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Elevate: Creating an Environment of Action Conference
Credit: Iowa Environmental Council The Iowa Environmental Council is hosting it’s 2015 annual conference this Friday Oct. 2 at Drake University. The theme of this year’s conference is Elevate: Creating...
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REAP In Your Region: Region 3
For the next six weeks, INHF will be sharing the impact Iowa’s REAP program has in communities throughout the state. The Iowa DNR is hosting regional REAP Assemblies until Nov. 5, local meetings that...
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History Lesson: Raccoon River Valley Trail
Here’s your history lesson for the day. Throwback to when the Raccoon River Valley Trail wasn’t even a trail! Check out the story of how an old railroad right-of-way became one of Iowa’s most popular...
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REAP In Your Region: Region 10
For the next six weeks, INHF will be sharing the impact Iowa’s REAP program has in communities throughout the state. The Iowa DNR is hosting regional REAP Assemblies until Nov. 5, local meetings that...
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Stargazing in Iowa
At the end of September, the total lunar eclipse mesmerized astronomy novices and experts alike. Yet as cool as the blood moon was, it was just one instance of the incredible events that occur in the...
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INHF projects receive REAP funding
Every year, REAP funding benefits Iowa’s great outdoors. This fall, a handful of REAP grants were awarded to INHF projects. Many of these projects are adjacent to rivers and waterways, and their...
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How to make a healthy prairie
One of our main goals at INHF is to preserve, protect and restore Iowa’s prairies. In addition to creating beautiful landscapes, a thriving prairie ecosystem can prevent soil erosion, provide crucial...
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Help wildlife this tax season with the Chickadee Check-off
This holiday season, it’s time to give back — to chickadees and other non-game wildlife! On this year’s state income tax forms, you can help non-game diversity programs by checking off your support and...
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Where to find local prairie seeds
From purple coneflower to butterfly milkweed, Iowa is home to beautiful native prairie plants. These forbs and grasses not only look pretty, but also provide habitat for Iowa’s pollinators and...
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6 nature podcasts you should be listening to
Photo courtesy of Patrick Breitenbach Listen up: it’s time we talk about podcasts. These episodic audio shows are taking the Internet by storm with the likes of Serial and Radiolab, but here at INHF we...
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Iowa Prairie Network Winter Meeting
Prairie enthusiasts rejoice! Saturday, Jan. 17, marks the annual Winter Meeting of the Iowa Prairie Network. Iowa’s prairie community will come together for a day of education and fun at the DMACC...
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Conservation & Cocoa
Three miles east of Indianola, Bank Swallow Bend is part of the Federal Wetlands Reserve Program. (Photo by Garry Brandenburg) Warren County Conservation Board is celebrating 40 years in 2015! INHF has...
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Improvement plan: Breen Prairie reclamation
Employees from General Mills help harvest prairie seed from the Breen Prairie north of Monticello in Jones County on Oct. 8, 2014. Prairie sage grows up to 40 inches tall and blooms August through...
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5 fun winter activities in REAP areas
Winter doesn’t have to be a time to stay cooped up inside. There are plenty activities to get you outdoors and enjoying the beauty of an Iowa winter. Many of the best places to experience Iowa this...
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The scoop on Sandhill Cranes
Sandhill Cranes at Chichaqua With Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) season approaching in mid-March, take the opportunity to brush up on your crane knowledge.This bird has been in Iowa since the...
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Monitoring for mollusks
The Iowa Pleistocene snail is a considered a glacial relict species. The Iowa Pleistocene snail (Discus macclintocki) is a small mollusk indigenous to the north central United States. Unfortunately,...
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Where the buffalo roam
Neal Smith NWR was established to re-create 8,600 acres of tallgrass prairie (pictured here) and oak savanna. (Photo by Gary Hamer) With spring looming, it’s time to start thinking about the go-to...
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What’s in Bloom: Early Spring
This is our first installment of “What’s in Bloom.” From time to time, INHF volunteer Catherine Wilson will let you know about native plants that are in bloom around Iowa. As incredible as 60-degree...
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Nature’s natural nitrate filters
The sun sets over the icy Spring Run Wetland Complex in Dickinson County, just off East Okoboji Lake. (Photo by Daniel Ruf) Wetlands can be beautiful, like in the photo above, if you catch them at the...
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The restorative powers of a prescribed burn: Part 1
INHF Land Stewardship Specialist Ryan Schmidt carries a drip torch during a prescribed burn at Snyder Heritage Farm in Polk County. Wild fires are an integral part of our natural landscape because they...
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Volunteer spotlight: Folks at Faulkes Heritage Woods
Walking through snow in Iowa in early March turns into a rewarding experience for these 17 volunteers from INHF, Trees Forever, the City of Marion Parks and Rec. and Winding Pathways, LLC. The group...
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An early Earth Day celebration
INHF staff and volunteers collect seed at Turin Loess Hills State Preserve and Wildlife Management Area in Monona County. According to an article in The Old Farmer’s Almanac, Earth Day started in 1970...
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RAVEs define Earth Day 2015
Engaged citizens committed Random Acts of Volunteering for Earth (RAVE) to clear invasive species, collect garbage, restore habitats, inform interested individuals and establish formal ties with two...
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Restoring pollinator habitat – one Patch at a time
Benjamin Reynard of Dubuque has started a Kickstarter campaign to restore a million acres of pollinator habitat. Because pollination services from native bees, butterflies and other pollinators are...
