Learn more about prairie habitat, benefits, and how to establish prairies from local conservation contacts. 

In the morning there will be 3 concurrent sessions running from 10:00 am and concluding by 11:30 am.

• Carl Kurtz will be presenting: Management Options, Realistic Expectations and Succession;. Planting procedures and options, post-planting management and plant succession that takes place year after year. What we start out with is not what we end up with.
• Tom Rosburg and Deb Lewis will conduct a workshop: Those Amazing Milkweeds - biology, ecology and identification of Iowa's milkweed species. Iowa has 16 species of milkweeds, all of them native and representing a variety of habitats. This hands on workshop aims to help participants better understand milkweed morphology and how to identify Iowa's species. A key to Iowa's milkweeds will be used along with voucher specimens to develop experience in keying. We will also cover reproductive biology, habitat affinities, and the biogeographical distribution of species along the way.
• Mike Todd and Luke Gran are organizing a presentation for students. There will be a panel discussion focused on engaging youth in central Iowa to think about careers in conservation. The panel will be made up of 5 to 6 people with less than 10 years of experience talking about what they did to position themselves to be successful in getting started in the conservation field in Iowa.

The afternoon program will start around 12:30 pm:

• Session 1 - Kevin Kuhn, Resource Conservationist in the NRCS State Office: Landowner Guide Sheets for Seeding and Managing Native Prairie
• Session 2 following the 1st break -Dr. Thomas Rosburg, Drake University: Effects of past and present Cattle Grazing on the Plant Species Composition of Tallgrass Prairie
• Session 3 following the 2nd break - Michelle Biodrowski, Pottawattamie County Conservation Naturalist and IPN President: Benefits of Native Plants for Backyard Habitats; how and why to add natives to your home garden

The proceeds from this year's silent auction will go toward the protection and purchase of the Hargoves II Property in Monona County. You may donate items for the silent auction by contacting Carman Rosburg at crosburg@prrcd.org. Items for the auction may be brought to the seminar site after 9:00