2025 Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference

Co-Organizers:
Caleb O'Brien, Missouri Department of Conservation
Kiandra Rajala, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Ben Beardmore, Wisconsin DNR
Lorisa Smith, Missouri Department of Conservation
Sarah Walker, Colorado State University
Tara Teel, Colorado State University
Mike Manfredo, Colorado State University

Overview:
The purpose of a Benefits Declaration is to identify the diversity of benefits that flow from people's engagement with wildlife and provide a tool to guide more inclusive and effective management for people, wildlife, and habitat. The Benefits Declaration approach stems from the America's Wildlife Values study which highlighted the need for agency adaptation to engage and develop programs and services that resonate with broader constituencies. The workshop was piloted in 2023 at the international Pathways in Human Dimensions conference.

This Benefits Declaration Workshop will be hosted by MAFWA Directors, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Conservation Social Science/Human Dimensions technical working committee and the Midwest Landscape Initiative. Attendees will be selected by agency directors and leadership within regional NGOs and academic partners. The workshop will provide a regional template that can be implemented within state and community contexts and will help orient future relevancy-focused inquiry across the Midwest region.

For Questions contact: Elizabeth “Ellie” Prentice, Terrestrial Habitat and Social Science Unit Supervisor
Office: (573) 815-7900 ext. 2929; Ellie.Prentice@mdc.mo.gov

AUTHORS: Dale Gentry, Director of Conservation, Audubon Upper Mississippi River; Brent Newman, Program Director - Mississippi River Water Initiative, National Audubon Society

ABSTRACT: Riparian and floodplain forest habitats of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) are the backbone of the Mississippi Flyway which serves as a major aerial highway for 60% of North America's bird species. The incredibly diverse ecosystems associated with the Mississippi River have been altered by agriculture, the impoundment of the river in locks and dams, levees, pollution, and climate change, which have reduced the quantity and quality of habitat for migrant and breeding birds. Audubon’s Mississippi River Initiative is a focused effort engaging and working alongside private and public land managers to mitigate these factors that are negatively influencing habitat and water quality by encouraging and guiding bird-friendly habitat management strategies that retain and enhance forest and grasslands cover in the UMR flyway. Audubon’s Mississippi River Initiative emphasizes science, habitat restoration, and policy approaches. 1) We are implementing and supporting avian monitoring and research efforts along the river to fill critical science gaps and develop habitat restoration strategies that align with science-based management and adaptation plans. 2) We are partnering with federal, state, and private land managers and stakeholders to restore and enhance bottomland and upland forests. We are also enhancing water quality by expanding and improving the management of perennial grass pastures in the Mississippi River watershed through Audubon’s Conservation Ranching initiative. Finally, 3) we are pursuing policy solutions that will lead to a healthy and resilient environment for priority bird species and human communities. Audubon works from the halls of Congress and river management teams to local city councils to achieve policies and funding implementation in alignment with our watershed goals. Through these three action steps, Audubon is seeking a more resilient and ecologically vibrant future for the Mississippi River.

AUTHORS: Tara Hohman, Audubon Upper Mississippi River; Dale Gentry, Audubon Upper Mississippi River; Nicole Michels, National Audubon Society

ABSTRACT: Floodplain forests of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) provide critical habitat for a diverse avian community. Yet dozens of bird species that use these forests are listed as priority species and/or Species of Greatest Conservation Need by state and national agencies. These same agencies outline the desire to further define best management practices to conserve floodplain forest birds through their full annual cycle. Our 10 years of research on bottomland forest bird species along the UMR has resulted in the initial development of priority areas for birds within this landscape, as well as habitat associations between birds and the habitat characteristics they select for. This presentation discusses these findings and reviews the different and similar needs of focal species and species diversity in different stretches of this region. Towards the end of this presentation, we will also discuss the next steps to this work and goals for the future.

AUTHORS: Michael Wellik, US Geological Survey; Eileen Kirsch, US Geological Survey; Ryan Burner, US Geological Survey

ABSTRACT: Forested floodplains along the upper Mississippi River are important for breeding birds but are shaped by human use of the surrounding lands and especially by the construction of the lock and dam system in the 1940’s to control water levels. These forests are continuing to change because of higher water levels, maturing forests, and invasive species. We looked at potential changes in the avian community in forests by comparing bird species richness and species’ relative abundance and frequency of occurrence between data collected from 1994-1997 and 2015-2019. Point counts were conducted in three stretches of river at sites where there has been no direct forest management since the 1940’s. The same sites were sampled in several years during both time periods, using point counts with the same spatial scale and duration. The sites in the 1990’s were sampled once per year by a single observer, whereas in the 2010’s they were sampled multiple times by multiple observers each year. To account for this difference in yearly sampling effort we bootstrapped the 2010’s data, creating a distribution to compare to the yearly one-survey one-observer method used in the 1990’s. In this timeframe there was a slight decline in species richness for each of the three river stretches. Across all three stretches some species have declined in frequency of occurrence, such as the American Redstart, whereas others increased, like the Prothonotary Warbler. Examining bird community trends over decades, even with slightly different sampling methods, may benefit avian and habitat management.

