The Central
Iowa
Prairie Network
Newsletter
2002 Winter Meeting and Silent Auction Recap
The winter meeting on January 19th
was held at the wonderful new lodge in Jester Park. It was a great day, with over 95 people attending. The speakers covered a wide variety of
subjects, including information about the new Iowa Wetlands Mitigation Bank
(Rick Robinson), the collaboration of the DNR Wildlife Division with Pheasants
Forever and some members of the Iowa State Penal system (Bill Johnson), the
Hallett’s Quarry project in Ames (Erv Klaas), what is a RC&D (Jim Cooper),
an update on Engeldinger Marsh (Loren Lown), and how to prepare plant specimens
for preservation (Deb Lewis).
Three awards were made during the
meeting; Cindy Hildebrand received the Olaf Smedel Conservation award, Lloyd
Crim was honored for leading CIPN evening prairie walks at Doolittle Prairie
for 11 years (and still counting), and Al and Mary Razor were recognized for
donating their 24 acre native Hominy Ridge Prairie to the Iowa Natural Heritage
Foundation to ensure its protection.
The Silent Auction spearheaded by the
M&M (Marlene & Molly & Friends) Auction service was an overwhelming
success.
Attendees
had the opportunity to bid on 80 items donated by more than 50 businesses,
organizations, and individuals. The auction netted over $2600, and the State
IPN granted additional funds to increase the total amount raised to
$3,000. The proceeds were donated to
the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) to help fund a land stewardship
intern position (see article on page 2.)
This intern will join other INHF stewardship program interns as they
work to restore prairies and savannas in central Iowa this summer.
The day finished with a potluck dinner
and great live music provided by talented prairie musicians!!
A big thank you goes the following
businesses, groups and individuals
for their generous donation of items to
the silent auction
|
Back
Country Sports, Des Moines |
Ace
Hendricks |
Jonathan
Yentis |
|
Backyard Birds Family Seed Store,
Ankeny |
Amy
Yoakum |
Joyce Hornstein |
|
Brekke’s Town and Country Store, Ames |
Brant
Schmell |
Larry Stone |
|
Four Mounds Foundation, Dubuque |
Bruce & Marlene Ehresman |
Lisa Burke |
|
Holub’s Greenhouse, Ames |
Carl
& Linda Kurtz |
Mark Loeschke |
|
Hykes Furniture Services, Ankeny |
Carol Pearson |
MJ Hatfield |
|
IDNR
Forests and Prairies Division |
Casey
Kohrt |
Molly
and Joe McGovern |
|
IDNR Wildlife Diversity Program |
David & Lin Zahrt |
Paul Readhead |
|
Inner Dimensions, DM Skywalk store |
Deb
Lewis |
Rich
Pope |
|
Iowa
Natural Heritage Foundation |
Don
Wishart |
Roger Hill |
|
Ivy
Photo, Des Moines |
Doug Harr |
Roslea
Johnson/Riverview Farms |
|
John Pearson & IDNR Parks and
Preserves Div. |
Garry Brandenburg |
Tom & Carmen Rosburg |
|
Jon Judson & Kay Neumann, Diversity Farms |
Inger Lamb |
Tre
Wilson |
|
Prairie Land Herbs, Woodward |
Jean Eells |
Ty Smedes |
|
The Nature Conservancy Iowa Chapter |
Jim
Nedtwig |
Anonymous
donors |
|
Wild
Birds Unlimited, Ames |
Jo Myers Walker |
|
|
|
|
|
A big thank you goes also to all the individuals who helped put on this great meeting, to everyone who purchased auction items and to the PCCB for letting us use their wonderful lodge!
Summer Land Management
Intern Hired with Help of CIPN
by Cathy Engstrom, INHF
Thanks to
funds raised at the CIPN silent auction in January, the Iowa Natural Heritage
Foundation has hired Jeanne Spaur Ballanger to work as a summer land management
intern. Jeanne grew up on a southern
Iowa farm and is now majoring in Wildlife Biology at ISU. Her previous conservation experience includes
working as a DNR seasonal naturalist at Honey Creek State Park, an NRCS summer
field technician near Albia, and a summer intern with the Soil Conservation
Service in Kirksville, MO. She also
volunteers at Pioneer Ridge Conservation Center in Wapello County. Jeanne and her kids will be living in Ames
this summer.
