Dionne Walsh, ARS President. Email: dionne@rangeiq.com.au
A lot of work happens behind the scenes to ensure that our Society survives and thrives. Much of this work is undertaken by volunteers and committed individuals who go above and beyond in their service to the Society. The Publications Committee (PC) is one such group of dedicated individuals.
The PC drives and supports the Society’s publications, being The Rangeland Journal, the Range Management Newsletter, the website and our social media channels. Council is grateful for the contributions made by all members of the Publications Committee, but particularly the Editors of the four publications. On behalf of Council, I would like to thank Dr Andrew Ash for his considerable service as the Interim Chair of the Publications Committee during the past 18 months. Andrew agreed to take on the role in an interim capacity until a replacement for Ron Hacker could be appointed, however this took a lot longer than expected. In late 2021, Dr Bradd Witt responded to a call for expressions of interest in the role and his application was unanimously supported by Council. Bradd will commence the role in early 2022 after a handover period with Andrew. I would also like to thank Russell Grant for his management of the ARS website for many years and wish him all the best for his well-earned retirement. We welcomed Jayne Cuddihy to the role of website editor in late 2021.
Excitingly, Council recently received and assessed the first nomination for the “ARS Award of Excellence in Rangeland Management”. This award was developed to recognise people who have made, or are making, a significant contribution to rangeland management, across biophysical, economic, social and governance domains. We are thrilled to announce Tom Mann (“Hillgrove”, Charters Towers) as the inaugural recipient of this prestigious honour. You can read the award citation in this Range Management Newsletter. We look forward to presenting Tom with his medal later this year and celebrating his contribution to rangeland management at the next ARS biennial conference in Western Australia in 2023.