kids.

To hear them articulate that was extremely

powerful and truly satisfying. While my family

might not have had the smoothest introduction

to Holistic Management, and I stumbled

occasionally as their facilitator, I’m glad I took

the risk of introducing them to this decision-

making process. The experience made me

appreciate my family even more.

Phil Metzger is in the 2001 Certified EducatorTraining Program and lives in Norwich, New York.He can be reached at: phil.metzger@ny.usda.gov.

Okay Dad, I Get It—Introducing Holistic Management to My Familyby Phil Metzger

One item in particular that the boys got right

away was what quality of life represented in

the holistic goal. Tami, however, struggled with

the concept. It wasn’t until I used a technique

suggested to me by my fellow trainee, Seth

Wilner, that Tami got the concept. In our

bedroom, there is a picture on the wall of a

serene garden path through large trees and

wildflowers that we had picked out together

because we find it very inviting. “It’s like that,”

I blurted out. “That is what we want our life

to be like, like that picture.” She got it

immediately, and we were on our way.

Beyond Assumptions

After two more sessions of discussion

and exercises from At Home with HolisticManagement, and of Dad explaining the

model, everyone, including me, began to tire of

listening to Dad try to explain the model. It was

time to craft our family holistic goal. As we did,

we heard things we had never heard from each

other and were amazed that more often than

not what we desired in our lives closely

mirrored each other’s wishes. In the end, the

temporary holistic goal we put to paper was

very representative of what we wanted in our

lives as a family, and it amazed me how little

difference there was in our individual opinions

of what should be included.

One particular example that surprised Tami

and I was when we used a picture of our

summer cottage on Lake Ontario to practice

mind mapping. I was amazed at the discussion

The Metzger family enjoying a vacation in Hawaii.

IN PRACTICE • NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003 LAND & LIVESTOCK 9

This section of IN PRACTICE tends to focus on grass and cowstories. It’s called Land and Livestock, though, and land, if youthink about it, encompasses more than grass. Many, if not most,

readers of IN PRACTICE probably also have a few trees gracing theirlandscapes. Trees are actually a major topic of conservation out here inthe semi-arid West at the moment. Last year’s fires (Colorado’s two worstforest fires in history were both burning simultaneously during thesummer of 2002), caused by record drought conditions combined with a century of fire suppression and a dearth of browsing herbivores,devastated massive tracts of forest. They were extremely hot—most likelyunnaturally hot—crown fires, resulting from exceptionally dense treegrowth and massive accumulations of fallen, dead timber. Many areasdisplayed what fire ecologists call “vertical continuity,” which means thathighly combustible fuel sources spread vertically from the forest floor,through a lower shrub canopy, up through smaller diameter trees, andthen into the crowns of larger trees. When flames climb such a fuelladder, devastation results.

Under more natural conditions, when periodic lightning-caused firesclean out a developing shrub canopy and thin out younger trees, thisoverburden of material never develops. Large herds of grazing andbrowsing herbivores also do their part in cycling carbon back into thesoil, helping suppress a buildup of woody fuel. Where the shrub andgrass plants are kept hedged and grazed by animals, fires have much less chance of starting, and if they do, they burn at a low intensity and tend not to kill large, mature trees.

Just as we attempt to mimic nature in the management of ourgrasslands, we also need to refer to nature’s model when makingmanagement decisions in the woods. So, mimicking nature in thewoods—what exactly does that mean? Does the recent spate ofpropaganda urging aggressive thinning and prescribed burning honornatural processes? Do we really know what’s natural? Does a naturalstate even exist given the current state of the world? In Holistic

Management, we don’t really manage for “natural conditions.” We managefor what we want on the land and in our lives. In most cases, it’s nosurprise that a natural state of affairs (i.e., healthily functioning ecosystemprocesses) is what we end up describing in our future landscapedescriptions, but from the perspective of the forest, what does that mean?

Megaherbivores or Fire?

Humans all over the world have acted as major instigators of fire forthousands of years. Here in America, this is true since their arrival 10,000or more years ago. But as Allan Savory likes to remind us, any fire startedby a human is not a natural fire—not even those lit by indigenouscultures. The world ecosystem wasn’t prepared for the evolution of ourability to harness this tool and use it so extensively, and ecosystemprocesses and biodiversity have suffered extensively as a result. Nature’smodel in brittle environments has historically dealt with an overburdenof vegetation, including excessive tree density, with great big herbivores.I’m not talking cows or even rhinos—I’m talking elephants. Not too longago, they, or their close relatives, thrived in every brittle environment ofthe world except Australia, where a giant marsupial filled a similar niche.In Eurasia and North America, the mastodons and mammoths dominated,while in South America the more ancient gomphotheres survived rightup to the arrival of humans.

In isolated corners of Africa, where elephants still can be found insignificant numbers, their browsing habits prevent dense, impenetrableforests from forming. Because elephants have to eat for 19 hours a dayjust to maintain themselves, the majority of their diet has to consist ofhigh energy grasses. They browse quite a bit too, especially to meetprotein needs, but lose condition rapidly without abundant grass. In other words, an elephant can’t afford to let its habitat convert to solidwoodland. Through it’s browsing behavior (which includes knocking

LAND LIVESTOCK& A Special Section ofIN PRACTICE

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2003 #92

In our timber enterprise, we work toward our future landscapedescription, splitting our 900 acres of timber into six managementblocks. One block had a high percentage of straight, large diameterEngleman spruce which we are now marketing as house logs for loghome construction.

Into the Woods—Holistic Decisions in the Forestby Jim Howell

continued on page 10

10 LAND & LIVESTOCK IN PRACTICE #92

over and killing entire trees, not just browsing branches), elephants meetmuch of their protein needs, and they maintain a savanna-like settingwith lots of grass. Research in Tsavo National Park in Kenya suggests thatelephants wantonly knock over trees without browsing the branches at all, presumably to merely maintain a more abundantgrassland.

So, the question is, what do we have to do to return ourforests to a healthy condition? Leaving them alone andsuppressing all disturbance has led us to the mess we’re intoday. Do we attempt to manage for slow, cool burns? Do weimitate elephants and mastondons with our chainsaws? Whatare some practical guidelines that forest owners can refer towhen tackling the management of their woodlands? That’swhat this article is all about.

A Case Study on the Howell Ranch

Like lots of the stuff I write, this one is going to comelargely from my own personal experience. I also will refer toa book I recently came across called Wild Logging, by BryanFoster. That title intrigued me from the second I read it. Ifwe are to mimic nature, that means we have to imitate awild, and untamed, model. I wish I’d have had the book six years ago when we began to implement our forestmanagement plan on our high place. We’ve done a lot ofgood things in our forest, but have made some mistakes, too. Wild Logging would have steered us clear of some ofour setbacks.

