Cultivating a career — Van Meter joins NRCS in Newcastle

Weston County is dominated by vast swaths of rangeland, and a new rangeland management specialist has rolled into town to help residents maximize the benefits of those areas. Codie Van Meter recently assumed a new position with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Newcastle, and she is eager to serve the community and get to know its people.

Van Meter, who began her NRCS career
in Emporia, Kansas, in 2020, started working in Newcastle in January. During her time in Kansas, she was employed as a soil conservationist.

“I wanted to get back into the rangeland work. I saw that Newcastle had one of the job openings that I was looking for, and Wyoming always piqued my interest,” she said.

Newcastle has proved a good fit for Van Meter, who had not set foot in the state before her employment.

“I love Newcastle. This place is pretty unique,” she said.

As a rangeland management specialist, Van Meter finds the town to be rather charming. In an interview with the News Letter Journal, she noted how U.S. Highway 16 seems to divide two distinct ecoregions — the Black Hills to the north and sagebrush grassland to the south. The ponderosa pine forests of the Black Hills and the sagebrush grassland set the area apart from the landscapes she is more familiar with.

Growing up and beginning her career in Kansas, Van Meter is more accustomed to the tall and midgrass regions of that state. In fact, she grew up in the Flint Hills region of Kansas, which is the largest continuous area of tallgrass prairie in North America. A noteworthy fact that Van Meter shared about this area is that landowners do annual controlled burns to maintain the ecosystem. Van Meter herself has helped her mother, a longtime Flint Hills rancher, perform such burns. However, she stressed that Weston County is different from the Flint Hills and that she would not necessarily prescribe controlled burns to local landowners.

Van Meter is mindful of her status as a public servant. While she is prepared to answer the conservation questions posed to her, she also recognizes that continuing to cultivate patience, understanding and communication skills will allow her to better assist those who come to her for guidance. Building a rapport with the public is a related goal.

“I’ve had my experience of being the new person, so I do understand that you don’t want to just trust anybody off the street. I’ve been trying to get involved with the community because that’s how I can learn what the community actually needs,” she said.

One way Van Meter is getting involved is by judging agronomy entries at the upcoming Weston County Fair. She encourages anyone who
is interested to submit an
entry in this category since, of all the fair categories, agronomy is comparatively light on competitors.

She also welcomes anyone with conservation questions to stop by the NRCS office and speak with her.

“Not everyone knows that the NRCS is here,” she said. “Ranchers and farmers are primarily who I help, but anybody who has a garden or is interested in trying to grow something or trying to keep their soil intact, I can help with that.”

Someone who has taken advantage of Van Meter’s expertise is her mother. Van Meter said that her mother loves that she has taken up this line of work.

“She’s asking me questions all the time,” she said.

Van Meter’s supervisor, Paul Eitel, who has earned the title “Distinct Conservationist,” also approves of her work.

Eitel characterizes Van Meter as “outgoing and willing to learn new things.”

“She has adjusted to the job well,” he said.