Tom Getts and Laura Snell are celebrating ten years of serving Northeast Californians with the University of California Cooperative Extension in 2025. Their combined service has made lasting impacts on agricultural producers, agency representatives and the general public as they complete research and outreach throughout the region.
Tom Getts started working for UC Extension as the area Weed Ecology and Cropping Systems Advisor covering Lassen, Modoc, Sierra, and Plumas counties in June of 2015. He is based out of the Lassen office which is headquartered in Susanville, but travels throughout the intermountain region to help diagnose and address agronomic issues. Before working for UC, Tom was born and raised on the Front Range of Colorado, spending his childhood doing many outdoor activities. Inspired by an interest in plants, he pursued studies at Colorado State university where he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree of Forestry Management form the Warner College of Natural Resources in, and a Master Degree of Weed Science from the College of Agriculture Sciences.
The position with Extension in NE California seemingly was written for him, providing the opportunity to pursue both his interests in agriculture, as well as weed management in natural systems. Throughout the years his research and extension program has focused on improving weed management in the forage crops of the region, including testing new herbicides, and investigating ways to minimize injury in roundup ready crops. More recently his program has focused on providing information for insect management and trialing new forage varieties. On Rangelands Tom has worked to develop better techniques for controlling medusahead, cheatgrass, perennial pepperweed, and scotch thistle, among various other noxious and invasive weeds. When not working you can find Tom exploring nature with his lovely wife, where they enjoy camping, canoeing, biking, and fishing throughout the mountains and deserts adjacent to Susanville.
If you are having a problem identifying or controlling a plant don’t hesitate to reach out to Tom by shooting him a call at his office or a quick email message! 530-251-2650 or [email protected]
Laura Snell is the Livestock and Natural Resources advisor and Modoc County Director. She moved to Alturas from Lincoln, Nebraska in early 2015 where she was working for the University of Nebraska, Lincoln in the Agriculture Leadership Department. She received her Masters degree in Agronomy from UNL in 2012.
Laura hit the ground running becoming a nationally cited researcher of wild horse, livestock and wildlife interactions. She published papers and affected policy and on the ground changes to wild horse management in her early career. Her research and extension program has focused on supporting the interface between private and public lands and sustainable livestock production and natural resource management. Most recently Snell has been part of a team to exempt the Upper Pit Watershed from the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program. She has also completed research on animal mortality composting which has led to AB411 which if passed would allow livestock composting to occur in California. Her work bringing people together to collaborate on contentious natural resources issues has greatly benefited Modoc County.
Laura has served as the Modoc County Director since 2017. Her leadership has expanded the office to three advisors as well as many seasonal interns, educational staff and supporting nearly 40 employees annually through the Modoc Shared Stewardship program. She founded the local Master Food Preserver Program, leads Mustang Camp, and serves on several national committees for range and vertebrate pest management.
When Laura is not in the field or attending meetings with stakeholders, she can be found chasing June (3) and Samuel (8 months), hiking in the mountains and traveling with partner, Shane Starr. Contact her at 530-233-6400 or [email protected] Tom and Laura have been great additions to the Intermountain area and we look forward to their growing careers for another 10 years and beyond.
