• January 29 (Saturday): Iowa Prairie Network, Central Region Winter Meeting, Ankeney.

  • February 8-10 (Tuesday-Thursday): Prescribed Fire Conference, Ames.  Contact: Inger Lamb

  • February 24-27 (Friday-Sunday):  WildLand Firefighting Course, S130/190.

    February 24-27 we will conduct S-130/S-190 Basic Wildland Firefighting and Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior.  This course fulfills the classroom requirements necessary to participate in fire operations with any of the federal land management agencies (National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and US Forest Service).  Passing this course and passing the physical work capacity test qualifies an individual to join the Loess Hills Wildland Fire Crew and earn a paycheck fighting wildfires out west or assisting with prescribed fires in the Loess Hills.

     This course is targeted at Volunteer Fire Departments but all are welcome to register.  The training is a 32 hour course and participants must be present all four days to receive certificates.  The class will be Thursday February 24th 1800 – 2100, and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (February 25-27) 0800 – 1700.  Participants must be present at all four sessions to receive certification.   The training venue has not been established but will be in the Glenwood, Iowa area.  For registration and information contact Chad Graeve at Hitchcock Nature Center (712) 545-3283 or chad.graeve@pottcounty.com .  Registration deadline is February 4, 2005 and nomination forms are required (email Chad Graeve to receive an electronic nomination form). Course fee is $25 payable upon acceptance into the course.

  •  February 26, 2005 - Region 6 Winter Meeting and Planning Session -Mahaska Co. Conservation Board Office
    Potluck Lunch at 1:00pm.  Program: Showing "America's Lost Landscape, The Tallgrass Prairie." Planning session for 2005 field trips following movie.  For more info contact Brant Schmell ( bschmell@iowatelecom.net or 641-898-7534)

  • March 8 (Tuesday): Prairie Preview XXII

  • March 11 (Friday) 8pm: Iowa Public Television will show Iowa Public TV will show America's Lost Landscape: The Tallgrass Prairie

  • March 19 (Saturday) 9 am to 3 pm: VERNAL EQUINOX CELEBRATION.  Celebrating the coming of spring by reclaiming native prairie from encroaching eastern red cedar.The target will be an Oak Savannah.  A volunteer workday using snippers, bow saws, brush cutters, and chain saws. Bring the tool you will be comfortable with, and one to share if you have extra.  (If you have a skid loader with a shearer that you would like to bring along for the fun of it, feel free to do so!)  The workday will be punctuated by a Potluck chili feed (both meat and vegetarian chili). Chili and drink are provided.  During the mealtime we expect to share story telling. Afterwards we may have a Songfest. Some are planning to bring a musical instrument. The Songfest may, given enough time, turn into a Hootenany for those who would like one!  RSVP  Please email, call, or write to confirm your attendance so we know how much chili to make.

  • April 14 (Thursday):  Native Plant Propogation Workshop.

  • April 16 (Saturday), 10:00 AM:  Garlic Mustard Pull at Rochester Cemetery.  Contact Casey Kohrt or Pete Kollasch

  • April 16 (Saturday): Cedar Bluffs State Preserve Wildflower Hike and Savanna Rescue, Mahaska Co., hike at 10AM, rescue work begins at Noon. Bring lunch, gloves, wear long pants. You may see squirrel corn and Bishop’s cap (those are plants!). About 10 miles SW of Oskaloosa. Contact Pam White

  • April 16 (Saturday): Prairie Chicken Day, Ringgold Co., Dawn. View Chickens booming at dawn, help with prairie planting. (Micah.Lee@dnr.state.ia.us) 

  • April 16 (Saturday): Presidential Clean Sweep, Cedar Co., 8AM - noon. Volunteers needed to help remove woody invasives in Herbert Hoover Nat’l Historic Site’s 81 acre prairie. Contact: Dan Peterson, 319.643.2541X221, dan_peterson@nps.gov

  • April 17 (Sunday): Skunk Cabbage and Marsh Marigold Pilgrimage, Iowa Co., 10AM. Join Prairie State Mushroom Club members as they hunt for spring treats. Optional tour after sack lunch. Meet at the Amana Golf Course parking lot. Contact: Damian Pieper, 319.354.3510, iowafungi@yahoo.com

  • April 23 (Saturday): Bob White State Park Prairie Rescue, Wayne Co., 10 AM. Bring gloves, tools appropriate for brush cutting. Contact: Brant Schmell.