Jeanne will be
supervised by INHF's Land Stewardship Program Director, Joe McGovern. She will work two days per week with the
other INHF interns, doing land management on various Foundation sites. Using
CIPN funds, she'll work an additional three days per week at non-INHF prairie
remnants around central Iowa. Joe will
use the other CIPN funds by setting up occasional group workdays--where he will
work with the four land
management
interns on non-INHF sites.
Like other
INHF interns, Jeanne will earn $7.50/hour, a small travel stipend, and mileage
for longer trips. INHF will provide her with safety equipment and a cell
phone. Because INHF believes that what
an intern takes away from the experience is as important as what they accomplish
DURING the internship, Jeanne will get the same general training opportunities
available to other INHF interns: attending a staff meeting, attending a board
meeting, meeting with key INHF staff to learn about "the big
picture," occasional presentations by outside speakers, the opportunity to
attend the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar, field trips and more. We hope that Jeanne and our other interns
carry an understanding and love of Iowa's natural heritage into their future
vocations and avocations.
INHF is
grateful to CIPN and IPN for making this opportunity available to an Iowa
student and to Iowa's prairies. Without
the auction proceeds, this internship position would not exist. Thank you.
Gray-Hart
Memorial Preserve Update
By Dave
DeGues, TNC
Thanks
in part to support from the Central Iowa Prairie Network in 2001, The Nature
Conservancy was able to exercise its option and acquire 14.5 acres of fen and
crop ground from Marty Mihall. The entire fen now has long-term protection and
the Conservancy acquisition will provide limited public access to the site.
This project required the generosity of a number of partners. The total
purchase price for the land was $17,755. Marty Mihall donated $5,000 of the
price through a bargain sale in honor of her parents. Karl DeLong of Grinnell provided an additional $7,343 through a
very generous gift of stock and the Central Iowa Prairie Network donated $2,200
from their 2001 silent auction. Funds
from bequests received this past winter were used to pay the remaining land
debt on the preserve. TNC is currently developing a cooperative management
agreement for the preserve with the Fayette County Conservation Board. This
summer The Fayette County Conservation Board, TNC land steward and our summer
intern crew plan to seed down the existing driveway, set up a gateway and
remove brush from the prairie areas. We
want to send a special thanks to John Steege at Fayette County for offering to
help us care for this one of a kind preserve.
Waterman
Creek Prairie REAP Grant Needs Matching Funds
The Nature
Conservancy of Iowa is helping the Iowa DNR's Wildlife Bureau protect prairie
along Waterman Creek, a tributary of the Little Sioux River in O'Brien County
in northwest Iowa. Over 130 acres of
prairie will be purchased and added to the prairie already protected in the
Waterman Creek Wildlife Management Area.
The Nature Conservancy of Iowa obtained a REAP grant to help pay for the
prairie, but needs to raise funds to pay for the private match required by the
grant. If you would like to make a
contribution to help purchase this prairie, make out a check to "The
Nature Conservancy of Iowa" and put "Waterman Creek" on the
memo line. Mail the check to:
The
Nature Conservancy of Iowa
108
Third Street, Suite 300
Des
Moines, Iowa 50309
Saturday April
20th
Earth Day
Prairie Rescue Events
9 a.m. to 1
p.m., various locations
Help
rescue a prairie in honor of Earth Day! As in 2001, a coalition of conservation
organizations is sponsoring a statewide rescue of native prairie sites around
the state. Various public and private organizations (DNR, county conservation
boards, AmeriCorps, The Nature Conservancy, Audubon and INHF) will sponsor
prairies that need "rescuing" from invading trees and other woody
species. Once controlled naturally by fire and large grazers (bison, elk),
invasive species can take over and destroy native prairies if not removed.
Volunteers are invited to visit the prairie nearest them and help remove these
invaders with hand saws, loppers and other tools. Kids and adults, individuals and groups are welcome.
Please show your support for Iowa Prairies by attending one
of the Rescue work events!
