Instructor Information & Event Descriptions

2026 Loess Hills Prairie Seminar Speaker Bios/Descriptions

 

Amie Adams is a writer and certified Iowa Master Naturalist. She is a 5th-generation Iowan who grew up in northern Iowa and currently lives in Ames.  Connect with Amie at www.amieadams.space  
Conservation, Collages, and Creative Writing: How can we use visual art and writing as tools for conservation? In this hands-on session, we will get creative with upcycled magazines, field guides, found materials and writing prompts to help us imagine hopeful futures for the Iowa landscape and the places we care about deeply.  

Melissa Beerman is a yoga instructor and works for the City of Onawa.

Shayne Bennet is a Wayne State College student and is an enthusiast who enjoys learning about and practicing primitive skills. Join Shayne for his program - Primitive Techniques - Come learn about early human hunting tools and ways of surviving. Program is family friendly, all ages and abilities are welcome. Program supplies provided by the Woodbury County Conservation’s Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center.  

Connie Betts is Harrison County Conservation’s Naturalist. Talkin' Turkeys - Come learn about Iowa’s wild turkey! We’ll look at a tail fan, compare hands against their foot, and hear who has the best gobble! Great for all ages. Fantastic Fireflies - The magic of summer is alive when fireflies fill the sky. Learn all about their lives and make your own glowing firefly to take home!

Lance Brisbois of the Golden Hills RC&D will lead a Bike Tour of the Loess Hills on gravel roads through the Loess Hills around Turin. Bring your own gravel-friendly bike, a helmet, and water. The route will be 10-15 miles and include some hills but also flatter sections. 
Jeanne Bockholt is a member of the Northwest Iowa Group of the Sierra Club. Northwest Iowa Group Sierra Club will be leading a children’s program titled, Bird Bingo, on Friday night. 

Butch Bowman is an instructor of the 4-H S.E.S.S. (Safety Education Shooting Sports) program. During Introduction to Archery, participants will learn how to handle a bow and arrows in a safe manner. You will also be able to practice target shooting. 

Mark, Ed, & Lee Brogie are a family of naturalists that have a passion for sharing their knowledge about birds at the seminar. They will be leading early Birding Walks for All Ages. Each will be offered in the early morning hours to ensure a variety of birds can be seen both Saturday and Sunday morning. Some binoculars will be provided. The Brogies will also provide a Bird Tour by Auto. Car caravan to several different habitat stops in the Loess Hills. You can choose to leave to be back by the 10:15AM session.  Tucker Lutter will be assisting the Brogie family.
 

Cheryl Buntsma works in northwest Iowa as a Certified Prevention  Specialist for Rosecrance Jackson Centers in six counties. Prior to this she taught in several states and ended her 35 years of teaching in Orange City where she created the Outdoor Adventure for her fourth through six graders who have romped around the hills and attended the LHPS during that time. Geocaching was one of their favorite activities. John Bunstma is a Master Gardener Coordinator – Horticulture Engagement with Iowa State Extension and Outreach in Sioux County. You can join Cheryl for a children’s session on Friday night titled Gardening is Fun! Join Cheryl and Kathy Koskovich for Connecting with the Landscape; Expressing a Sense of Place - Adults (children must be accompanied by an adult).  Participants will take a short hike to look for "connections" to the landscape or nature. We return to camp and share with group (writing, poetry, make natural items, face painting optional); they will have a chance to make a natural item or symbol to take with them. 

 

Nancy Crews is the Director of the nonprofit Milkweed Matters. She is an avid gardener, conservationist, and is passionate about helping our threatened pollinators especially the Monarch butterfly. The mission of Milkweed Matters is to help educate the public about pollinator conservation and restore native pollinator habitat along the roadsides and in community gardens. Milkweed Matters helps restore habitat along roadsides by conducting outreach with schools, scouts, garden clubs and other groups to make thousands of milkweed and native nectar flower seedballs. The seedballs are taken to RAGBRAI each year and passed out to riders to toss along the Iowa roadsides. Milkweed Matters is celebrating 10 years of pollinator conservation work! Nancy will provide an overview of why pollinators are threatened and what we can do to help. Milkweed Seed Balls: Nancy will lead a seedball workshop for participants. This is an activity for all age groups and the seedballs will be taken to RAGBRAI, the annual large scale bike ride across Iowa. We distribute the seedballs to riders to toss along the Iowa roadsides during the ride to help restore pollinator habitat. The workshop will include a short presentation on why pollinators are importantly, why they are threatened, an overview of the Monarch butterfly lifecycle, habitat, migration and how everyone can help. We will demonstrate how to make the seedballs and then participants will dig in. The seedballs are made with compost and clay and we use native common milkweed seed and a fall blooming nectar flower like aster or goldenrod seed. We make thousands of seedballs every year during outreach events at  nature centers, schools, scouts, garden clubs, etc.   

