AUTHORS: Wesley Bollinger, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
ABSTRACT: As road development continues to fragment native landscapes and stifle wildlife movement, there has been increased attention towards maintaining and restoring ecosystem services and habitat connectivity around roadways. Increased use of native plants along roadways can reduce overall maintenance costs, bolster ecosystem services, and broaden migration corridors for numerous species, including birds and pollinators like the Monarch Butterfly.
State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) play a critical role in the balance between development and natural area conservation given their road creation efforts and maintenance of their sizeable land holdings. As most midwestern state DOTs employ native species in their roadside seeding specifications, I provide an overview of these seeding efforts, giving particular attention to states like Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois that include many diverse native seed mixes. I will also present preliminary results from surveys of Illinois and Indiana DOT native seed plots from the last 17 years. This presentation illustrates beneficial techniques for seeding in heavily disturbed, invaded landscapes and provides insight into which native species best establish and persist in these conditions.
AUTHORS: Craig Maier, Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Fire Science Consortium; Carol Baldwin, Great Plains Fire Science Exchange
ABSTRACT: Prescribed burning is critical to managing many wildlife habitats in North America, and the need for trained individuals is growing due to greater investment in wildfire risk mitigation and prescribed fire. Often students and early career professionals would like to add prescribed burning to their skill set, but are unaware of the training opportunities available or which would be most suitable for their career path. Prescribed burn training can occur through academic classes, online and in-person training for federal certification, state Extension trainings with and without certification, prescribed burning cooperatives and associations, and other opportunities. An overview of training requirements and types of trainings available can help wildlife managers meet personal and career goals. Examples of incorporating training into institutional settings will provide models for those looking to begin offering trainings at the college level.
Coordinator, Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Fire Science Consortium
I work across the Upper Midwest to strengthen connections between researchers and land managers. Grad students and PIs - we have a working list of research needs, literature review needs, and fire ecology methods. Land managers - we have a library of short summaries of research (emphasizing... Read More →
AUTHORS: Alison Little, University of Illinois Chicago
ABSTRACT: The solar industry is responding to demand for a clean energy future. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) forecasts that the solar industry is expected to nearly triple cumulative solar deployment by 2028. At the same time, insect pollinators are in decline throughout North America. Species and habitat losses are resulting in listing consideration and petitions for once-common species like monarch butterflies and several bumble bee species. Co-located pollinator vegetation at solar facilities is recognized as an opportunity to support habitat needed by declining insect populations.
How can large-scale projects incorporate pollinator plantings at solar facilities? What ecological and performance benefits can be realized from pollinator plantings? How do developers and owners weigh the costs and challenges of maintaining pollinator vegetation and determine the effects it has on power generation, community acceptance, and operations? The Pollinator Habitat Aligned with Solar Energy (PHASE) project is a four-year research project that aims to answer these questions and better support the solar industry in successfully implementing co-located plantings. This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office.
In collaboration with industry and technical professionals, the PHASE team has developed methodology to evaluate the impacts of plantings on both biodiversity and facility operations. This includes the diversity of plant and insect communities, pollinator services being provided by the site, and the effects of pollinator vegetation on panel temperature and efficiency. The PHASE team has used this data to develop a newly finalized toolset designed to support solar industry decision-making on pollinator vegetation. The four tools include a Pollinator Planting Implementation Manual, a Cost Comparison Tool, a Seed Selection Tool, and Habitat Assessment Module Guidance.
In this presentation, attendees will learn about brief research updates on solar pollinator plantings, learn where to access the PHASE toolset, and the tool applications.
AUTHORS: Jerod Huebner, Missouri Prairie Foundation
ABSTRACT: Highlight recent remnant prairie acquisitions by MPF. In the last 9 years, MPF has increased its landholdings from 21 sites ~2500 acres to 35 sites totaling over 4500 acres. Much of this is high quality remnant prairie with adjacent reconstructions and restorations. MPF has targeted rare prairie types most recently, acquiring one loess hill prairie and three sand prairies.
