Whiterock Conservancy Blog

With the amazing amounts of snow lately, I’ve been able to get out on the cross county skis every few days– and it’s been wonderful, albeit cold and windy. Usually I just push off from my back door and wander the hills around my house on the Betts Farm, and I’ve taken a couple loops on the Garst Farm Trail (covered in enough snow to ski on despite having a hard surface!). Yesterday I took a cruise out to the Long Farm yesterday to examine the 100 acres of oak savanna restoration that we labored through December to finish–I needed to check and see how many more days of cutting we’ll need to put in before total completion of the project. It was a beautiful afternoon….

Without foliage on the trees, this is the time of year when you can actually see the Middle Raccoon River Valley in all of its winding, bluff-lined glory. As I tell many of the visitors, there is not one place on Whiterock Conservancy property where you can see the entire river valley during the growing season. As we slowly but surely cut down the invading eastern red cedars from the ridgetops above the river, we expose more and more of the viewshed! I highly saturated this picture so that you could see Redrock, the sandstone outcrop across from 805 River Cabin–in the foreground are cut down cedars that used to hide the view of the valley, behind them are the lone oak trees that we left behind, the savanna, and behind them, the river valley with Redrock peeking out. What a site! Not only has the restoration uncovered the savanna and prairie remnants, but the view too! The view of another 100+ acres of cedars to cut down on the other side of the river!

Things have been bright and white and cold in Whiterock valley as of late….

Temperatures hovering around zero for days on end

We’ve been graced or blasted, sometimes I feel both ways, by two tremendous snowstorms, one accompanied by ice.

It has just started to snow again this morning, another blizzard has arrived!

Snow and ice and sun make for an unyielding landscape, washed of any color, covered in bright reflective cold

If snow blankets the land during winter, what does this ice do? Envelop, smother, shroud?  The silence of the outside during winter has been broken by the trees themselves, transformed to wind chimes by their icy coating.

Standing in the middle of winter’s day is lonely for those of us who relish the spectrum of light’s wavelengths

The simplicity of whites and grays and blacks, they contrast so starkly, sometimes blinding, sometimes boring.

I savor those few sublime moments before and after sunrise and sunset

Ann and Abdul from the Cedar 3 crew (Americorps NCCC) asked me to publish this goodbye from the crew….

For the past month, we (10 crew members) have been working with Whiterock Conservancy, SOAR and Diversity Farms, and helping out with a few projects in the Coon Rapids community. This four-week project was our first assignment as members of AmeriCorps NCCC and we have greatly enjoyed serving with the WRC.  We spent the majority of our time out on the Long Creek Ridge clearing trees for oak savanna restoration.

We found it incredibly gratifying to see the immediate effect we were having on the landscape.  Also, being able to see the work completed by the previous AmeriCorps team and the new growth on the land motivated us to push toward our target of clearing 25 acres.  Unfortunately, the Iowa Blizzard of 2009 stopped us just short of reaching our goal.

We would like to thank Elizabeth Hill and Matt Reiling for being excellent supervisors and teaching us about Iowa’s ecology! We are inspired by the passion they have for preserving the area’s ecosystems. Many thanks to the WRC staff for going out of their way to ensure we were comfortable at the worksite and housing.  We will never forget our experiences here with the WRC and we hope to someday return and see the lasting effects of our work.

On Monday of this week, our second Americorps NCCC (Cedar 3) crew arrived in Coon Rapids, ready and rearing to go! The team of ten 18-24 year old crew members will be here aiding our Conservation and Land Stewardship programs until December 15, helping with prescribed fires and restoring 25 acres of oak savanna within WRC’s oak savanna priority area, on the Long Creek Ridge.

Top row: Abdul Ahmed, Anne Rettof, Zach Belcastro, Eric Balza, Tyler Brown, Leigh Anne Daigle, Laura Purves, Stephanie Gianelli, WRC's Matt Reiling Bottom row: Jessica Beckwith, June Carlson, WRC's Elizabeth Hill

The mission of AmeriCorps NCCC is to strengthen communities and develop leaders through direct, team-based national and community service. In partnership with non-profits like Whiterock Conservancy, as well as secular and faith based organizations, local municipalities, state governments, federal government, national or state parks, Indian Tribes and schools, members complete service projects. Drawn from the successful models of the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s and the U.S. military, AmeriCorps NCCC is built on the belief that civic responsibility is an inherent duty of all citizens and that national service programs work effectively with local communities to address pressing needs. Americorps NCCC opened a new headquarters in Vinton, Iowa, in 2008, and has sent Whiterock Conservancy, along with other Iowa organizations, many crews of hard-working members.