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Amy Crouch  Amy Crouch, Little Sioux Project Director - As Little Sioux Project Director, Amy leads conservation, restoration, and partnership efforts across northwest Iowa's Little Sioux River Valley. She also currently supports land protection and stewardship initiatives in the Loess Hills alongside her regular duties. A lifelong Iowan, Amy grew up on a diverse farm near Washta, where her early love for nature took root. She has spent her entire career working in water, soil, and wildlife habitat conservation, with a deep commitment to protecting native landscapes.

Amy holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Buena Vista University. When she's not in the field, she enjoys hiking, traveling, and working with her husband on their family farms.

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Judy Ehlers, Chair of Monona County’s Historic Preservation Commission and retired school teacher, will be leading a session on the Mann Country School Experience: Visit the Mann Country School and learn what a typical classroom day was like for a one-room country schoolhouse. Activities to include writing on a blackboard, a spelling bee, and using nib (fountain) pens. The Hidden Past of the South Jordan Cemetery: Judy will be discussing the history and importance of preserving this historic site, located north of Moorhead, IA. Judy will be joined by Seth Brooks as co-presenter and the tour will also make an effort to visit three other historic locations: Mann School, Soldier Country Church and Ingemann Danish Church. 

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Marlene Ehresman is the co-founder and executive director of the Iowa Wildlife Center. A wildlife biologist by academic training, she is also a licensed wildlife rehabilitator with more than 30 years’ experience caring for many Iowa wildlife species, including several species of turtles. Marlene has been coming to the LHPS since her sons were in grade school (one just turned 46!) and has given several programs over the years, solo or with her husband, Bruce. Marlene will be joining Terry VanDeWalle for their program Frogs and Toads of Iowa. 

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Brian Hazlett is a professor at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City. He is leading a session on Woody Plants for Beginners. This session is designed for those who wish to gain a greater familiarity with our local trees, shrubs, and vines. Participants should expect a medium walk on level ground.  

 

Katherine Hoeppner is the Monona County Conservation Officer with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Join Katie and other IA DNR summer staff for a Fishing Clinic with all equipment and bait provided.

 

David Hoferer grew up in Cedar Rapids with a love for animals. He graduated from Drake University in Des Moines and then earned advanced degrees in theology and environmental science. Since 2016 he has been a professor of biology and environmental science at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City. Together with his students, Dave has been working to restore prairie gardens utilizing plants local to northwest Iowa in Sioux City and on Briar Cliff’s campus. He and his students are also writing a plan to restore a small prairie on BCU’s campus. He has been active in the Loess Hills Audubon Society, the Sioux City Environmental Advisory Board, and the Northwest Iowa Group of the Sierra Club, where he currently serves on their Executive Committee. He has given presentations at local environmental group meetings and for the Environmental Advisory Board of Sioux City. 

The Decline of the King of the Prairie - The bur oak has been called the “King of the Great Plains.” For centuries bur oaks have grown around the prairies and have been a dominant tree in the oak savannas. In the last few decades, the bur oak has gone into a steep decline. This program will discuss the biology of the bur oak, reasons for its decline, and how we can make the changes to increase its abundance once again.