We have roughly 400 acres of timbered country lying at an elevationof about 9,500 feet (2,894 meters). It’s a mixed stand of evergreen conifersand deciduous aspen trees. In some places the conifers dominate, and in others the aspen take over. The conifersconsist of Engleman spruce, blue spruce, inland Douglas fir, and subalpine fir. With its straight lines, minimal taper from butt to tip, andoverall abundance, the Engleman spruce is our most valuable species. Like nearly everywhere else in the West, our forest has suffered from alack of management over the past 100 years. My granddad “high-graded”the biggest, most valuable Doug fir trees over the course of several cuts in the ‘40s and again in the ‘70s.

The logging crews also pulled out the largest Englemans, particularlyin the ‘70s. This opened up areas for seedlings to establish, and the resultin 1997, when Daniela and I returned to Colorado to begin managing thisplace, was a dense stand of relatively small diameter timber, lots of deadand dying trees from beetle infestations, and an incredibly fire-pronelandscape. This was especially so in areas dominated by the conifers.Because of heavy shading, very little to no understory existed on theforest floor. In the mixed forests containing significant aspen, many ofthose aspen were diseased and nearing the end of their lifespans. Manywere falling over during spring windstorms. The red tree squirrels seemed to be thriving, but not much other wildlife seemed to appreciatethe landscape we had inadvertently created.

Holistic Management forces us to get really clear on how our land has to look if it’s going to sustain our economic needs and human valuesfar into the future. For us, that means that our spruce and mixed

spruce/fir/aspen forests need to display a wide range of age structureand density, multiple canopy layers, and vigorous and productive annualgrowth. The forest also has to contain enough standing and fallen deadtimber to support a diverse wildlife population of birds, small mammals,and insects. To support populations of large wild and domesticherbivores, it also must display a mosaic of more open areas to permitthe development of an understory of grasses, forbs, and shrubs. We hadspots that looked like this, but the majority of the forest was a long ways from this description, so we had to do something.

Getting Started

Since we were more familiar with how to manage cows and grassthan trees, we hired a consulting forester to come in and give us a littledirection. We knew where we wanted to go, but weren’t real clear onhow to go about getting there. We explained to our hired forester howwe wanted our country to look, and he pointed out lots of things that we were previously unaware of, such as the amount of beetle infestationwe had and the degree to which the aspen was diseased. He also did aforest inventory and gave us a clue as to just how much standing timberwe really had. Through a combination of his expertise and our vision, we got to work that first fall of 1997.

We first determined which areas of our forest were in the most direneed of immediate attention and focused our efforts there. Methodicallyand purposefully, we began to walk grid patterns through the forest, andliterally looked at thousands of individual trees. Is this tree diseased andan obvious candidate for removal? Is it an old growth specimen andtherefore providing critical habitat needs and serving as a valuable seedsource? Will removing this large tree “release” the several smaller trees inits immediate vicinity, resulting in an overall greater amount of sunlightharvest and tree growth in that patch of woods? Or should those threesmaller, twisted, forked trees be harvested instead of the nice, straight,large diameter tree in the middle—a tree that will be a valuable log inanother 20 years? How will the removal of a tree, or patch of trees, affectbird nesting, the abundance of elk forage, or small mammal cover?

In Wild Logging, Foster describes the operation of Ben Love, an

Holistic Decisions in the Forestcontinued from page 9

This was typical density in our previously fire-prone forest with mixed stands ofspruce, fir, and aspen prior to commencement of our forest management programin October 1998.

IN PRACTICE • NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003 LAND & LIVESTOCK 11

ones, too. The loggers weren’t the only ones with an economic interest.My family also was counting on some reasonable income, so we had theincentive to take some good trees as well. Luckily, there were (still are) lotsof good ones that needed to be thinned, so everybody ended up happy.

So that was year one. It was a little disconcerting to see all those treesbeing hauled off the ranch, the trails left by the log skidders, and all thatslash on the ground. I grew up cherishing our forest and resenting theugly patches left by past logging crews. It was a tough decision to allowthem back in. But we still had a forest, and, at least in terms of treedensity and our desire for a more open, park-like landscape, it was a lotcloser to our future landscape description than it was a few monthsprevious. Only time would tell if we’d made the right decisions.

Developing a Plan

We logged about 60 acres that fall, and that winter Daniela and Idecided we needed to come up with a well-conceived overall forestmanagement plan for the whole ranch if we were going to continuedoing this. We conceded that there were still lots of old aspen thatneeded to be harvested before they toppled and were rendered useless,and that it would be good to continue thinning the diseased areas, but we wanted to be sure we were doing the right thing. Most significantly,we wanted to come up with a plan that honored our future landscapedescription, but that also ensured a steady stream of income long into the future. That meant we had to harvest within the annual growth rateof our forest. In other words, we knew we didn’t want to take out anymore tree volume per year than was being annually produced over theranch as a whole.

We split the forest up into six management blocks according to specificfeatures of the forest. Most blocks were mixed forests, but some had moreimmediately merchantable trees than others. One big block was 90 percent

aspen, the result of a fire that passed through about 80 yearsprevious. One block had a high percentage of straight, largediameter Engleman spruce. One block out on an isolatedridge escaped the old fire just to its south and contained ourhighest numbers of old growth (200+ years) Douglas fir. Ineach block, we detailed the species present and their relativeabundance, described past management history, madeestimates of total harvestable board feet of timber, describedspecifically how that block fit into our future landscapedescription, described its wildlife attributes and habitat niches,and laid out future management plans over a 20 year period.Over the ranch as a whole, we estimated how many boardfeet of conifers and truckloads of aspen we could sustainablyharvest on an annual basis, forever.

In late May of year two, just after enough snow finallymelted off the road, I made it up into the country that weworked on the previous fall. Lots of things seemed to behappening on the forest floor. Forbs and grasses appeared tobe establishing all over, and the slash close to the soil surfacewas covered in thick fungus. As the spring and summerprogressed, the country really came alive, producing moreunderstory vegetation than it ever had in my lifetime. Elkscattered through the trees nearly every time we arrived.

That summer, we hired a fantastic two-man logging crew to come harvesta good chunk of our older aspen in the mixed forests.

Then, in the spring of year three, we suffered our first hard lesson.

independent forestry consultant and logger near Kalispell, Montana. Love practices what he calls “Zen logging,” the core philosophy of whichis to focus just as much on what you leave in the forest as what youremove. Foster describes how Love approached one of his client’s 40-acreblocks of forest:

“When Love first came to these 40 acres, he spent a full dayjust walking it. He listened for birds and noted the sizes of treesthat different bird species were using for nests. He looked foranimal tracks, which told him where the animals fed and traveled.Ospreys, herons, and kingfishers hunted in the pond, red squirrelsnested in limbs, and snowshoe hare hid in dog-hair thickets toelude predatory goshawks and owls. Love looked for old stumpsthat told him when the area was last harvested and which treespecies had grown there. . . . Love saves dominant trees that havebark thick enough to resist fire and thins out small competingtrees, while leaving some of the wood on the ground for nutrientrecharge. He cuts down patches of small trees that act as firetinder, although he retains some of the dense growth for wildlifecover. Love prunes maple and serviceberry in the understory toencourage green browse, for example, but leaves some thickets for bird nests.” In his promotional pamphlet, Love states: “Like a wolf who spots

the cripples in a caribou herd, you must identify a surplus that can beremoved without harming the integrity and nature of the pre-settlementforest. You must respect the dominant trees in the forest as mature andbattle-tested bucks to be saved.”

