FALL MEETING IN CEDAR RAPIDS – NOVEMBER 19TH AND 20TH

Neil Bernstein is hosting our fall annual meeting of the Iowa Natural History Association, and Daryl Smith will be the Friday evening speaker. Here are the details:

Friday, November 19th
6 pm – Dinner at Zindricks Czech Restaurant (entrees average $13), 86 16th Ave SW (in Czech Village)
Directions: From I-380:  Take Wilson Ave exit (if traveling north, turn right; if traveling south, turn left).  Travel a few blocks.  On 2nd St, turn left.  Second St does some interesting things, but stay on it.  Within a few blocks, you should be in Czech Village (small).  The restaurant is on 16th Ave SW, but parking is behind the restaurant.

Following dinner – Presentation by Daryl Smith on the Native Roadside Vegetation Center, including aspects of the Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management program, the Iowa Ecotype Project and the Prairie Institute.
The group will reconvene for the program at Mount Mercy College in the lower level of Basile Hall. A campus map can be viewed on-line at:  http://www2.mtmercy.edu/campusmap.html

Saturday, November 20th
9 am – The annual business meeting will be held in Basile Hall.  See the website link above for the location of campus and of Basile Hall (the latter is the orange building to the left on the campus map – moving the cursor over the building on the map will bring up the building name).

If you are looking for economical hotels, Neil suggests:
Comfort Inn North (Collins Road): 319-393-8247  (minutes from campus)
Or, just south of town (about 10 minutes max from campus):
Excel Inn:  319-366-2475, or 800-367-3935
Fairfield Inn: 319-364-2000, or 800-228-2800
Red Roof Inn: 319-378-8000
Of course, there are nicer places too.
 

INHA/DOT WETLAND PROJECT

This past year, INHA members collaborated with the Iowa DOT's Water Resources Section to prepare a grant proposal to perform an ecological assessment of 12 DOT compensatory wetland mitigation sites located across Iowa.  The grant proposal was submitted to the US EPA in June 2004.  The DOT was notified in August that the 3-year, $532,000 project was recommended for funding and in October 2004 the DOT was notified that the funds were available.  Fieldwork on the project will begin in 2005.

The primary researchers on the project will be INHA members with DOT staff administering the grant and providing support to researchers.  In addition to INHA members, Marty Sinclair (Coe College) and Jim Miller (ISU) would be involved in the research. In all, investigators from six colleges and universities, along with several private researchers, would be involved in the project.

Kelly Poole with the DOT and Terry VanDeWalle with INHA led the preparation of the proposal with help from a number of INHA members, including Neil Bernstein, David McCullough, Jeff Parmelee, Steve Main, Dennis Schlict, Frank Olsen, Jim Christiansen and Tom Rosburg. We thank the Iowa DOT for their collaboration on the project and congratulate all who were involved with preparation of the grant proposal.
 

IN MEMORIAM: KARL E. “GENE” GOELLNER

We regret to announce that Karl “Gene” Goellner, age 93, passed away last week.  Some of the members will remember him as one of the original INHA members. A memorial service will be planned in the future, and as we hear of this, we’ll post the information to the listserve.
 

IOWA NATURE STORE

A new feature on the DNR website is the "Iowa Nature Store" where you can purchase educational materials and shirts with various outdoor-theme logos. The items in the educational material section are:

Frogs and Salamanders of Iowa
Lizards and Turtles of Iowa
Iowa Wildlife Viewing Guide
Iowa Fish and Fishing
Iowa Portrait of the Land
 
Profits will go to state park improvements and other conservation programs.
 
The clickable link to the Iowa Nature Store appears just below the photo mosaic in the top center of the DNR homepage. The DNR homepage is at: http://www.iowadnr.com/

This year's $5 Non-game support certificate is also now available from the Iowa DNR, a beautiful print of a sharp-tailed grouse photographed by Roger Hill.
 

INHA WEB PAGE

I’m sure that Jeff Parmelee would appreciate updated information for our INHA web page! (A quick look at it this morning reveals that minutes of our recent meetings would be one good addition...) Have you checked it out? http://www.simpson.edu/~parmelee/INHA.html  Please look it over and send Jeff any suggestions and information that should be included; Jeff’s e-mail address is: parmelee@simpson.edu.
 

“AMERICA’S LOST LANDSCAPE: THE TALLGRASS PRAIRIE”

All of us are hopefully already aware of this film that Daryl Smith has co-produced. If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s a chance to see it on December 6th at the Iowa Public Television studio in Johnston. Daryl has shared a “hot-off-the-press” press release containing more information. For even more information about the film, see the website: www.uni.edu/~lostland

11/8/04
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Daryl Smith, director, UNI Native Roadside Vegetation Center, (319) 273-2388
Gwenne Culpepper, University Marketing & Public Relations, (319) 273- 6728

UNI's prairie film to make Des Moines debut

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- "America's Lost Landscape: The Tallgrass Prairie," a film co-produced by a University of Northern Iowa professor, will make its Des Moines debut at 7 p.m., Monday, Dec. 6, at the Iowa Public Television studio in Johnston. Area middle and high school students may attend a viewing at 10:30 a.m.

 Daryl Smith, professor of biology and director of UNI's Native Roadside Vegetation Center, was executive producer of the feature-length documentary. The film was written, directed and co-produced by David O'Shields of New Light Media.

 Annabeth Gish, Cedar Falls native and critically acclaimed actress, is the narrator. Gish, seen most recently as President Bartlett's older daughter on NBC's "The West Wing," also starred as agent Monica Reyes on "The X-Files." Her feature films include "Double Jeopardy," "Nixon," and "SLC Punk." "America's Lost Landscape" uses breathtaking cinematography, original music and moving narrative to trace the prairie's transformation from natural landscape to farmland, beginning in the early 1800s, when Iowa was blanketed by 28 million acres of tallgrass.