Together with Matt Reiling, WRC’s Grounds Manager, I’ve been out with the crew running a chainsaw for the last few days, and we’ve been moving fast! The oak savanna restoration project that we’re focusing on with the Americorps NCCC crew consists of cutting down invasive trees and shrubs in order to open up the canopy for oak savanna regeneration. The 25 acres that we complete with the crew is being matched with 75 acres funded by the Landowner Incentive Program, a private lands restoration cost-share program offered by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. We’ve hired a contractor, Michael Anderson and his crew of the Iowa Natural Resource Corporation, to complete the 75 acres restoration, and they are hard at work right now.

We started off the week with Cedar 3 by introducing them to the land and WRC’s staff members, and then we got to work. Matt and I have been cutting down trees while the crew members drag the logs and branches and put them in piles. While cutting and piling may not sound like too much fun, the crew has an amazing sense of humor and love to laugh while they work–the only way have fun while working this hard!  We’ve also been making time for Ecology Moments every now and then–that’s when I turn off the chainsaw and answer questions about the landscape and the goings-on in the oak savanna! While it is imperative that we get all of the restoration work done, educating the crew members about Iowa’s ecology is just as important, and makes the project more rich and interesting for all of us.

This 100-acre project is the most ambitious oak savanna restoration project that WRC has attempted thus far, and we are really excited to see the results within the next month! Without assistance from the Landowner Incentive Program and the fabulous Americorps NCCC crew, this large project would be impossible for Whiterock Conservancy, and we are ever so thankful for all of the help! Most importantly, so is the land.

Like a photograph, scientific research captures many details of a place and time and allows us to examine a subject from different perspectives.  For example, studying bird response to lands enrolled in the Wetland Reserve Program provides a better understanding of how management plans benefit game species and the species of greatest conservation need.

Since April, I have been helping implement Iowa’s Wildlife Action Plan, which aims to conserve all wildlife in Iowa before they become rare and more costly to protect.  Through my observations on Whiterock Conservancy land I have captured a snapshot of information that shows how species have responded to habitat protection, restoration, and enhancement efforts resulting from the Wetland Reserve Program.  This program, with technical and financial support from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, offers landowners an opportunity to  achieve the greatest wetland functions and values, along with optimum wildlife habitat, on every acre enrolled.

During the monitoring season I recorded a total of 133 bird species on the Whiterock Conservancy land, including 14 new additions to the WRC Master Bird List.  On one very memorable day in October I saw a Peregrine Falcon and Short-eared Owl.

The lack of species specific information on the abundance and distribution of species of greatest conservation need (SGCN) was one of the concerns highlighted in the Iowa Wildlife Action Plan.  I’m happy to report seeing a few of these SGCN birds, which prefer wetland and/or grassland habitat.

When I step back and view the big picture it is plain to see that this beautiful landscape truly is one of Iowa’s “Great Places”.

	SGCN Breeding Bird Records: Trumpeter Swan, Least Bittern, American Bittern, Bald Eagle, Upland Sandpiper, Black Tern, Red-headed Woodpecker, Willow Flycatcher, Sedge Wren, Dickcissel, Grasshopper Sparrow, Bobolink, and Eastern Meadowlark.
	SGCN Migratory Bird Records: American White Pelican, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Stilt Sandpiper, and Le Conte’s Sparrow.

After the super-cold temperatures during October, I’ve really appreciated the relative warmth of the last week. Although large groups of waterfowl have already migrated south through Iowa due to the cold autumn, with the oncoming cold, there are still a lot more to come. Yesterday afternoon, I went out looking for waterfowl with Scott Schmidt, the IDNR Natural Resources Aide who has been surveying Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) lands in western Iowa and WRC. We took a few moments to check out the one of the properties that WRC helps manage next to Dunbar Slough Wildlife Management Area in Greene County.