Back on our place, while a lot of thought was put into all of theseecological considerations, we also had to think about the crew that wouldactually be doing the logging. It would be fantastic to be able to removemostly diseased, deformed trees, as well as lots of the small diameter stuff

This is a typical view of how our forest looks now (September 2003). We are workingtoward a more open park-like setting, with multiple canopy layers, a diverse agestructure of diverse tree species, and an abundant understory.

that the mastodons should be knocking over. But the logger has to make a living, and there is currently not much of a market for small diameter,deformed, diseased trees. The crew we had working were good sports,however, and they took lots of trees they probably would have ratherleft in the forest, but we had to even the loads out with some good continued on page 12

Upon arriving to the block logged in year one, we were devastated tofind hundreds of trees blown to the ground by the wind. In March orApril of that year, western Colorado received incredibly strong winds outof the east, which is the opposite direction from which they usuallyarrive. When a stand of trees is thinned, the wind can whistle through itmuch more fiercely than under denser conditions. It takes the remainingtrees several yearsto develop thestronger rootsystems necessaryto withstand strongwind events.

If unusuallystrong winds doarrive, andespecially if theyarrive from anunusual direction, athinned stand oftimber can behighly susceptibleto blowdown. That’swhat happened tous. Due to theblowdown, thatblock of forest wasopened to asignificantly greaterdegree than calledfor in our futurelandscapedescription.Thankfully, wewere able to getback our two mancrew from the year before, and were able to salvage the majority of thosetrees—about 1,000 in all—in addition to about 20 more loads of old aspen.

The good news was that the understory vegetation was continuing toexplode—not just an impressive diversity of grasses, but a menagerie ofhighly palatable, incredibly vigorous forbs. We learned that our level ofthinning in year one was too extreme to successfully survive strong windevents, and vowed to leave more trees as we worked our way throughthe other blocks.

Hands-on in the Woods

By year four, we had worked our way through thousands of oldaspen and much of our beetle infested patches of spruce and fir, andwere ready to drop back to our sustainable annual level of harvest. AsFoster emphasizes in Wild Logging, “The growth rate should generally bethe ceiling for your harvest volume; this way you are harvesting theinterest from the forest, not the principal.” That level wasn’t sufficient toattract a logging crew—not even the two-man crew that had done such agreat job for us. Faced with the proposition of having to change hats andbecome a logger, I called around to several sawmills and found out that I

could make just as much or more money logging as I could cowboying.I negotiated a contract with the sawmill just down the highway,

bought a good Husqvarna chainsaw, and for a couple of days a week Iswitched out my riding chaps for a new pair of logging chaps. I talkedmy dad into using our small John Deere farm tractor for a skidder, andwe got to work, harvesting five semi-loads a year (about 25,000 board feet) in both years four and five. We also diversified into corral poles inyear four, and sold about 600 of them that summer. I enjoyed the timewe spent working in the woods (not sure my dad feels the same way),but by the time I’d cut and skidded five loads, I concluded that I

preferred punchingcows over running achainsaw.

As our formerlogging contractor,Dave Goodrich, toldme once, “Logging ishonest work.” That’sfor sure. We have plansto eventually buy ateam of draft horses tohandle our logskidding chores. Myassumption is thathorse logging will bemore fun thanskidding with a tractor,but I’ll have to get back to you on that.

Since year three,when we had theblowdown event, ourlevel of harvest has been less intensive, and blowdown hasn’t been an issue. Theunderstory continues to improve every year,and we are harvesting

about three times the forage from the logged blocks than we did in thepast. The elk hunting is getting better every year, and the forest isgenerating solar dollars. The only thing happening that doesn’t excite us toomuch is the density of aspen regeneration. We opened up a lot of country,and expected it to stay open and maintain the park-like setting we hadcreated, but the aspen had other plans. It regenerates asexually from roots,and if the level of harvest is too intense, saplings emerge everywhere.

For a couple years we thought the elk were going to stay on top of it, but last year it was obviously getting ahead of them, and this yearit’s really taking off. The good news is that there is a strong local market for aspen saplings for landscaping purposes, so that is going to be next spring’s project. Last year and this year, we have been too busy with other projects to do much in the forest, but the good thingabout trees is that they’re pretty patient. They’ll still be there when themastodon (the nickname I gave my chainsaw) returns to the woods.

For landowners striving to learn more about managing their forests for economic and ecological soundness, pick up a copy of Bryan Foster’s Wild Logging, published by Mountain Press Publishing Company, Missoula , Montana, 2003.

12 LAND & LIVESTOCK IN PRACTICE #92

The left photograph is a view of a healing log skid trail taken in June 2000, two years afterlogging but before grazing with cattle. Note abundant grasses and forbs especially on the trail’sedge. The right photograph is the same view in early September 2003. Note the abundance of aspensaplings, which weren’t present three years previously. This photograph was taken after cattlegrazed this area.

Holistic Decisions in the Forestcontinued from page 11

IN PRACTICE • NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003 LAND & LIVESTOCK 13

dove flash above the landscape, and pronghorn antelope sprint across the open, grassy plains.

Close to two years ago, Chris tracked down and bought a herd of 52 elk from a struggling farm in Minnesota. Merriam’s elk, an extinctNorth American subspecies, herded across the west Texas deserts up to the turn of the 19th century. Now, thanks to the Gills, the next bestthing—the Rocky Mountain elk—calls the Trans-Pecos home. It’s a diverse,fantastic place. For a hunter or wildlife enthusiast, it’s paradise.

Their hunting culture and love of wild, remote landscapes drew theGills to this spot. Without this background—this affinity for wilderness—the Gills would probably be flying past this desert ranch just as everyoneelse. I’ve spent a total of about a week with the Gills on Circle Ranch, and not just with Chris and Laura. I’ve met the whole family, and theircontagious enthusiasm for this place impressed me deeply. With theexception of mealtimes and bedtimes, the cozy, attractive ranch houseand its surrounding oasis stay empty. The Gills, every one of them, areout in their habitat, hiking, hunting, exploring, working, and learning their

new place. It’s heartening to see and experience.