See
IDNR website:
http://www.state.ia.us/dnr/volunteer/prairie.html for full details on
all sites or call 515/281-5918
Western Iowa Locations: Gitchie Manitou State Preserve, Stone State Park,
Sylvan Runkel State Preserve, Turin Loess Hills State Preserve, Preparation
Canyon State Park, Loess Hills State Forest Overlook, Waubonsie State Park,
Nestor Stiles Prairie State Preserve, Folsom Point Preserve and Vincent Bluffs
Preserve
Central Iowa Locations: Brushy Creek State Park, Springbrook State Park, Big
Creek State Park, Rock Creek State Park, Stephens State Forest, Reichelt Unit,
Rolling Thunder Prairie State Preserve, Elk Rock State Park, Bobwhite State
Park, McRae Park, Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge and Willowbrook
Elementary School Prairie
Eastern Iowa Locations: Hayden Prairie State Preserve, Volga River State
Recreation Area, Mines of Spain State Park, Lake Darling, Lake Sugema State
Fish and Game Area, Eddyville Dunes, F.W. Kent Park, Breen Prairie Farm and
Greiner Family Nature Preserve
Following are some of the
sites in Region 5 - see the DNR website for more sites and information:
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Big Creek State Park, northeast Polk County
Location: Big Creek
State Park is about 2 north on Hwy 415 from the Polk City square. From there
you will take a right into the park and travel 3mi. till you come to the beach
area. Meet at beach area (east side of lake, 3mi. N. of south entrance) at 9:00
a.m. - Kim Olofson, the park manager, will be there directing people to
projects. If you want to go straight to the prairie –from the park
entrance go 0.8 miles and turn left at a sign indicating Hampton Shelter, a
softball field etc., drive past a small parking area and take the first
right, go around the curve and park in the lot on the right -walk across
the remote control model airplane field and down a short path to the
prairie.
Site
Information: Scott
Rolfes, Loren Lown & Inger Lamb will be organizing the attack on the
army of invasive species that are taking over a very nice prairie
remnant. There is literally a couple
acres of black locust that needs to be cut and piled for a future bonfire,
along with lots of gray dogwood. The locust can be depended on to
fight back- wear tough clothes and gloves, those thorns are real
attention-getters. Please come help if
you can, this is a nice and remnant that has some great species in it.
Elsewhere in the park other clean-up
type activities will be going on so if you have family members that might
help with other projects please bring them along! We are hoping to
accomplish a major "spring cleaning" by the end of the day.
There are picnic tables near the
parking lot and we will be celebrating a victory for the remnant at 1PM, bring
a sack lunch and join us if you can!
Volunteer
Information: Bring hand
saws, loppers, and gloves to cut trees and shrubs. Sunscreen is recommended.
Come dressed for the weather.
Contact: Kim Olofson
– Iowa DNR Park Manager, (515) 984-6473 (O), (515) 965-0151(H);
e-mail
- bigcreekmanager@yahoo.com;
Inger
Lamb at ingerlamb3@mchsi.com
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continued on page 4…
Prairie Rescue Events continued…
McRae
Park; Des Moines, Polk County
Location: One mile south of downtown Des Moines, 1/3 mile southeast
of Grays Lake. The entrance to the park is the first right off of the Southwest
9th Street entrance road. From Fleur Drive: Take Bell Avenue East. The name
changes to Thomas Beck Road – keep going straight. Turn south (right) at the
Southwest 9th entrance. From the west on I-235: Take the 7th Street exit south.
After passing over the Raccoon River, turn right at the T intersection. Turn
south (left) at the SW 9th entrance.
Contact: Tre Wilson, (515) 288-7107
Volunteer Information:
Most of the work will probably involve cutting buckthorn. The city will provide
hand tools. We might also install some transplants. Bring your own work gloves.
Kneeling pads are optional. There are restrooms on site, but bring your own
water.
Site Information:
There are two shelter buildings on the south end of the park. Ignore the one
that is in the southwest corner at the top of the hill. We will gather at the
other one, which is a stone's throw from the creek. McRae Park is an oak
savanna remnant. The plant composition is related to both prairie and oak
forest communities.
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Neal
Smith National Wildlife Refuge; Jasper County
Location: Directions to the Prairie Learning Center: Coming from the
EAST on Interstate 80, take the Colfax exit and go south on Iowa HWY 117, about
7 miles to Prairie City. The paved entry road is located at the southwest
corner of Prairie City at the Highway 163-Prairie City Interchange.
