Any local residents looking for a crash course on rural living are invited to a Nov. 14 workshop at the Park County Fairgrounds.

Hosted by the Powell Clarks Fork Conservation District, this year’s Small Acreage/Rural Living Workshop will feature a lineup of local experts presenting on key topics for area landowners. 

During the daylong session, individuals and agencies will cover a wide range of information, including irrigation and water rights, noxious weeds and pests, pastures and grazing, wildfire risk mitigation, animal husbandry on small acreages, soil health and wildlife habitats.

Attendees will leave the workshop knowing how to start new ventures and avoid issues, which local agencies to contact with questions and how to be a good neighbor, said Powell Clarks Fork Conservation District Manager Teresa Stone.

Stone is a small acreage landowner herself, and she said it takes a lot of knowledge in diverse areas to properly manage a property in Park County.  

“Often you don’t know what you don’t know until it’s too late,” she said.

For example, Stone said the area’s semi-arid soils cannot support much grazing — a lesson that’s much easier to learn at an educational session than through a ruined pasture.

She said it’s also an example of how managing small acreages is truly a neighbor-to-neighbor effort.

“A ruined pasture is not just a problem for that landowner but also a problem for neighbors and the community,” Stone said, “as a ruined pasture may foster weeds and lead to soil erosion that pollutes streams.”

Before becoming the conservation district’s manager, Stone attended a prior Small Acreage/Rural Living Workshop and used what she learned to build a wildfire-defensible home and develop good relationships with her irrigation neighbors.

“Without the knowledge gained from the workshop, I would not have known what an irrigation easement means in terms of being a good neighbor and working together to get the water where it needs to go,” she said.

At next month’s workshop, Shoshone Irrigation District General Manager Trent Reed will share practical information on what every landowner needs to know about irrigation and water rights.

A new presenter this year is Heather Tisdale, a Powell Clarks Fork Conservation District volunteer who will talk about animal husbandry on small acreages. Tisdale runs a 13-acre ranchette in rural Powell that’s home to cows, yaks, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese and more. Another new presenter is Sarah Johnson of Powell’s Heart Hopper Giants, who will offer info about raising rabbits for meat. She says rabbits can be a good fit for small-acreage and family livestock projects due to the low start-up costs and their relative ease of care compared to other livestock.

The Powell Clarks Fork Conservation District hopes to draw both new and long-time attendees to the Saturday, Nov. 14 workshop at Homesteader Hall at the fairgrounds. The cost for the 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. event is $10, which includes lunch.

To sign up, visit pcfcd.myshopify.com, or call 307-271-3125 or email powellclarksforkconservation@gmail.com for more information.