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Marla Kerr and Sharon Polifka are active members of the Loess Hills Audubon Society, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to protect birds through science, advocacy, education and conservation. Marla is our current President and Sharon has served on the Board of Directors in different positions. Loess Hills Audubon has also been instrumental in obtaining recognition for Sioux City as a Bird Friendly City and continues to promote ways to further fulfill this designation for Sioux City. A Pane in the Glass: How to Prevent Window Strikes at Home - Over 1 Billion birds die in window collisions each year. One of the ways we can protect birds is by reducing bird/window collisions. After a discussion on the human-related threats to birds, we will focus on window strikes and why this happens. Various window treatment methods for reducing this threat will be presented. Participants will have an opportunity to create their own Acopian Blind (Zen Wind Curtain) to take home. If you would like to create a blind, please bring measurements from one of your windows in your house. We will have materials for 20 windows – sized 24” wide by 36” high. Children under 16 need to be accompanied by an adult. Available materials are limited to one blind per family. 

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Katherine Koskovich is a retired wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. She was the Private Lands Biologist for NW Iowa. She provided technical assistance to private landowners who wanted to create wildlife habitat on their property. Kathy lives in the Loess Hills of eastern Woodbury County! She's a watercolor artist and loves to incorporate nature into her artwork. Kathy will be co-presenting with Cheryl Buntsma during the session Connecting with the Landscape; Expressing a Sense of Place.

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Deb Lewis retired in 2024 from her 40-year career as the herbarium curator at Iowa State University. She is a founding board member of the Iowa Native Plant Society. 
Who’s Your Neighbor? A Plant’s-Eye View of the Prairie – Join Deb and Rich Pope for a hands-on, non-technical introduction to prairie plant interactions with their living and non-living environment. We’ll begin with a walk, then sit in the prairie (an old towel or cushion might make it more comfortable).  

Kevin Mason will be offering a program titled: Retracing the Dragoon Trail in Iowa: Environmental Transformation Along the Des Moines River . Explore how the first major military expedition up the Des Moines River set the stage for Iowa's incredible environmental transformation with Dr. Kevin Mason. Drawing from archival records, maps, government surveys, Indigenous histories, and ecological data, Mason explores how Iowa’s prairies and wetlands gave way to farms, towns, and transportation networks. 

Connie Mutel  From Fragile Giants to Fragile Earth:  A Retrospective - Since publication of Connie Mutel's first book on the Loess Hills, Fragile Giants  (1989, UI Press), she has written or edited 6 other books on nature in Iowa.  Each of these traces the transformation of Iowa's complex, sustainable ecosystems to the polar opposite.  Connie will reflect on the causes and results of this transformation, with an eye on Iowa's future.

 
Matt Moles - Building and Maintaining Sustainable Trails in the Loess Hills - This presentation will focus on the challenges of building and maintaining quality soft-surface trails in the Loess Hills, and the methods used to overcome these hurdles. Our highly-mobile and erodible soil requires a lot of attention when exposed to traffic, but it is possible to successfully offer quality trails with relatively low-impact and reasonable degrees of maintenance. 

 

Mariah Myers is a Woodbury County Conservation Naturalist at the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center in Sioux City, IA. Join Mariah for her programs on Owls where she will introduce attendees to these wonderful birds as well as a couple of actual education owls from Woodbury County’s Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center. Mariah will also be offering a program about Reptiles, where attendees can learn about this fantastic group of animals and get to meet a live snake and turtle, education animals from Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center.

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Stennie Nelson is a Monona County landowner, sheep producer and a grazing tenant on the Turin WMA. Reflections on Five Years of Grazing - Prairies evolved with periodic disturbance from drought, fire, and grazing. Without these pulsed "setbacks," woody encroachment and/or grass dominance threatens to diminish the robust diversity that's the hallmark of the tallgrass prairie. In the last few years, DNR land manager and biologist Doug Chafa has been working with local producers to reintroduce grazing into local Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). Join Doug, Stennie, and the sheep for a prairie-pasture walk to discuss how managed grazing intends to meet both wildlife and prairie goals alongside wool and meat production. This session is a short drive from the Seminar Campgrounds. Doug Chafa works as the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Biologist for the Missouri River Wildlife Management Unit, which totals seven counties. He and his team are based out of Lewis and Clark State Park near Onawa, IA and manage such areas as the Loess Hills Wildlife area, the Sylvan Runkel State Preserve, and organize the annual pre-LHPS, G.R.A.S.S. event.  