AUTHORS: Nicole Michel, National Audubon Society; Jennifer Fuller, National Audubon Society; Dale Gentry, National Audubon Society; Michael Worland, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

ABSTRACT: The use of autonomous recording units (ARUs) is rapidly growing in the field of avian monitoring. While in-person surveys are often limited by the availability of trained observers and survey duration, ARUs enable researchers to control survey timing and drastically increase sampling frequency and duration. This improves the probability of detecting species and accurately assessing characteristics such as species richness or individual species occupancy. However, until recently, ARU recordings were manually processed by human listeners, which is inefficient and highly time-consuming. Today, numerous publicly available classifiers exist to expedite this process, but these classifiers still require human-assisted validation to confirm whether they can accurately detect species of interest. We performed a pilot study examining the effectiveness of a popular classifier, BirdNET Analyzer, for detecting 24 different migratory landbird species at the Riverbend Nature Center in Fairbault, MN. Three ARUs were deployed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources May 11th through May 31st, 2023, for four hours after sunrise. ARU recordings were analyzed using BirdNET Analyzer, with up to 100 random samples per species extracted and validated manually in Raven Lite software as either true or false detections. We then identified species-specific confidence thresholds where we were 90-95% confident detections were true positives using a logistic regression. We detected 21 of 24 migratory landbird species, and identified 14 species-specific thresholds for migratory landbirds in Minnesota. Overall, we found that BirdNET Analyzer with human validation was highly effective for remotely monitoring avian species in this region. These findings provide valuable insight for monitoring migratory landbirds in the Upper Mississippi River, as well as for designing effective ARU study designs for a variety of seasons and habitats.

AUTHORS: Michael Monfils, Michigan Natural Features Inventory; Rachael Pierce, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Kaitlin Barnes, Michigan Department of Natural Resources; Stephanie Bielke, Great Lakes Audubon; Dani Fegan, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Auriel Fournier, Illinois Natural History Survey; Erin Giese, University of Wisconsin – Green Bay; Doug Gorby, Upper Mississippi/Great Lakes Joint Venture; Andrew Hinickle, Great Lakes Audubon; Kristin Malone, SUNY Brockport; Kali Rush, Ducks Unlimited; Brendan Shirkey, Winous Point Marsh Conservancy; Ben Williams, Illinois Department of Natural Resources


ABSTRACT: Secretive marsh birds, such as grebes, rails, and bitterns, have received increased attention from the conservation community in recent decades due to declining populations, resulting in several species being identified as endangered and threatened at state levels and species of greatest conservation need in state wildlife action plans. Despite increased concern for these species, conservation activities targeting secretive marsh birds has been limited in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. To meet objectives for these species identified in regional and state conservation plans, greater communication, coordination, and collaboration among partners is needed to overcome barriers hindering marsh bird habitat conservation. With support from the Upper Mississippi / Great Lakes Joint Venture, a group of partners began work in early 2023 to create a framework that would provide the information and tools needed to deliver increased conservation activity for marsh birds. We will describe the process used to develop the framework and give an overview of the resulting vision, mission, goals, objectives, and strategies. We will also provide details on our plans for implementation, highlight current activities, and describe opportunities for people to get involved.

AUTHORS: Auriel Fournier, Forbes Biological Station–Bellrose Waterfowl Research Center, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
Chad Cremer, Forbes Biological Station–Bellrose Waterfowl Research Center, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
Nicole Pietrunti, Forbes Biological Station–Bellrose Waterfowl Research Center, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
Mike Avara, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Havana, Illinois, 62644
Therin Bradshaw, Forbes Biological Station–Bellrose Waterfowl Research Center, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
Chelsea Kross, Forbes Biological Station–Bellrose Waterfowl Research Center, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
Andrew Gilbert, Forbes Biological Station–Bellrose Waterfowl Research Center, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
Joshua Osborn, Forbes Biological Station–Bellrose Waterfowl Research Center, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
Mike Ward, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign


ABSTRACT: Public wetlands within the midwestern US are managed for waterfowl and other wetland-dependent species, providing habitat for migratory wetland bird species provides the additional challenge of creating the needed habitat at the needed time. While a body of literature is available about the migratory timing of waterfowl and shorebirds other marsh birds remain a data gap. Rallids (Family Rallidae) are members of a larger group of marsh birds, which includes game and non-game species that use a variety of emergent wetlands. Sora and Virginia rail are the most abundant game species among Rallids found in the Midwest. Uncertainty remains about the stopover duration, migratory decisions, and migratory paths of both species in spring and fall migration. Our objectives were to determine the spring and fall migratory timing, stopover duration and migratory pathways of Sora and Virginia Rail.