New Perspectives

Upon acquiring the ranch,the Gills had no plans ofbecoming ranchers. Theybought the place for the wild animals, and had nointerest in their domesticcounterparts. But a meetingwith Allan Savory openedtheir minds to newpossibilities. They learnedfrom Allan that theconcentrated, periodic grazing and hoof action ofherbivores, wild or domestic,can be a good thing if it’smanaged right. In their sort

of highly brittle country, it’s not just good, it’s vital. Overrest not onlystagnates and eventually kills perennial grass plants; it also renders themhighly unpalatable and under-nourishing to wild herbivores.

Suddenly, the Gills found themselves faced with becoming ranchers,but without much of an idea of how to go about it. Since The SavoryCenter would soon be launching their Ranch and Rangeland ManagerTraining Program, Chris decided to sign up. His experiences in theprogram convinced him that other family members needed to attend aswell. That was the only way, he reasoned, to really get everybody on thesame page. Since they are all partial owners, that was critical. So duringthe second year of the program, Laura, daughter Carolyn, and daughter-in-law Sterling began their Holistic Management education as well.

Grazing Planning Deliberations

Immediately after the girls’ first session in August of 2002, I made my first trip to Circle Ranch. My task was to facilitate a dormant seasongrazing planning session, and to establish some initial biologicalmonitoring transects. With such a great diversity of terrain—flat plains,steep cliffs, rugged limestone mountains, lush drainages, and shrubby

Diablo Peak, at 6,519 feet (1,986 meters) above sea level, is thehighest point on the Circle Ranch. In Spanish, diablo means devil,and it’s a fitting name for this apex. It caps the adjacent 30,000

plus acres (12,146 hectares) of wild and chaotic terrain, full of rattlesnakes,tarantulas, jagged rocks, and thorny scrubland. North of the sleepy townof Van Horn, and deep into the western extreme of Texas known as theTrans-Pecos, Circle Ranch lies in the sort of country that most modernday human beings prefer to drive around or through as fast as possible.

The former owner jokedthat the rain prefers to avoidCircle Ranch, which is how itacquired its name: “the rain justcircles around that place.” Afew stout and hardy families—living remnants of a long, deepranching culture—still call theTrans-Pecos home. Fewer stillchoose to establish here fromother, less severe walks of life,but, incredibly, such people doexist. I’ve had the great fortuneto meet and work with such afamily over the past coupleyears—the Gills.

Chris and Laura Gill comefrom a long line of keenoutdoorsmen (see INPRACTICE #84 for a briefintroduction to the Gills and Circle Ranch). Laura’s father, William Negley,successfully hunted the African “Big 5” (elephant, rhino, lion, leopard, andbuffalo) with a primitive recurve bow under the rules of fair chase, withno rifle backup whatsoever. He took his last elephant, also with arecurve, at the age of 70. Chris and Laura regularly fish in Patagonia, andhave taken other fishing excursions deep into the Falkland Islands,Iceland, Siberia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Amazon Basin.

Love of the Wild

They and their children bought Circle Ranch in 1999 for its long terminvestment value, but more immediately, for its diverse and abundantwildlife. The Sierra Diablo Mountains, which transect a large swath of theranch, contain one of west Texas’ most successful reintroducedpopulations of desert bighorn sheep. The severe, gnarled cliffs of theSierra Diablo escarpment are deceptively productive, harboring a diversityof desert forbs, grasses, succulents, and shrubs. Their extreme aspect alsoprovides the bighorns with the rugged escape terrain they depend on forpredator evasion. On the mountain tops, down into the sloping foothills,on the desert mesas, and even down in the desert shrub thickets, desertmule deer abound. Profusions of scaled quail and gambel’s quail, andoccasionally mearn’s quail, flush out of the brushy draws, white-winged

On the Circle Ranch—Nourishing Wildernessby Jim Howell

Chris and Laura Gill come from a long line of keen outdoorsmen. They andtheir children bought the Circle Ranch for its diverse and abundant wildlife. The headquarters sit below the Sierra Diablo escarpment...

continued on page 14

14 LAND & LIVESTOCK IN PRACTICE #92

desert flats—we had our work cut out for us. Based on theprincipal of “greatest numbers for the shortest time,” andwithout any desire to own their own livestock, the Gills hadpreviously settled on a policy of seasonal contract grazingduring the winter.

The Gills had already developed and implemented twograzing plans, but insufficient water infrastructure limited thesize of their herd and precluded large areas of the ranch frombeing properly grazed. During the months prior to my visit,Charlie King, the versatile and ever-cheerful Circle Ranchmanager, had ramrodded the installation of several miles of new pipe, booster pumps, and new water points. With theseimprovements, we could count the whole ranch as available forgrazing during the winter of 2002-2003.

But did it all need to be grazed? Huge tracts of the ranchobviously did. Years of little grazing pressure and partial rest had resulted inthousands of acres of overrested grasses and soil surfaces. Like most aridranches, the opposite condition also characterized broad tracts of country.The easy, flat, and rolling pastures, with well-distributed and abundant watersources, had been continuously hammered and severely overgrazed fordecades. A lot of that country is home to scattered bunches of pronghornantelope, and the Gills are passionate about increasing their numbers.

The weak link in the life cycle of a pronghorn occurs during the firstfew weeks of life, when they are highly vulnerable to coyote predation.Abundant, tall vegetative cover, where the scentless pronghorn fawns canbe successfully hidden by their mothers, provides the critical habitatfeature necessary for increased fawn survival. This country had been soseverely overgrazed that even the more potentially productive draws,where runoff from intense thunderstorms concentrates to support a moredense and abundant plant community, had insufficient fawning cover.

Up out of the draws, many plants—approaching 40 percent—weredead, probably from a combination of years of management abuse andthe extended drought that has plagued the Southwest for a decade now.The plants still alive didn’t need to be grazed. They were a long, longways from being overrested. The draws needed the chance to accumulatesignificant quantities of older vegetation for pronghorn fawn cover.

So those were the ecological considerations. What about economics?The primary purpose of the grazing enterprise isn’t to make money. If itdoes turn a profit (and so far it has), that’s great, but their primary focuswith the cattle is on using them to improve habitat for wildlife. Takinginto account all of these considerations, last year we made the decisionnot to graze several thousand acres of this historically overgrazed,topographically gentle, pronghorn-inhabited country.

Just this fall the Gills gave me another chance to come help with the2003-2004 winter grazing plan. We started off by going over last year’splan, discussing what did and didn’t work, what Charlie learned, how thecurrent season was shaping up relative to last year’s, etc. We made acouple of logistical errors in planning our cattle moves last year, but onthe whole, and considering we planned the use of country in whichneither Charlie nor the cattle had had much or any experience, the planworked awfully well.

Higher stock densities and better water availability enabled Charlieto push the cattle into much of the overrested country, mainly in the

mountains, and big areas ended the winter minus their rank overburden.

