The large scale of this project provides opportunity to interact with land managers at the federal, state, and local levels.Our team makes efforts to disseminate results from the project to all audiences. We acquired special funds from the USDA Conservation Innovation Grant to host demonstration days for the public to observe and learn about harvesting grasslands for bioenergy. These events served as a platform to share ideas regarding the future of a bioenergy industry in the Upper Midwest. Participants from all sectors of bioenergy, agriculture and conservation attended to provide unique insights from their perspective industries. These conversations led to valuable suggestions that help steer our efforts.
Our team presents results from the project at conferences, extension meetings, research groups, non-profit sponsored events, and other venues. This project will be featured in
Cedar Creek educational programs for groups school-age and older. We also publish work in peer-reviewed journals and public media sources.
Williams, S; Jungers, J; Johnson, K; Satyshur, C; DonCarlos, M; Dunlap, R; Mielke, T; Schaffer, J; Tilman, D; Wyse, D; Moon, R; Arnold, T; Lehman, C (2012). Bioenergy from reserve prairies in Minnesota: Measuring harvest and monitoring wildlife. Proceedings from Sun Grant National Conference: Science for Biomass Feedstock Production and Utilization, Volume 2, Chapter 5, New Orleans. (online at http://sungrant.tennessee.edu/NR/rdonlyres/78D6D6DF-1610-4A79-A04C-A9278C860C0D/3742/Williams_Shelby.pdf )
Jungers, J; Lehman, C; Sheaffer, C; and Wyse, D. Characterizing Grassland Biomass for Energy Production and Habitat in Minnesota, Proceedings of the 22nd North American Prairie Conference, 2010. 168-171.
An interim report of survey protocols can be downloaded here
(3.5MB PDF). The protocols in this 34 page document are illustrated with diagrams and include supply lists and sample data sheets. They were developed over the first three years of this project and will be used and adapted as the project moves forward. We encourage the use and dissemination of these methods, but please contact the project manager, Clarence Lehman (lehman@umn.edu), if these are useful to you, or if you find ways to improve them.
Clarence Lehman was interviewed for the Fall/Winter 2011 edition of the
Missouri Prairie Journal, published by the
Missouri Prairie Foundation. The resulting article, "Carbon Storage, Ecological Stability, and Epiphany at Bluebird Prairie," outlines his and others' work on native and restored prairies and how that work fits into long-term energy and conservation goals. This article can be found in
Volume 32, Number 3 of the Prairie Journal's archives.
Preliminary results from the waterfowl and pheasant nest surveys
(PDF)
Jungers, J, Lehman, C, and Arnold, T. Managing conservation grasslands for bioenergy and wildlife: Measuring the effects of biomass harvest on waterfowl and pheasants. Poster presented at The Wildlife Society Annual Conference; October 2012, Portland, Oregon.
Summarized project methods
Williams, S, Jungers, J, Johnson, K, Satyshur, C, DonCarlos, M, Dunlap, R, Schafer, J, Tilman, D, Wyse, D, Moon, R, Arnold, R, Lehman, C. Bioenergy From Reserve Prairies in Minnesota: Methods for Measuring Harvest and Monitoring Wildlife. Poster presented at the Sun Grant Initiative Conference; August 2012, New Orleans, LA.
Additional outreach activities include:
(11/2008)
(5/2009)
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Clarence Lehman prepared presentations that pertain to this study to deliver at conferences and workshops. These presentations have been delivered to audiences around the U.S. and Europe, including events such as the annual Pheasants Forever “Pheasant Fest” in Madison, WI, a small mammal conference in Atlanta, GA, and at a bioenergy conference in Sweden.
(2/2010)
(5/2010)
(8/2010)
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Clarence Lehman and Jacob Jungers attended the North American Prairie Conference at the University of Northern Iowa where Jacob presented a poster describing the details of this project. (The travel portion was funded by the USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant, and this resulted in a peer-reviewed publication.)
(9/2010)
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In September of 2010 we reported our findings to land managers, including DNR and USFWS personnel, at a specially organized conference in Lac Qui Parle. We prepared multi-year data sheets for comparisons among years of data and conducted preliminary data analysis, which was presented in slides at the meeting.