AUTHORS: Ethan Duke and Dana Ripper, Missouri River Bird Observatory

ABSTRACT: As this audience is aware, the precipitous long-term decline in grassland-obligate bird populations continues largely unabated. We will discuss 12 years of monitoring data from Missouri and surrounding states, how these data can be applied to management action, and how current technology can be employed for real-time analysis and data-sharing. We will also discuss practical suggestions for effectively deploying resources to grassland bird conservation.

AUTHORS: Katherine Millman, South Dakota State University, Department of Natural Resource Management; Mercedes Batalla, South Dakota State University, Department of Natural Resource Management; Steve R. Chipps, U.S. Geological Survey, South Dakota Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit; Joshua D. Stafford, U.S. Geological Survey, South Dakota Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit

ABSTRACT: The USDA-NRCS Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) works with private landowners to conserve and restore wetlands to provide ecosystem services, including wildlife habitat. We selected 50 wetlands in southeastern South Dakota to survey and quantify avian and vegetation characteristics during 2023 and 2024. Of these sites, 30 were enrolled in ACEP, and the remainder were federal and state properties that served as minimally-disturbed comparative sites (n = 10), and sites heavily influenced by nearby agriculture (n = 10). At each site we sampled herbaceous vegetation, trees, and avifauna. Vegetation was sampled by measuring species richness and cover in 15 quadrats (1 m2) sampled across three vegetation zones (wet meadow, marsh, and open water). We recorded the number, species, and diameter at breast height (cm) of all tree species within 100 m of wetland bank-full boundaries. We used point counts to quantify avian abundance and diversity during four time periods, spring migration (mid-May), summer breeding season (June/July), fall migration (late-August/ mid-September), and winter (early October). Point counts included 3 10-minute surveys at each wetland, with points spaced ≥200 m apart. Vegetation diversity was generally low (e.g., species richness

AUTHORS: Anna Buckardt Thomas, Iowa Department of Natural Resources; Riggs Wilson, Iowa Department of Natural Resources

ABSTRACT: Current state-wide bird monitoring programs in Iowa focus on diurnal species, and many data gaps exist in our understanding of nocturnal birds. Five owls and three nightjars are considered Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the state's Wildlife Action Plan, making the group a priority for monitoring and targeted habitat management. Since 2016, Iowa DNR staff have surveyed four nocturnal MOON (Monitoring Of Owls and Nightjars) routes twice each breeding season. This data collection has been in coordination with a similar citizen-science monitoring effort in Illinois, led by the Illinois Natural History Survey . That Iowa dataset is now reaching an age where it may soon be possible to detect changes in species population trends, but the data is geographically limited, and likely does not represent state-wide trends for these species. Over this time, high annual variation has been apparent for nightjars, with as few as 3 and as many as 21 Chuck-will's-widows detected on a single route, and as few as 53 and as many as 146 individuals detected in a given year across all four routes, for example. The number of owl detections however, have been much more consistent through time. In an effort to learn more about these nocturnal species on a state-wide scale, we increased monitoring efforts in 2024 to include14 routes within our Bird Conservation Areas (BCAs), and will continue to add routes again in 2025, with a goals of conducting MOON surveys all 23 of our BCAs. Our current information sets a base line for nocturnal bird populations in Iowa and has the potential to link species occupancy and abundance to habitat characteristics and management strategies into the future. The goal of this monitoring is to inform management of our BCAs to help maintain and increase populations of these declining species.

AUTHORS: Ashley G. McDonald, Southern Illinois University; Jennifer R. Schultze, Southern Illinois University; Clayton K. Nielsen, Southern Illinois University; F. Agustin Jimenez, Southern Illinois University