Coming from the WEST at the junction of
Interstate 35 and 80, go east on Interstate 80 about 3 miles to the HWY 65
exit. Take HWY 65 south to Iowa HWY 163. At HWY 163 turn east and go about 15
miles to Prairie City. The paved entry road is located at the southwest corner
of Prairie City at the Highway 163-Prairie City Interchange.
Site
Information: Volunteers
will be working on cutting and clearing invasive, woody plant species from
various savannas and prairies within the refuge. If weather does not permit,
activities will include transplanting flowers in the greenhouse
Volunteer
Information: Participants
will meet at the Prairie Learning Center. Volunteers should wear appropriate
clothing, bring gloves and bow saws if possible.
Contact: John Below,
(515) 994-3400,
e-mail john_below@fws.gov
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Willowbrook
Elementary School Prairie; Polk County
Location: 300 17th Street SW, Altoona, IA., situated directly behind
Prairie Meadows Racetrack
Site
Information: This project
is part of a living-learning classroom. Volunteers will be helping to control
sweet clover, morning glory, some trees, and thistle.
Volunteer
Information: Appropriate
for all ages. Participants should remember to wear gloves and clothing
appropriate to the weather. Boots are recommended.
Contact: Merrilyn
Geopel, area educator, Willowbrook Elementary School, (515) 967-7512
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Brushy Creek State Park; east Webster County
Location: From HWY 20 take P-73 south (at the Duncomb Interchange)
to Lake View Ave (first paved left). Once on Lake View Dr continue over the
dam, the office is ½ mile past the dam on the left. There are 2 wooden
buildings with security fence.
Site
Information: Encroachment
of woodlands and spread of invasives
Volunteer
Information: Volunteers
will be meeting at the park office. Bring hand saws, loppers, and gloves to cut
trees and shrubs. Sunscreen is recommended. Come dressed for the weather.
Contact: Chad Kelchen
, Iowa DNR, (515) 543-8298; e-mail Chad.Kelchen@dnr.state.ia.us.
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continued
on page 5…
Prairie Rescue Events continued…
Springbrook
State Park; northeast Guthrie County
Location: Guthrie Center is seven miles from the park and has a golf
course, laundromat and churches. Panora is 12 miles from the park and offers
river fishing and a golf course. Des Moines, the capital city of Iowa, is a
one-hour drive to the east. Bagley is eight miles north.
Site
Information: Preservation
of unique sand prairies and removal of woody vegetation. Possible burn of the
entrance hillsides.
Volunteer
Information: Meet at the
main park office and will travel as a group to the park entrance corridor for
work assignments. Bring hand saws, loppers, and gloves to cut trees and shrubs.
Sunscreen is recommended. Come dressed for the weather.
Contact: Carolyn
Hack, Iowa DNR Park Manager, (641) 747-3591; e-mail
Carolyn.Hack@dnr.state.ia.us.
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Rock
Creek State Park; northeast Jasper County
Location: Kellogg is three miles west and two miles south of the
park. Newton is four miles south and ten miles west on Highway 6 and is the
county seat. Grinnell is seven miles east of Rock Creek and is the home of
Grinnell College. Work at this site will begin at 1 p.m and end at 5 p.m. Early
morning volunteers interested in this area should look into working at Stephens
State Forest site.
Site
Information: burning,
brush cutting, and trail work.
Volunteer
Information: Volunteers
looking to begin in the morning should meet Jeff Goerndt at the Stephens State
Forest Parking lot. Volunteers will be returning from the Reichelt area and
then move to Rock Creek worksite. Bring hand saws, loppers, and gloves to cut
trees and shrubs. Sunscreen is recommended. Come dressed for the weather.
Contact: Roger
Thompson, Iowa DNR, (641) 236-3722; e-mail
Roger.Thompson@dnr.state.ia.us.
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Stephens
State Forest, Reichelt Unit; northeast Jasper County
Location: The prairie is located between Grinnell and Newton. Take
I-80 to exit 173 for the town of Kellogg. Turn north on Hwy 224. At Hwy
6, go east 1.5 miles. Parking area is on south side of Hwy 6. From
Grinnell, take Hwy 6 west 9.5 miles to entrance of parking area. Work at
this site will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 1 p.m. Those volunteers interested in
continuing work will move to the Rock Creek site until 5 p.m.
