Center spurs range research, education

CORONA, N.M. (KRQE) - The public is invited to a Sept. 28 groundbreaking ceremony in Corona for a facility intended provide a richer learning environment for New Mexico State University students through distance education, field trips and support for graduate research projects.

The first phase of the Southwest Center for Rangeland Sustainability, located on the Corona Range and Livestock Research Center, is expected to be completed in May 2011.

"The long-term vision for the new facility is to attract prominent researchers, improve student success, enhance onsite ungulate hunting programs, and lead the way in rangeland research in the United States," said Mark Gladden, director of development for the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.

When completed, the $1.5 million state-funded first phase will consist of indoor and outdoor multiuse meeting and exhibit areas; library-meeting room for outreach activities and student use; offices for the Corona research center, visiting faculty, staff and students, and a kitchen.

Because the new facility is centrally located in New Mexico, it has garnered support from many statewide organizations, legislators and local governments, as well as the executive branches of the State of New Mexico. The new facility will facilitate centralized meetings for statewide interests, as well as host exciting new outreach activities in a secluded, picturesque, rangeland setting.

"The new facility will offer a structured and convenient environment dedicated to education and outreach," said Shad Cox, ranch manager for the Corona center. "A dedicated, all-weather forum will allow more flexibility in scheduling with the opportunity to address issues in a more timely manner. We are already planning for increased outreach activities and events at the new center."

Students will get hands-on experience taking what they learn in the classroom and applying it right outside the front doors of the facility. And, with computer technology that brings students and researchers information in real time, they will be able to do such things as monitor livestock on the ranch through an electronic collar that is relayed to nodes placed around the ranch and then sent to the sustainability center.

Cox said that with distance education, students at the ranch will be able to take courses without having to drive three hours to the main campus.

People at the rural facility will be able to interact with anyone in the world with the technology available. Whatever the needs of the students are, workshops or classes will be assembled to meet them.

The center will be located 1.25 miles northeast of the ranch headquarters and will offer students a view of the Gallinas Mountains from the facility. This first phase includes 3,450 square feet of enclosed space with an additional 2,800 square feet of covered porch area.

The project was initiated by CRLRC Advisory Committee members, who spearheaded the legislative action, which resulted in $500,000 in appropriation, said Tim Ross, interim department head of the Department of Animal and Range Sciences. In 2008, NMSU set the center as a legislative priority and worked with the CRLRC Advisory Committee to acquire an additional $1 million for the facility.

"The advisory committee recognized a need for a facility centralized in New Mexico to meet the needs of ranchers in the state, but also to address the needs of people moving into rural areas who may not be engaged in traditional ranching activities," Ross said.

Because of this, the center will have a strong role in rural development. Ross said they hoped to investigate quality-of-life issues, such as alternative and renewable energy, and water quality systems that are applicable and affordable at a ranch or homestead. The center also will help educate people in rural New Mexico in the areas of rangeland, livestock and wildlife management, with the potential to study alternative energy topics, from solar pumps to big wind.

"The first phase of this vision is being accomplished through the dedication of the State of New Mexico and a handful of invigorated NMSU alumni," said Gladden. "Additional support is critically needed to furnish the facility and to complete phase two, which involves the construction of overnight accommodation pods for faculty, researchers, students and guests."

Lowell Catlett, dean of the College of ACES, will also attend the groundbreaking ceremony, along with state legislators.

Attendees of the ceremony can meet at the ranch headquarters Sept. 28 at 2:30 p.m. and then drive out to the site of the groundbreaking. Headquarters are eight miles east of Corona on County Road A031. Additional information and a map can be found on the Corona Range and Livestock Research Center website.