There were few groups of waterfowl in the large wetlands at Dunbar, but when we stopped to walk around the open water we manage, there were only Coot and a Pied-billed grebe, along with a couple Great blue Herons. Earlier in the day, Scott had seen Stilt sandpiper, Wilson’s Snipe, Greater Yellowlegs, Semi-palmated sandpiper, Long-billed dowitcher, Cattle egret, Black-crowned night heron, Canada goose, Wood duck, Mallard, Blue-winged teal. Besides the Cattle egret, most of these other birds are fairly common to observe during spring and fall migrations in Iowa. We went back out together to get a look at the exciting find, the two Trumpeter swans he saw on property just next to ours.

Trumpeter swans, North America’s largest waterfowl, historically nested in Iowa in the prairie potholes and in marshes and wetlands in the large river valleys. However, due to loss of wetlands habitat and extensive hunting, the last wild nesting pair was observed Hancock County in 1883. Trumpeter swan reintroduction in Iowa was started in 1995, and this summer 33 pairs attempted to nest in the state. The Iowa DNR reintroduction program has established 50 sites around the state where both cygnets (babies) and older birds are released, in hopes that they will nest in the future. However, there are many difficulties facing the cygnets that are released in Iowa, and the IDNR is doing something about it. Trumpeter swans mate for life and generally have predictable annual movements that include migration north for nesting as well as migration to wintering sites. After the cygnets can fly in September, families stick together through the winter and the adults teach the young key migration routes and food sources. When IDNR releases young in Iowa, they are generally without an adult to teach them this important knowledge. However, for the next few years, a joint venture between Iowa DNR, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, The Trumpeter Swan Society, and the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission will help young cygnets learn the migration routes by actually moving them down to overwintering sites in Arkansas wetlands. This will help the young Iowa swans establish migration routes that they can teach their young in the future, ensuring that nesting pairs of this beautiful animal will continue in Iowa wetlands.

If you see a swan: all Iowa-released Trumpeter swans are marked with plastic green or red neck collars and leg bands with the letters F, J, H, P and two numbers (00 through 99), along with US Fish and Wildlife Service bands. Report any sightings of Trumpeter swans to the Iowa DNR with this form: http://www.iowadnr.gov/wildlife/files/swanrptform.html

I just received an email from one of our volunteers who leases out a small portion of the Whiterock Conservancy landscape during deer archery season. He sent along a great picture of an animal that I rarely see at Whiterock taken by a trail camera he set up. Even though he uses it primarily to keep track of the deer in the area, I think that George likes to look at the images of all of the animals (and sometimes confused hikers) that the trail camera catches just as much as he likes seeing the big bucks and does. Turkeys, squirrels, the ubiquitous deer and coyotes comprise the bulk of the trail camera action, but on October 4, George’s camera caught a mink!

I have only seen a mink one time on Whiterock Conservancy property—three summers ago when I first began doing research up here, walking along the river after dusk. I asked around and a long-time resident of the area made an anecdotal observation that there are more mink in the Middle Raccoon River valley than when he and his father were trapping them…

Mink are really interesting animals:  domestic cat-sized carnivores that flourish near any perennial body of water. In Iowa, they’re found mostly along rivers and large streams and near marshes and wetlands. They are carnivores and consume fish, crayfish, mussels, and salamanders in aquatic environments and on land, hunt for voles, shrews, mice, snakes and a variety of insects.  Mink nest in bank burrows left by beaver or muskrat and commandeered by mink, but they will also make dens in natural cavities in streambanks, under trees and in drift piles that they line with grass, leaves, or feathers. Keep any eye out for their tracks along streambanks or on sandbars, and watch for the generally nocturnal animals after dark. Like George, you may be looking for one mammal, bird, or fish most of the time…but let yourself get excited by all of the diversity out there.

Have you seen anything cool or rare on Whiterock Conservancy property? Email me with pictures! elizabeth@whiterockconservancy.org

As the colors on the bluffs and hills begin to change with the freezing cold weather that is on our heels, I would definitely recommend gorging your eyes on the beauty. Some of the trees are already starting to change, but over the next two weeks the oaks leaves will go through their colorful senescence. You can call the Iowa Department of Natural Resources fall color hotline (515) 233-4110, or you can just go outside and look. Last fall I wrote about looking at some of the other plants that change color during the autumn: the prairie grasses that turn golden, auburn, orange and crimson. I was out for a walk in the woodland the other day, however, and noticed a few other, not-so-often thought of colorful things that pop up in the autumn.

They might be a bit of a stretch, but certainly things that you might not be so apt to look for due to the colorful trees and grasses and impending winter. While the large landscape views of colorful woodlands are truly amazing, there are other colorfulthings to look at out there if you look hard, or  in some cases, work hard!

