Neil Bernstein from the Iowa Preserves Board asked that we send the
following to appropriate lists.

Guidelines for Friends of the Iowa State Preserves

        The Iowa State Preserves Advisory Board welcomes volunteers who
wish to help with monitoring the state preserve system. Friends of the
Iowa State Preserves can help in a variety of ways depending on their
interests as well as the nature of the preserve.  We ask that Friends
follow a few guidelines to help us coordinate the efforts.
        Volunteers should acquaint themselves with the rationale behind
why the area was dedicated into the preserve system. By reviewing the
descriptions in "The Guide to the Iowa State Preserves" book or the Iowa
Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) web page, they should learn about
the important aspects of the preserve that make it special.
        Volunteers should then contact Merry Rankin, Volunteer
Coordinator of the IDNR at: 515/281-0878 or [log in to unmask]
The URL for the current Friends info is:
http://www.iowadnr.com/volunteer/programs.html

The Volunteer Coordinator will determine if there are other individuals
interested in that preserve, find out who are the owners and local
managers of the preserve, and inform IDNR staff who are liaisons to the
State Preserves Advisory Board of the interest.
        The volunteer will then need to contact the local owner/manager
to request permission to become a Friend of the Preserve.  This is
important because the Iowa State Preserves Board neither owns nor
directly manages these preserves. While some preserves are owned and
managed by the IDNR, private nature organizations or county conservation
boards also own some. After permission is obtained by both the Iowa
State Preserves Advisory Board and the local owner/manager, then
volunteer activities can proceed.

        We request the following from Friends of the Preserves:

1)      Visit the preserve at least twice a year and write a short
paragraph, yearly, to both the Iowa State Preserves Advisory Board and
the local owner/manager informing them of your observations.
2)      Note any maintenance needs, vandalism, or other potential
problems.  **Should they also contact the owner/manager about these
problems more immediately?  Seems like that would be important.1)
Review the description of the preserve and inform both the board and the
local owner/manager of needed changes.

Activities that Friends of the Preserves might undertake include, but
are not limited to:

1)      Organize a group that will assist in preserve maintenance.
2)      With prior permission of the board and the local area
owner/manager, undertake improvements to the preserve such as removing
non-native species, repairing fences, or posting signs.  Any management
activities require prior approval as well as a written description to
the both the board and the local area owner/manager at the conclusion of
the activity.
3)      Organizing and leading field trips to the preserve.  Such
activities would hopefully include neighbors to the preserve so that we
can develop good relations.

The Friends of the Iowa State Preserves can serve many roles in our
efforts to preserve Iowa's heritage, and we thank everyone involved in
this effort.

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