Nourishing Wildernesscontinued from page 13

This highly productive sacaton draw is one of the many natural assets of theCircle Ranch, which feeds a diverse wildlife population including bighorn, desert,mule deer, pronghorn antelope, and three kinds of quail.

A lot of those areas were right on the edge of the Sierra Diabloescarpment, right where the bighorns hang out. On my visit last week,those pastures were growing vigorously and abundantly—good news forthe wild sheep.

The flat country that we left out of last year’s plan was also lookingbetter. The dead plants were still dead, but the plants that were sparedstill contained last year’s growth, and this year’s leaves, on the whole,were vigorously climbing through it. We estimated there to be two tothree times the forage volume on these spots compared to last year. Themore productive draws had also accumulated significant areas of coverfor the pronghorn fawns, and I’ll be darned if the little guys weren’trunning all over the place. As we drove around the ranch, however,penetrating areas that were skipped during last year’s forage inventory,we realized there was still tons of work to be done.

On the whole, we underestimated the forage on hand last year, andthe cattle didn’t have sufficient incentive to use big areas of country—areas that were a lot more overrrested than overgrazed. In order to getthe cattle into those areas, and to condition that forage for the wildherbivores, cattle numbers and stock density needed to increase. To keepthe animals from hanging on the easy, historically overgrazed country,where the forage on the whole is much more palatable (due to theabsence of any older growth in the plants), we made the collectivedecision that a little strategically-placed, portable electric fencing would be needed. Charlie said he could get it done, so we planned it out. It’s achallenging but doable plan, and Charlie will learn a lot as the winterprogresses. I look forward to getting back to see what I can learn.

The Gill Family is still in its infancy on the Circle Ranch. There is a lotto learn, a lot of work to be done, a lot of land to heal. The Gills are on ahabitat enhancement mission, and as Chris emphasizes, “the best habitatfor cattle is also the best habitat for our wild herbivores. One doesn’texclude the other; they enhance each other. We have essentially fivespecies of large herbivore here—cattle, bighorns, mule deer, pronghorn,and elk. Given our habitat diversity and the evolutionary history of thiscountry, I think we should have at least 12 species on this land. Whatshould be here is mostly extinct, so we have to find exotics to fill theniches left by the extinct natives, and learn how to manage them.”

That’s big thinking, but with their zest for nature, their love of wildlife and hunting, their open minds, and their long term perspective,the future looks promising.

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE • NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003 15

Holistic Managers Win Awards

Two long-time Savory Center members,

the Work Ranch and Frasier Farms, have won the National Cattlemen’s Beef

Association’s 2003 Environmental Award for

their respective regions.

The Environmental Stewardship Award

Program recognizes progressive cattle

producers who incorporate innovative,

conservation-friendly and cost-effective

stewardship practices into their operations.

Judges also consider the nominees’ leadership

abilities, the productivity and profitability of

their operations, and their involvement with

local, regional and national efforts to improve

stewardship practices and the public

perception of the cattle industry.

The George and Elaine Work family, who

own and operate a cattle ranch east of San

Miguel in southeastern Monterey County, won

the 2003 Environmental Stewardship Award

for Region 6.

The Works were nominated by The Nature

Conservancy because they recognize “that

here on the Central Coast, and throughout

California, ranching families like the Works are

responsible for maintaining important natural

areas, wildlife habitat and wildlife corridors,”

said Conservancy Field Representative

Anne McMahon.

Marshall Frasier, and his sons Joe, Mark,

and Chris, won the same Environmental

Stewardship Award for Region 5. Frasier

Farms is a family owned and operated ranch

in Woodrow and Limon, Colorado.

Kim Burgess, manager of policy for the

Colorado Division of Wildlife notes that “the

Frasiers have actively managed their properties

for the benefit of wildlife species. These

management practices have been evaluated,

and the Frasiers have received the highest

possible scores for maintenance of valuable

habitat and actions to improve habitat.”

Congratulations to both the Work Ranch

and Frasier Farms.

Everyone enjoyedhearing the

walkabout leaders’observations about

land and how tointerpret it.

(Clockwise fromtop left): Allan

Savory, Walt Davis,Malcolm Beck, and

Steve Rich.

Nothing like finedining in fresh airwith interesting peoplefrom six countries toprompt greatconversations.

Peggy Sechristspeaking at theRendezvous2003 openingceremony.

Rendezvous Central at the L.O. Ranch.

Rendezvous Riproaring Success

The Savory Center would like to extend a whole hearted thanks to

HRM of Texas and Clint Josey for their outstanding efforts in

making Rendezvous 2003, held September 26-28 in Leo, Texas at Clint

Josey’s L.O. Ranch, a great success. With a full schedule of workshops

to choose from participants had a hard time choosing.

One of the highlights of the Rendezvous, besides the gourmet food

provided by Clint Josey, was the Saturday morning walkabout, which

involved round-robin sessions with Allan Savory, Walt Davis, Steve

Savory Center Bulletin Board

Rich, and Malcolm Beck. Everyone came away feeling renewed,

recharged, and recommitted to spreading the word about Holistic

Management.

Special thanks to Pat Richardson and her Rendezvous committee

for their tireless efforts in making this a memorable experience for

everyone. Rumor has it that Dr. Manuel Casas will pick up the

challenge and we’ll have the next Holistic Management Gathering in

Chapa de Mota, Mexico in 2005.

16 HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE #92

One of the aspects of Holistic

Management that first appealed to

me was the emphasis on the human

resource. It was the first program I had come

across in agriculture that even acknowledged

the importance of people, let alone referred

to them as the most underutilized resource.

Since then and through the process of

becoming a Certified Educator, I have

continued to be interested in the people side

of things. This has led, in addition to working

in our own family ranching operation, to

working with other families in business. One

of the families I have learned a great deal

from is the Campbell family.

Evolving Goal

The Don and Bev Campbell family, from B-

C Ranch at Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan,

Canada, has been managing holistically for

over 15 years. Over that time, as their children,

Scott, Mark, Marie and Grace have grown,

married, chosen career paths, and had

children, Don and Bev realized it was

important to revisit their holistic goal, develop

a transition plan and, at the same time, build

their team. I had the opportunity to work

with them and guide that process during two

sessions, each one and a half days long, in

which we revisited the family’s holistic goal,

looked at roles and responsibilities, legal

structure, remuneration and benefits and

created a long-range plan.

From working with them, I would have to

say that their commitment to strengthening

the “team,” how their family works together,

is a key ingredient in their success as a family

and as a business.

In Holistic Management, development of a

holistic goal, and the values intrinsic to this

process, is a powerful tool for families in

business. The trust and acceptance and level

of open, honest communication required to

share values and develop a holistic goal builds

strength and increases commitment. The

Campbells believe the goal setting is essential

because it helps them understand each other

and have a common vision. Or as Don puts it,

“Goal setting helps us walk our talk and hold

ourselves and each other accountable.”

