North American Prairie Conference

CONFERENCE Speakers

View a detailed schedule here.

keynote presentations

MONDAY JUNE, 26

A Lost Cause? Bringing Prairie Back to the Corn Belt
Dr. Laura Jackson
Director, University of Northern Iowa Tallgrass Prairie Center
Cedar Falls, IA

MONDAY JUNE, 26

Farmers of Forty Centuries: Reconciling Agriculture & Ecology
Eric Lee-Mäder
Co-Director, Pollinator Conservation, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
Portland, OR

As Pollinator Program Co-Director, Eric manages staff focused on large-scale habitat restoration, conservation biocontrol, native seed research and development, and outreach to farmers, private businesses, and government agencies. His professional background includes commercial beekeeping, native seed production, and consulting for various specialty crop industries. Eric was previously assistant professor of extension at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Entomology and is the author of a book on how to manage bees for the USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Eric regularly provides on-the-ground technical support to the NRCS and other conservation agencies. He is the lead author of numerous publications, including Farming with Native Beneficial Insects and Attracting Native Pollinators. He also currently owns/operates Northwest Meadowscapes, a native seed and habitat management company focused on the restoration of Native Pacific Northwest Prairies and Grasslands.

THURSDAY JUNE, 29

Saving the Soul of the Heartland
Douglas Ladd
Former Director of Conservation, The Nature Conservancy in Missouri
St. Louis, MO

Doug has been involved with fire management, fire ecology, conservation planning, natural area assessment, and ecological management, restoration, and research, with particular emphasis on vegetation, ecological restoration, and fire ecology. His recent work has concentrated on vegetation and fire ecology of Midwestern prairies and woodlands. In addition to numerous articles and reports, Doug is the author of North Woods Wildflowers and Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers, and coauthor of Discover Natural Missouri and Distribution of Illinois Vascular Plants. He is a research associate at the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Conservation Research Institute, and The Morton Arboretum. He serves as adjunct faculty at Washington University, on the advisory board of Shaw Nature Reserve, and is past president of the American Biological and Lichenological Society.

Symposia and concurrent sessions

MONDAY JUNE 26

Prescribed Fire Seasonality: New Insights from Research on Fire Effects in Remnant and Reconstructed Tallgrass Prairies            

Host: Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Fire Science Consortium

The presenters in this session have studied contemporary prescribed fires and will share insights on the effects of burns conducted during the growing season and dormant season. Their studies represent a range of spatial scales, experimental methods, and response variables (including the plant community and insects). 

Speakers:

• Dr. Thomas B. Bragg, Professor of Biology, University of Nebraska Omaha, Omaha, NE: Trends in a 40-year-long Fire Seasonality and Frequency Experiment

• Dr. Devan A. McGranahan, Research Ecologist, Agricultural Research Service, Miles City, MT. 

  Barriers to a Summer Fire Regime in Northern Prairies: Ecological, Physical, and Social 

• Justin Thomas, NatureCITE, Springfield, MO: Floristic Quality Response to Non-Dormant Season Fire in Missouri and Kansas prairies

• Bethany Roberton, PhD student, Department of Entomology, North Dakota State University, Fargo ND 

  Short-term Impacts of Seasonal Burn Treatments on Plant Diversity and Pollinator Recruitment in a Tallgrass Prairie 

Moderator: Craig Maier, Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Fire Science Consortium

Insects: What we don’t know and how you can help!    

Host: BugGuide.net, Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology, & Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA

It’s 2023 but how well do we know the insects that live in our prairies? Not very well. Join our panel of entomologists and ecologists as they share their knowledge about what is known, and not known, about our many-legged prairie neighbors. Following the panel, insect enthusiasts will provide examples of how everyone can work together to expand our collective understanding of insects in our prairies. Now is the time to notice insects!

