Habitat & Conservation  |  06/07/2023

Winter Didn’t Stop a Biologist's Work


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The What to Expect When You’re Establishing Native Prairie handout and other conservation planning resources are provided to landowners to increase awareness about conservation programs.

PF on the Landscape in Minnesota

Story and photo by Nate Fore

During cold, snowy winters in Minnesota, most of the action in pheasant country seems to pause. Native plants go dormant, birds tuck into dense cover, and hunting season closes at sunset on the first day of the new calendar year.

But the Pheasants Forever mission does not pause. Staff and volunteers continue to focus on improving habitat, expanding public access, increasing education and delivering conservation.

For Farm Bill Biologists, especially those in the upper Midwest, increased time spent at the office provides an opportunity to increase awareness about conservation programs. 

This winter, I sent targeted mailings to landowners eligible for continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) sign-up. Under continuous CRP, environmentally sensitive land devoted to certain conservation practices can be enrolled at any time and is not subject to competitive bidding. 

Up-to-date aerial imagery, soil surveys and contour maps are excellent resources and tools to help biologists remotely identify land in need of conservation. Furthermore, I focused on expanding existing wildlife habitat, restoring wetland basins, and locating small areas ideal for pollinators. An introduction letter, detailed maps, payment estimations and more were packed up and mailed out to landowners.

Increasing program awareness is not the only task that keeps a biologist like me busy during the winter. To better describe the process of growing tallgrass prairies, I created an informational handout called What to Expect When You’re Establishing Native Prairie.

CRP contracts and conservation plans include government language and technical terminology that can be difficult to navigate. This one-page handout is a concise, visual reference that gives landowners confidence throughout the establishment process. 

I often receive questions from landowners wondering why nothing is growing the first year. Those of us that have planted tallgrass prairie know it takes three years to really establish. During that time, weather, weeds and the slow growth of native plants can cause uncertainty for landowners. It’s my job and passion to advise and encourage them throughout the habitat restoration process. This handout isn’t intended to replace site visits and phone calls with landowners; it is designed to enhance interactions with them. 

These are just a couple examples of a biologist’s winter work to further our mission. Farm Bill Biologists are trusted to come up with creative solutions to benefit wildlife habitat, even when there are 24 inches of snow and it feels like -450F outside.

Nate Fore is a Pheasants Forever Minnesota Farm Bill Biologist.

This story originally appeared in the 2023 Spring Issue of the Pheasants Forever Journal. If you enjoyed it and would like to be the first to read more great upland content like this, become a Pheasants Forever member today!