Every decision we make on land we own or have influence over impacts the wildlife we share our world with. As a wildlife biologist, it’s my job to broker in the good and the bad of those outcomes. Sometimes, it’s too many deer or too persistent a digging mammal. Others, it’s not enough, like the collective concern we have for rare or declining species like the monarch butterfly and other pollinators or a hunter yearning for a few more pheasants to flush. In any case, the answer is always the same: the key to managing wildlife is managing their habitat.
That’s part of the reason why I’ve recently been working on a new educational series here at Iowa State called Four Things for Wildlife. The premise of the series is that anyone – no matter if you own a third of an acre or a few thousand – can do something to help wildlife! And it’s my hope that these four things provide a good starting point!
The series is divided into a few categories. It starts with four principles for wildlife wellbeing that summarize the fundamentals everyone can apply across any unit of land. Then the series gets more specific, with four ideas for every yard, forest, pasture, and farm before concluding again with four tips for everybody – whether they’re landowners or not! I hope you’ll check out each of the tips that interest you, but for the rest of this piece let’s explore Four things for Every Farm.
The first tip is to “Create habitat in profit loss areas.” Everyone has them and fall is a great time of year to notice them. What field edges or wet spots or compacted areas just aren’t keeping up with the rest of the field? These areas are prime real estate to rethink the inputs, plant some native grasses, and reap the rewards of reduced profit loss!
The second tip is to “Stack water, soil, and wildlife conservation practices.” We know most Iowa farmers are working hard to protect water and soil on their farms. And what excites a wildlife biologist is that what’s good for water and soil is often, with just a few minor tweaks, good for wildlife too! Practices that promote native plants with lots of wildflowers like stream buffers, prairie strips, field borders, or wetlands do right by all three!
The third tip is to “Mow less.” Lots of areas around our homes and farms are mowed simply because we don’t have any better ideas of what to do with them. So here’s an idea – let them be wildlife habitat! You can park the mower and see what comes up, or if you’re really committed, you can do what others around the state have been doing and convert it to native plants and pollinator habitat!
The final tip is to “Improve and protect natural areas.” Every farm has beautiful natural areas, even if it’s just along the roadside or windbreak. These areas of natural ecosystems and native plants can often be an oasis for wildlife, whether they live here year-round or are just passing through on migrations. Taking a look at these areas and learning more about how they can be improved can be a great way to do right by wildlife on any farm.
So, this winter as harvest winds down, I hope you’ll think about the ways you can help wildlife on your farm or any land you have influence over. And I hope these four tips are one way to get you started!
Adam Janke Associate Professor
Adam Janke is the statewide Wildlife Extension Specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Adam is a trained wildlife biologist, having received a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in wildlife conservation and ecology from three land-grant schools in the Midwest. He is also certified ...