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 Kay Neumann is the Director of S.O.A.R - Saving Our Avian Resources. This is a 501(c)(3) organization established in 1999 dedicated to “saving our avian resources” through raptor rehabilitation, education, and research. Join Kay at the S.O.A.R. Raptor Program and meet her birds, learn bird-of-prey behavior, and learn about some of the raptors that call the Loess Hills home. There is a possibility S.O.A.R. brings a raptor to release at the seminar, but this is subject to availability of a suitable raptor in good health needing release at the time.  

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Michael O’Connor is a tribal member of the Ihanktonwan Nakota (Yankton Sioux). Plants are a part of the Native American culture. Join Michael in his program Growing Your Relationship with Creation to learn just how deeply connected they are to plants.  

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Don Poggensee is a very talented photographer who enjoys every chance he can to live out his passion. He has been coming to the seminar year after year offering programs and using his talent by photographing this event. Don will offer two programs: Prairie Photography and Digital Images. His sessions will include an introduction in how to capture the best photo in the field, setting up a photo shoot, selecting a subject, lighting, and best composition. Checking exposure and knowing your camera settings will help you capture that great image! (Note: Please bring your own camera to this session.)   

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Andrea Porter works for a non-profit in Sioux Falls called EmBe. She works for two departments childcare and school aged care. She is a Site Coordinator at Lowell Elementary school within the Community Learning Centers. Recently she has been working to reinstate her class B CDL to provide field trip transportation during summer care. Andrea will also be teaching science and nature related field trips as well. You could call her the next Miss Frizzle and the magic school bus. Creepy Crawly Critter Exploration - Are all creepy crawlies the same? They may give you the heebie jeebies but they are not all the same. Let's explore what makes an insect an insect. Some are given the name of an insect but they are imposters in the insect world. This program is open to everyone but is geared toward families with children. All are welcome! If you have a bug net and collection containers feel free to bring them along we will be collecting insects. Andrea will also be leading the Kayaking a Loess Hills Pond Program. Did you ever have a desire to get up and close with the water's surface or even beneath? This is the place to explore! This session is designed to teach the basics of kayaking and how to properly fit your gear for a safe time on the water. I have had many spring, summer, and fall seasons logged in canoes and kayaks both competitively, scientifically, and leisurely. If time allows I will be prepared to collect some pond water samples at different depths to see what's teaming below the surface. Let's Go! Kayaks, paddles, and some life jackets available, please bring a PFD if you have one that fits. Parents need to accompany children under 18 and sign a waiver. Also, be prepared with the possibility of getting wet. Water shoes may be desired as well as sunscreen, hat, water, and camera.    

 

Rich Pope is the chair of the Loess Hills Alliance. He returned to western Iowa after a career with ISU Extension. Join Rich on Saturday morning for Soils of the Loess Hills to learn about how prairie communities depend upon their environment, with soils and landscape being a key foundation. 

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Dakota Popp is the Sac County Conservation Naturalist and will be offering a Children’s Program on Saturday night at the elementary school. 

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Tom Rosburg is an expert in the field of biology and professor at Drake University. Prairie Flora of the Loess Hills - This session will explore the prairie ridges and slopes in the Sylvan Runkel State Preserve to find and identify plants, provide identification tips, and discuss their biology and ecology. At least 125 plant species in the Preserve are native to the prairie communities on the Preserve. We’ll make an effort to find 100 of those prairie species. It will be a moderate to long hike, but we go pretty slow. Prairie Ecology - Participants in the Prairie Ecology session will take a casual hike through the prairie to discuss ecological concepts relevant to prairie ecosystems and the Loess Hills Specifically. A broad integrated approach will guide our topics, including soils, fungi, microclimates, fire, herbivory, disturbance, and community. Keynote - Love for the Hills through Adventure, a Prelude to the West and Grassroots Education - There is no other landscape or place in Iowa like the Loess Hills. They are uniquely wild, rugged and beautiful. They formed over a period of 18,000 years from wind-blown silt, a massive drift of loess sculpted by 20,000 years of erosion into present day’s labyrinth of ridges, spurs, slopes, valleys and ravines. This presentation will highlight their value as wilderness and spiritual calling, their importance and contribution to prairie conservation, and the incredible impact the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar has had on environmental education.
 