Chicken of the woods mushrooms (Laetiporus sulphureus) are fall fruiting edible mushrooms that you just can’t miss–but as with all wild mushrooms, don’t try eating anything unless you are familiar with fungi or have an expert friend that can id them. I just love to look at these polypores (mushrooms with a spore-bearing surface composed of tubes that are pointed down and which open by pores) against the browns and grays of a autumn woodland, and I like to eat them too!

Prescribed fire! Orange and yellow and red flames creeping across the woodland floor, or the bright tangerine hue above the bluffs after dark during a woodland prescribed fire–the colors take my breath away! Prescribed fire season will soon be starting at Whiterock Conservancy, and we’re getting ready to do a few large woodland burns. We’ll be needing help along the way, and if you are interested in volunteering, just click on the “Get Involved” tab   above and input your contact information into the Volunteer Opportunities page.

Hunters on the landscape Deer management and pheasant hunting season are upon us, so you might be putting on a different colored jacket here pretty soon, or you might run into someone with a blaze orange jacket on. Whenever you’re exploring lands open to the public where hunting is taking place, it’s a good thing to keep your eyes open for people with blaze orange, generally the hunters–and if you see any, just let them know that you’re there and keep on what you’re doing. Here at Whiterock Conservancy, we’re trying to mix managed paid hunting with herd management while still allowing people to recreate on the landscape, and everyone can take part by being aware of your surroundings!

Whatever the colors your eyes choose to rest upon this fall–don’t forget to look for the things that you wouldn’t necessarily think might catch your eye….

Birds are everywhere is our lives. Can you think of a day that went by without seeing or hearing a bird? With the breeding season underway I discover something new and exciting each time I visit Whiterock Conservancy. On Monday morning I saw the familiar Spotted Sandpiper bobbing its tail while foraging in a bean field next to Highway 141. From a distance, it appeared to have a little peep as a companion, which seemed a bit odd. The plovers and sandpipers that were here weeks earlier should be settling back in the summer breeding grounds. I raised my binoculars for a closer inspection and saw a little puffball bobbing its tail just like mom (or dad). A baby Spotted Sandpiper!

The Spotted Sandpiper is a common resident of Iowa yet very few people have been lucky enough to find the nest or young of this bird. A total of 12 nesting records were reported in the Iowa Breeding Bird Atlas, which details the distribution and life history for each species of breeding bird in Iowa.

The Iowa Ornithologists’ Union and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources are now implementing the second Iowa Breeding Bird Atlas project. There are 791 blocks that need to be surveyed by 2012 with a minimum of 20 hours of observation in each block. Block #457 (Whiterock Conservancy) has already recorded 106 unique species and 27 confirmed nesting species. By sharing your field observations, you too can help expand the knowledge of Iowa’s birdlife.

It has been an amazing last few weeks here at Whiterock Conservancy–the change of seasons has nearly completed, and while it isn’t technically summer yet, it is sure starting to feel more like it. The shorebirds have mostly moved on, but the migratory warblers are still hanging around, the deafening frog chorus has lessened, but the tadpoles in our wetlands are growing by the day! The spring ephemeral wildflowers have mostly all gone to seed, but their foliage is still a little green. Finding all of the little clues about seasonal change is happening is one of my favorite things in life-when the little brown bats are breeding or when the wood betony is blooming-this is called understanding the phenology of a particular plant, animal, or fungi.

Phenology: the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate.

I’ve been keeping track of the phenology at Whiterock Conservancy lately, or as much as I can of it. It’s been an amazing amount of information to collect–observing and recording all of the birds and plants and animals I see ever few days. A great excuse to get outside and have an adventure, keeping track of the phenology of the world around helps you to get to know the changes that take place on the landscape. Once you begin to engage and see all of the different happenings: Nest-making behavior of the Great blue heron (March 25) the first Red-sided garter snake sitting on a rock (April 6), the first American redstart flitting around in the canopy (May 12), the last snow trillium blooming on Whiterock Bluff (April 28), the last patch of big yellow morels (May 22)……the list goes on an on.

If you haven’t tried keeping track of the activity in your neighborhood, give it a whirl. At minimum, it will help you to realize how VERY much is actually going on out in the natural world. And it will also help you to want to be a part of it, through active observation and general awe….
Enjoy!