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-"Walk-a-Mile" Program an Eye-Opener for Ranchers and the Service If you have a hankering for ridin' and ropin' and riding the range, this may be your chance. A new partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association gives Fish and Wildlife employees a chance to work a few days on a cattle ranch in their area, and ranchers the opportunity to spend a few days with the Service. The "Walk a Mile in My Boots" program hopes to build rapport and understanding between two groups that have not always seen eye-to-eye-federal wildlife workers and ranchers. Both the Service and the ranching community work to maintain healthy landscapes, so they should have a lot in common. But their relationship, some observers say, has been marred by misunderstanding and misinformation. The "Walk a Mile" program hopes to change that. The concept is simple: Put cattle ranchers and Fish and Wildlife folks in each others jobs for a few days. Mix in lots of hard work. And add in some time around the dinner table to talk about shared problems and day- to-day frustrations. Mike Kelly and Craig Utter, Nebraska Sandhills ranchers, came to Washington, DC, to participate in an exchange with Director, Steve Williams, through the Walk a Mile in My Boots Program. Photo by LaVonda Walton/USFWS. (Below) Service fish hatchery manager Bryan Kenworthy herds in the cattle. USFWS photo. 7 4 of .. It's already starting to pay dividends. "I think the Walk a Mile in My Boots' program is good because it puts a human touch on all of what both df us are trying to deal with," says Idaho cattle rancher Jim Little. "It's a good thing for both sides-the ranchers and the Fish and Wildlife Service." Little and his family recently hosted Bryan Kenworthy, manager of the Hagerman National Fish Hatchery, for a week on their ranch near Emmett, Idaho. Other exchanges have taken place in Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska, and Service Director Steve Williams hosted two Nebraska ranchers, Craig Utter and Mike Kelly, for two days of meetings and briefings in Washington in November. More exchanges are planned in California, Kansas, Nevada, Arizona and Puerto Rico. Kenworthy, whose hatchery is on the Snake River near Twin Falls, Idaho, described his time at the V Dot Cattle Co. as enjoyable and educational, but also hard work. "I rode a horse over 50 miles during the week, gathering cows and calves off the range or moving cows between pastures," Kenworthy said. "I helped sort and wean calves. I participated in doctoring cows, and vaccinated, wormed and weighed calves." Little's daughter, Gretchen Hyde, is doing the reciprocal part of the exchange at the Ecological Services field office in Boise, working on outreach with the External Affairs program. After an initial pilot phase, Service employees from all regions and programs will be able to participate. In a recent Service-wide message, Deputy Director Marshall P. Jones Jr. encouraged all employees to enroll in the program and complete a work-exchange with ranchers in their areas. He also encouraged regional offices and field stations to host local ranchers. Organizers said the Walk a Mile program is the first of its kind at the Fish and Wildlife Service. But it's quickly gaining attention in the ranching community and with other Federal agencies. "This thing is only going to get bigger and bigger," said Myra Hyde, a program specialist for Partners for Fish and Wildlife, who has helped set up exchanges. "We have had other agencies come to us and say, `This is the coolest. We need to do this."' To apply for the program, or sign up to host a rancher, contact Heather Johnson, coordinator of the "Walk a Mile in My Boots" program, at 304/876 7479 or heather Johnson@fws.gov, or visit the program's web site at <http://walkamile.fws.gov>. Jim Nickles, Public Affairs, Sacramento, California