In 1998, Jim Pease, Ph.D., Iowa State University
Extension Wildlife Specialist, and one of his graduate students
were looking for ways to sample widespread wildlife populations,
particularly freshwater mussels. Because mussels occupy thousands
of miles of Iowa's rivers, and all other wildlife are widespread
over the land area, it is very difficult for wildlife professionals
to monitor populations. At about the same time, Jim and his student
found out about a relatively new program in Washington State,
called NatureMapping. Attending an
annual meeting in Washington State, they learned how they could
start the same program in Iowa. Beginning in 1999, Iowa hosted
its first volunteer wildlife monitoring, thus the Iowa NatureMapping
Program was born.
There are not enough
professionals, time, nor funding to conduct an inventory of all
the nation’s flora and fauna. Long-term monitoring projects
are scarce. However, it is without refute that
children (and you) know where to find snakes and frogs. Many can
identify birds in their neighborhoods. Children’s unlimited
curiosity and energy can be focused into educational and fun environmental
projects. People like you observe wildlife every day. The range
of interest and size of conservation groups is immense, from small
grass-roots projects to international organizations. The public
has a wealth of knowledge, wants to make a difference in their
world, and is willing to assist natural resource professionals
and land managers. Many professionals and managers have not wanted
the public’s assistance, but that is changing.
Resource agencies are charged by citizens of the state to manage
resources for a sustainable future. Resource agencies have the
option of using regulation and education, but can rarely achieve
their mission through regulation alone. Education can help meet
the mission by educating and enabling the citizens to participate
in what a resource agency does. The NatureMapping Program can
become a key to fulfilling the resource agencies’ education
missions while meeting formal management plans.
Environmental education connects learners to the environment that
sustains them, and prompts the learner to choose their level of
responsibility for our collective futures. In this light, environmental
education does not exclude cultural and economic values that affect
the environment.
Iowa NatureMapping is a hands-on environmental education program
that is growing and evolving. Involving the public in “finding
the pieces of the puzzle” is what NatureMapping is all about.
For this first phase of the program in Iowa, we are concentrating
on terrestrial vertebrate species of wildlife. In future years,
we expect to add an aquatic module that includes mussels and fish,
a terrestrial invertebrate module, which includes butterflies,
and, eventually, a plant module. Some advanced modules have been
developed in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources
(IDNR). These modules focus on more advanced techniques to monitor
birds, reptiles, and amphibians. These advanced trainings are
a part of the IDNR Wildlife Diversity Program's non-game volunteer
monitoring program. All are relevant to the primary focus of the
Iowa NatureMapping Program: Iowa’s Biodiversity. We want
to keep Iowa’s common species common.
Individuals, schools, and other community groups can all participate.
Individuals
can provide much needed data by recording wildlife observations
around their home, when hiking, watching their feeders, or other
wildlife-related activities. School
participation can vary depending on the size and scope of the
projects they choose. NatureMapping can fulfill a valuable service
to their community as well as engage students in a relevant project
of data collection and analysis. Communities
may wish to preserve or restore sites: their biodiversity report
card is the beginning framework on which to construct their long
term plans. Mapping biodiversity is an important early step towards
progressive community planning. All types of people and groups
can become involved.
NatureMapping is a way for us as humans to find out more about
those fellow living beings with whom we share this Earth. It is
a way of finding out "who's out there" and where they
live. Together with the other parts of the U.S. Geological Survey's
Gap Analysis Program (GAP), NatureMapping can help us keep common
species common. Using GIS satellite images of land cover, GAP
and NatureMapping help us to map where species are and speculate
why. For teachers and community leaders, this information can
help develop critical thinking and analysis and intelligent community
planning. NatureMapping can help fill many kinds of gaps in knowledge
and in understanding.
Funding for Iowa NatureMapping is
acquired by Iowa State University Extension (ISUE) from various
grants and donations, which are applied for and received annually
by the Iowa NatureMapping staff. If you would like to donate financially
to the Iowa NatureMapping Program, please contact us.
The Iowa NatureMapping
Program is a collaborative effort with assistance from various
groups. Those groups represented on the Iowa NatureMapping Steering
Committee include:
• Iowa State University Extension (Wildlife
and Forestry)
• IDNR Wildlife Diversity Program
• IDNR Aquatic Education Program
• Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
• County Conservation Boards
• Iowa GAP/ISU GIS
• Iowa Conservation Education Council
• Iowa Audubon
• Waldorf College, Biology Department
• Iowa Environmental Council
More groups are welcome! Contact the Iowa
NatureMapping Program to learn if your group is the right
fit for the Iowa NatureMapping Program.