News

Midwest Biomass Conference - SW Badger Field Day

A number of Midwest Biomass Confernce attendees had the opportunity to join Southwest Badger RC&D staff for a field day to demonstrate best practices for planting and harvesting perennial grasses, featuring Switch Grass and Miscanthus.  The University of Wisconsin is a partner in the project and   Professor Mark Renz is heavily involved.  The results show promise, but there is still some work to be done in this area.  Mark Renz presented information about the project in one of the conference break out sessions.

(Picture above) Mike Lieurance, Southwest Badger stands in front of a Miscanthus stand, near Fennimore, Wisconsin.

Midwest Biomass Conference Field Day - John Deere Factory Tour

Attendees at the Midwest Biomass Conference had an opportunity to tour the John Deere plant in Dubuque.  A highlight was inspection of the equipment processes used to made timber harvesting equiptment.  Plant manager, Byron Taylor was generous to personally conduct the tour of this first-rate facility. 

(Picture above) John Deere Feller Buncher on display at Midwest Biomass Conference)

Midwest Biomass Conference Held in Dubuque

The Driftless Area Initiative sponsored the 2nd Annual Midwest Biomass Conference, held at the Grand River Center in Dubuque on November 2-3.

Ready or not an energy revolution is coming, and advocates of an ancient form of fuel recently gathered at Grand River Center in Dubuque to promote biomass as a key component in the worlds energy future. We must reform our energy system in this country, said Ken Smith, president and CEO of District Energy St. Paul. It must change. It must become more local. It will become more renewable. Clearly, we know biomass is the fuel of the future, said Steve Flick of Show Me Energy Cooperative in Centerview, MO., which plans an $80 million expansion. Brett Hulsey a Wisconsin state legislator and president of the Madison based Better Environmental Solutions said, there is enough biomass available in Iowa to displace all current coal usage and set the stage for Iowa to be an energy exporter, and this situation could be replicated throughout the Midwest. We need to start converting power plants in the Midwest to partial biomass fuel. Many of the participants agreed the city of Dubuque was well situated to take advantage of the biomass fuel revolution. The city is rapidly gaining a reputation as a leader in sustainability. Moving forward with biomass as an energy source seems to be the next logical step.

(picture above)  John Karakash delivers one of the keynote addresses at the conference.

DAI Partners Meeting Big Succress

The Driftless Area Initiative held its annual Partners Meeting at Huckleberrys Event Center in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Tuesday, July 12, 2011 and by all accounts it was a very productive gathering.

A highlight of the event was Jon Stravers report on his work with the Cerulean Warbler, which has been taking an increasing amount of his time. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service considers this neo-tropical migratory bird a species of management concern and a resource conservation priority. However, before moving ahead with conservation plans, there is a need for better nformation on population numbers and locations.

Jon intends to make reesearch on this a priority in his schedule going forward. He believes this little creature could be a flagship bird for the Driftless and has begun to identify strong pockets of population within the area.

The Cerulean Warbler was once one of the most abundant breeding warblers in the Mississippi Valley, before its population began to plummet in the 1900s largely due to habitat destruction.

John Walsh, Executive Director of the Driftless Area Initiative highlighted several major initiatives the organization is pursuing: Task forces on Rural economic development, local food initiatives, tourism and marketing; the sponsorship of the Midwest Biomass Conference to be held in Dubuque in the fall of 2011; the Driftless Forestry Initiative; and the recent Earth Day celebration, held in Rochester, Minnesota in April.

Tom Krapf, Wisconsin NRCS Assistant State Conservationist,encouraged DAI to pursue the idea of getting the Driftless Area named as a NRCS Initiative. Tim Jacobson (MVC) and Jeff Hastings (TU) had excellent presentations. Jeff estimates (conservatively) TUDARE has brought $18MM into the DA in the last 6-8 years. Tim shared MVC has 101 completed projects. Holly Schnitzler (Arrington Tree Farm/ DFN) and Steve Swenson (Aldo Leopold Foundation) presented on the new Driftless Forestry Initiative (Led by DAI, American Forest Foundation, Aldo Leopold, DNR and others), with strong leadership from Jerry Greenberg, (AFF). Matt Fisher reported on TNC activities within the Driftless, highlighting the work in progress in the Root River Valley in Southeast Minnesota). Carol Nielsen described the Landscape Stewardship Project, a new approach to Forest Management. Richard Warner (Green Lands, Blue Waters) reported on the progress being made in perenial grain biology, predicting perennial wheat would be on the market within five years. Tex Hawkins reported on the major Driftless Area Watershed Conference being planned for La Crosse March 26-28 next spring.

The breakout sessions were truly amazing - lots of energy. All of them committed to continuing their work in the coming year. The four breakout session and their facilitators were:

" Forestry- Bill Carlson (Wisconsin DNR)

" Riparian/Stream repair Jeff Hastings (Trout Unlimited)

" Watershed/Geo-Morphology Bob Libra (Ia state geologist)

" Sustainable Agriculture/ Local Food /Rural Economic Development (Michelle Miller, UW-Center for integrated Agricultural Systems).

All in all, it was a great day which was overwhelmingly positive, despite all the negative swirling about.

