OBITUARIES

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Toby Nelson Vineyard

Aug. 18, 1980 – June 22, 2023 the cookies from the trophy house’s soda fountain. partners to qualify for the NHSFR, including Devin Worman and Jeremy Biley. He traveled with Tyler for a couple years and then on his own with his partner at the time. those two watching MASH, eating crackers and string cheese, teaching Amy’s cat to eat string cheese from the container or causing trouble somewhere. Shiloh was a strong presence in Toby’s life, and so many memories were made with him. in 2019 and stayed with her until 2022. Together they enjoyed having the kids over and running them to rodeos and barrel racing. They both strived to help the kids in any way they could.

These are just some of the memories he never forgot while living there. Toby truly loved living at the PK and working there later on in life.

A favorite memory of his during this time was catching baby geese for his mother on her birthday with Shiloh Brown. The geese probably got the best of the two young men.

Toby Nelson Vineyard was born Aug. 18, 1980 to Sheri and Guy Vineyard in Sheridan, where he joined his older brother Tyler.

Toby spent most of his childhood at the PK Ranch outside of Sheridan with his parents, brother and beloved grandpa and grandma.

One could find Toby in his younger years running around the ranch with Tyler, giving out speeding tickets to “speeders” coming in, fishing, finding shenanigans to get into, trying to learn to swim and stealing all of

Wyoming

Efforts to improve sage grouse habitat through conventional management practices may be ineffective – and even counterproductive –according to research by Wyoming scientists.

Sagebrush reduction strategies including mowing and herbicide application are often employed to enhance habitat for Greater sage grouse and other sagebrush-dependent species.

The theory is clearing large sagebrush shrubs improves food sources in sage grouse nesting and brood-rearing habitats by allowing other, more nutritious vegetation to grow with less competition.

This, in turn, should increase invertebrate populations, another food source for sage grouse.

But, a new paper published in the journal Wildlife Monographs suggests these methods may be misguided.

UW study

In a nine-year experimental study, researchers examined how Greater sage grouse populations in Central Wyoming responded to mowing and applying the herbicide tebuthiuron to Wyoming big sagebrush.

According to their data, these treatments did not benefit the birds.

“Some managers think treating sagebrush for wildlife is how it’s supposed to work, and we’ll keep doing it,” says Jeff Beck, University of Wyoming (UW) professor of ecosystem science and management and principal investigator for the study. “Hopefully, this will get people to start

Toby attended Beckton Elementary for a few years and enjoyed the ride into school with his Grandma Roberts. Beckton, being a small school, allowed pocket knives, and Toby fondly remembered playing games during recess with throwing knives at the ground.

Toby and his family moved to Clearmont in 1990, where Toby and Tyler would attend Clearmont Junior and Senior High School.

Toby enjoyed team roping and spent most of his off time in the arena on his horse Bill. Toby and Bill would attend the National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) twice during his high school career.

Toby roped with many

Toby also played basketball during junior high and high school and enjoyed the time he spent with his great friend Dusty Bates. These two would grow close throughout the school years, causing Lynn Latham stress and anxiety throughout the FFA season.

She took it like a trooper, and she was one of Toby’s favorite teachers. He valued her friendship later in life.

Toby worked on the family ranch with many hired hands and helpers. Nick Roadifer and Toby found time to hunt, check cows, work on cars, go snowmachining and work on the ranch together. They became quick friends.

Shiloh also came to work for the family ranch, and one could usually find

After high school, Toby moved to Arizona, bought a place and built an arena to continue to do what he loved to do – work with horses and rope. He met John and Wayne Folmer there and continued to rope with them on and off.

Toby moved back to Wyoming in 2006 and married Amy Bohlmann. They had two amazing children during their time together, Bronc and Brindle Vineyard. Toby taught both kids the love of horses and how to ride. He also taught Bronc to rope and noticed he had a natural talent, like most of the Vineyards.

Toby loved both of his kids immensely and tried to do best for them when he could. Toby helped buy a horse for both kids and helped Brindle with her barrels. He enjoyed watching the kids compete in either rodeo or basketball.

Toby met Tucker Smith

Toby started his job at Sunlight Ranches in the fall of 2022, and Bronc had the opportunity to work on the Ceded Strip Ranch with him in the summer of 2022. Toby was so proud of Bronc and the work ethic he showed that summer.

In June of 2023, Toby proposed to Lacey Dowdy. They had planned to wed in the fall of 2023. Toby had many friends throughout his lifetime – too many to mention. His circle was large and he had a friend wherever he went.

Toby was someone who would’ve given the shirt off his back, even if it was his last one. He’d help anyone who needed it. Toby had a huge heart. He enjoyed his kids, roping, riding good horses, having a good time with his friends, swapping cowboy stories and living the cowboy lifestyle.