The People Part

But even with a new holistic goal, the

Campbells knew that management is an

ongoing challenge. The Campbells say some of

the biggest challenges they face being in a

family ranching operation are: prioritizing

objectives, communication, transitioning the

operation, having regular meetings, and

accepting differences in other people. Don

adds, “Holistic Management helped us realize

that people are

the most

important. This

allowed us to

set time aside

for serious goal

setting and

team building.

This time

helped us

know each

other better

and focus on

our common

vision, not our

differences.

Each person is

important and

unique, all contribute.”

As part of their management structure, the

Campbells divided their business into four

parts: people, finance, marketing and

production. It is difficult for one person to

wear all these hats, but a family business has

an advantage with more people of differing

skills. And as Don notes, “This division of

labor leads to clear communication and

responsibility. All people have input, but one

specific person is responsible.” However,

management of the ranch is by consensus, and

ownership of the ranch is divided equally.

But consensus and collaborative decision-

making only works if there is a high level of

trust built upon a strong foundation of

effective communication and follow through

of proposed action. It requires a commitment

of working through the hard stuff as well as

celebrating the successes.

Putting this into practice sometimes

requires a great leap from where people

normally operate. Often this is one of the

most difficult aspects of goal development,

facing those unspoken issues. It can be much

easier to go build fences or work on books,

than to take the time to sit down with those

we work and live with and share what is

truly important to us. But the benefits to

building trust and, hence, a stronger, more

united team are immeasurable. It is also a

process and not just a one-time event.

Making a commitment to regular and

effective meetings is, therefore, critical to good

relationships and positive results. Such

meetings may sound simple, but they are

sometimes hard to execute, as the Campbells

have found. Nonetheless, they have committed

to monthly meetings for all the family and

weekly Monday morning meetings for those

working directly on the ranch. They keep

persevering because they believe it is

important to continually work on improving

communication; it helps to assure long-term

success, and the more people involved, the

more important this commitment is.

Change Takes Time

It is important to remember that our

operations and families are constantly

changing. Flexibility, something I think Holistic

Management encourages, is important to all

aspects of the operation. In the book, TheDaughter Also Rises, author Anne Francis

writes, “Human frailty and our ability to both

manage it and embrace it are part of being a

healthy adult and a healthy family. Commit

yourself to the idea that change takes time; it is

often difficult and always requires individual

responsibility, courage and hope.” Francis also

says, “Healthy business families, like healthy

families in general, are able to build upon their

common interests and values so they support

and trust one another, address and solve

problems openly, exercise leadership flexibly

and appropriately, and plan for the future

growth of their business collaboratively.”

This quote certainly describes the

Campbells. Their work on developing goals

and plans has benefited them greatly. They feel

it has given them clearer direction and helps

them to make better decisions. Their team is

strong because all the members feel committed

to be part of the team, and they each have a

better understanding of their team members.

These characteristics put the Campbell family

ahead of the pack when it comes to families in

business, and they believe that Holistic

Management has played a big role in helping

them get to where they are today.

Savory Center ForumA Family Businessby Kelly Sidoryk

Kell Sidoryk and hernephew, Dalen.

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE • NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003 17

ARIZONAKitty BoiceP.O. Box 745, Sonoita, AZ 85637520/907-5574; KatieMackK@aol.com

ARKANSAS

Preston SullivanP.O. Box 4483, Fayetteville, AR 72702479/443-0609; 479/442-9824 (w) prestons@nwaisp.com

CALIFORNIA

Monte Bell325 Meadowood Dr., Orland, CA 95963530/865-3246; mbell@glenncounty.net

Julie Bohannon652 Milo Terrace, Los Angeles, CA 90042323/257-1915JoeBoCom@pacbell.net

Bill Burrows12250 Colyear Springs Rd.Red Bluff, CA 96080530/529-1535; burrows@cwnet.com

Richard King1675 Adobe Rd., Petaluma, CA 94954707/769-1490; 707/794-8692 (w)richard.king@ca.usda.gov

Christopher PeckP.O. Box 2286, Sebastopol, CA 95472707/758-0171ctopherp@holistic-solutions.net

COLORADO

Cindy Dvergsten17702 County Rd. 23, Dolores, CO 81323970/882-4222info@wholenewconcepts.com

Rio de la VistaP.O. Box 777, Monte Vista, CO 81144 719/852-2211; riovista@rmi.net

Daniela and Jim HowellP.O. Box 67, Cimarron, CO 81220-0067970/249-0353howelljd@montrose.net

Tim McGafficP.O. Box 476, Ignacio, CO 81137970/946-9957; tim@timmcgaffic.com

Chadwick McKellar16775 Southwood Dr.Colorado Springs, CO 80908719/495-4641; cmckellar@juno.com

NEW MEXICO

❖ Ann AdamsThe Savory Center1010 Tijeras NWAlbuquerque, NM 87102505/842-5252anna@holisticmanagement.org

Amy Driggs1131 Los Tomases NWAlbuquerque, NM 87102505/242-2787adriggs@orbusinternational.com

Kirk GadziaP.O. Box 1100Bernalillo, NM 87004505/867-4685; fax: 505/867-0262kgadzia@earthlink.net

Ken Jacobson12101 Menaul Blvd. NE, Ste AAlbuquerque, NM 87112505/293-7570kbjacobson@orbusinternational.com

❖ Kelly PasztorThe Savory Center1010 Tijeras NW,Albuquerque, NM 87102505/842-5252kellyp@holisticmanagement.org

Sue ProbartP.O. Box 81827Albuquerque, NM 87198505/265-4554tnm@treenm.com

Vicki Turpen03 El Nido Amado SWAlbuquerque, NM 87121505/873-0473; mvt9357@aol.com

Arne VanderburgP.O. Box 904Cedar Crest, NM 87008505/286-6133asvanderb@hotmail.com

NORTH CAROLINA

Sam Bingham394 Vanderbilt Rd.Asheville, NC 28803828/274-1309; sbingham@igc.org

NORTH DAKOTA

❖ Wayne BerryUniversity of North Dakota—WillistonP.O. Box 1326; Williston, ND 58802 701/774-4269 or 701/774-4200wayne.berry@wsc.nodak.edu

OHIO

❖ Deborah StinnerDepartment of Entomology OARDC1680 Madison HillWooster, OH 44691330/202-3534 (w); stinner.2@osu.edu

OKLAHOMAKim BarkerRT 2, Box 67Waynoka, OK 73860580/824-9011; barker_k@hotmail.com

Chandler McLayP.O. Box 262, Dolores, CO 81323970/882-8802mcchand@msn.com

Byron Shelton33900 Surrey Lane, Buena Vista, CO 81211719/395-8157landmark@my.amigo.net