  • April 23 (Saturday): Waterman Prairie Rescue, O'Brien Co., 9AM-1PM. 1390 acres managed by the IDNR along the Little Sioux River. Bring handsaws, loppers, gloves and lunch. Wear tough clothes and be prepared to be in wet areas. Travel W 4.5 miles from Peterson on Hwy 10, to Wilson Ave. (gravel rd.). Meet at the intersection of Wilson and Hwy 10 at 9AM. Contact: Kathy Koskovich (pg 2 info or cell 712.253.7730).

  • April 24 (Sunday), 10:00 AM:  Garlic Mustard Pull at Rochester Cemetery.  Contact Casey Kohrt or Pete Kollasch

  • May 1 (Sunday): Morels at Cou Falls, Johnson Co., 10 AM. Join Prairie State Mushroom Club members as they hunt for morels. Go N from Liberty in Hwy 65, one mile past 380 overpass, go W on F20 (which becomes Amana Rd). Cross RR tracks, first rd N is Cou Fall Rd. Meet at small parking lot at corner. Contact: Dean Abel, 319-354-3510, 335-1396, dean-abel@uiowa.edu

  • May 7 (Saturday): Mushroom Hunt and Wildflower Walk at Palisades-Kepler St Park, Linn Co. 10 AM. Join Prairie State Mushroom Club members and Univ. Iowa Museum of Natural History Associate Dave Brenzel in a hunt for fungi and flowers. Meet at shelter up hill from first big parking lot, bring sack lunch. Contact: Dave Brenzel, david-brenzel@uiowa.edu, 319.335.0482

  • May 10 (Tuesday): Native Plant Garden Walk, Woodbury Co., 7:30 PM. Join Dianne Blankenship for a tour of the Garden of Discovery at the Sioux City Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, the 2nd Tuesday of each month, May - September. Leisurely, handicapped accessible. Contact: Dianne, 712.255.3447

  • May 13, 6:30 pm Lake Hawthorn.  Our evening hikes at this diverse native prairie will be the second Friday of the month from May to September.  Meet at the boat ramp parking area on the east side of Hawthorn Lake. This is on Victoria Ave. (one mile east of V13) and about 2 1/2 miles south of Barnes City or 3/4 of a mile north of the intersection of Victoria Ave and 130th Street.  Pam White 641-673-3508 or pam-white@usa.net.

  • May 14 (Saturday), 10:00 AM:  Garlic Mustard Pull at Rochester Cemetery.  Contact Casey Kohrt or Pete Kollasch

  • May 14 (Saturday): Prairie workday at Harrier Marsh, Boone Co., 10AM - 3 PM. Help plant a reconstructed prairie within a 423 acre restored marsh and grassland managed by the Iowa DNR and US Fish and Wildlife Service. Hot dogs, chips and drinks served at Noon, attend any part of the day (or all day!). From Hwy 169 in Ogden travel S 1/4 mile to 230th St (first gravel rd), go E 2/3 mile, park in the lot on the S side of road or along road. Volunteers will be shuttled to the work site. Contact: Bill Johnson, 515.432.2823, or William.Johnson@dnr.state.ia.us.

  • May 14 (Saturday): Cinder Path Work Day, Lucas Co., 10 AM. Bring gloves, brush cutting tools, lunch, and wear long pants. Meet at the Cinder Path (go S of Chariton on Hwy 14 about 3 miles to H50, go W until you cross the Cinder Path - which is before Derby). Contact: Pam White or Brant Schmell (pg 2).

  • May 15 (Sunday): Mushroom Hunt at Brown’s Woods, Polk Co., 10 AM. Join Prairie State Mushroom Club members as they search for interesting fungi in West Des Moines. From I-80 go S on Hwy 65 to Hwy 5, then W to Hwy 28 (exit 99), turn N on Hwy 28 (63rd St) to stoplight at McKinley, follow sign to Brown’s Woods. Meet in parking lot, bring sack lunch for afternoon tour of Walnut Woods. Contact: Tom & Erma Keho, 515.285.3330

  • May 21 (Saturday): Native Plant Sale, Polk Co., 7AM - Noon. Over 50 species of native plants available at the Des Moines Farmer’s Market. Sponsored by Iowa Native Lands, Des Moines Parks and Recreation Dept., and Polk SWCD. In downtown Des Moines near the entertainment district at Court & 4th. Contact: Inger Lamb (pg 2)

  • May 21 (Saturday): Marlys & Bill Brown Farm Mushroom Foray, Johnson Co., 10 AM. Join Prairie State Mushroom Club members as they hunt mushrooms. Directions are complicated, contact Roger Heidt, 319.393.5712, rwheidt@fmtcs.com

  • May 22 (Sunday): Prairie Crawl, Polk Co., 9:30 AM start. IPN region 5 board members Inger and Laurie will lead a prairie hopping car caravan. Start at Puccoon Prairie, then Triangle Seep Prairie, then Santiago (Franklin Twp.) Cemetery Prairie, ending at the Fenimore’s. Join in at any point during the tour. Contact: Laurie or Inger  on day of event: 515.250.1693, 515.250.3425.