Speakers:

• Dr. Greg Courtney, Entomologist, aquatic insects, Iowa State University, Ames IA. Aquatic Insects of Wetlands in the Upper Midwest: A “well known” Fauna that isn’t

• Chris Helzer, Prairie Ecologist, Nebraska Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, Aurora, NE. Learning to See the Prairie Through the Eyes of Insects

• Dr. Jessica Peterson, Entomologist, Invertebrate Ecologist, Minnesota Biological Survey, Minnesota DNR, Saint Paul, MN. Insect Conservation by Accelerating Learning

• Jay Watson, Conservation Biologist, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Green Bay, WI. Native Bees in Our Prairies, What’s All the Buzz About 

Moderator: Megan O’Donnell, Head of Research Data Services and (former Entomology Librarian), Iowa State University Library, Ames, IA 

WEDNESDAY JUNE 28

Spirit of the Prairie: Connecting through Storytelling                 

Host: Iowa Prairie Network

This symposium is focused on storytelling by landowners and prairie enthusiasts, sharing their personal experiences with the land and prairie. The invited speakers will begin by each reflecting on what the prairie means to them. The remaining time will provide a moderated panel discussion aimed at a deeper conversation of how to cultivate an appreciation for the environment and prairie in others. Audience participation and questions are welcome.

Speakers:

• Dr. Ray Hamilton, prairie owner and enthusiast, instrumental in identification, protection and eventual public ownership of multiple local native areas, author “Native Prairie Management Guide”, founding member of the Iowa Prairie Network, Solon, IA

• Dr. Roger (Jake) Landers, Retired, Extension Range Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

• Ron Eckoff, retired Iowa Department of Public Health, prairie owner and enthusiast; since 2001 Ron has been restoring about 35 acres of remnant prairie in Warren County; Ron is a contributor to “Tending Iowa’s Land” and lives in Cumming, IA

• Ray Young Bear, poet, author and member of the Meskwaki Nation; Ray was raised on the Meskwaki (Red Earth People) Settlement in central Iowa. He is the author of Black Eagle Child and Remnants of the First Earth, which received the Ruth Suckow Award as an outstanding work of fiction about Iowa. He presently lives on tribally-owned land that was established by his maternal grandfather, a hereditary chief, in 1856.

What Prairie Can Teach Agriculture: Four Lessons 

Host: University of Northern Iowa Tallgrass Prairie Center and Iowa State University

Permanent land protection is the only way to guarantee protection of biodiversity and restoration of prairie ecosystem services into the landscape. However, sustainable farming practices that mimic natural systems may also help to restore critical elements of the prairie: grassland nesting birds, pollinators, soil organic matter, hydrological resilience and clean water, to name a few. We critically examine the benefits of using prairie as a model for more sustainable agricultural practices.

Speakers:

• Joe McGovern, President Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, Des Moines, IA Permanent Land Protection to Benefit Prairie and Agriculture

• Dr. Randall D. Jackson, Campbell-Bascom Professor of Grassland Ecology, Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI Grassland 2.0 - Ecosystem Functions of Prairie are the Goalposts for Agriculture

• Dr. W. Carter Johnson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Natural Resource Management, Northern Plains Biostress Laboratory, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD: Restoring Prairie on Cropland for Profit and Services

• Dr. Lisa Schulte Moore, Professor of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Associate Director of the Bioeconomy Institute, Director C-Change, Iowa State University, Ames, IA: Blurring the Lines between Preservationist and Utilitarian Views of Grasslands with Prairie Strips

Moderator: Dr. Laura Jackson, Professor of Biology, Director, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA

Insect Apocalypse – How to Shift from Catastrophic Headlines to Meaningful Solutions

Host: Illinois Nature Preserves Commission

This will be a panel discussion where insect experts from different areas with diverse backgrounds will engage with the audience and answer questions related to on-the-ground solutions for the long-term survival of our native insect diversity. Topics will include climate change (increased temperatures, extended seasons, irregular weather events), habitat loss (food, shelter), pesticides, competition from introduced insects and plants, and human socio-economic issues. 

Speakers:

• Dr. Carl Strang, Retired Ecologist and Educator from DuPage County, Illinois. Carl’s regional survey of singing insects in the Chicago area has revealed profound impacts of habitat alteration and pointed to the influence of climate change on the distribution and abundance of this ecologically diverse group of species. 

• Heather Holm, Author/Consultant, Minneapolis, MN. Heather lectures on pollinator conservation and has published books and articles on bees, flower-visiting wasps and other pollinators. With a background in plant ecology her focus is on insect-floral associations and nesting behavior. 

• Eric Eaton, Author and Entomologist, Leavenworth, KS. Eric is author of Insectpedia, and Wasps: The Astonishing Diversity of a Misunderstood Insect, both from Princeton University Press. He is also lead author of the Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, and co-author of Insects Did It First with Gregory S. Paulson. 