GEORGIA

Constance Neely1160 Twelve Oaks Circle; Watkinsville, GA 30677706/310-0678cneely@holisticmanagement.org

IOWA

Bill Casey1800 Grand Ave.; Keokuk, IA 52632-2944319/524-5098; wpccasey@interl.net

KENTUCKY

Joel Benson 1180 Fords Mill Rd.; Versailles, KY 40383859/879-6365; joel@growgdp.com

LOUISIANATina Pilione P.O. 923, Eunice, LA 70535phone/fax: 337/580-0068tinamp@charter.net

MASSACHUSETTS❖ Christine Jost Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine200 Westboro Road; North Grafton, MA 01536508/887-4763; christine.jost@tufts.edu

MINNESOTA

Terri Goodfellow-Heyer4660 Cottonwood Lane N; Plymouth, MN 55442612/559-0099; tgheyer@attbi.com

MONTANA

Wayne BurlesonRT 1, Box 2780Absarokee, MT 59001406/328-6808; rutbuster@montana.net

Roland Kroos4926 Itana Circle; Bozeman, MT 59715406/522-3862; KROOSING@earthlink.net

❖ Cliff MontagneMontana State University Department of LandResources & Environmental ScienceBozeman, MT 159717406/994-5079; montagne@montana.edu

Certified Educators

UNITED STATES

❖ These Educators provide Holistic Management instruction on behalf of the institutions they represent.

To our knowledge, Certified Educators are the best qualified individuals to help others learn topractice Holistic Management and to provide them with technical assistance when necessary. On a yearlybasis, Certified Educators renew their agreement to be affiliated with the Center. This agreement requirestheir commitment to practice Holistic Management in their own lives, to seek out opportunities forstaying current with the latest developments in Holistic Management and to maintain a high standard ofethical conduct in their work.

For more information about or application forms for the U.S., Africa, or International Certified EducatorTraining Programs, contact Kelly Pasztor at the Savory Center or visit our website atwww.holisticmanagement.org/wwo_certed.cfm?

18 HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE #92

OREGONCindy Douglas2795 McMillian St.Eugene, OR 97405541/465-4882; cdouglas@omri.org

Jeff GoebelP.O. Box 2503Redmond, OR 97756-0560goebel@palouse.net

TEXAS

Christina Allday-Bondy2703 Grennock Dr.Austin, TX 78745512/441-2019 ; tododia@peoplepc.com

Guy Glosson6717 Hwy 380Snyder, TX 79549806/237-2554; glosson@caprock-spur.com

❖ R.H. (Dick) RichardsonUniversity of Texas at Austin Department of Integrative BiologyAustin, TX 78712512/471-4128; d.richardson@mail.utexas.edu

Doug Warnock151 Cedar Cove Rd..Ellensburg, WA 98926509/925-9127; warnockd@elltel.net

WISCONSINElizabeth BirdRoom 203 Hiram Smith Hall1545 Observatory Dr.,Madison WI 53706608/265-3727; eabird@facstaff.wisc.edu

Larry JohnsonW886 State Road 92Brooklyn, WI 53521608/455-1685; lpjohn@rconnect.com

WYOMINGMiles Keogh450 N. Adams Ave.Buffalo WY 82834307/684-0532; mkeogh@trib.com

Tim MorrisonP.O. Box 536, Meeteese, WY 82433307/868-2354; mcd@tctwest.net

Peggy Sechrist 25 Thunderbird Rd.Fredericksburg, TX 78624830/990-2529; peggy@fbg.net

WASHINGTONCraig MadsenP.O. Box 107, Edwall, WA 99008509/236-2451; madsen2fir@centurytel.net

Sandra Matheson228 E. Smith Rd., Bellingham, WA 98226360/398-7866; smm1@gte.net

❖ Don NelsonWashington State University P.O. Box 646310, Pullman, WA 99164509/335-2922; nelsond@wsu.edu

Maurice RobinetteS. 16102 Wolfe Rd., Cheney, WA 99004509/299-4942; mlr@icehouse.net

Lois TrevinoP.O. Box 615, Nespelem, WA 99155509/634-4410; 509/634-2430 (w)lois.trevino@colvilletribes.com

INTERNATIONAL

AUSTRALIAHelen Carrell“Hillside” 25 Weewondilla Rd.Glennie Heights, Warwick, QLD 437061-4-1878-5285; 61-7-4661-7383 helenc@upfrontoutback.com

Steve Hailstone5 Lampert Rd., Crafers, SA 515261-4-1882-2212; shailstone@internode.on.net

Graeme Hand“Inverary”Caroona Lane; Branxholme, VIC 330261-3-5578-6272; 61-4-1853-2130gshand@hotkey.net.au

Mark GardnerP.O. Box 1395, Dubbo, NSW 283061-2-6882-0605; gardnerm@ozemail.com.au

Brian Marshall“Lucella”; Nundle, NSW 234061-2-6769 8226; fax: 61-2-6769 8223bkmrshl@northnet.com.au

Bruce WardP.O. Box 103, Milsons Pt., NSW 156561-2-9929-5568; fax: 61-2-9929-5569blward@holisticresults.com.au

Brian Wehlburgc/o “Sunnyholt”, Injue, QLD 445461-7-4626-7187; ijapo2000@yahoo.com

CANADA

Don and Randee HalladayBox 2, Site 2, RR 1; Rocky Mountain House, AB T0M 1T0; 403/729-2472donran@telusplanet.net

Noel McNaughton5704-144 St., Edmondton, AB, T6H 4H4780/432-5492; noel@mcnaughton.ca

Len PigottBox 222, Dysart, SK SOH 1HO 306/432-4583; JLPigott@sk.sympatico.ca

Kelly SidorykBox 374, Lloydminster, AB, S9V 0Y4403/875-4418hi-gain@telusplanet.net

CHINA/GERMANY

Dieter Albrecht2, Yuan Ming Yuan Xi LuBeijing 1009486-10-6289 1061; alialb@gmx.net (international)

MEXICO

Ivan AguirreLa InmaculadaApdo. Postal 304; Hermosillo, Sonora 83000tel/fax: 52-637-377-8929rancho_inmaculada@yahoo.com

Elco Blanco-Madrid Cristobal de Olid #307 Chihuahua Chih., 3124052-614-415-3497; fax: 52-614-415-3175elco_blanco@hotmail.com

Manuel Casas-PerezCalle Amarguva No. 61, Lomas HerraduraHuixquilucan, Mexico City CP 5278552-558-291-3934; 52-588-992-0220 (w)tolintepec@aol.com

Jose Ramon “Moncho” VillarAv. Las Americas #1178Fracc. CumbresSaltillo, Coahuila 2527052-844-415-1542; ffmh@prodigy.net.mx

