Blog

A new trailer named “Marsh Madness” combines sight, sound, and science to engage Iowa audiences about the values of the state’s wetland ecosystems.

When youth have the opportunity to learn something new in Iowa 4-H, sometimes it’s hard to predict where the opportunity will take them.

Pond complexity depends on the food webs involving many types of organisms. The simplicity of such sys­tems is based on the limited number of fish spe­cies in them.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

The National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences recently recognized northeast Iowa for outstanding work in environmental education.