Deputy Under Secretary of Agriculture Cheryl Cook Visits Dubuque, Iowa

John Walsh, Executive Director of the Driftless Area Initiative attended a listening roundtable with Deputy Under Secretary of Agriculture, Cheryl Cook, which was held at the Grand River Center, in Dubuque, Iowa, on June 22, 2011. Jim Riddle (University of Minnesota Extension)talked about the need to continue funding for high tunnel projects. John Walsh, DAI stressed the need for funding for the fledgling biomass industry. Dr. Tim Zauche, Univeristy of Wisconsin-Platteville urged the Under Secretary to work to maintain REAP and funding for anaerobic digester systems. Paul Schultz, City of Dubuque, reminded those present 20% of the material going into Dubuque's waste site is composed of food waste, which could be converted to methane gas. The session covered a wide range of topics and lasted for two and one half hours. Under Secretary, Cook participated fully and offered doses of realism and encouragement. The meeting was organized and chaired by Teri Goodmann, Dubuque Assistant City Manager. Bill Menner, State Director of USDA Rural Development also helped facilitate the meeting.
Other goups represented were Greater Dubuque Development Corporation, Jo Daviess County Conservation Foundation, Two of the three Dubuque County Supervisors, ECIA, Iowa State Extension, Dubuque Main Street, and John Goodmann, chair of the Iowa MRPC.
Walsh, using the Dubuque river front improvement project, located right where they were meeting as an example said, "none of this would have happened without leadership, persistence and vision. Life is not a zero sum game. When we plan effectively and move ahead with a dynamic vision, supported by excellent leadership, good things will happen."
At the conclusion of the meeting, the group decided to continue to meet and asked the Driftless Area Initiative to act as the convener.

DAI supports Iowa Association of Agricultural Educators

The Driftless Area Initiative provided 175 copies of the DVD,"The Driftless Area Initiative: Distinctive, Diverse, Driftless," to the Iowa Association of Agricultural Educators for their summer conference. The educators hope to use the materials to enthuse their students to become more involved in conservation issues. A particular emphasis will be upon those students involved in Envirothon, a program designed to motivate high school students to work to improve the quality of our soil, forests and conservation assets.

Earth Day Celebration a Great Success

This year's Earth DAy celebration was held at Cascade Meadows in Rochester, Minnesota and featured an appearance by Congressman Tim Walz, who congratulated those present on the important work they were doing. Retired NRCS Chief, Paul Johnson also had words of encouragement for those gathered to celebrate the occasion and challenged farmers to add one additional conservation practice this year. Folks who live in cities can have a positive impact as well by using less fertilizer and pesticide on their lawns or considering the creation of a rain garden. "Remember," he said,"it is the individual who changes things."
 A highlight of the day was the appearance of three of the four state conservationists at the meeting -- Don Baloun (Minnesota), Pat Leavenworth (Wisconsin) and Rich Sims (Iowa).
Other officials who addressed the group were Dr. Kathryn Kelly, President, Minnesota Associaltion of SWCD, John Jaschke, Minnesota Board of Soil Water Resources, Don Bina, Treasurer, Driftless Area Initiative, Tex Hawkins, U.S Fish & Wildlife Service, and Donna Rasmussen, Fillmore County SWCD.
Jeff Hastings (Trout Unlimited) and Rich Biske (The Nature Conservancy) described the riparian restoration work going on in the Root River Valley in Southwest Minnesota. Hastings reminded the crowd, "Earth day happens once a year, but conservation is an everyday job."
John Walsh reminded the crowd, "life is not a zero sum game. Everything we do has consequences, and the choices we make today will affect people well into the future." Paul Johnson summed up the day when he said, "Everything weve done is because of a few people who got it".
Next year's Earth Day Celebration will be held in Wisconsin.

(picture above) John Walsh, executive Director, DAI, Paul Johnson, former NRCS Chief, State Conservationists - Pat Leavenworth (Wisconsin), Rich Simms (Iowa), Don Baloun (MN), and U.S. Congressman, Tim Walz (MN) present Lisa Eadens (Cascade Meadows) with a duck box for use on the Cascade Meadows Wetlands and Environmental Center grounds. 

DAI featured in Julien's Journal

The April, 2011 edition of Julien's Journal has an article about the work of the Driftless Area Initiative. Check it out, and let us know what you think.

Earth Day Celebration

Join us for the celebration of Earth Day, Thursday, April 21, 2011 at Cascade Meadows Wetlands and Environmental Science Center, 2900 19th St. NW, Rochester, MN. Congressman Tim Walz, former NRCS Chief Paul Johnson, Minnesota State Conservationist, Don Baloun, Wisconsin State Conservationist, Pat Leavenworth will joinother leaders from the natural resource conservation community to celebrate Earth Day. We will be planting trees, and installing a duck nesting box.

Midwest Biomass Conference Set

[More Information]

The Driftless Area Initiative announces the organization will host the 2nd annual Midwest Biomass Conference. Mark your calendars. Date: November 2 and 3, 2011, Location: Grand Harbor Convention Center in Dubuque, Iowa. This will be a two day function, featuring nationally and regionally known speakers, featuring the latest information on biomass economics, utilization, production, processing, and case studies. This meeting is being help in the context of the new B-CAP regulations and President Obamas call for increased energy independence. We hope to see you there.

DAI Applies for Forestry Grant

The Driftless Area Initiative announces it has joined the American Forestry Foundation, the Aldo Leopold Center, and Wisconsin DNR in a grant application request to U.S. Forest Service. The purpose of this grant is to focus resources in the Kickapoo Valley to work with private forest owners to expand forest canopy. At the end of year three period it is estimated 400 landowners will be engaged in sustainable forestry planning and implementation on at least 16,000 acres with a functioning coalition of forestry partners serving them. A key component of this project envisions the development and operation of a Friends of the Driftless Area support group.