Four Things For Wildlife

Wildlife are impacted by everyone. That means that everybody can find ways to help wildlife too. It doesn’t matter how much or how little land you own or influence or where you live, work, or play. Every action we take can have some impact on the thousands of species of birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish, mussels, butterflies, bees, moths, and more with whom we share our state! The Four Things for Wildlife series seeks to help everybody think how they can help wildlife everywhere by considering four simple actions to take in a variety of contexts.

	Four Things for Every Yard Tips for how to make the most of any yard or other urban area.
	Four Things for Every Farm Tips for how to make the most of farmland.
	Four Things for Every Forest Tips for how to make the most of forested acres.
	Four Things for Every Pasture Tips for making the most of working grasslands.
	Four Things for Everybody Tips for everybody to do right by wildlife every day.

Four Principles for Wildlife Wellbeing

To help wildlife, it’s important to understand what wildlife need and why they need it. The four principles for wildlife wellbeing are a companion to the Four Things series that explains the why behind the how. Application of these principles can govern your decision making as you set out to help wildlife, whether that’s on your back patio or on the back forty.

Principle 1: Habitat: what wildlife want

Much of wildlife conservation comes down to providing what they need when and where they need it. We call it habitat. Habitat is specific to each individual species and comprises the three essential things all living organisms need to survive – food, water, and shelter – and a final consideration for how those features are arranged relative to one another that we call space. Any one place is “habitat” for any one species of wildlife if it provides the food, water, and shelter that species needs in quantities and locations (space) where that animal can benefit from them. Habitat means different things to different species. A killdeer, for example, builds its nest in a gravel parking lot, where it also finds food to eat and water to drink nearby. Thus, a gravel parking lot can be “habitat.” In contrast, an ornate box turtle only builds its nests in the sandy remnant prairies near rivers and lakes in scattered patches across Iowa. What’s “habitat” for killdeer looks nothing like what’s “habitat” for ornate box turtles. To help any species of wildlife, we must know what they want and what they need, and work to provide it!

Principle 2: Diversity is the answer

Hundreds of bird species, dozens of mammals, reptiles and amphibians, over 100 butterflies, and 100s of bees and moths and other insects call Iowa home. Well, they call their respective corners of Iowa’s ecosystems home where again we find tremendous variety. There are thousands of plant species from towering trees to microscopic algae. Dozens of unique landforms like bluff prairies, pothole wetlands, or alginic talus slopes. And infinite variety in moisture conditions that can switch the plant characteristics of a site from one community to another at the turn of a hillside. So it is that diversity is Iowa’s defining feature and thus that which needs protected and promoted above all else. Diversity of wildlife should be considered in decision making to benefit the most kinds or those most imperiled. Diversity of plants that are native to our ecosystems should be promoted and protected in any corner of the land. And diversity in ecosystems can be protected too – whether it’s young forests or mature forests – large lakes or tiny wetlands – they all have their role to play in the protection and enhancement of Iowa’s wild places and wild things.

Principle 3: Consider connectivity

Healthy and thriving wildlife populations can rarely survive alone in isolation. They need to be connected to other populations that can promote their genetic diversity, repopulate a patch after a die off from severe winter or disease, and allow populations to behave and interact, reproduce and grow. That’s why connectivity is so important for wildlife populations. But connectivity is challenging in Iowa because so much of our landscapes is inhospitable to wildlife, whether that’s large expanses of row crop fields or the sprawling footprint of a growing city. Finding ways to promote connectivity across these landscapes is critical. Riparian areas – or those along rivers and streams – provide ideal places to promote connectivity. So too do large road or park projects with expansive natural areas at their core or margins. Even neighbors working together can promote connectivity by spreading the word about the things they value and how everyone can get involved in creating wildlife habitat on every corner of their homes, farms, pastures, forests, or more.

Principle 4: Get help helping wildlife!

You don’t have to help wildlife alone! In fact, there are dozens of ways you can find help as you set out to help wildlife yourself. Many agencies and organizations in Iowa have experts that offer training opportunities or can even visit your farm or home to help you brainstorm your next moves. The Iowa DNR employs private lands foresters and wildlife biologists that do just that. Partnering non-profit organizations around the state do the same. Local experts, like those at your local County Conservation Board, or even in some city parks or stormwater programs, can offer a helping hand as well. Many private businesses are also springing up all over the state to help with forest management, managing grasslands, or even designing and maintaining native landscapes. Beyond technical assistance, there’s financial assistance too. For larger areas like farms, the Natural Resources Conservation Service has dozens of programs to help offset or completely cover the cost of wildlife-friendly conservation practices that can be applied on farms, homesteads, forests, and more. And other entities have cost share programs too, including local stormwater programs in cities and towns, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. There’s plenty of help to be had. Check out the contacts features on this website to find many of those helpers near your home today.