ABSTRACT: Zoonoses are attributed to approximately 75% of emerging infectious diseases. Contraction of zoonotic infections is linked to urbanization, as land development increases the probability of human interaction with wildlife. Omnivorous animals such as raccoons thrive in urban settings due to the abundance of anthropogenic resources such as food and shelter. Racoons are the definitive host of zoonotic pathogens, including the heteroxenous raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis); raccoon synanthropic habits bring these pathogens near human dwellings. The goal of this study is to assess the influence of raccoon abundance on the prevalence of raccoon roundworm in 5 study areas in northern Illinois representing a rural-urban gradient. Raccoons (n=287) were captured and removed from sites by collaborators during April-June 2022-2024. Upon necropsy, intestinal tracts were examined to determine raccoon roundworm prevalence. Capture per unit effort (CPUE), a measure of wildlife population abundance, was calculated as the number of raccoons captured per 100 nights of capture effort at each site. A logistic regression was used to investigate the relationship between raccoon abundance and raccoon roundworm prevalence. Raccoon roundworm prevalence decreased with increased raccoon abundance (X2=4.37, P=0.036). Counterintuitively, our findings suggest that disease risk decreases with increasing raccoon abundance, which implies that population reduction of raccoons in areas of high abundance might be an ineffective tool to reduce the risk of roundworm infection to the human population. Land-use can also impact parasite prevalence, as the availability of anthropogenic resources can influence raccoon population dynamics. Future analyses examining the relationship between land-use, raccoon roundworm prevalence, and raccoon abundance might provide a better understanding of the influence of population demographics on raccoon roundworm prevalence.

AUTHORS: Brittany R. Schweiger, HDR Engineering, Inc

ABSTRACT: Four of the seven federally listed bat species in the U.S. occur in the north-central region, and two of the remaining seven are being evaluated for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Regulations at the state and federal level often require consultation to assess the impacts to these species before development occurs. In the energy sector, development is rapidly occurring—from power line upgrades to utility-scale solar. In the U.S., there are over 15,000 miles of power lines throughout the country and, in 2023, solar accounted for 55 percent of new electricity-generation capacity. The electric grid infrastructure is aging and, as the population grows and the demand for reliable, clean energy increases, upgrades to transmission systems and additions of utility-scale solar generation are needed. While energy is essential to society, it can have impacts to protected bat species, including the removal of habitat. Therefore, energy projects must understand how bats can influence projects and how to evaluate impacts to bats as a result of construction activities accurately and appropriately during the planning phase. This presentation will highlight species threats, current regulations, the latest species survey guidelines, issues encountered, conservation measures, approaches toward impact minimization, and lessons learned with respect to solar and energy development in many areas of the north-central region. This presentation will be valuable for developers, consultants, regulators, and those interested in the intersection of energy projects and protected species.

AUTHORS: Thomas J. Benson, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Tara A. Beveroth, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Claire A. Johnson, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Edward P. Price, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Timothy A. Rye, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Emily J. Lain, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Brian M. Charles, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; and David N. Zaya, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

ABSTRACT: Starting in the second half of the 20th century, agricultural intensification increasingly involved the use of chemicals for pest control. The development of numerous synthetic pesticides, including herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides, led to widespread use and, in some cases, recognition of widespread non-target effects on organisms. Unfortunately, our understanding of the potential effects of these pesticides on non-target organisms generally lags behind their widespread adoption, as does our understanding of the extent to which these chemicals travel beyond the agricultural fields in which they’re applied and end up in natural areas. In 2023, we set out to examine the extent of plant damage consistent with non-target herbicide exposure as well as to quantify concentrations of pesticides from plant tissue and soil from natural areas throughout Illinois. We sampled >180 sites in Illinois 2 times during the growing season of 2023 and found at least moderate damage to plants at almost all sites, with >50% of sites having severe damage and oak species most frequently affected. We found pesticides in nearly all natural areas, with 40 different chemicals detected, primarily from plant tissues. Herbicides were found in the greatest concentrations, with Atrazine and 2,4-D most common, and Dicamba relatively rare. Later in the season, fungicides and insecticides were more commonly detected. The amount of row-crop agriculture in the surrounding kilometer predicted leaf-tissue concentrations of pesticides and severity of plant injury. The longer-term effects of this exposure and plant injury are unknown, as are the effects on insects and insectivorous birds. Given that oaks were the most frequently observed with plant damage, and the disproportionate importance of this group for caterpillars and the migrating and breeding birds that consume them, more work is needed to explore these implications.

AUTHORS:  Shauna S. Sayers, School of Forestry and Horticulture, Southern Illinois University; Brent S. Pease, School of Forestry and Horticulture, Southern Illinois University; Michael V. Cove, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

