Meet the Land EKG™ Team

Fourth generation Wyoming rancher Charley Orchard was directly involved in all phases of his family's private and public land ranching business. After completing his bachelor's degree Charley returned to his home place and developed a management and monitoring program to optimize pasture, grazing, and monitoring design, for five herds of livestock across 75,000 acres of land. For five years he was active in the County and State Conservation District boards. In 1991 Charley returned to MSU to pioneer a Master's Degree investigating alternative resource management practices. Part of his research allowed him to evaluate Holistic Resource Management practices on 43 Rocky Mountain Ranches.

During his graduate work, Charley managed the Salisbury Ranch at Henry's Lake ID. Both Charley and his wife, Sara, were involved in strategic planning efforts among three ranches, and multiple conservation groups and agencies to restore grazing lands and two key watersheds for that area. In a three-year period without reducing stock numbers and applying only grazing modifications, the ranch lands and riparian systems were well recovered and deemed a success by all participants.

During this time Charley further developed and applied what became known as the Land EKG® Monitoring System®, a land health assessment and monitoring method. He has had the opportunity to work now with hundreds of land managers in North America helping them learn to track land health and improve their management decisions. Charley's background, experience, and education enable him to address many land issues and concerns. His constant driving goal is to promote sustainable business and ecological health for all land stewards.

Sara Orchard has been pivotal in the growth of Land EKG. Her keen business skills and vision have allowed Land EKG to advance techilogically through awards from several state and national grants opportunities. Sara also helps to manage office operations and is adept at business and licensing agreements. Her introduction and education to sustainable management practices began in 1985. She holds a B.A. in Human Resources and Organizational Management from Montana State University. Sara's on-going research and marketing vision helps to advances Land EKG's services and relations.

Rebecca Baril joined Land EKG in 2006 as a Rangeland technician and Database administrator. Originally from rural New Hampshire, she graduated from Montana State University in 2004 with a B.S. in Ecology, specializing in sustainable and integrated resource management practices. As an MSU student, Rebecca was awarded a grant through the Undergraduate Scholars Program to investigate damage in Montana Canola. Later, she worked with the MSU Animal and Range Department coordinating projects relating to insect pests and biological pesticide trials in several crops. Most recently, she has been involved with Montana producers and Extension Agents, tracking factors affecting Alfalfa stand longevity.

Rebecca is a member of Worldwide Workers On Organic Farms, working on organic farms in Spain and communities in remote South America. Rebecca also has a passion for education, having worked with the National Park Service and as a youth wilderness field instructor, and has served as an Americorps member at the McCall Outdoor Science School. She earned a Graduate Certificate in Environmental Education from the University of Idaho in 2006.