Wetland Delineation Workshop

County Roadside Managers and Engineers attended a wetland delineation workshop in Ames in mid-December. Meg Flenker, Flenker Land Architecture Consultants, facilitated the workshop which included a review of the delineation process: from assessing potential wetlands on a project site during preliminary planning, through permitting, mitigating, and monitoring. The State IRVM Office coordinated the LRTF-funded workshop.

Prescribed fire workshop development

The Living Roadway Trust Fund, Iowa Native Lands, and UNI's Tallgrass Prairie Center have teamed up to develop prescribed fire workshops specific to Iowa. The workshops will focus on prairie and roadsides. In November, representatives from various conservation organizations, county IRVM programs, and Farm Bureau Insurance met with workshop developers at Camp Dodge to give feedback on a demonstration burn (pictured above), and to provide input for course curriculum. One-day workshops for landowners and two-day workshops for professionals are tentatively planned for Fall 2010. The ultimate goal of the effort is to get more acres safely and effectively burned in Iowa.

130 attend annual roadside conference in Cerro Gordo County

"Roadsides, Living on the Edge" was the theme of the 23rd annual roadside conference which featured presentations on managing roadsides for habitat. Host Cerro Gordo County provided a bus tour that allowed conference participants to view several successful roadside plantings. The tour also included demonstrations on hydroseeding, seed harvest, and erosion control at Lime Creek Nature Center. Left: Jon Steege, Joe Kooiker, Steve Holland and James Devig receive IRVM service awards. Below: Cerro Gordo County roadside specialists Josh Brandt (right) and Adam Sears (left) demonstrate seed cleaning and seed harvest equipment.