Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Saturday Jan. 24, 2026 — This morning’s frigid double digit, below zero temperatures seemed a little warmer when I laid eyes on an old woodland friend. Following another round of Iowa hunting seasons, […]
Bobtail – Ten Years Old and Counting! Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Commonly referred to as The Sport of Kings, falconry is defined as the pursuit of wild game with trained raptors. Regardless of whether your protege is a red-tailed hawk, goshawk, or peregrine falcon,
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.The 2022 fall hunting season was shaping up to be one of the best since I began flying large falcons during the 1980s. Pheasant populations were strong and migrating waterfowl were becoming increasingly
Peregrine Falcons Face New Threat Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved. For Iowa Wildlife Winter Weather is No Picnic Winds gusting in excess of forty miles per hour. Horizontal
Weathering the Storm Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Following the devastating statewide loss of wild birds that occurred last winter, highly pathogenic avian influenza [commonly referred to as Bird Flu] is once again sweeping through Iowa’s wintering bird populations. Waterfowl are
Avian Influenza Threatens Wintering Waterfowl Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.If, on Sunday, December 7th, you happened to step out-of-doors anywhere in the state of Iowa, then it is likely that you heard or saw multiple flocks of southbound Canada geese. The unfolding
December Snowstorm Brings Epic Migration Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.As many of you already know, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love the big family gatherings. I love getting together with friends. I love the traditional foods — roast turkey,
Happy Thanksgiving Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.For Iowa’s 60,000 archery deer hunters, November is simply the grandest month of the year. When it comes to pursuing the ever popular, ever elusive white-tailed deer, November is the ultimate game changer.
Ultimate Outdoor Challenge Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.October 2023 — Following a long and frantic search – a search in which everything I owned had been turned upside down — I had failed to find my missing decoy. This was
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.November is a month of intense migration. A time when high winds and, maybe even the season’s first snow squalls, send northern holdouts winging for the wintering grounds. But not all autumn migrations
Amphibian Migration Read More »
Susan Judkins JostenDirector
Susan Judkins Josten is Client Development Director for RDG Planning and Design, a firm with expertise in architecture, landscape architecture, planning, interiors, art, multimedia, engineering and water resources. Prior career activities involve founding and leading economic and leadership development programs, launching the state’s successful Vision Iowa program, advising communities on project financing, and guiding passage of critical legislation following Iowa’s 2008 floods. She has a BA in Business Management from Simpson College, and an MBA from the University of Iowa. Susan has also been a member of the Clive City Council since 2013, and previously served on the Indianola School Board. She is interested in water quality policy and projects, and is active with several watershed groups. She has three adult daughters: Whitney Judkins, JD, Timmer & Judkins Law Firm in Des Moines; Erin del Ninno, MD, Capital Women’s Care in Maryland; and stepdaughter Jennifer Josten, Ph.D., Assistant Professor for the University of Pittsburgh.
Rudi RoesleinDirector
Rudi Roeslein grew up in south St. Louis, after immigrating to the United States from Austria in 1956. He attended Saint Louis University where he jokes that he majored in soccer and minored in Engineering. Before founding Roeslein & Associates in 1990, Rudi started his career at Container Corporation of America, a composite can manufacturing company.
Elyssa McFarlandDirector
Elyssa McFarland farms with her family in Southeast Iowa and serves as the National Corn Growers Association’s, Soil Health Partnership Field Development Director. She attended Iowa State University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in agronomy and went on to earn dual master’s degrees in Agronomy and Soil Science from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Mark LangginDirector
Founding Partner, Pinpoint Digital; Mark has been an IWF Board member since 2020. “Really excited to be joining the Board of the Iowa Wildlife Federation. I’ve been an outdoor advocate since I was young. Originally, just as a kid out running around, shooting at squirrels (terrible shot).
Adam JankeDirector
An Assistant Professor in the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management at Iowa State University, Adam is also the state wildlife extension specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. He holds degrees in Wildlife Conservation from Purdue, Ohio State, and South Dakota State.
Joe HenryDirector
Joe Enriquez Henry is a graduate of Iowa State University and has worked in various capacities, from elected and appointed positions in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to the League of United Latin American Citizens and Forward Latino. Mr. Henry was awarded the Louise Noun Award by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa.
Sue WilkinsonTreasurer and Director
Iowa Wildlife Federation Board Advisor, pre-2013 – Present, Board member since 2020. Growing up on a northeast Iowa dairy farm, I saw wildlife every day; in the timber, ponds and nearby trout streams. My participation in National Wildlife Federation Conservation Summits as a teenager reinforced my love for wildlife and the outdoors.
Tom CopePresident and Director
Tom has served on the Johnston City Council since 2011, where he has been an advocate for investing in stormwater management practices and enhancement of opportunities to observe wildlife in Iowa’s communities. Tom has been a staff member and lobbyist at the Iowa State Capitol for over 20 years, where he lobbied for passage of Iowa’s Water and Land Legacy (IWILL) constitutional amendment.
Kristin AshenbrennerDirector
Kristin is a conservationist from Des Moines. She has a background in–and is particularly passionate about–ag and climate, conservation policy, and funding the National Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund. In her spare time, she is an avid equestrian. Kristin owns and shows American Saddlebreds and helps with her family’s breeding operation.
Joe WilkinsonSecretary and Director
Retired, Iowa DNR. IWF President pre-2013, also 2017-2020. Board member; 2013-2017. My childhood was spent exploring the woods, fields, ponds and streams of central Iowa. Then, off to college; B.A. in English, University of Dubuque, with a Journalism equivalent, Clarke College, Dubuque. I spent 11 years in radio and TV news in eastern Iowa.
Dr. Tammy MildensteinVice President and Director
Dr. Tammy Mildenstein, Vice President of IWF, is an Associate Professor of Biology at Cornell College. Tammy has a PhD in Fish and Wildlife Biology and a MS in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana. She leads community-based conservation projects for endangered species and endangered ecosystems, both in Iowa (monarch butterflies) and in Southeast Asia (flying foxes).
Sean McMahonVice President and Director
Sean is a passionate outdoors enthusiast who loves to hike, watch wildlife, camp and fish with his family. Sean has devoted his entire career to conservation, having spent nearly three decades in senior positions at the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy and in his current role as Executive Director of the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance.”
