Engledinger News

by Loren Lown

The Polk County Conservation Board is working with the Iowa Department of

Transportation on a mitigation plan for the new road around Engledinger

Marsh.

The plan as approved by the PCCB includes the donation of an area known

(however

briefly) as Kimberly Ged to the PCCB, the construction of an erosion control

structure/silt pond on adjacent county land to stop future sediment deposition

into the marsh, and the removal of the existing sediment fans on the NE side

of

the marsh. The removal of sediment will be under the supervision of the PCCB.

This area of 1.6 ac is solid Reeds Canarygrass and other invasives. After the

silt is removed to the original marsh elevation, the site will be reseeded

with

sedge and forb species collected on site by PCCB staff and volunteers.

IPN Board Meeting Summary

The IPN board met April 7 at the IDNR State Nursery in Ames. Dave Hansen,

James

Devig, Kevin Pape, Glenn Pollock, Erma Selser, Casey Kohrt, Sue Irving, Cindy

Hildebrand, David Zahrt, Jim Nedtwig, Trish Patrick, Inger Lamb and Pam White

were present.

After introductions Jean Eells and Mike Brandrup from the DNR Dept. of

Forestry

and Prairies spoke about some ideas for creating more funding for prairie

projects. Their division is exploring new means to establish sustainable

funding for prairie work and education in Iowa and they are interested in

feedback from the IPN.

Motions passed: to accept James Devig and Inger Lamb as new board members, to

form a committee to research grant availability for the IPN, to give Tom

Baston

of the Iowa DNR $243.36 for a chain saw.

Inger discussed the pros and cons of using the word ìecotypeî to describe

locally adapted plant material. It was agreed the IPN would develop a

specific

definition of this word and include it in the glossary on the website, along

with some information about the importance of using local ecotype seed and

plant

material in prairie restorations and reconstructions.

A request was made for presentations to be given by the IPN at the DNR booth

at

the State fair.

Regional reports:

Glenn Pollock (region 5): The Loess Hills Preservation Society bought 31 acres

of prairie in the Council Bluffs area, the Vincent Bluff preserve, which may

be

the location for the new Iowa Audubon nature center. The city council is

addressing the dirt hauling problem which leads to massive erosion of the

hills.

Chad Graeve (region 5): Courses are available to provide basic experience with

fire fighting and prescribed fires in the Loess Hills area: the Stewardship

Committee of the Loess Hills Alliance has been providing 1-day prescribed fire

workshops which include an actual burn, and week-long standard fire-fighting

courses that focus on fire suppression but are being adapted to include some

prescribed fire procedures. Training and equipment has been made available to

private landowners (in the Loess Hills counties) that want to burn

sections of their land and includes an extensive tool cache (pumper ATVís,

personal protective equipment, rakes etc.). A small grants program has funded

7

stewardship projects that provided equipment for prescribed fires and woody

vegetation removal.

Casey Kohrt (region 7): The booth at the Prairie Preview in Iowa City was

a

great success, a meeting to stop the Child rainforest project was well

attended

and the presentation well researched, Casey will be starting a new job with

the

DNR and one project will be to use GIS to map the remnant prairies in Iowa,

the

IPN website will have current road maps with the original vegetation

superimposed over them on a per county basis, the website is getting a good

amount of attention- we have heard from people as far away as England.

Sue Irving (region 6): We need a new treasurer and secretary, Sue has

served her time! There was a CIPN burn workshop at Red Rock hosted by the

Central College Field Station for Environmental Studies in coordination with

Karie Whiltshire of the NRCS. Monthly evening hikes along Lake Hawthorn will

be

starting soon. The Earth Day prairie event in the area will be in Eddyville.

Cindy Hildebrand (member at large): $2200 was raised at the winter

meeting,

several IPN members were able to meet the new DNR director Jeff Vonk at a

coffee

and cookies invitation to all state conservation groups and he will be meeting

with just IPN representatives soon.

Dave Z (region 4): Two 10 acre remnants have been found nearby, there are

no records when they have been burned and it is hoped to get them both done

this

spring, so far permission to burn one has been obtained, the other may be

mowed.

An area of about 107 acres adjacent to the Sy Runkel Preserve has been

submitted

to the Iowa Natural Heritage foundation for protection under the Farmland

Protection Program.

Jim Nedtwig (region 5): a survey of prairies in the state is being

compiled

by the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, which has also organized Prairie

Rescue

Day on April 21, as a part of Earth Day.

Inger Lamb (region 5): The Keep Ankeny Beautiful committee (part of the

Keep Iowa Beautiful program) is planning to put in a native landscaping

demonstration garden in Ankeny, along with a picnic shelter and a series of

signs discussing native plant gardening, recycling, volunteerism and various

environmental topics.