Renee Sans Souci 
With a degree in education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and being an Umonhon woman, Renee Sans Souci combines her life experiences with a learning process that helps learners to engage in their own cultural identities and languages. Renee is a Cultural Consultant and Curriculum Developer, and has been a Teaching Artist with the Lied Center for Performing Arts since 2009. She has provided keynote speeches on the topic of Water and Environmental Science, has presented at numerous conferences on various topics related to #MMIR, Native Science, History of Indian Education, Native Languages, Poetry, and Sustainability. Sans Souci was featured in the PBS American Masters Series, UNLADYLIKE 2020: Susan LaFlesche Picotte: The First American Indian Doctor.  She is also a Co-Leader for the Niskithe Prayer Camp and is a recipient of the UNL Institute of Ethnic Studies 2023 Leo Yankton Award for Indigenous Justice. 
We are the Buffalo and the Buffalo are Us!: The American Bison also called Buffalo have many names in Native Languages. For UmoNhoN (Omaha) People in this region, we call them Te. For this presentation, the UmoNhoN worldview of Te will be shared. Many Tribes throughout Turtle Island have hunted Buffalo since time immemorial. They were seen as Relatives, a sacred being that brought life to the people. They were also healers of the land, Mother Earth, and helped to maintain the balance of the Tall Grass Prairie and watershed ecosystems. Currently, there is Buffalo Restoration taking place, especially with Native Tribes throughout the Great Plains. There will be a Buffalo Table or exhibit for participants to look at, touch, feel, and smell.  

Join Plymouth County Naturalist, Morgan Sauer, for some basic birding fun! Birds and Binoculars: Whether you are a kid or a kid 
at heart and want to learn a little about using binoculars, identifying birds and finding them in their habitat, this is the program for 
you. We will not be staying in the camping area the entire time, so be sure to wear appropriate clothing and shoes.

Larry Stone is a semi-retired freelance writer/lecturer. Join Larry for a special session on the book he co-authored, Sylvan T. Runkel: Citizen of the Natural World. Sylvan was a forester, naturalist, and educator who dedicated his life to conservation in 
Iowa.

Anna Stoysich is an artist and art educator living in Malvern, Iowa. She graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with emphasis in ceramics. She was awarded artist residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation (Helena, Montana), Whiterock Conservancy (Coon Rapids, Iowa) and Waubonsie State Park (Hamburg, Iowa). She actively exhibits her work and is an award winning artist; her most recent awards include grants from the Iowa Arts Council. Her recent exhibitions include the Nebraska Biennial at Gallery 1516 (Omaha, Nebraska) and Perspectives, a duo show, with her husband, Jorge Colorado, at Moonrise Gallery (Elkhorn, Nebraska). Her first public tile mural with an Iowa wetlands theme is scheduled for installation in the summer of 2024 on the Wabash Trace Nature Trail in Malvern, Iowa. She has taught at Montessori schools in western North Carolina and Mexico and was the seasonal naturalist at Waubonsie State Park in 2018 and 2019. She currently teaches summer art camps and clay classes out of her home studio and other locations in Western Iowa and the metro Omaha area.  Butterfly Nature Garlands - This is a hands-on art workshop in which we will create butterfly and nature themed garlands using paper, stamps, fabrics and other miscellaneous materials. 

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Rene Stroud is the Naturalist for Pottawattamie County Conservation and will be leading a program on Boss Bison – a bigwig on the prairie; We will explore bison artifacts to discover the adaptations that make them such awesome creatures! Through discussion and games, we will learn why bison are so important, like a boss, to prairies. Make and take home a bison craft that will remind you why bison are such a boss!