ABSTRACT:  Non-native invasive species are a leading contributor to global biodiversity loss. The Burmese python (Python bivittatus), a large constrictor snake native to Southeast Asia, is one of Florida's most notable exotic predators. Although python’s prey vary in size and species, rodents are the most common group detected in their digestive tracts. The Key Largo woodrat (Neotoma floridana smalli) and Key Largo cotton mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus allapaticola) are two endangered rodent subspecies, endemic to Key Largo, Florida, that are susceptible to the threat of increasing python prevalence. We examined the impact of Burmese pythons on these two subspecies by conducting spatial capture-recapture surveys at 23 grids and deploying remote cameras at 629 supplemental woodrat nests across North Key Largo from January to August 2024. Trapping effort concluded with a total of 4,309 trapnights, capturing 37 woodrats (17 individuals) and 268 cotton mice (152 individuals). The effects of python presence on woodrat and cotton mouse populations were examined by comparing current rodent abundance estimates to those estimated during the python’s apparent establishment and increasing prevalence. Our results indicate the abundance of woodrats and cotton mice has declined coinciding with the increasing detections of pythons, with more drastic declines in the larger woodrats. Preliminary SECR estimates show a decrease in woodrat density from 0.48 individuals per hectare in 2017 to 0.08 individuals per hectare in 2024. Furthermore, our analysis demonstrated that areas with higher python activity exhibited altered habitat use patterns by woodrats such as decreased nest use and stick-nest building. These results suggest that as pythons increase their population size and distribution, the already geographically limited woodrats and cotton mice may continue to experience population declines and shifting habitat use.

AUTHORS: Olivia P. Reves, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA; Mark A. Davis, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA; Eric R. Larson, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA



ABSTRACT: The conversion of natural ecosystems to agriculture is a leading cause of habitat loss and threatens global biodiversity. For the past two centuries, the midwestern United States has experienced agricultural intensification and expansion, resulting in losses of natural ecosystems including tallgrass prairies, wetlands, and forests. Forest cover in states like Illinois has increased over the last several decades, partially due to agricultural conservation efforts like agroforestry, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, and implementation of riparian buffers. However, does this increasing forest cover, intended to reduce nutrient and soil loss and benefit in-stream biota, also have benefits to terrestrial biodiversity? We used environmental DNA (eDNA), DNA collected and isolated from environmental samples, to evaluate how forest cover influences and potentially benefits terrestrial and semi-aquatic vertebrates in agricultural landscapes. In May and June of 2024, we collected eDNA samples from 47 low order streams over gradients of both riparian and whole-watershed forest cover from the U.S. National Land Cover Database. We then conducted eDNA metabarcoding of vertebrate communities using 12S and COI primers. Next, we used generalized linear mixed models to examine effects of forest cover on species richness, as well as non-metric multidimensional scaling to explore differences in community composition between sites of varying forest cover. Evaluating how terrestrial vertebrate communities respond to forest cover can shape management practices from riparian buffers to watershed-wide scales across agricultural regions.

AUTHORS:  Bianca Saftoiu, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Dr. Mark Johnson, US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory; Patrick Wolff, US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory; Dr. Jinelle Sperry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory

ABSTRACT:  Tall-grass prairies are among the most threatened ecosystems in North America with less than 0.01% remaining in the state of Illinois. Effective prairie restoration in the Midwest is thus essential and requires that the health of the ecosystem be managed by re-establishing functional ecological communities, including prairie-associated wildlife species. Small mammals serve as an effective taxonomic group to monitor given their importance to ecological functioning across trophic levels and their sensitivity to habitat disturbance. Various passive and invasive survey methods have been used to evaluate mammalian species because of challenges associated with varying body size, temporal activity patterns, and cryptic behaviors. In this study we compare three distinct methods including live trapping, bucket camera traps, and airborne environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling for monitoring small mammal communities in restored prairies. In 2023 we surveyed ten prairie sites in Illinois and found that live trapping allowed for more specific identification to the species level while bucket cameras generally detected a greater species richness. We were also able to detect vertebrate DNA within the ten prairies using eDNA methods, however, the quantity of DNA varied across sites. Based upon these preliminary results, we can infer that a combination of both traditional and modern methods will offer a more comprehensive assessment of small mammal community composition within restored prairies.

AUTHORS:  David Delaney, Iowa State University
Tyler Harms, Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Stephen Dinsmore, Iowa State University


ABSTRACT:  Techniques to estimate density of unmarked animals are logistically feasible and allow sampling over greater spatial extents than more intensive methods, such as mark-recapture. However, accuracy of density estimates relies on the validity of assumptions about the study system. We conducted a thermal-imaging drone survey at night to test the validity of two assumptions for conducting distance sampling on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Iowa via nocturnal spotlight surveys. First, we tested whether deer are randomly distributed with respect to gravel roads, which represent line transects in our study. Second, we quantified the portion of the population that occurs in unsampleable locations (i.e., within forest) to estimate availability bias. Preliminary analyses suggest deer do not avoid gravel roads but do responsively move away from observers prior to being detected, leading to potential bias in estimates of detection probability and density. Secondly, deer increased the use of forest cover as spring vegetation green-up occurred, leading to up to 50% of the population being unavailable to sample during surveys. Each of these deviations from conventional distance sampling assumptions inform future sampling design protocols and can be analytically corrected, once quantified, to reduce bias in density estimates.

