Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.It’s that time of year again. Iowa’s Baby Bird & Bunny season is officially underway. For me, each new sighting of a brand new, spindly-legged fawn; brood of Canada geese or fledgling robin …
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Hunting wild turkeys with primitive [handmade] archery equipment is one of my favorite outdoor pastimes. It is also the most challenging. For me, no other pursuit of fish or game is more difficult …
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.The latter half of May is a time that no Iowa birding enthusiast would willingly choose to miss. The annual spring migration is moving forward at full throttle and bird numbers are approaching …
Spring Songbird Migration Approaching Annual Peak Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Blue-winged Teal Steal the Show During Spring Migration For Iowa wildlife enthusiasts, the spring waterfowl migration represents a major highlight of the annual outdoor calendar. Bedecked in their finest nuptial plumage, the birds …
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved. Youth Turkey Hunt Provides Lifetime Memories The first of Iowa’s five-part spring turkey seasons opened Friday, April 7, with the annual mentored youth hunt. My son Matt had some work activities scheduled …
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Luring flocks of wild ducks and geese into a well-placed spread of decoys – or at least making the attempt — is one of my favorite outdoor pastimes. Doesn’t really matter if it’s …
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.With its four-foot height, six-foot wingspan, ear piercing call, and penetrating stare; the crimson-capped sandhill crane is about as charismatic as a wild bird can get. During spring courtship, crane pairs conduct flamboyant …
Wild Cranes Reclaim Historic North Iowa Wetlands Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.The first of Iowa’s five-part 2023 Spring Turkey hunting seasons begins with a special three-day mentored youth hunt running April 7 – 9. The youth turkey hunt is followed on April 10 with …
PRESEASON SCOUTING IMPROVES TURKEY HUNTING SUCCESS Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.In case you haven’t heard, we’re sitting smack in the path of a fast moving, widespread spring blizzard. Scheduled to arrive any day now, the event will far exceed anything the mid-west has …
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.The first of the 2023 Iowa deer seasons is up and running. Differing from all other deer seasons, the current hunt has no beginning or closing dates, no shooting hours, and doesn’t involve …
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.
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.
Richard A. LeopoldDirector
Since 2013, the Director of the Polk County Conservation, Richard has held a variety of natural resource and administrative positions; most notably as Director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (2007-2010, Governor Chet Culver’s cabinet). He served as the Science Advisor for the Midwest Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.Prior to joining Polk County in 2013, he was Director of Dickinson County Conservation Board in NW Iowa.
Over his career, he has held positions within the Iowa Environmental Council, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Minnesota and Iowa Departments of Natural Resources and served as the founding coordinator for IOWATER, Iowa’s statewide volunteer water-quality monitoring program.
He has provided leadership and direction for high-priority science activities, including water quality, climate change, adaptive resources management, and landscape conservation. He has led efforts to greatly expand stricter water quality standards in Iowa, coordinating the early organization of the Iowa’s Water and Land Legacy (IWLL) natural resources funding ballot initiative. He has strongly advocated and created policy to establish Iowa as a leader in wind energy and bio-fuels.
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.
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.”