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Patrick Swanson will offer a program titled - Restorative Recreation: exploring intersections between Nature Deficit Disorder, Nature Prescription, Avocation, and Creation Care to Human and Ecosystem Health. Emerging science has established the importance of contact with nature as providing important physical and mental health benefits, and a proactive way of reducing risks of non-communicable diseases.  Beyond a passive interaction with nature, direct actions to intentionally restore ecosystems to a more natural state provide additional reciprocal benefits to individual, community, and ecosystem health. Based on his personal experiences restoring a native prairie remnant in the Loess Hills, and teaching a medical humanities course on this topic, Dr. Patrick Swanson will discuss these intersections and lead a conversation to further explore how the concept of “Restorative Recreation” can be applied at an individual, community, and health system level.  You can read more about his restoration project here: 
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2688-8319.12063 and his medical humanities course here: 
https://epublications.regis.edu/jhe/vol12/iss2/18/ 

 

Terry VanDeWalle is a principal biologist with Stantec Consulting Services and an adjunct natural resources instructor at Hawkeye Community College. He is also an Iowa Wildlife Center founding Board of Directors member and IWC’s current president. He has been conducting research on Iowa’s reptiles and amphibians for over 30 years, working closely with the IDNR and USFWS. His newest book, The Natural History of the Turtles of Iowa, was published last year. His other book, The Natural History of the Snakes and Lizards of Iowa, came out in 2022. Terry may have copies of both books for sale. Frogs and Toads of Iowa - Can you get warts from toads? Can I keep a toad or frog as a pet? If I can, how do I keep it healthy? I found a frog on a house plant I bought – can I just let it go? I found a frog on a house plant I had outside all summer, but it’s winter – what do I do?  Marlene and Terry will talk about the natural history of Iowa’s species of frogs and toads and how we all can help them, beginning with a conversation about the simple question, “What is an amphibian?” They will cover many specifics about these animals, including threats to them and the habitats in which they live. Live frogs and toads will be included, as well as other interesting artifacts. Terry will toss in some experiences of his years in the field researching frogs and toads, and Marlene will add some stories about her experiences caring for these hippity-hoppity ribbiting creatures. 

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Tim Youngquist along with his wife, Mandy, and his parents, farms corn and soybeans near Kiron on his family’s heritage farm. He has overseen the creation of buffer strips using native prairie in fields and riparian zones on his family land. Tim also grows and harvests prairie for native plant propagation. Tim serves as the farmer liaison for Iowa State University’s STRIPS program, where he helps farmers and landowners implement prairie strips on their farmland. Join Tim for his program will offer a program titled - Collect and grow your own prairie: Prairie is fun and beautiful!  And even small amounts of native plants can provide a suite of environmental benefits, right outside your door.  Don’t you want some prairie of your own?!  Learn how to collect and grow your own tallgrass prairie.  There will be plenty of hands-on demos and the opportunity to go home with a potted prairie plant or two of your own.  Collecting prairie seed is a fun activity that is accessible for people of all ages.  Seed collection can be done with supplies that you likely already have laying around at your house.  Tim will cover the basics for when and how to harvest, clean, and store prairie seed.  Once the seed has been collected and cleaned, it needs to be seeded.  Prairie species can be tricky to coax out of dormancy.  We’ll talk about the steps needed to get certain species to germinate and how to care for them during the seedling stage.  Bring your questions and creativity and get ready for a little dirt on your hands.  All ages encouraged to attend.  

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Bill Zales is very active in the conservation community within the greater Siouxland area. Bill is a retired professor from Joliet Illinois Junior College. Loess Hills Bryophytes (Mosses and Liverworts) - Meet the most overlooked members of the prairie ecosystem. Observe their interesting structures and learn their role in the Loess Hills. Learn to identify a few species. Loess Hills Mammals – Specimens of almost all of the mammals occurring in the Hills will be displayed and biology discussed. Some are very common, some rarely seen and some threatened with extinction. 

 

Slope, Rise, Smoke, Wise: A Reading of New Work by Loess Hills Writers 
Creative writers from the region, as well as those writing about the Loess Hills, will share samples of their new work. As time 
allows, there will be a Q & A and an "open mic" for attendees to share their own writing related to the Loess Hills. 
Poets and writers include: Kelly Madigan, Kathy Timperley, Bridget Lillethorup, Robert Bauer, John T Price, Deb Lewis, Angie Vorhies, Jane Daniel, Todd Robinson, Amie Adams, Glenn Pollock, Megan Renshaw, Patrick Swanson, and Jeff Olson. 
 

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