NAMIBIA

Gero Diekmann P.O. Box 363, Okahandja 9000264-62-518091; nam00132@mweb.com.na

Colin Nott P.O. Box 11977; Windhoek264-61-228506; canott@iafrica.com.na

Wiebke Volkmann P.O. Box 182, Otavi, 067-23-44-48wiebke@mweb.com.na

NEW ZEALAND

John King P.O. Box 3440, Richmond, Nelson64-3-547-6347succession@clear.net.nz

SOUTH AFRICA

Sheldon BarnesP.O. Box 300; Kimberly 8300

Johan BlomP.O. Box 568, Graaf-Reinet 628027-49-891-0163johanblom@cybertrade.co.za

Ian Mitchell-Innes P.O. Box 52, Elandslaagte 290027-36-421-1747blanerne@mweb.co.za

Norman Neave Box 141, Mtubatuba 393527-35-5504150norboom@saol.com

Dick Richardson P.O. Box 1806, Vryburg 8600tel/fax: 27-53-927-4367 judyrich@cybertrade.co.za

Colleen ToddP.O. Box 21, Hoedspruit 138027-82-335-3901 (cell)colleen_todd@yahoo.com

ZIMBABWE

Mutizwa MukutePELUM Association Regional DeskP.O. Box MP 1059, Mount Pleasant, Harare263-4-74470/744117fax: 263-4-744470pelum@mail.pci.co.zw

Liberty Mabhena Spring CabinetP.O. Box 853, Harare263-4-210021/2; 263-4-210577/8fax: 263-4-210273

Sister Maria Chiedza Mutasa Bandolfi ConventP.O. Box 900, Masvingo263-39-7699, 263-39-7530

Elias NcubeP. Bag 5950, Victoria Falls263-3-454519rogpachm@africaonline.co.zw

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE • NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2003 19

ARIZONAHRM of ArizonaNorm Lowe2660 E. Hemberg, Flagstaff, AZ 86004928/214-0040; loweflag@aol.com

CALIFORNIAHolistic Management of CaliforniaTom Walther, newsletter editor5550 Griffin St., Oakland, CA 94605510/530-6410; tagjag@aol.com

COLORADOColorado Branch of the Center For Holistic ManagementJim and Daniela Howell newletter editors1661 Sonoma Court, Montrose, CO 81401970/249-0353;howelljd@montrose.net

GEORGIA

Constance Neely1160 Twelve Oaks CircleWatkinsville, GA 30677706/310-0678cneely@holisticmanagement.org

MONTANA

Beartooth Management Club Wayne BurlesonRT 1, Box 2780, Absarokee, MT 59001406/328-6808; rutbuster@montana.net

Local Networks There are several branch organizations or groups

affiliated with the Center in the U.S. and abroad (some publish their own

newsletters.) We encourage you to contact the group closest to you:

TEXASHRM of TexasPeggy Jones, newsletter editor101 Hill View TrailDripping Springs, TX 78620512/858-4251hrmoftx@earthlink.net

West Station for HolisticManagementPeggy MaddoxP.O. Box 694Ozona, TX 76943325/226-3042westgift@earthlink.net

AUSTRALIAHolistic Decision Making Association(AUST+NZ)Lennie ChaplainP.O. Box 1157Moree NSW, 2400tel: 61-2-6752-9065cvchaplain@bigpond.com

CANADACanadian Holistic ManagementLee PengillyBox 216, Stirling, AB, T0K 2E0403/327-9262

MEXICOFundación para Fomentar el Manejo Holístico, A.C. Jose Ramon Villar, PresidentAve. Las Americas #1178

United States

International

NEW YORKRegional Farm & Food ProjectTracy Frisch, contact person148 Central Ave., 2nd floorAlbany, NY 12206; 518/427-6537

USDA/NRCS - Central NY RC&DPhil Metzger, contact person99 North Broad St., Norwich, NY 13815607/334-3231, ext. 4phil.metzger@ny.usda.gov

NORTHWESTManaging WholesPeter Donovan501 South St., Enterprise, OR 97828-1345541/426-2145www.managingwholes.com

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma Land Stewardship AllianceCharles GriffithsRoute 5, Box E44, Ardmore, OK 73401580/223-7471; cagriffith@brightok.net

PENNSYLVANIANorthern Penn NetworkJim Weaver, contact personRD #6, Box 205, Wellsboro, PA 16901717/724-7788; jaweaver@epix.net

Fracc. Cumbres Saltillo, Coahuila 25270tel/fax: 52-844-415-1542ffmh@prodigy.net.mx

NAMIBIANamibia Centre for Holistic ManagementAnja Denker, contact personP.O. Box 23600Windhoek 9000tel/fax: 264-61-230-515unicorn@iafrica.com.na

SOUTH AFRICACommunity Dynamics Judy RichardsonP.O. Box 1806Vryburg 8600tel/fax: 27-53-9274367judyrich@cybertrade.co.za

Come Visit Us!

We Offer:• Guided Bush Walks• Horseback Tours• Game-Viewing Drives• Anti-Poaching Patrol Experience• And much more!In an unforgettable setting with comfy lodging, memorable meals

AT DIMBANGOMBECome Visit Us!

AT DIMBANGOMBE

Private Bag 5950 Roger ParryVictoria Falls Email: rogpachm@africaonline.co.zwZimbabwe Tel. (263)(11)213 529

www.africansojourn.com

Board of Trustees

Allan Savory, ChairIgnatius Ncube, Vice ChairChief D. Shana II

Chief A. J. Mvutu

Chief B.W. Wange

Chief D. Nelukoba

Chief S.R. Nekatambe

Councilor Ndubiwa

Mary Ncube

Lot Ndlovu

Emeldah Nkomo

(Staff Representative)Elias Ncube

(Staff Representative)Osmond Mugweni - Masvingo

Hendrik O’Neill - Harare

Sam Brown, Austin, Texas,

ex-officio

Staff

Huggins Matanga, DirectorAlan Sparrow, Director of

EducationElias Ncube, Community

Programmes ManagerEmeldah Nkomo, Community

Training CoordinatorAndrew Moyo, Village

Banking CoordinatorOtilia Mpofu,

Office ManagerSylvia Nyakujawa and

Vusa Mangena, Bookkeepers

Dimbangombe Ranch andConservation Safaris:

Roger Parry, ManagerTrish Pullen,

Assistant Manager, CateringAlbert Chauke, Ranch Foreman

Africa Centre for Holistic Management(A subsidiary of the Savory Center

since 1992)

To order products inAustralia/New Zealand or southern Africa contact:Australia: Holistic Decision Making Association, Lennie Chaplain, P.O. Box1157, Moree NSW 2400, tel: 61-2-6752-9065; cvchaplain@bigpond.comSouth Africa: Whole Concepts cc, PO Box 1806, Vryburg 8600; tel/fax: 27-53-9274367; judyrich@cybertrade.co.za