Healing Our Prairies Through Cooperation

Presented by: Dr. Marissa Ahlering, Sara Vacek, and Daren Carlson.

The recorded Zoom meeting is available on the Videos page.

It’s hard to know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been. Monitoring plays a key role in understanding what’s happening on your site and how that piece of land is affected by the surrounding landscape. Once you know that, then you can make better informed decisions about what to do next and what management practices to implement in the future. The Grassland Monitoring Team (GMT) has been doing just that since 2008 using monitoring information to recommend best management and further learn from the results.  The longevity of GMT also provides opportunities to take a look at the all the data from a new perspective to further improve our prairies. Our presentation will guide you through these 14 years of adaptive management to improve tallgrass prairies via research results, lessons learned, and future directions successfully done through cooperation from many professionals in MN, SD, and ND.

Presenter Bio (Marissa Ahlering):

Dr. Marissa Ahlering received her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri studying avian ecology in the mixed grass prairies of North Dakota and Saskatchewan. After completing this work, she spent three years working with a non-profit organization in Kenya, the University of Missouri, and the Smithsonian Institution studying the coexistence of the Maasai people and elephants. In 2010 she returned to the northern Great Plains and is currently the Lead Scientist for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Her work with TNC focuses on conservation and management of natural ecosystems and the benefits they provide to people and includes issues such as grassland reconstruction, adaptive management, and sustainable grazing. She also leads TNC’s climate adaptation work for the three states.

Presenter Bio (Sara Vacek):

Sara Vacek works for the US Fish and Wildlife Service as the refuge biologist at Morris Wetland Management District. She coordinates the biology program at the district, including inventory and monitoring, research, and planning. Sara received a B.A. in Biology and Environmental Studies from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI and an M.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from South Dakota State University in Brookings. When she isn’t at work in the prairies and wetlands of Morris WMD, Sara enjoys spending time with her family, exploring public lands, gardening, and cooking.

Presenter Bio (Daren Carlson):

Daren Carlson is the Monitoring Coordinator for the MN State Wildlife Action Plan (MNWAP) within the Nongame Wildlife Program at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Daren has a B.S. in Ecology, Evolution & Biology and an M.S in Conservation Biology from the University of MN. He spends his time blending work with fun while watching and surveying birds, plants, and all things wild as well as immersing himself in the natural areas across Minnesota, and beyond.