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What’s in Bloom: Woodlands
This is our second installment of “What’s in Bloom.” From time to time, INHF volunteer Catherine Wilson will let you know about native plants that are in bloom around Iowa. May is Iowa Wildflower...
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Loess Hills Prairie Seminar
The sun sets over the Loess Hills in Monona County. (Photo by Robert Buman) “Honoring Prairie and the Hills” Whether avid prairie enthusiast or curious nature lover, you’re invited to join INHF at the...
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Up in the Blufflands
Limestone bluffs line the Upper Iowa River in Winneshiek County. (Photo by Clint Farlinger) In passing, the split-level building in Decorah seems nondescript. The only sign indicating INHF’s presence...
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What’s in Bloom: May
This is our third installment of “What’s in Bloom.” From time to time, INHF volunteer Catherine Wilson will let you know about native plants that are in bloom around Iowa. Soft rains and warm weather...
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Celebrate National Trails Day with a historic snack—trail mix
Photo by Cary Bass-Deschenes on Flickr via Creative Commons. No changes were made. Happy National Trails Day! We know you’re gearing up to get outside and explore Iowa’s trails with the Iowa By Trail...
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Iowa Prairie Conference 2015
There will be a “field trip” to Quigley-Slattery Heritage Prairie during the conference. (Photo by Jessica Rilling) Mingle with other prairie enthusiasts, get educated on the latest developments and...
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Protecting pollinators with Plant.Grow.Fly.
A buckeye butterfly spreads its wings in Van Buren County. (Photo by Lora Conrad) Did you know this week is National Pollinator Week? It’s important to celebrate—and protect—pollinators like...
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The Silent City
Along the Big Sioux River in the northwest corner of Iowa lays Blood Run. Splitting its 3,000 acres between Iowa and South Dakota, this land was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970. INHF...
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DeCook Field Day
Buffalo roam DeCook’s ranch in Monroe County. (Photo by Ron Huelse) INHF board member Mike DeCook will host a Practical Farmers of Iowa field day at his ranch in Lovilia on Tuesday, July 28, from 1-4...
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Volunteer spotlight: ISU students volunteer for “magical” day
Six Iowa State University Natural Resource and Ecology Management (NREM) graduate students used their skills to help open up and restore a remnant prairie on a March day this spring on a Boone County...
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Beat the heat with ice cream
(Photo by Evan Feekes) Happy National Ice Cream Month! We know you’re in need of a cold, sweet treat as you enjoy the summer sunshine. Consider making your own ice cream with berries and flowers found...
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Picture perfect prairies
A tour participant photographs a wood lily at Stinson Prairie State Preserve. On Saturday, June 27, INHF president Joe McGovern led tours of three prairies in Kossuth County, co-sponsored by INHF, the...
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Happy trails at Camp WaNoKi
INHF acquired the 77-acre Camp WaNoKi property in November 2014. The Webster County Conservation Board manages the land (with help from volunteers like these) to keep it properly maintained. Saturday,...
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Coming up Buckmaster
This view comes from the overlook at Capoli on the Buckmaster property. Our land stewardship interns worked at the Buckmaster property in Allamakee County last week. They removed brush on a hillside...
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Looking Out for Iowa: Raptor resources
A Swainson’s hawk soars through the sky. (Photo by Sue Schulties) Looking for a new way to support conservation in Iowa? Try sponsoring a raptor! Endangered or disabled raptors are rehabilitated and/or...
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Clean Water Concert
The sun sets over West Okoboji Lake. (Photo by Don Poggensee) The Okoboji Protective Association will host its annual Clean Water Concert at Preservation Plaza in Arnolds Park as part of a clean water...
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The Principal takes Ingawanis
We’d like to thank Principal Financial Group for coming out on Thursday, July 23, to Ingawanis Woodland, one of our current projects. Their eager group of volunteers assisted with many things around...
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The future for floodplains
When rivers rise, the water can cut new channels in a process known as scour, which removes fertile topsoil. The damage shown above occurred on a property along the Upper Iowa River in Allamakee...
View ArticleWhat is “Girdling”?
Check out this GoPro footage of our summer interns “girdling” a locust tree in Appanoose Co. “Girdling” is a practice used to kill invasive large trees encroaching on a habitat. It involves...
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2015 REAP Assembly schedule announced
Every two years, Iowans get the chance to learn about and influence the impact of Iowa’s Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program.The 2015 REAP Assembly schedule has been released, a series...
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Celebrate Iowa Prairie Heritage Week across the state
Iowa Prairie Heritage Week is an annual, week-long celebration of Iowa’s prairie past, present and future. This year, events all across the state will be held Sept. 13-19. IPHW provides Iowans and...
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Support INHF by shopping on Amazon
Looking for an easy way to help protect and restore Iowa’s land, water and wildlife? Every time you make a purchase on Amazon.com, you can now support INHF at no additional cost. The program, Amazon...
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REAP In Your Region: Region 4
For the next six weeks, INHF will be sharing the impact Iowa’s REAP program has in communities throughout the state. The Iowa DNR is hosting regional REAP Assemblies until Nov. 5, local meetings that...
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5 of Iowa’s most invasive species (and how to get rid of them)
An infestation of Garlic Mustard. Invasive plant species are like the common cold: They’re easily caught, undesirable and if left untreated, can lead to something much more serious. Across Iowa, a...
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5 MORE of Iowa’s most invasive species (and how to get rid of them)
We listened to your comments! Here are five more threatening invasive species in Iowa. Autumn Olive Autumn Olive Identification: This shrub or small tree holds dark green, oval-shaped leaves, small,...
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