Blog
The diversity and breadth of Iowa’s natural environment is captured in a new series of publications by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Association of Naturalists.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a demonstration is worth a million words at least! I am reminded of this as we are brushing off the winter dirt from the Conservation Station Fleet and beginning to plan for summer 2021 outreach.
The World Wildlife Fund, Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas and the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve released its 2020-2021 overwintering monarch population report on February 25, 2021.
In January 1921 George Washington Carver traveled from Tuskegee, Alabama, across the Jim Crow south and into the segregated nation’s capital. He was there to extol the value of southern farmers’ peanuts as the House Ways and Means Committee considered tariffs on imports.
Farmers and landowners across the state work regularly with their local Natural Resource Conservation Service and Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) professionals to plan and construct conservation practices or discuss cost-share options to try new management practices.
A recently-funded study is kicking into high gear this spring, intent on investigating the water quality and quantity impacts of certain woody structures that are all-too-familiar to Iowa landowners—beaver dams.
On December 15th, 2020 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the monarch butterfly is warranted for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). However, because of on-going work with higher-priority species, the Service precluded issuing an immediate proposed listing rule.
Adam Janke, assistant professor in natural resources ecology and management and extension wildlife specialist at Iowa State University, offers these special tips for getting rid of your live Christmas tree after the holiday season...
New Research Identifies Four Farmer Types with Differing Perspectives on Soil and Water Conservation
Soil and water conservation is critical to the long-term sustainability of Iowa agriculture. Farmers can use a range of soil and water conservation practices to maintain agricultural productivity while minimizing impacts on water and wildlife.
Temperature has a direct effect on fish metabolism, feeding, and survival. No other physical factors affects the development and growth of fish as much as water temperature. Metabolic rates of fish increase rapidly as the temperature rises.
Everyone has learned a lot about the spread and control of infectious diseases in 2020. Although the important task at hand is to apply that knowledge in helping our neighbors and family avoid a Covid-19 infection, we would be wise to apply many of these lessons to help white-tailed deer fight a disease of their own.
Chronic Wasting Disease, or CWD, is a neurological disease affecting members of the deer family. The prion-based CWD that infects the central nervous system is a different type of disease from the virulent respiratory one we have become familiar with in 2020. But CWD and Covid-19 share many characteristics, including how they can be spread asymptomatically and the potential for high infection rates in the absence of intervention.
Iowans will have three in-person and online opportunities to learn about edge-of-field nutrient management practices in early December, with a special focus on projects being done within the South Skunk River Watershed in central Iowa.
Iowans can expect next year to be bright and colorful – at least according to the images found within the 2021 Garden Calendar produced by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
AMES, Iowa -- Iowa 4-H is partnering with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Agriculture and Natural Resources to bring a new youth program to the state.
Pond owners should use the last warm days of fall to take note of what worked well this year and what they can do to improve next year.
Virtual forestry days will continue to be offered online this fall, with two events scheduled in October. On Oct.
The National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences recently recognized northeast Iowa for outstanding work in environmental education.
A recently published analysis of data on tagged monarch butterflies migrating from the United States to Mexico emphasizes the importance of creating new habitat to ensure the future of the species’ iconic migratory pattern...
In the summer, the high temperatures can result in management issues for pond owners with excessive aquatic vegetation being the most problematic. Excessive nutrients (often from the surrounding watershed) and shallow pond depths along with warm water temperatures can create an ideal habita
New extension publication highlights the importance of forests for birds
August 26, 2020, 11:58 am | Adam Janke
AMES, Iowa – Forests provide critical habitat for Iowa’s wildlife, and that is especially true for birds.
The August 10th derecho produced devastating impacts to Iowa’s agriculture, infrastructure, and forest resources.
Converting grasslands to pollinator habitat takes a well thought out plan. A new report from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach helps landowners understand the steps involved and the best practices.
The Integrated Pest Management program with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is providing three new videos on tree pathogens: black knot (apiosporina morbosa), diplodia tip blight and dothistroma needle blight...
Arguably, the most important innovation in agriculture technology for conservation and farmers in the last 30 years has been the growth and use of spatial data made possible by the Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Many different types of agricultural data can be captured with pinpoint accu
In my world, “diversity” often comes with a prefix. I remember learning the word early in my college days, having come to the wildlife ecology discipline not as a woke environmentalist but rather because of an obsession with ducks from a childhood spent hunting them.