Other items mentioned: IPTV has produced “Last Stand of the Tallgrass

Prairie” with an accompanying coffee table book, next board meeting June 23 10

AM, we have quite a surfeit of Loren Lown’s “Going Native” booklets, some will

be sold at the Neil Smith bookstore.

WILL THE 2002 FARM BILL HELP OR HURT PRAIRIES?

(USDA/Prairies -- Part Two) by Cindy Hildebrand

(Note: This article reflects my personal views, and does not represent

the

position of any organization.)

Nothing will determine the fate of native prairies, in Iowa and

elsewhere,

more than the 2002 Farm Bill. That legislation is already starting to take

shape.

There is increasing discussion about farm bill conservation, but

conservation interests are competing with commodity interests for scarce

funding. And farm conservation programs won't help native prairies unless they

are designed to do so.

Iowa prairie enthusiasts have a special opportunity to encourage the new

farm bill to be prairie-friendly. Senator Tom Harkin is Chairman of the U.S.

Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Congressman Leonard

Boswell is a member of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture. Iowa's other

representatives in Washington will also play important roles in shaping the

new

farm bill.

Current farm programs encourage the destruction of native prairies.

Prairie

destruction is not the intention, but it is the predictable result of

incentives

built into the programs. For prairies to be saved, those incentives must

change.

Below is a long sample letter with information that could be used in

shorter letters.

Dear Senator/Congressman,

As the 2002 Farm Bill starts to take shape, conservation is being

discussed

as a major focus. I support that focus, and want it to include the protection

of

our remaining native prairies.

Current farm conservation programs do not protect native (never-plowed)

prairies. As the National Wildlife Federation has pointed out, "No

conservation

program currently exists that directly conserves intact native grasslands and

their wildlife. In fact, while grasslands provide a tremendous benefit to

society, an intact native grassland may be the only parcel on a working

landscape that is not eligible to be enrolled in any farm program."

America's native prairies are important natural resources with great

public

value. They build soil, store carbon, purify water, help control floods,

shelter

a rich diversity of wildlife, harbor rare species, and provide recreational

opportunities for millions of Americans. They are also very important to

America's livestock industry. Many native prairies, in Iowa and elsewhere, are

privately owned, and are being used as pasture, range land, or hayfields.

Planted prairies have value, but they cannot match the soil, water,

biodiversity, research, and recreational values of native prairies. Scientists

estimate that it would take four centuries for planted prairies to match

native

prairies in quality.

Native prairies are America's most endangered ecosystem, and current farm

programs are a major reason why. Tax-funded public policies are encouraging

the

conversion of native prairies to crop land. The results include surplus crops,

environmental problems, declining wildlife, and growing public concern.

Native prairies should be protected in the 2002 Farm Bill by the

following

means:

1. A voluntary Grassland Easement Program should be established, giving

farmers and ranchers the opportunity to enroll their lands and receive payment

for permanent or 30-year easements. Priority should be given to native

prairies

that provide habitat for rare and declining species. Well-managed grazing

could

be allowed where appropriate.

2. Commodity support programs should be designed so they do not reward

the

conversion of native prairies to crop land.

3. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) should be changed so that

landowners are no longer required and/or given financial incentives to plow up

native

prairies and put them in row crops for two years so their land will qualify

for

the CRP.

4. The federal requirement that trees and shrubs be planted on CRP

riparian

marginal pastureland should be removed. The requirement causes serious

problems

in prairie states like Iowa, where it wastes money, angers landowners,

destroys

native prairies, and imperils rare species. State and local officials should

be

able to decide how to manage CRP riparian pastureland to meet local

conservation

needs.

5. All biomass programs should be carefully designed so they do not

encourage or subsidize the conversion of native prairies to biomass crops.

6. Conservation programs for working lands should encourage and reward

sustainable grazing and good stewardship on native prairie pastures and range

land.

7. The CRP and Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) should be made sufficiently

flexible so that state and local officials will have the ability to protect

native prairies by using appropriate seed and management techniques on nearby

CRP and WRP plantings.

8. The Sodbuster compliance provision should be reauthorized and

strengthened so it applies to all unbroken lands, including native prairies,

rather than just highly erodible land.

9. The Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, which has helped landowners

protect native prairies with the help of matching funds, should be

reauthorized

with increased funding.

By including native prairie protection in the 2002 Farm Bill, Congress

will

help all Americans and our natural resources. Farmers and ranchers who have

kept

their native prairies intact, and thereby provided benefits to the public,

will

be economically rewarded instead of punished. And future Americans will

appreciate your