Site
Information: Work will
involve woody plant control, cutting small trees and brush. Volunteers will
need to bring gloves, loppers and/or a small tree saw.
Volunteer
Information: Bring hand
saws, loppers, and gloves to cut trees and shrubs. Sunscreen is recommended.
Come dressed for the weather. Volunteers will meet Jeff in the Parking lot.
Contact: Jeff
Goerndt, Area Forester, (641) 774-4559
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Rolling
Thunder Prairie State Preserve; southwest Warren County
Location: From U.S. 69 and County G76 in Medora, IA, in southern
Warren County, take G76 west 3 miles to County R57. From New Virginia, travel
east for 3 miles to County R57 (now 80th Ave.). Turn north for 1 mile to the
preserve on the west side of the road.
Site
Information: removal of
dogwood and sumac, possible burn.
Volunteer
Information: Volunteers
will meet at the Preserve's parking lot. Bring hand saws, loppers, and gloves
to cut trees and shrubs. Sunscreen is recommended. Come dressed for the
weather.
Contact: David
Youngblood, Warren County Conservation Board, (515) 961-6169
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Elk
Rock State Park; central Marion County
Location: Knoxville is seven miles south on Highway 14. Pella is ten
miles east on G-28.
Site
Information: brush
cutting and removal of small trees. Volunteers will need to bring gloves,
loppers, and water.
Volunteer
Information: Volunteers
will meet at the Park Office. Bring hand saws, loppers, and gloves.
Contact: Vicki
Keener, Iowa DNR, (319) 293-3502;
e-mail Vicki.Keener@dnr.state.ia.
Walks, Field
Trips and Events of Interest
Evening
prairie walks at Doolittle Prairie will be on the following Thursdays starting
at 7:00 pm.; May 23, June 20, July 18, and August 22. No registration is needed.
The
walks are sponsored by the CIPN and the Story County Conservation Board. For more information call Lloyd Crim at
515/432-5026 or SCCB at 515/232-2516.
Long
pants, sturdy shoes and bug spray are recommended.
Directions: from I-35 go
west at the Roland exit on E- 18 for about ½ mile; turn south on 560th
Ave. (a gravel road) for about 1 ½ miles; the preserve is on the west side of
the road – follow the lane back to the parking lot
Evening
prairie walks at Pohl Preserve will be the 2nd Tuesday of the month, June-Sept
at 6:30 pm.; June 11, July 9, August 13 and Sept 10. No registration is needed. Poison
ivy is found at this site – long pants, sturdy shoes and bug spray are
recommended.
The walks are
sponsored by the CIPN, The Iowa Nature Conservancy and the Story County
Conservation Board. For more
information contact Trish Patrick at 515/382-2802, TNC at 515/244-5044, or SCCB
at 515/232-2516.
Directions: from I-35 take the Ames 13th
Street exit west to Grand Ave.; turn right (north) and go to 20th
St.; turn left (west) and go to Ridgewood; the prairie is on the west side of
the high school – follow the drive around the north end of the school to a
small parking lot on the west side.
Monday, April
22nd at 7 pm
Earth Day
Prairie Burn at McFarland Park
Join the Story
County Conservation Board staff for an evening prairie burn at McFarland Park
north east of Ames at 56461 180th St. (go north on Dayton Ave. to
180th St or on I-35 go west at the E-29 exit – follow the signs)
For
information call the SCCB at 515/232-2516, e-mail conservation@storycounty.com, or visit the website
www.storycountyconservation.org
Saturday, April 27th at 10:00 am - Spring Walk at Turtlehead Fen with Loren Lown
We should be
early enough to catch the bloom of the
marsh marigolds as well as some violets and other early Ranunculaceae. Bebb's willow should be in bloom as well as
many sedges. There will be several
ferns growing and a great time to get out and celebrate spring. Scott Marler of the IA DOT will join us to
explain how they are working to restore the fen and create wetlands on the
adjacent land.
Bring
waterproof footwear and a sense of humor!
