Iowa

Why are prairies important to Iowa? Movement grows to restore them.

Published

2 years ago

June 9, 2022

Why are prairies important to Iowa? Movement grows to restore them.

Centuries in the past, earlier than Iowa’s wealthy, black soil was transformed into among the world’s best farmland, the state was largely coated in tallgrass prairie and flowering vegetation generally known as forbs.

With the arrival of white settlers, enormous plows pulled by a number of groups of oxen tore via the deep tangle of roots that had been rising because the finish of the final Ice Age, 16,000 years earlier than, to show the soil.

Now, with practically 90% of Iowa’s land beneath crops, simply 0.1% of Iowa’s authentic prairie stays. In line with the conservation group the Iowa Prairie Community, the lack of the prairie is “the results of many elements together with agriculture conversion, city sprawl, hearth suppression, and ignorance.”

The removing of native prairie vegetation like huge bluestem, butterfly milkweed and pale purple coneflower has resulted in a lack of migratory birds and different useful pollinators corresponding to monarch butterflies and bees. These species are very important to crop manufacturing, seed spreading and the general biodiversity of the state, stated Graham McGaffin, interim director of lands at The Nature Conservancy in Iowa.

The native vegetation develop extraordinarily deep roots, with extra of their dwelling mass under floor than above, in accordance with the Iowa Prairie Community. This helps management erosion by preserving soil in place. It additionally helps soak up rainfall, offering higher soil and water high quality by absorbing and filtering stormwater earlier than it enters rivers and streams, and may help stop flooding by slowing the movement of water.

In line with the Iowa Division of Pure Sources’ Prairie Useful resource Middle web site, “When heavy rains fall right into a prairie, stems of the native grasses and forbs sluggish the runoff permitting the water to infiltrate via the soil as a substitute of flowing throughout the floor, carrying soil and vitamins to our marshes, lakes and streams.”

Extra:Column: Prairies not in contrast to rain forests

Recognizing the ecological price of turning Iowa into what has been described as one of the crucial altered landscapes on the planet, landowners and organizations statewide are working to revive prairie land. Iowa State College has piloted packages to plant prairie strips on crop-producing farmland, and the Iowa DNR Prairie Useful resource Middle supplies over 65 species of Iowa-origin prairie grasses and wildflowers for planting by public land managers throughout the state.

The Nature Conservancy manages prairie within the Loess Hills in western Iowa, a singular panorama created when the glaciers made their last retreat. The area is dwelling to half of the unique surviving tallgrass prairie in Iowa and the biggest contiguous native prairie within the state. The group hopes to increase from 7,000 protected acres to 100,000.

In central Iowa, the Neal Smith Nationwide Wildlife Refuge is dwelling to 4,000 acres of replanted and reconstructed tallgrass prairie.

Sawtooth sunflower blooms along the trail in Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge.

And there is a rising, but nonetheless uncommon, motion to incorporate conservation land in new housing subdivisions.

Linn County in japanese Iowa is engaged on Dows Farm, an agrihood that when full could have dense housing on one-third of its 179 acres, with the the rest preserved riparian forest and a neighborhood farm.

A related mannequin generally known as Middlebrook Farm is beneath growth in Cumming, although it is centered extra on city agriculture and neighborhood gardens than conservation. West Des Moines-based Hubbell Realty Co. has what it calls conservation communities in 5 Des Moines metro cities, offering acres of restored prairie close to newly constructed houses.

And a Jasper County couple wish to rework 58 acres of farmland they personal right into a conservation subdivision, the place half of the land is restored prairie.

McGaffin stated that whereas Iowans want housing growth, it may be accomplished in a method that sustains each them and a various, native ecosystem.

“The evolution of conservation during the last half century I believe is making inroads down this path — how can we obtain each?” he stated.

Kim Norvell covers progress and growth for the Register. Attain her at knorvell@dmreg.com or 515-284-8259. Comply with her on Twitter @KimNorvellDMR.

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Iowa

Iowa Hawkeyes Connected to Overwhelming Bowl Expectation

Published

4 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Press Room

Iowa Hawkeyes Connected to Overwhelming Bowl Expectation

Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes were able to take care of business on Saturday against the Maryland Terrapins. Now, they head into their final game of the regular season this coming Saturday against the Nebraska Cornhuskers with a 7-4 record.

