Prescribed fire experts from the Nature Conservancy, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and the Iowa DNR led a four-day Fire Academy at Camp Dodge in mid-October. The object of the LRTF-funded Academy was to enable students to improve their fire management skills. Fire is used in roadsides and natural areas to stimulate the growth of native plants and deter invasive and woody plants. Properly trained burn crews are key to a safe, successful burn.

25th Annual Roadside Conference

Iowa's annual conference for IRVM practitioners was hosted by Black Hawk County, one of the first counties to adopt integrated roadside vegetation management in the state. Following Black Hawk County's efforts in the 1970s and 80s, other counties followed suit. The first roadside conference was held in 1986. The agenda for the 25th annual conference included a spray equipment expo (below, left) providing a look at different county spray rigs. At the University of Northern Iowa, conference attendees toured hydroseeding demonstration plots (below, right) and visited the Tallgrass Prairie Center.

Counties receive seed for reduced roadside maintenance

Forty-four Iowa counties will be seeding roadsides with prairie grasses and wildflowers this season. These counties traveled to the Tallgrass Prairie Center at UNI to receive seed funded through the Transportation Enhancement program administered by Iowa Department of Transportation. The Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management program at the University of Northern Iowa applied for the funds and purchased over 15,000 pounds of seed, enough to plant 1,000 acres. Prairie plants are a natural for preventing erosion and surviving drought, road salt and other environmental stresses. The seed mix, comprised of several species, is designed to occupy all growth niches including those sought by weeds.