Planning for the Summit is being underwritten with a grant from the Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust
Honoring Nature's Place in Iowa
Anyone paying attention knows nature in Iowa is under great pressure and many of our most cherished resources are degrading and in danger. From soil erosion to water pollution, from habitat loss to urban sprawl, economic forces and wasteful actions threaten nature. Many public policies contribute to the stress: we underfund efforts to improve water quality and enhance nature, farm policies promote cropping floodplains and on fragile lands, and annexation leads to converting thousands of acres of prime land to housing and development. Our failure to set reasonable stewardship standards exposes nature to unlimited threats, jeopardizing future productivity. State and local governments are restrained in maintaining and acquiring natural lands and planning for the future.
This constellation of challenges makes it imperative Iowans who care about nature and who believe it has a place in all aspects of Iowa’s social and economic life come together. We face a future framed by a changing climate and a growing need to use justice as a lens to measure our conduct. The Summit offers the opportunity to discuss what can be done, to learn from inspiring nature advocates, to hear examples about what is working, and to develop a hopeful, optimistic plan for the future based on shared values and commitments. Plus we will have fun!
Tentative 2025 Agenda
Wednesday Nov. 19th - Summit Opening Day – Olmsted Center
8:00am – 8:45am: Registration and Breakfast
8:45am – 9:00am: Welcome, Update and Summit Overview - Prof. Neil Hamilton
9:00am – 9:50am: Navigating How Shifts in National Policy Impact Nature: Seeking Resilience
9:50am – 10:30am: The Role of Local Governments as Nature's Advocates
10:30am – 11:00am: Networking Break
11:00am - 12:15pm: Nature and Public Health: Cancer, Water Quality and More –
12:15pm – 1:30pm: Lunch, Recognizing the Anniversaries of Iowa Nature Organizations:
Iowa County Conservation Boards, 70 years; Seed Savers Exchange, 50 years; Iowa
Environmental Council, 30 years; Great Outdoors Fund, 30 years; Raccoon River Watershed Association, 20 years; and Sustainable Iowa Land Trust, 10 years
1:30pm – 2:20pm: Measuring Nature's Economic Impacts
2:20pm – 3:15pm: Loving Nature to Death: Land Use Tensions and Lessons from the Iowa Great Lakes
3:15pm – 3:40pm: Networking Break
3:40pm – 4:40pm: Local Efforts to Protect Water Quality: Iowa's Newest Civil Rights Issue
4:40pm – 5:15pm: Empowering Citizen Water Quality Monitoring
5:30pm – 7:00pm: Evening Reception – honoring the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust (SILT) on its 10th Anniversary
Day Two - Thursday November 20th – Day Two – Olmsted Center
8:00am - 9:00am: Policy Opportunities for Nature in the 2026 Iowa Genera Assembly - Legislative Breakfast – panel of four Iowa legislators
9:00am – 10:30: Follow Your Passion, Pick Your Path – select from three 90-minute education sessions on Nature Opportunities:
- Nature Based Education: Iowa Innovations
- County Nature Bonding Campaigns: the Nuts and Bolts
- Using Conservation Easements to Protect Private Lands
10:30am – 10:50am: Networking Break
10:50am – 11:20am: Promoting and Protecting Wildlife in Urban Iowa
11:20am – 11:50am: How Federal Farm Policy Impacts Nature, CRP, Soil Erosion and More
11:50am – 12:00pm: Presentation of Hagie Award, sponsored by Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation
12:00pm – 1:45pm: Lunch, The 2025 Iowa’s Nature Champion Awards
1:45pm: Summit Concludes – Closing Words