 "At the time of settlement in the 1820s, about 240 million acres of tallgrass prairie was a major landscape feature of North America," Smith explained. "But in one of the most astonishing alterations of nature in human history, most of the tallgrass prairie was converted to cropland in less than 80 years."

 Today, where modern machinery cultivates rows of corn and soybeans, there once was a sea of tallgrass, inhabited by bison and elk. "For the most part, Americans have no idea what the Midwest was  like 150 years ago," O'Shields said. "The tallgrass prairie is a national treasure.  It's important for people to understand that a major ecosystem in the heart of this country is nearly gone. We must understand what was here and embrace and preserve what remains."

 To tell this rich and complex tale, Smith and O'Shields interviewed writers, historians and scientists across the nation. "Each provided factual information and insightful commentary about the history of human settlement of the tallgrass prairie by Native Americans and Euro-Americans," O'Shields said. "Quotations from letters, diaries and other works of nonfiction add authenticity and connect the viewer to the story."

 Gish said working on the project was not just a moving experience, but a chance to learn as well. "The message behind the film is stirring and important for everyone to know: The essence of the prairie is still alive, but it needs to be fought for, restored and appreciated to continue to sustain us."

There is no charge to attend either showing, but reservations are necessary. To make reservations, call (800) 782-9522. For more information about the film, and to view a brief clip, visit www.uni.edu/~lostland.
 

FUNDING FOR PRAIRIE RESEARCH
offered by Prairie Biotic Research, Inc.

Prairie Biotic Research, Inc. is a Wisconsin nonprofit established in 2000.  Our purpose is to foster biotic research in prairies.  One of the ways we do this is through a Small Grants Program that funds grants up to $1000 for the study of any grassland taxa in the USA.  We are especially eager to support independent researchers (individuals lacking institutional support), but anyone may apply.  From 2002 to 2004, we awarded 12 grants to researchers in seven states to study insects, plants, mammals, reptiles and spiders.  Half of these grants supported graduate student research.

In 2005, we expect to fund four grants of up to $1,000 each.  We also have additional geographically restricted funds for research in southeastern Wisconsin and for research in Iowa.

To Apply for a Grant  To apply for a grant, contact Michael Anderson at Prairie Biotic Research, Inc., PO Box 5424, Madison, WI 53705, or prairiebioticresearch@hotmail.com after October 15, 2004, for a Grant Application Form.  Proposals must be received by January 15, 2005.

Our Supporters  We’ve received gifts in support of the 2005 Small Grants Program from: H. Baldwin; G. & T. Balogh; BioLogic Environmental Consulting, LLC; C. Blamire; A. Blattner; K. & B. Bowman; K. Christoffel; R. Christoffel; T. Felden; C. Gimse-Owen & R. Owen; D. & H. Hagar; the Jerome and Dorothy Holz Family Foundation; G. Johnson; P. Kellogg; the Legg Mason Blattner Charitable Trust; M. Lockwood; the Reva and David Logan Foundation; the Fred Maytag Family Foundation; C. & R. Mutel; U. Petersen; J. & R. Sime; L. Van Slyke; G. Teschendorf; T. & E. Wedel; and the West Bend Mutual Charitable Trust.

To Become A Supporter  Please make a donation to support our Small Grants Program.  Any amount is welcome.  PBR is run entirely by volunteers and we maintain no offices so our overhead is very low.  You may specify that your entire tax-deductible donation be given to researchers through our Small Grants Program.  You may also specify: a geographical region in which the research is to be done; research in one of three taxa (plants, invertebrates or vertebrates); graduate student research; or our endowment fund to support our Small Grants Program.

THANK YOU, from the Board and Scientific Advisors of Prairie Biotic Research, Inc., Michael Anderson, Rebecca Christoffel, Douglas LeDoux, Eric Metzler, Ursula Petersen, Dennis Schlicht, Scott Swengel, David Voegtlin, Andrew Williams and Daniel Young
 

FIND AND FIGHT GARLIC MUSTARD THIS WINTER
by Connie Mutel

Early discovery and treatment are the weapons of choice to use against garlic mustard. This very aggressive invader remains green and active throughout the winter. Thus its vulnerable to winter treatment with glyphosate. Unless covered by tree leaves, garlic mustards roundish serrated leaves are easily spotted on winters brown forest floor. They can be sprayed without harming dormant natives. Use 1.5 to 2% glyphosate; read the label for proper application procedures. Apply the glyphosate any time that temperatures are above freezing. Mid- to late-winter or early spring are ideal, but field experience has shown that spraying can be done any time temperatures are above freezing. Patience is required: Winter spraying means that plants will take longer to die, sometimes months. Be sure to return in the spring and early summer, to spray or pull any surviving stragglers.  This fall, when other outside chores lessen, start your garlic mustard patrol. Spray any sites you find, and mark them so you can return to treat stragglers. Finding small infestations of this extremely damaging plant, and treating them immediately, will save tremendous efforts later on.
 

SOUTHERN IOWA OAK SAVANNA ALLIANCE

Landowners in Decatur County have joined together to form the Southern Iowa Oak Savanna Alliance. The purpose of this organization is to protect, restore and maintain savanna in southern Iowa.  In Decatur County alone there are thousands of acres of highly restorable savanna.  The Alliance is being sponsored by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Southern Iowa RC&D.

Anyone interested in participating is invited to our next meeting at 7PM on Thursday, November 18 at the Leon Community Center in Leon, IA. I will be happy to answer any questions or give you further information. Please feel free to get in touch.
Sibylla Brown <timbrhll@GRM.NET>