Directions: we will meet in the Engeldinger Marsh
parking lot 5 miles northeast of Bondurant on Highway 65 – the lot is on NE 120th
St - we’ll car pool from there as
parking is limited at the fen site. For
more information contact Loren at llown@co.polk.ia.us or phone 515/323-5364.
The
Iowa Nature Conservancy will sponsor field trips on Saturday, May 11, at 11:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Waterman Prairie Complex in O’Brien County, and
on Sunday, May 12, at 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Freda Haffner Preserve, as part
of the 8th annual "Wings & Wetlands Weekend." This National Wetlands Month event involves
six counties in northwest Iowa and includes a wide variety of activities.
For
details, call Ann Robinson at the Conservancy’s state office, ph 515-244-5044,
e-mail iowa@tnc.org
or
the Lost Island Prairie Wetland Nature Center, 712/837-4866.
May
31-June 2
26TH
Annual Loess Hills Prairie Seminar
This
is an annual outdoor educational event for the whole family sponsored by the
Western Hills Education Agency and held at the Loess Hills Wildlife Area in
Monona County. Over 40 facilitators
present 2-3 hour field sessions on a wide variety of natural history topics for
both adults and children. No
registration or fee is required. If you want to purchase meal tickets or enroll
for
staff development credit you must preregister.
Brochures
and registration forms will soon be available on the website www.aea12.k12.ia.us/services/loesshillsseminar/
or call Gloria at 712/274-6000, ext.6083 or e-mail kistnerg@aea12.k12.ia.us.
Walks,
Field Trips, and Events continued…
Friday, June 7th - Glen Crossman Memorial Service at
Crossman Prairie
Glen Crossman
loved wildflowers and prairies, and was very active in a group of local outdoor
enthusiasts in the Riceville, Iowa area.
He proved his love for the prairie by donating Crossman Prairie to the
Iowa TNC Chapter in 1976. Glen passed
away last September at the age of 76.
In honor of his memory a memorial service will be held at Crossman
Prairie on June 7, 2002, at 4:00 p.m. The Prairie is 7 1/4 miles west of
Riceville, Iowa. For directions, visit
the Iowa the Conservancy's website, http://nature.org/iowa and look under
preserves, or call 515/244-5044
Saturday, June
8th at 10:00 am
Sedges and Friends with Tom Rosburg
The Bluejoint
Meadow in Polk County is a small area of original Skunk River flood plain. It is a "reference site" for
restoration projects. Sedges made up
much more of the herbaceous vegetation of wet mesic sites than most people
realize. The dozens of species present
in this three or four acres gives us a glimpse into what must have been an
extremely diverse and productive system.
Directions:
From Highway 65/330 turn north on Co. road S-27. (also known as the
Mitchellville to Farrar Road) S-27 is
the first intersection toward Des Moines from Engeldinger Marsh. Go North one mile from the intersection of
S-27 and 65/330, then turn west on NW 118th Ave. Travel west for 1 3/4 miles to the site. The access lane is on the north side of the
road. Participants can meet on the road
and then walk along the fence line to the meadow. For more information contact Loren at llown@co.polk.ia.us.
June
23-27
18th
North American Prairie Conference
“Promoting Prairie” is the theme of the 18th
North American Prairie Conference being held June 23-27, 2002 in Kirksville,
Missouri at Truman State University.
May 3 is the last day for early registration price. The goal is to gather prairie experts,
enthusiasts and advocates to share knowledge and ideas, reach new
constituencies, and build new partnerships.
The meeting will include symposia, contributed papers, posters,
workshops, and regional field trips.
Kirksville is about 30 miles south of the Iowa border, 60 miles south of
Ottumwa. Visit the prairie conference
website at http://www.napc2002.org for more information or contact the
conference coordinator at the Kirksville Area Chamber of Commerce, 304 S.
Franklin, Kirksville, MO 63501, phone (660) 665-3766, fax (660)
665-3767.
3
Prairie Field Trips with
Cindy
Hildebrand and Roger Maddux
Contact Cindy for directions to the
sites, parking information, and to let her know you plan to come 515/232-3807 or e-mail grantridge@aol.com
All trips are on a Saturday starting at 10:00 am.
July 6th
will be at Grant Ridge, a site near Nevada
that
has remnant areas and
local-ecotype
reconstructions.