Toby was the epitome of a cowboy. He lived life well and without hesitation.

In his younger years, he could sit in a saddle with the best of them, and he trained a lot of really good horses. He made friends in many genres of the horse world and loved to talk and learn more about what makes a good horse. He worked hard and loved working with his draft horses as well, trying to keep the cowboy tradition alive and pass it down to his kids.

On June 23, Toby joined his mom, grandma Ermal Roberts, grandpa Don Roberts and grandma Carolyn Vineyard in Heaven. Toby gained the peace and happiness he had longed for, for many years. He will be missed by many.

Toby is survived by his two children Bronc and Brindle Vineyard, his brother Tyler (Stacy) Vineyard, his two nieces Caytlen and Cathryn Vineyard, his father Guy (Becky) Vineyard and his grandpa Nelson Vineyard.

A celebration of life was held at the Clearmont Community Church on July 1 with Pastor Kevin Cooley officiating.

There has been a memorial set up for his two children at First Northern Bank in Sheridan.

Question Value Of Sagebrush Control In Conserving Sage Grouse

thinking, ‘If we’re going to spend money to improve habitat, we’ve got to find some other ideas.’”

Beck’s co-authors include Kurt Smith, a former UW PhD student who is now an ecologist with Western EcoSystems Technology; Jason LeVan, a former UW master’s student who is now a range and wildlife conservationist for Pheasants Forever; Anna Chalfoun, UW associate professor and assistant unit leader of the U.S. Geological Survey Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; Stanley Harter, a wildlife biologist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD); Thomas Christiansen, a retired WGFD sage grouse program coordinator and Sue Oberlie, a retired Bureau of Land Management wildlife biologist.

The researchers tracked behaviors and survival rates of more than 600 female Greater sage grouse in response to mowing and tebuthiuron application. They also monitored effects on invertebrate populations, sagebrush and herbaceous vegetation.

Throughout the study, responses were compared to untreated plots near the treated areas as well as offsite control plots.

Pre-treatment data were collected during 2011-13, and mowing and tebuthiuron applications were implemented in winter and spring of 2014.

After six years, 201419, of post-treatment monitoring, Beck and his colleagues determined sage grouse responses to treatment were neutral at best.

“Neither mowing nor tebuthiuron treatments influenced nest success, brood success or female survival,” they reported.

Furthermore, treatments used to reduce Wyoming big sagebrush coverage resulted in slight avoidance by sage grouse.

Negative impacts

Invertebrates and herbaceous vegetation also did not respond positively to reduction of Wyoming big sagebrush, indicating treatments did not improve the quantity and quality of sage grouse food sources.

Instead, reduction of Wyoming big sagebrush cover may negatively impact sage grouse and other species using sagebrush shrubs to nest and seek refuge from predators, the researchers suggest.

They predict expanding experimental treatments to larger areas may reveal greater negative effects of Wyoming big sagebrush reduction on sage grouse populations.

“Management practices which focus on the maintenance of large, undisturbed tracts of sagebrush will best facilitate the persistence of sage grouse populations and other species reliant on the sagebrush steppe,” they wrote.

Their results are consistent with many other studies suggesting controlling Wyoming big sagebrush negatively impacts wildlife. However, they caution, their findings should not be generalized to other sagebrush species and subspecies, such as mountain big sagebrush.

Rather than removing Wyoming big sagebrush, says Beck, conservation strategies should focus on removing encroaching pinyon and juniper and invasive species such as cheatgrass. These types of vegetation alter the sagebrush ecosystem and influence fire cycles, potentially damaging sage grouse habitat.

Enhancing wet areas in sagebrush habitats is another promising strategy for improving the quality of sage grouse brood-rearing habitat, he notes.

This research was supported by the WGFD’s Wyoming Sage Grouse Conservation Fund; the Bates Hole, Big Horn Basin, South Central, Southwest and Wind River/Sweetwater River local sage grouse working groups; the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust; the BLM’s Lander Field Office; the Margaret and Sam Kelly Ornithological Research Fund and the Wyoming Reclamation and Restoration Center’s graduate assistantship program.

2023 National Rambouillet Show and Sale held in South Dakota

The 2023 National Rambouillet Show and Sale and National Junior Show were held June 22-24 at the South Dakota State Fairgrounds in Huron, S.D. Consignors from multiple states made the trip to Huron to consign some of the top genetics in the country.

Overall, 78 total head sold for an average of $1,019.49 per head with registered buyers from North Carolina, Texas, North Dakota, Minnesota, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Kansas, Wyoming, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Mexico.

Top-selling rams

Auctioneer Casey Humble of Mud Butte, S.D. got the sale rolling with the top-selling ram, lot 44, a horned yearling ram consigned by Chapman Rambouillets of Bison, S.D., which was named the 2023 National Champion Ram in the national show judged by Travis Hoffman of Fargo, N.D.