Iowa will be headed to a bowl game following their game against Nebraska. However, the real question ends up being, which bowl game will they play in?

At this point in time, the Hawkeyes seem to be trending towards playing in one bowl game in particular.

Here are a few of the bowl game projections that have been put out there by analysts:

Obviously, the ReliaQuest Bowl seems to be the clear favorite when it comes to what game Iowa will play in.

Looking at some of the matchups that have been suggested, there is the potential for a very entertaining game.

Going up against Ole Miss, South Carolina, or Alabama would be a very difficult test for the Hawkeyes. Any of those three games would give them a great test to end the 2024 season.

There is still one game that needs to be played. A win over the Cornhuskers would have them ending their season at 8-4. After that game, it will be a wait and see approach as to which bowl game Iowa will play.

All of that being said, seeing this projections should bring excitement to the Hawkeyes’ fan base. None of them would be easy games, but the matchups would give Iowa a chance to end the season with a major upset and to head into the offseason on a high note.

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Iowa

SYC: Iowa Big project focuses on helping unsheltered

Published

12 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Press Room

SYC: Iowa Big project focuses on helping unsheltered

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A group of Cedar Rapids High School students are making sure people without a home have the essentials this winter.

Gavin Cornwell and his team of Iowa Big students filled 100 bags this week with a little bit of everything.

“We have some fruit roll-ups, some gushers, and a granola bar,” said Cornwell.

For this team, it’s more than just a class. Once done, the bags will go to the unsheltered population living at the winter overflow homeless shelter.

“People really don’t understand, everyone has their own story,” said Cornwell.

These care packages will go to each person who stays at the low-barrier shelter this winter.

“We kind of grabbed the basic necessities to include in these care packages to give them some cheer this holiday season,” he said.

The homeless population in Linn County grew by more than 40% in 2024. Denine Rushing oversees operations at the overflow shelter and said the bags provide items that those who sleep at the shelter might not otherwise get.

“Being able to have these bags that they can just throw in their backpacks or in a bag or just carry with them and utilize throughout the day,” said Rushing. “I think it is going to be really helpful for people.”

Rushing expected to see more people utilize the shelter this year, especially during snow events and bitter cold temperatures.

“You really have to kind of have things on the go, things that you can kind of just grab and take with you while you are out and about throughout the day,” said Rushing.

Cornwell said they planned to hand the bags out this Monday at the shelter. A place this Prairie High School senior is now closer to, a place that was more visible thanks to this school-based project.

“You might drive by and you might see somebody experiencing homelessness but you don’t really know what they’re experiencing,” said Cornwell.

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Iowa

Iowa State women get back on track, hold off in-state rival Drake

Published

20 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Iowa State women get back on track, hold off in-state rival Drake

Returning to Hilton Coliseum was just what the Iowa State women needed, as the eighth-ranked Cyclones held off Drake Sunday afternoon in Ames, 80-78.

Returning sophomore standout Audi Crooks had the game-winning bucket with just :00.3 seconds left in the game, finishing off a 33-point effort to lead Iowa State (5-1).

Crooks, a preseason honorable mention All-American, added four rebounds to her night while shooting 15 of 25 from the field.

Emily Ryan had a double-double, scoring 11 points while dishing out 12 assists. Addy Brown added 13 points and Mackenzie Hare chipped in 10. Brown led the team with eight rebounds while Ryan had six with two steals.

Arianna Jackson had three steals and no turnovers in almost 31 minutes of action.

For Drake, another former Iowa prep standout put up a big number vs. the Cyclones, as Katie Dinnebier knocked down eight 3-pointers and scored a game-high 39 points. Anna Miller had 18 with eight rebounds, as Dinnebier also had five rebounds, two steals and two assists.

The win marked the 300th non-conference victory for Iowa State under Bill Fennelly all-time, as he improved to 616-314 with the Cyclones and 782-367 overall in his coaching career.

Iowa State added to its NCAA-record streak for consecutive games with a made 3-pointer, stretching it to 933 straight.

Up next for the Cyclones will be defending national champion South Carolina on Thanksgiving at 12:30 p.m. on FOX. The Gamecocks had their 43-game win streak snapped with a 77-62 loss in Los Angeles.

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