Rob Stout and ISU collaborators will host a field day to talk about successful examples of merging water quality and pollinator habitat conservation practices. For more information check out the news article about this event or download the event flier from Iowa Learning Farms. Read more about Bioreactor and Monarch Habitat Field Day
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced an extension of the deadline to determine whether the monarch butterfly is warranted for listing under the Endangered Species Act. The new deadline, December 15, 2020, was originally June 30, 2019. The federal court and current litigants agreed to the extension. It should be noted that the monarch is not currently listed under ESA.
Despite the delay, conservation efforts to help the monarch survive and thrive are important as ever. Conservation and restoration of native species – including milkweed and a variety of early- and late-blooming forbs – will provide habitat for monarch butterflies, bees and other pollinators. Monarch butterflies face many challenges including the loss of milkweed and nectar sources in its spring and summer breeding ranges. Female adult monarchs lay eggs exclusively on milkweed plants......
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This week, the World Wildlife Fund released its 2018-2019 overwintering monarch population report. Adult monarch butterflies covered approximately 15 acres of forest canopy in Mexico, a doubling of last year’s population, and a level not seen since 10 years ago. The report provides hope, say leaders of the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium....
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Iowa’s pig farmers are collaborating with Iowa State University on a research project to discover ways to provide more habitat for monarch butterflies. The project is focused on the use and success of establishing habitat near pig barns....
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Monarch butterflies receive a great deal of attention these days. While children chase the vibrant orange-black fluttering across yards and gardens, adults are paying attention and taking actions to increase milkweed stands and native plantings in hopes of rebuilding monarch populations. By taking this attentiveness one step further and rearing monarchs, adults may encourage a child’s interest in science....
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Wild turkey. Ring-necked pheasant. Trumpeter swan. Turkey vulture. Northern bobwhite. These are the remarkable birds of Iowa’s rural landscapes. They’re large, conspicuous, and broadly recognized. These species, and a few more, are those most associated with rural life and synonymous with our experience on the farm. However, I submit that to the trained eye, and ear, the bird that most symbolizes Iowa’s countryside is not these charismatic familiar species, but rather, the unremarkable yet fascinatingly remarkable Dickcissel.....
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For those living in rural Iowa, the sight of a brood of young gamebirds, like Hungarian partridge, bobwhite quail or ring-necked pheasant, is probably a common and welcome sight on morning drives down dusty roads. Sometime during August there was a different sight on those roadways — wildlife biologists from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources slowly surveying the roadside. That’s because the Iowa DNR logged 6,000 miles counting birds and rabbits in their annual August Roadside Survey. The results released on Aug. 30 showed little change from last year; a promising result for gamebird populations that have shown population declines in most years of the survey’s 55-year history.....
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Brightly-colored leafs, harvest and the busy labors of squirrels burying nuts for the long winter ahead are iconic images of fall in Iowa. This year, however, Iowans may notice fewer scurrying squirrels in their yards, thanks to a late spring frost that negatively impacted hard mast production in many areas throughout the state...
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Despite what can feel like Arctic weather sweeping into Iowa during the winter, the state still finds itself a long way from the Arctic tundra. So it would be surprising to find Arctic tundra wildlife soaring over Iowa’s picked corn fields or perching on the state’s telephone poles. But this winter seems to be an exception to that rule, because since early November reports of an iconic tundra-dwelling bird, the snowy owl, have been pouring in from all corners of the state....
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On these cool spring days, it’s easy to forget the approaching hot, humid days in store for Iowans this summer. The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach wildlife program offers the following recommendations for the impending hot summer days: avoid the heat by spending less time on the mower....
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