Forwarded from Jason O'Brien at ISU Extension: Iowa NatureMapping -- Finding All the Pieces, To Keep Common Species Common NatureMapping is THE statewide citizen-driven wildlife monitoring program for Iowa. The main goals of the program are two-fold: 1) educate Iowa citizens of all ages about Iowa's common wildlife species and their habitats; 2) compile citizen-gathered wildlife data into a centralized and publicly accessible database. There are just not enough wildlife professionals, money, or time to adequately monitor Iowa's common wildlife species. Participants become involved by attending a 6-hour Level I Basic training workshop. Workshops are of minimal cost; $10.00. Participants will leave the training workshop with the following: . knowledge about Iowa's wildlife and habitats, and the conservation and management needs of both; . mapping and map reading skills, which are integral to sound wildlife monitoring and science; . a handbook full of resources useful in and out of the classroom; . knowledge about the Iowa NatureMapping web site, and centralized learning tool for Iowa citizens; . skills and access to a data entry site for entering wildlife data; . ideas about how to incorporate NatureMapping in the classroom. NatureMapping is an important vehicle for teaching citizens about ecology, wildlife biology, and the human connection to both, all from a localized, meaningful point of view. (NatureMapping also conducts several specialized "Training Modules" on birds and reptiles/amphibians. These workshops are currently not scheduled. We are also developing a Level II training, that will provide additional guidance on using NatureMapping in the classroom and elsewhere). A workshop may be coming to your area. Below is the latest list of workshops. Registration information can be found at our web site (http://www.extension.iastate.edu/naturemapping). Iowa NatureMapping is currently booking more training workshops for next year. If you would like to sponsor a training workshop, please contact me at the number or email below. If you have any questions about NatureMapping, please contact me, or go to our web site. I look forward to working with you on this important citizen opportunity! Upcoming Workshops: September 21st: O'Brien County Conservation Board (CCB) - Mill Creek State Park October 5th: Johnson CCB and Johnson County Extension - F.W. Kent Park October 12th: Butler CCB - Heery Woods State Park November 2nd: Polk CCB - Chichaqua Wildlife Area November 23rd: Sac CCB and Sac County Extension - Hagge Park (NatureMapping also conducts several specialized "Training Modules" on birds and reptiles/amphibians. These workshops are currently not scheduled. We are also developing a Level II training, that will provide additional guidance on using NatureMapping in the classroom and elsewhere). Did you know? Iowa has: More than 397 species of birds (over 155 nest here) 22 species of amphibians (4 salamanders, 1 newt, 4 toads, 13 frogs) 47 species of reptiles (13 turtles, 6 lizards, 28 snakes) 61 species of mammals (13 more are no longer in Iowa) Over 27,000 miles of perennial streams Close to 65 percent of its land area in row crops Approximately 85 percent of Iowa was tallgrass prairie (30,000,000 acres!) Some 98 percent of it's land in private ownership 11 state threatened or endangered bird species, 4 state threatened or endangered amphibians, 15 state threatened or endangered reptiles, and 8 state threatened or endangered mammals Over 400 trained NatureMappers! Jason O'Brien, Coordinator Iowa NatureMapping Program 124 Science II Department of Animal Ecology Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 50011 Phone: 515/294-6440 Fax: 515/294-7874 Email: [log in to unmask] http://www.extension.iastate.edu/naturemapping - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT to [log in to unmask]