BROOKINGS — South Dakota State University Extension, the South Dakota Grassland Coalition and partner organizations are inviting landowners, agency staff and the public to attend the 2025 South Dakota Grassland Management School.

SDSU Extension is partnering with the South Dakota Grassland Coalition, Audubon Great Plains, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Natural Resource Conservation Service to host the school, which is Feb. 11-12 at Cedar Shore Resort near Oacoma.

Registration is required and is $50 per person, which includes meals on both days. To register, go here and  search “grasslands.” For those interested but unsure they can make it, contact Judge Jessop by Feb. 7 at 605-280-0127 or Judge.Jessop@sdconservation.net to be recorded as a potential walk-in.

The school will start at 10 a.m. Feb. 11 with a session on customer service designed to help professionals understand how to better serve landowners and for landowners to have a better idea what to expect, including input from landowners and professionals. The event will also feature presentations and open discussions ranging from program coordination, personal grassland restoration projects, the science behind seed mixes, tools and techniques, and a team approach to setting and accomplishing goals.

This school is offered as part of the South Dakota Grassland Coalition’s expanded education platform, which also includes the flagship grazing schools and recent prescribed fire schools. Pete Bauman, SDSU Extension natural resources and wildlife field specialist, is excited to return this school to the coalition’s education agenda.

“We’re really looking forward to this opportunity to serve our grassland community,” Bauman said. “We’ve not offered the classroom portion of this school for some time, and we have received many requests from landowners and agencies to put it on the agenda for 2025. Further, we hope to follow up this classroom portion with several site tours during the growing season.”

For more information, contact Bauman at 605-882-5140 or Peter.Bauman@sdstate.edu.