AUTHORS: Rachael Carlberg, US Fish & Wildlife Service

ABSTRACT: This session will provide a brief overview of the Midwest Landscape Initiative (MLI), with an emphasis on MLI's efforts related to Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need and State Wildlife Action Plan coordination and support. Participants will learn about resources for at-risk species conservation developed by MLI as well as opportunities for engagement. Participants are also encouraged to attend the remaining sessions of this symposium, which will provide diverse examples of landscape conservation efforts across geographies and sectors.

AUTHORS: Karl Malcolm, U.S. Forest Service

ABSTRACT: The perspectives, philosophies, and relationships of individuals differ in terms of how we perceive and experience land, and how and why (or whether, even) we value fish, wildlife, and undeveloped places. Global urbanization and associated distancing of people from the natural world present conservation professionals with the challenges of trying to connect our work to rapidly shifting and potentially disinterested publics. In some cases, our organizational language, reputation, history, modes of communication, rate of adaptation, and internal and external social and political pressures make this work even more difficult. By considering the various forms of relationships (i.e., Land Languages) “spoken” by those we seek to serve, we can inform and reimagine the framing of our efforts, and perhaps even influence our own personal perspectives as conservationists such that the concepts underpinning our work are of undeniable relevance and value to all members of society. As we grapple with the need for broader support in conservation mission delivery in North America, a shift in framing has the potential to fully honor the generations of leadership and investment that have helped stem the tide of species and habitat loss since the 19th century while still allowing space to imagine what might be different in our approaches now and in the future. A consideration of land languages (i.e., ontologies) that predate European arrival on the continent, and which remain at the core of numerous contemporary cultural identities, has tremendous applicability in these explorations as we chart a path with hopes for greater sustainability and conservation engagement. This presentation will explore sources of divisiveness and disconnection while also highlighting critical common ground and offering examples and ideas for our shared journey ahead.

AUTHORS: David D. Hoffman, Widlife Research Technician, Iowa Department of Natural Resources

ABSTRACT: A primary mission of the Iowa DNR: To conserve and enhance our natural resources in cooperation with individuals and organizations to improve the quality of life in Iowa and ensure a legacy for future generations. A primary objective in achieving this is by protecting and restoring habitat. “Trumpet the Cause for Wetlands” is one of the wildlife and habitat restoration slogans. It is one method being utilized to connect, empower and instill an ownership with the people we serve. Trumpeter swans serve as excellent ambassadors for promoting wetland values, water quality, the environment, and enriching the quality of life. Over 450 swan releases and 40 winter swan viewing events “Swan Soiree” have been conducted by IADNR and county conservation staff. School children, media, legislators and the public have been invited to attend. The goal is to educate, engage and connect people with the Trumpeters and especially their habitat. An estimated 5,000-15,000 students and public have been impacted annually since 1995. Observed results have included a greater awareness, appreciation and empowerment. This has translated into additional wetland habitat acres being restored, improved water quality at restoration sites and increased wildlife populations including Trumpeter swans. Donations have also been received at these events to help support swan and wetland restoration. Money has come from a wide variety of swan enthusiasts, conservation groups, and charities. When combined with considerable soft match/in-kind contributions, a conservative estimate totaling over 1.5 million dollars has been raised to directly to fund swan and habitat reintroduction in Iowa. Additional outreach includes a Trumpeter swan and wetland education and activity manual. The manual was developed in 1996 has been distributed to Iowa school teachers and recently updated and offered for nationwide distribution. The public outreach effort has been a huge success by raising awareness in regards to these magnificent birds, habitat and by providing critical funding to carry out the work. It is important to engage, connect, empower and ultimately instill an ownership of our natural resources with the public. How do we measure this value? During challenging times with budget and staff cuts, outreach and education is often a low priority, plus many employees are not often skilled, educated or feel comfortable with this type of public involvement. People protect what they value. How do we better connect and empower the public and Gen Alpha to value and protect habitat?

AUTHORS: Megan Buchanan, The Nature Conservancy; Nate Muenks, Missouri Department of Conservation; Andrew White, Quail Forever Pheasants Forever; Ryan Gauger, The Nature Conservancy; Keith Summerville, Drake University

ABSTRACT: Landscape conservation requires us to work collaboratively, across property boundaries and throughout generations. The remnant prairies, working ranches, forests, woodlands, and numerous other habitats that stitch together Missouri’s unique landscapes are facing increasingly complex threats, and the long-term health and resilience of these landscapes depends on a long-term collective commitment from all of us. But collectively, we simply aren’t managing enough habitat acreage annually to keep up with succession, invasive species, and the life history needs of Missouri’s full suite of biodiversity. We have a critical need for more habitat and invasive species management. Missouri’s habitat strike teams were developed to bridge this gap, working collaboratively at the landscape scale.