August 3rd
we’ll visit Eight-Acre Prairie,
a remnant in Warren County.
August 10th will be at Stargrass, a
good-quality local-
ecotype reconstruction near Ames.
Neal Smith
Wildlife Refuge Events
For
full information: Neal Smith National
Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 399, Prairie City, Iowa 50228-0399
phone (515) 994-3400; e-mail buffalo@tallgrass.org; website
http://www.tallgrass.org
April
25 6:00-9:00pm -
Learn about the birds of the
prairie
April 27 12:00-3:00pm - New Volunteer Orientation
May
11 10:00am-4:00pm - Wings and Wild Oats Day
May
30 6:00-9:00pm
- Prairie Ambassadors training
and Trail surveys/maintenance
June
8 10:00am-4:00pm - Buffalo Day
July
13 Butterfly Training with Erma
September
20-22
Combined
Annual Meetings of
The Iowa
Prairie Network,
The Nature
Conservancy of Iowa,
and The Iowa
Native Plant Society
The event will
be held at the Lakeside Lab at Milford.
Field trips hope to highlight the Little Sioux area. Mark the date on your calendar now and watch
for more details in future newsletters and on the IPN website.
If there are
events or information you’d like to have included in the CIPN newsletter please
send the information to Trish Patrick, 57540 270th St., Ames,
IA 50010 or e-mail it to
sandprairie@cs.com.
Events
by date – see articles for more detail
April 20 Prairie Rescue Events -pg
3
April 22 Prairie Burn at McFarland Park
-pg 6
April 25 NSWR - the birds of the prairie -pg
7
April 27 Turtlehead
Fen with Loren Lown -pg 6
April
27 NSWR - volunteer orientation -pg 7
May
11 NSWR - Wings and Wild Oats Day -pg 7
May 11-12 TNC Wings
& Wetlands -pg 6
May 23 Evening walk
at Doolittle Prairie -pg 6
May 30 NSWR - trail
surveys and maintenance -pg 7
May 31-June 2
Annual Loess Hills Prairie Seminar
-pg 6
June
7 Glen Crossman memorial sevice at
Crossman Prairie -pg 7
June
8 Sedges and Friends Field Trip with
Tom Rosburg -pg 7
June 8 NSWR -
Buffalo Day -pg 7
June 11 Evening walk
at Pohl Preserve -pg 6
June 20 Evening walk
at Doolittle Prairie -pg 6
June 23-27 North
American Prairie Conference -pg 7
July
6 Grant Ridge Field trip -pg 7
July 9 Evening
walk at Pohl Preserve -pg 6
July 13 NSWR -
butterfly training -pg 7
July 18 Evening
walk at Doolittle Prairie -pg 6
Aug
3 Eight-Acre Prairie Field trip -pg 7
Aug 10 Stargrass
Field Trip -pg 7
Aug 13 Evening walk
at Pohl Preserve -pg 6
Aug 22 Evening walk
at Doolittle Prairie -pg 6
Sept
10 Evening walk at Pohl Preserve -pg 6
Sept 20-22 Combined
Annual Meetings of IPN, TNC, and INPS
-pg 7

Why Lead
Prairie Walks?
By Lloyd Crim
While anyone who leads prairie walks will
do it for their own reasons, I realized the other day that the reasons I do it
are mostly selfish. Because I get so
much more out of leading the walks that I am not able to share with the people
who attend, it is almost unfair. I will
attempt to outline a few of my reasons and let you in on the selfish pleasure
of leading prairie walks.
First, the walks get
me out to the prairie on a regular basis.
Once a month doesn’t sound very often, but with a busy schedule it would
be easy to skip. I also try to visit
the prairie a few days before the walk to look things over and to see what is
blooming that I might get asked about.
This gives me a second trip to the prairie, sometimes alone, where I can
go my own direction. Looking at the
prairie ahead of time gives me a chance to think of information I might want to
share with people when I have a good example to show them. It also gives me time to look information up
so I am better prepared, and sometimes I actually get this done! This repetition year after year helps me to
add to my overall knowledge of prairies.
Second, having several other people on
the walk helps by having many eyes looking in many directions and places. Often they will find something I have not
seen yet. Sometimes they ask about
things they see other than plants, like the crayfish burrows or ant
mounds. This gives me a chance to
research other areas, helping create a more rounded picture of the prairie
ecosystem.
