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.
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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!
2025 Agenda
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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 Shifting State and National Policies Impact Nature: Seeking Resilience - Prof. Neil Hamilton and Duane Hvorka, National Wildlife Federation
9:50am – 10:30am: The Role of Local Governments as Nature's Advocates - Pat Boddy, Urbandale City Council, Moderator. Speakers: Susan Judkins, Clive City Council; Tom Hadden, West Des Moines City Manager; Alex Pfaltzgraff, Grimes Planning Director
10:30am – 11:00am: Networking Break
11:00am - 12:15pm: Nature and Public Health: Cancer, Water Quality and More – Prof. Jennifer Zwagerman, Moderator. Speakers: Prof. Audrey Tran Lam, UNI; Dr. Adam Shriver, Harkin Institute; Dr. Richard Deming, Mercy Medical Systems
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. Speaker: Curt Meine, Editor "We Can Do Better; Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy" by Paul W. Johnson
1:30pm – 2:20pm: Measuring Nature's Economic Impacts feat: Luke Hoffman, Iowa Bicycle Coalition; Adam Shirley, Iowa County Conservation System; Stephanie Oppel, ICON Iowa Confluence water trails
2:20pm – 3:15pm: Loving Nature to Death: Land Use Tensions and Lessons from the Iowa Great Lakes - Joe McGovern, INHF, Moderator. Speakers: Greg Grupp and Mary Skopec
3:15pm – 3:40pm: Networking Break
3:40pm – 4:40pm: Local Efforts to Protect Water Quality: Iowa's Newest Civil Rights Issue - Video Introduction and Updates from James Larew; Jodi Reese, Nishnabotna Water Defenders, Mike Delaney, Raccoon River Watershed Association, Jennifer Terry, Director of Central Iowa Source Water Research
4:40pm – 5:15pm: Empowering Citizen Water Quality Monitoring - Christine Curry, Moderator. Speaker: Heather Wilson, Director, Izaak Walton League of America's Save Our Streams (SOS) Program.
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. Anna Gray, INHF, Moderator
9:00am – 10:30: Follow Your Passion, Pick Your Path – select from three 90-minute education sessions on Nature Opportunities:
- Nature Based Education: Fostering the Next Generation of Iowa's Nature Advocates
Instructors: Jay Gorsh, U of I School of the Wild, Mark Dorhout, Panorama Schools, Kathy McKee
- County Nature Bonding Campaigns: the Nuts and Bolts
Instructors: Dr. Jim Pease, Story County bonding initiative, Rich Leopold, Polk County Conservation, Dennis Goematt, Linn County Conservation
- Using Conservation Easements to Protect Private Lands
Instructors: Ross Baxter, INHF Senior Land Protection Director and Counsel; Graham McGaffin, The Nature Conservancy Iowa State Director; Erin Van Waus, INHF Conservation Easement Director; Paul Morf, Simmons Perrine
10:30am – 10:50am: Networking Break
10:50am – 11:20am: Promoting and Protecting Wildlife in Urban Iowa - Ryan Smith, Iowa Wildlife Federation; Jenni Boonjakuakal, Iowa Bird Rehabilitation
11:20am – 11:50am: How Federal Farm Policy Impacts Nature, CRP, Soil Erosion and More - Matt Russell, acting Exec. Dir Iowa Farmers Union and former head, USDA Iowa FSA
11:50am – 12:00pm: Presentation of Hagie Award, sponsored by Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation - presented by Joe McGovern
12:00pm – 1:45pm: Lunch, The 2025 Iowa’s Nature Champion Awards
1:45pm: Summit Concludes – Closing Words