  • May 26 (Thursday): Doolittle Prairie Walk, Story Co., 7PM. Lloyd Crim will continue his tradition of hosting monthly tours of Doolittle Prairie Preserve. His evening gatherings on this diverse 40 acre remnant pothole prairie are casual and open to all. From I-35 exit 123 (Roland) go W on E-18 about 1/2 mile, then S 1.5 miles on (gravel) 560th Ave. Follow lane W to the preserve. Contact: Lloyd, 515.432.5026, lcrim@opencominc.com

  • May 30 (Monday): Memorial Day Prairie Remnant and Mushroom Foray, Henry Co., 10 AM, potluck lunch at noon. Join Prairie State Mushroom Club members as they hunt for fungi, blooming twayblade orchids, and assorted birds in the Great Blue Heron Rookery. Meet in shelter #4 at 10AM, see map in IDNR website: www.iowadnr.com/parks/images/maps_pictures/geodemap.PDF Contact: Dean Abel, 319-354-3510, 335-1396, dean-abel@uiowa.edu

  • June 3-5 (Friday - Sunday): Loess Hills Seminar, Monona Co. Annual outdoor event in the northern Loess Hills. Many casual lectures on a wide range of topics, events for children, camping onsite.

  • June 10 (Friday): Lake Hawthorn Hike, see May 13 entry.

  • June 11 (Saturday): Frank Oberle Prairie Tour, Kirksville MO, 10 AM. See the Oberle’s seed growing operation in N Missouri. They have over 100 species of plants. Bring lunch, think carpool! Hwy 63 S to Kirksville, W on Hwy 11 for 10 miles, then N on 149 for 2 miles. Left on Prairie Grove, Frank’s house is the first on the Left. Contact: Pam White or Brant Schmell.

  • June 11 (Saturday): Prairie Crawl, Jasper Co., 9:30 AM. Join Region 5 board members Laurie and Inger as they lead a prairie hopping car caravan. Meet at Baxter Country Corner gas/car wash, convoy/carpool to (private) Edge Prairie then on to Kish-Ke-Kosh prairie and another private remnant. Join in at any point on the tour. Contact Inger or Laurie (pg 2), or on day of event 515.250.1693, 515.290.3425.

  • June 14 (Tuesday): Native Plant Garden Tour, Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center.

  • June 23 (Thursday): Doolittle Prairie Walk, Story Co., 7PM.

  • June 24-25 (Friday/Saturday): IPN Annual Meeting, Black Hawk Co. Hartman Nature Reserve, tours of Iowa Ecotype plots, sand prairies, Jack Pizzo (Pizzo & Assoc.) will speak. More details to follow. Contact Greg Houseal or Inger Lamb

  • June 25 (Saturday): Sand Prairie Hike, Eddyville Dunes, Mahaska Co., 10 AM. With luck the prickly pear cactus and pale green orchids will be in bloom. The site also has ornate box turtles and six lined race runners. Leave Hwy 163 at exit 54, drive into town, turn E on Berdan St. and go up the hill. At the top of the hill turn N toward the cemetery. Meet at the parking lot just past the cemetery. Contact: Pam White or Brant Schmell (pg 2).

  • July 8 (Friday): Lake Hawthorn Hike

  • July 10 (Sunday): Decatur Co. Savanna Fungi Tour, 1 PM. Join Bill & Sibylla Brown, Prairie State Mushroom Club members, and Friends of Decatur Co. Conservation as they tour this remarkable savanna restoration. It should be prime time many species of fungi. Contact: Dean Abel, 319-354-3510, 335-1396, dean-abel@uiowa.edu

  • July 12 (Tuesday): Native Plant Garden Tour, Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center.

  • July 16 8-5 (Saturday):   Operation Wildflower 2005: Iowa's Tallgrass Prairies Past, Present and Future.

  • July 22-23:  Iowa Prairie Conference at Indian Creek Nature Center

  • July 28 (Thursday): Doolittle Prairie Walk, Story Co., 7PM. See May 26 listing.

  • August 9 (Tuesday): Native Plant Garden Tour, Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. See May 10 entry.

  • August 12 (Friday): Lake Hawthorn Hike, see May 13 entry.

  • August 13 (Saturday): Savanna hike in Grinnell area, details to follow.

  • August 25 (Thursday): Doolittle Prairie Walk, Story Co., 7PM. See May 26 listing.