Having a number of people along who have
varying interests or experience can also be quite stimulating in itself. Sometimes one of the participants has
extensive knowledge in a related field and can add to the information of the
walk. Sometimes they ask a question in
a way that makes me re-evaluate something I thought I knew. This helps me expand my understanding and
unfortunately I can’t always share with the person asking the question because
sometimes it takes deeper thinking than I can do on the spur of the moment.
This doesn’t happen on each and every walk, as it depends on the people
attending and the mood of the night.
Some walks, however, do become very stimulating!
Third, it helps my plant identification
skills when I am questioned about the different plants in all the stages of
growth, from seedlings to seed pods.
Certain impressions will last me a lifetime. When someone in the group asks what a certain plant is and you
experience that sudden wave of panic when you realize you have no idea
whatsoever. Later, after learning what it is, that plant becomes much easier to
remember. This “panic” would not occur
if you were by yourself as there would not be the same expectations.
Fourth, the walks have given me new
experiences, such as seeing the soil structure under the prairie, something
that left a powerful impression. It has
allowed me to learn how to conduct insect identification workshops with a group
of people, another interesting experience.
These came about as a result of leading walks, and wanting to add some
expertise in other related fields of study.
Fifth, making regular trips to the
prairie having to analyze what you are seeing, and doing it repeatedly leaves
an impression of what happens in the prairie over time. This helps you see not only what happens through
the season, but if you do it over several years, you can compare years of
different weather patterns, thus gaining a perspective that random visits
cannot give you.
Sixth, there is the pleasure of helping
someone discover something new and exciting.
Teachers will know what I am referring to. There is that personal satisfaction that comes when you see the
light come on in someone else’s mind and they become excited with the
knowledge. It could be this inspiration
to someone else that might provide more for the future of prairie than the rest
of the work I might do.
Join Lloyd this
summer at the Doolittle Evening walks – see page 6 for dates
-----------------------------------cut
here and make corrections to mailing label on the other side -----------------------------------
CIPN Mailing List
The Central Iowa Prairie
Network (CIPN) does not have membership dues.
The CIPN provides programs and activities for the public related to
education and appreciation of our prairie heritage. If you would like to contribute to help cover the cost of the
CIPN Newsletter and events, a $5 annual mailing fee/donation can be sent
to:
Trish
Patrick, 57540 270th St., Ames, Iowa 50010-9347.
If you have contributed for
2002 or beyond it should be noted on your mailing label with “Pd 2002” in the
corner.
For address corrections,
please clip on line above which will include your mailing label on the other
side. Send the correction to Trish.
Thanks for your help and support!
STATE IOWA PRAIRIE NETWORK
Region 5 Board Members
The state
organization, The Iowa Prairie Network (IPN), divides the state into 7
regions. The Central Iowa Prairie
Network (CIPN) is Region 5 of the IPN.
Each region has 2 representatives on the IPN Board. Jim Nedtwig and Inger Lamb are the IPN Board
members for Region 5. If you have any
concerns, ideas or information you'd like to share with the State IPN, contact
one of the Board members.
Jim
Nedtwig Inger
Lamb
443
Tonawanda Dr. 9188 NW Polk
City Dr.
Des Moines, IA 50312 Polk
City, IA 50226
(515) 277-2427 (515) 963-7681
prairiedogs@earthlink.net ingerlamb3@mchsi.com
Check the IPN web site at
www.iowaprairienetwork.org
At Large IPN
Board Members
Jon
Judson
25494 320th Street
Dedham, IA 51440
(712) 683-5555
dfarms@pionet.net
Cindy
Hildibrand
57439 250th St.
Ames, IA 50010
(515) 232-3807
grantridge@aol.com
James
Devig
406 West 1st
Huxley, IA 50124
(515) 597-3194
jdevig@storycounty.com
Erma
Selser,
3214
Wright Street
Des Moines, IA 50316
(515) 299-3986
eselser@gvc.edu
Central Iowa Prairie Network
57540 270th St.
Ames, Iowa
50010-9347
Please celebrate Earth Day on April 20th by
helping to rescue a prairie!
see page 3