• Laura Rericha-Anchor, Wildlife Biologist, Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Elk Grove Village, IL. Laura is coauthor of the Flora of the Chicago Region: A Floristic and Ecological Synthesis. She is currently working on two faunistic monographs, one on the more than 500 bee species and one on the ants of the southern Lake Michigan region. 

Moderator: Angella Moorehouse, Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, Springfield, IL

Savanna and Prairie Restoration in Central Iowa and Illinois   

Host: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and The Nature Conservancy

This symposium will focus on tools and techniques used by state, county, federal and private agencies. The methods include prescribed fire, grazing with goats, mechanical treatment of woody vegetation, herbicides and maintenance. The methods used to “discover” potential prairies and savannas will be also be presented, along with management strategies, early results and invasive species control. Working definitions of savanna, canopy cover and associated herbaceous understory will be discussed.

Speakers:

• Dr. Thomas Rosburg, Professor of Biology, Drake University, Des Moines, IA: Quantitative Effects of Goat Browsing and Tree Cutting on Vegetation in a Savanna Restoration

• Bill Kleiman, Project Manager, Nachusa Grasslands, The Nature Conservancy, Franklin Grove, IL: Tools and Techniques in Restoring Savanna at Nachusa Grasslands

• Dr. Todd Gosselink, Wildlife Biologist, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Knoxville, IA: Savanna Restoration, Prairie Creation, Invasive Annihilation at Red Rock Wildlife Management Area

• Perry Thostenson, Supervisory Natural Resource Specialist, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lake Red Rock, Knoxville, IA: Prairie and Savanna Rescues, Restoration and Management at Lake Red Rock, Iowa

Moderator: Scott Moats, Director of Stewardship/Fire Manager, The Nature Conservancy, Westfield, IA

THURSDAY JUNE 29

Prairie and Grassland Resilience in the Face of Climate Change         

Host: Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation

Prairies and grasslands are icons of resiliency, but how will they adapt to the challenges of our changing climate? Four experts will discuss the potential that lies within prairie communities to not only adapt but to be part of the answer in mitigating climate change.

Speakers:

• Ashley Wojciechowski, Ph.D. Candidate, Baer Ecology Lab, Kansas Biological Survey and Center for Ecological Research, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. Looking Above- and Below Ground: Restored Prairie Recovery from Long-Term Disturbance and Resilience in the Face of Global Change

• Dr. Katharine Hogan, Post-doctoral Fellow, Evidence-based Restoration Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL. Grassland Plant Communities in Nebraska Restorations and Remnants Exhibit Similar Patterns and Resilience Over Time

• Dr. Brian Wilsey, Professor in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA. Restoration in the Face of Changing Climate: Importance of Persistence, Priority Effects, and Species Diversity

• Dr. Cole Dutter, Post-doctoral Fellow, Soil-Plant Interactions, Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University Ames IA 

  Prairie Strips Effects on Soil and Adjacent Cropland Soil 

Moderator: Emily Martin, Conservation Programs Coordinator, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, Des Moines, IA

Working Together to Sow the Seeds of Successful Prairies: Join the Prairie Reconstruction Initiative!

Host: Prairie Reconstruction Initiative Advisory Team

The Prairie Reconstruction Initiative (PRI) is blazing a trail for managers to learn from each other and overcome the uncertainties in prairie reconstruction. Don’t have a map? We’ll give you one in this session!

Speakers:

• Megan Benage, Southern Region Ecologist, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, New Ulm, MN. Leaving a Trail for Others to Follow. Write it down!

• Amanda McColpin, PRI Project Coordinator, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Contractor, Prairie City, IA. Did you SucSEED? Monitor Vegetation to Measure Reconstruction Success.

• Ian Lane, I&M Data Manager, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bloomington, MN. Prairie Reconstruction Data: Moving from the File Cabinet to the Cloud 

• James Ellis, Natural Areas Coordinator, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL. Cross pollination. Sharing the Knowledge and Hiking Ahead!

Moderator: Pauline Drobney, Prairie and Savanna Zone Biologist, Midwest Region, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Prairie City, IA (retired). Introduction: The roots of PRI. From the ground up!

View a detailed schedule here.