WILDLIFE HABITAT INCENTIVE PROGRAM (WHIP)
by Lisa Cooper, NRCS Grassland Resource
Conservationist, Albia - (515) 932-5144
WHIP is a voluntary program for people who want to develop and improve
wildlife habitat on private lands. It provides both technical assistance and
cost-share payments to help establish and improve fish and wildlife habitat.
In
Iowa, WHIP can be used for the following applications:
1.Riparian corridors
2.Shelterbelts/windbreaks
3.Grassland/Native Prairie Restoration and Management
NRCS helps participants prepare a habitat development plan, and pays up
to
75% of the cost of installing practices (up to $10,000). The plan describes
landowners goals for improving wildlife habitat, a list of practices and
installation schedule, and details the steps necessary to maintain the habitat
for the life of the agreement. The landowner, in turn, agrees to maintain the
practices for 5-10 years.
Please contact your local Soil and Water Conservation District for
assistance in applying for the WHIP program, or more information about this
and
other programs that may be available to you.
(The WHIP rule can be viewed online at www.nrcs.usda.gov)
INTERNET RESOURCES
by Erma Selser
With more people using the internet to obtain and share information,
address of some sites are given in this issue. This is not a complete list.
There are probably more sites of interest out there once you start looking.
You
can sometimes find sites of like interests linked together. However, as with
anything found on the net, make sure your information is from a reliable
source.
When in doubt check with a reliable person or organization. We have provided
two lists for you to investigate. If anyone has other web sites of possible
interest send them to the editor and as time and space permits they will be
included in future issues.
INTERNET ADDRESSES OF POSSIBLE INTEREST
by Casey Kohrt
Non-Government Organizations
Audubon Society of Iowa <http://www.audubon.org/chapter/ia/
The Iowa Environmental Council <http://www.earthweshare.org/
Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation <http://www.inhf.org/index.htm
The Nature Conservancy <http://www.tnc.org/iowa
The Sierra Club <http://www.sierraclub.org/chapters/ia
Government Organizations
Iowa DOT <http://www.state.ia.us/government/dot/
Iowa General Assembly <http://www.legis.state.ia.us/
Iowa DNR <http://www.state.ia.us/government/dnr/
Iowa County Conservation Board Directory <http://george.ecity.net/iaccb/
Iowa Legislature <http://www.legis.state.ia.us/
Iowa Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management <http://www.uni.edu/~irvm/
US Army Corp of Engineers <http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/
US Fish and Wildlife Service <http://www.fws.gov/r3pao/maps/iowa.htm
US Legislative Branch <http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/legislative/congress.html
Biological Resources
Plants National Database
<http://www.state.ia.us/government/dnr/organiza/ppd/species.htm
Endangered and Threatened Species in Iowa
<http://www.state.ia.us/government/dnr/organiza/ppd/species.htm
Iowa Prairie Homepages
Neil Smith (Walnut Creek) Refuge <http://www.fws.gov/r3pao/walnut/
Other Prairie-Related Resources
Medicinal Plants of the Prairie
<http://http.tamu.edu:8000/~krz007/index.html
OTHER WEBLINK RESOURCES
These were assembled by John Pearson, Iowa Department of Natural
Resources,
in response to numerous requests from persons interested in GIS, State
Preserves, Endangered Species, Historic Vegetation, and/or Gap Analysis.
The general DNR webpage is:
http://www.state.ia.us/government/dnr/index.htm
The Iowa List of Threatened and Endangered Species is:
http://www.state.ia.us/government/dnr/organiza/ppd/species.htm
An electronic copy of the Guide to State Preserves is:
http://www.state.ia.us/government/dnr/organiza/ppd/preslist.htm
Paul Anderson's page describing research to map the historic
vegetation of Iowa from GLO records is:
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~fridolph/dnrglo.html
The DNR's GIS database, with instructions to download files:
http://www.igsb.uiowa.edu/nrgis/gishome.htm
Iowa Internet Map Server, an on-screen map-making tool:
http://www.gis.state.ia.us/iowaims/ims.html
The Iowa Gap Analysis Project is described on:
http://www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/cfwru/iowagap/
National Wetland Inventory maps:
http://www.nwi.fws.gov/Welcome.html
Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center:
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/index.htm
National Plant Database Center:
http://trident.ftc.nrcs.usda.gov/npdc/
Midwestern Wetland Flora, Guide to Plant Species:
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/othrdata/plntguid/plntguid.htm
Missouri Department of Conservation, Flora Page
http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/nathis/flora/index.shtml
Federal Endangered Species:
http://www.fws.gov/r9endspp/endspp.html
http://www.nps.gov/plants/
PRAIRIES FEATURED IN L.A. TIMES
by Cindy Hildebrand
A half-page article on the protection and restoration of tallgrass
prairies
appeared in the LOS ANGELES TIMES on 5/25/99 (p. A5). The article, by
Stephanie Simon, is knowledgable and well written, and mentions Iowans'
efforts
to protect the Loess Hills. It's worth reading if you have the
opportunity.
ENGELDINGER MARSH NEWS
by Cindy Hildebrand
The Iowa Department of Transportation is now working on supplementary
studies of properties near Engeldinger Marsh, and has stated that no final
route
decision will be made until those studies are completed. Meanwhile, the
marsh
is being used by a number of groups for educational purposes, and work is
underway to remove exotics such as multiflora rose. A large portion of the
upland which was purchased by Polk County last year has been seeded to
local-ecotype prairie seed, thanks largely to the generosity of the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service's Partners f
Erma Selser
Grand View College
1200 Grandview Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50316
515-263-2905