When the gavel dropped, the ram sold at $4,800 to the Grotegut Family of Texas.

The 2023 Reserve National Champion Ram was also a South Dakota ram, an early fall ram lamb consigned by Marshall Sheep Company of Arlington, S.D. This ram went east to O’Banion Farms of Ohio at $1,900.

Other top rams were Chapman Rambouillets’ lot 43, which went to Chance Porsborg of North Dakota at $2,400, while another Marshall Sheep Company ram went to O’Banion Farms for $2,000.

Dew Drop Farms of Minnesota sold lot 78 to Regehr Sheep of South Dakota for $2,400, while Benz Rambouillet of Kansas sent lot 10 to Kentucky to Mike and Dianne Hellwig for $3,500.

Dew Drop Farms’ lot 79, an early fall ram lamb, found a new home in North Carolina with Vivian Stephenson, who picked him up at $2,200.

Chapman Rambouillets sent a January ram lamb to Minnesota to G String Ranch for $1,800.

One February ram lamb was consigned by Red Barn Family Farm of Minnesota, and he went south to Texas to Sadie and Addie Buffe at $1,000.

Top-selling females

In the female portion of the sale, the 2023 National Champion Ewe was lot 81, a yearling ewe consigned by Dew Drop Farms. She went east to Vivian Stephenson at $3,500.

A North Dakota yearling ewe, consigned by

Lynn Frey, was named 2023 Reserve National Champion, and she was purchased at $2,400 by Moriah Geiser of Minnesota.

A nice consignment of yearling ewes averaged $923, while three pairs of yearling ewes averaged $1,290 per pair.

In the ewe lamb portion of the sale, lot 13F, consigned by Benz Rambouillet of Kansas went to the Grotegut Family at $1,600, while Wyatt Leib picked up a Joslin Family ewe at $900.

Cade Parker of Texas picked up the top January ewe lamb at $1,725 from Chapman Rambouillets, while the Grotegut Family also secured a Chapman Rambouillets ewe at $1,700.

Allison Shipp of Missouri purchased a Borcher Sheep Company ewe out of Wyoming at $1,100, while also finding a Joslin Family ewe for $1,000.

The January ewe lambs had a nice average of $1,015 per head.

The top February ewe lamb was consigned by Borcher, and she went to Sadie and Addie Buffe at $1,000. Three pairs of ewe lambs went to three separate buyers, with the Grotegut Family picking up the top pair at $2,600 per pair.

National Junior Rambouillet Show

Prior to the 2023 National Show and Sale, the 2023 National Junior Rambouillet Show was held with 42 junior exhibitors representing six different states.

Oklahoma’s Wyatt Leib’s yearling ram was named National Junior Champion Ram, while Kasandra Knutson of South Dakota had the National Reserve Champion Ram.

In the ewe division, Avery Walton of Texas took home the champion title, and August Anderson of South Dakota claimed reserve.

Along with the National Junior Show, youth competed in a sheep dress up contest, a poster contest and a cornhole tournament.

For the adults, the annual Sheepherders Classic Golf Competition was held with a group from North Dakota taking the top spot in a putt off for the championship.

New this year was a salsa contest, with Weier Farm of South Dakota taking the top spot.

In the 2023 National Fleece Show, Chapman Rambouillets had the Champion Ram Fleece, and Estelle Cook of Cook Sisters Rambouillets won the title of Champion Ewe Fleece.

At the annual meeting, Darin Bauck of Min- nesota was named the new American Rambouillet Sheep Breeders Association (ARSBA) president of the board of directors, while Stephen Munz of Texas was elected as vice president. Russell Rossiter of California was elected to fill the board role Munz vacated.

During the award presentations and annual junior fundraiser auction, $9,000 was raised for the Burk and Bernie Lattimore Scholarship Program. For 2023, Allison Shipp and Moriah Geiser of Minnesota were named as scholarship recipients.

Topping off the annual banquet was the presentation of the ARSBA Legacy Award to Estelle Cook for her many years as a top producer and advocate for the Rambouillet breed.

The ARSBA wishes to thank all the hosts from both South Dakota and North Dakota for all of their hard work and dedi- cation in putting together this year’s event. Special thanks goes to local hosts Burton and Laura Anderson of Highmore, S.D. who worked very hard over the past year to make the event so successful.

In addition, a huge thank you goes out to Nina Steinmetz of Hot Springs, S.D. for all her work in put- ting together the activities for the junior exhibitors.

The ARSBA was very fortunate to have a great set of corporate and individual sponsors from both the greater South Dakota area as well as other parts of the country that made for an outstanding week.

The 2024 National Rambouillet events will be held in Stephenville, Texas in June 2024.

ARSBA has been committed to producing the highest quality meat and fleece available in one breed of sheep. This article is courtesy of ARSBA.