The habitat strike teams are strategically positioned in Missouri Priority Geographies and Conservation Opportunity Areas: key landscapes that hold high potential for conserving our state’s diverse habitats and the plants and animals that depend on them. Within these landscapes, the mobile strike teams work across public and private land, providing basic habitat management such as prescribed fire, invasive species control, and forest stand improvements. These teams are integrated within the landscapes they serve, working alongside local conservation partners and developing relationships with private landowners. For public land management agencies, the strike teams add critical boots-on-the-ground habitat management capacity, especially important for maximizing acres managed during narrow treatment windows. Because the strike teams provide private landowners with initial habitat management services free-of-charge, they reduce the upfront cost barrier and better position landowners for continued conservation management through existing means, such as government cost-share programs. The habitat strike teams are also helping develop the future conservation workforce, providing college students with summer internships through partnerships with local Universities.

In this talk, you’ll hear the story of the Missouri habitat strike teams and partnering around a shared vision for collaborative landscape conservation.

AUTHORS: Rachael Carlberg, US Fish & Wildlife Service; Claire Beck, Midwest Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies; Kate Parsons, US Fish & Wildlife Service; Lorisa Smith, Missouri Department of Conservation; Alexander Wright, US Fish & Wildlife Service

ABSTRACT: This symposium will conclude with a panel discussion offering diverse backgrounds and perspectives on working in collaborative landscape conservation. Panelists will share their professional journeys and what led them to engage in collaborative work. The panelists will discuss how conservation practitioners across different roles and organizations can advance landscape conservation in the Midwest. They will be asked their vision for shaping the future landscape of the Midwest, including what they foresee as the toughest challenges. The panel will also discuss skillsets needed to successfully engage in collaborative landscape conservation and how early-career professionals can advance this work in their careers. Everyone is invited to join the conversation, especially students to focus on the future of collaborative work. We encourage the audience to ask questions and share their perspectives. We invite all backgrounds to join this conversation, from directors to management biologists to students to field technicians to policy analysts and everyone among and between. The work in our region is enhanced by the diversity of backgrounds and perspectives shared.

AUTHORS: Alex Wright, US Fish & Wildlife Service; Kelly VanBeek, US Fish & Wildlife Service; Tyler Harms, Iowa Department of Natural Resources; Doug Gorby, Upper Mississippi/Great Lakes Joint Venture, US Fish & Wildlife Service; Bill Moritz, Wildlife Management Institute; John Carlson, US Fish & Wildlife Service; Kelley Myers Tymeson, US Fish & Wildlife Service

ABSTRACT: Ranchers, farmers, water resource managers, wildlife biologists, agronomists, corporate sustainability officers, and policy makers have all voiced their desire to see a collective, collaborative approach to conserving and managing grasslands. The Midwest Grasslands Summit was held August 27-29, 2024 at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Gardens in Des Moines, Iowa to chart a partner-focused path forward for our most critically imperiled ecosystem in the Midwest, the Tallgrass Prairie Ecosystem. The summit engaged a broad and diverse audience of representatives from government agencies, Native Nations, NGOs, industry and agricultural organizations, and private landowners to develop a collective vision and identify collaborative actions to advance grassland conservation in the Midwest. We will report out on these efforts to begin (1) Shaping a unified vision for native and surrogate tallgrass habitats across the Midwest, (2) Build an active coalition of people invested in increasing grasslands on the landscape, and (3) Identify collaborative actions to pursue next steps moving forward to realize the vision of this effort.

AUTHORS: Rebecca Sloan, Merjent

ABSTRACT: Landscape-level conservation planning is key to the long-term protection of the ecosystem services that support species habitat, however, funding to implement conservations projects is limited. Habitat protection and restoration projects to offset or mitigate impacts to threatened and endangered species from public or private construction, operations, and maintenance projects are relatively common but typically occur in a “piece-meal” fashion outside a larger planning context. As a result, these projects are less likely to result in meaningful conservation or contribute to species’ recovery goals.
Habitat Conservation Plans or HCPs offer a potential compromise. While HCPs are prepared as part of an application for an incidental take permit under Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act, they also provide an opportunity to receive federal funding for landscape-level planning. HCPs include typical conservation planning components such as biological goals and objectives, monitoring and adaptive management programs, and long-term planning horizons. Also, HCPs provide an excellent framework for multi-stakeholder decision-making.
HCPs are best suited for public or private entities that have relatively frequent endangered species permitting needs across a large geographic area; require regulatory certainty to meet construction, operations, or maintenance program schedules; and/or seek to maximize the conservation value from environmental impact funds. In this session we will discuss the required components of an HCP and how they relate to landscape-level planning. We will also discuss how HCPs can be used to benefit both listed and non-listed species; protect and restore ecosystem processes such as flooding or connectivity; and serve as a central planning document for stakeholders with varying goals and objectives. Lastly, we will touch upon the diversity of scenarios for which an HCP may be suitable and how to most effectively take advantage of available federal funding.

AUTHORS: Michael Spalding, Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape and Conservation Law Center; Robert McCrea, Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape and Conservation Law Center

ABSTRACT: Sentinel Landscapes are areas where conservation, working lands, and national defense interests converge to work towards achieving mutually shared goals. They are anchored by at least one military installation and contain high priority lands for USDA, DOD, and DOI. Designated in 2022, the Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape (SISL) covers a 3.5-million-acre region of Southern Indiana. SISL Partners are working together to preserve and protect military missions, support sustainable farming and forestry, restore and sustain ecosystems, bolster human communities and partner capacity, and increase landscape resiliency. Our presentation will highlight several early successes of this young partnership that demonstrate how landscape level conservation is possible in a highly fragmented midwestern landscape (90% of the land in this area is privately owned). We will explain how the partnership leverages partner resources, utilizes federal funding opportunities, and develops innovative tools to build an overall program for landscape scale conservation. We will specifically discuss how the partnership: (1) utilizes the USDA NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program to increase private landowner engagement with conservation and permanently protect and restore over 2,500 acres of forestland through conservation easements, restore an additional 5,000 to 10,000 acres of oak-hickory forest ecosystems; (2) organizes projects for land protection with funding from The Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program; and (3) developed two GIS web-based applications. One assists private landowner access to all available cost share and technical assistance programs. The other helps SISL partners determine connectivity priorities for land conservation.

AUTHORS: Jon Podoliak Missouri Department of Conservation; Tom Bonnot US Fish and Wildlife Service; Nate Muenks Missouri Department of Conservation; Shelby Timm Missouri Department of Conservation; Billy Huggins University of Missouri

ABSTRACT: The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has been a leader among states in advancing landscape conservation. Through landscape-scale planning and prioritization as part of the implementation of the Missouri Comprehensive Conservation Strategy, we have identified 11 Priority Geographies (PGs) in which we are working with partners, including private landowners, to conserve species, habitats, and ecosystem functions. These PGs represent areas with some of the most opportunity for conservation success and remaining intact habitat. To assess ongoing management actions and community engagement within PGs, the department and partners developed a prototype for a Landscape Health Index (LHI) that collects, analyzes, and integrates a variety of data to monitor the responses of species and landscapes to conservation efforts and measures progress over time. Data on biotic communities, landscape processes, and social condition are combined into one score for each PG that can be tracked over time. Further, the index is built on layers of data that can be assessed individually, allowing practitioners to assess which aspect of a landscape may not be meeting expected levels based on predefined goals and respond accordingly. The LHI has been implemented in two pilot PGs and work is ongoing to implement in the remaining nine. We will detail the results from the two pilot PGs as well as updates to the process and ongoing efforts.

AUTHORS:  Catherine O'Reilly, University of Illinois Chicago

ABSTRACT:  Pollinator species have seen sharp population declines throughout this century, which has severe ramifications for ecosystem stability. Finding creative solutions to restore pollinator habitat is vital to preserving both pollinators and ecosystems, and this requires developing landscape-scale conservation initiatives for pollinators that involve non-traditional conservation landscapes and partners.

One method for engaging non-traditional stakeholders in pollinator conservation is through Section 10 Conservation Benefit Agreements (CBAs). These agreements, established under Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act, are voluntary conservation agreements between non-federal landowners and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in which participating organizations agree to provide a net conservation benefit to targeted species in exchange for assurances that additional or management activities for these species will not be required. This encourages pollinator conservation from non-traditional conservation partners by offering operational flexibility and regulatory certainty to participants while establishing clear standards for what conservation actions are required to achieve a net conservation benefit for the targeted species.

A Section 10 agreement that promotes pollinator conservation on non-traditional conservation landscapes is the Nationwide Candidate Conservation Agreement for Monarch Butterfly (the Monarch CCAA). The Monarch CCAA is a Section 10 agreement between the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and energy and transportation companies that is designed to create habitat for monarchs on energy and transportation rights-of-way. A similar agreement has been developed by UIC and partners which focuses on at-risk bumble bee species, building upon the conservation success of the CCAA.

I will present on how CBAs encourage landscape-scale conservation efforts from non-traditional partners by offering flexibility and assurances in exchange for conservation actions, and what motivates the creation of a CBA. Brief updates on the Monarch CCAA and bumble bee agreement will be shared to exemplify how Section 10 agreements work in practice.