Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.I spend more time messing around with wood ducks than I do with any other waterfowl. The cycle begins in late winter — time to spruce up the nesting boxes where hens will […]
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Iowa pheasant hunters are walking in tall clover. Following a series of favorable nesting seasons, Iowa’s pheasant population and Iowa’s pheasant harvest has been slowly inching up since 2015. Last year’s pheasant season
Farm Bill Impact to CRP and Iowa Wildlife Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.For Iowa Birders; It Is a Time Like No Other This year’s spring songbird migration has been one of the most spectacular in recent years. Orioles, grosbeaks, tanagers, buntings, wood warblers, you name
Spring Songbird Migration Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.For Iowa’s resident flock of giant Canada geese, the 2026 spring nesting season is nearly complete. Although a few late nests are still going, most goslings were out of the egg by May
The Hatch is On – Spring Goose Production is Looking Good Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.The ring-necked pheasant is Iowa’s most popular upland gamebird. Everyone loves seeing wild pheasants, and most folks are familiar with the rooster’s spring crowing. For those who aren’t, there will never be a
Spring Pheasant Ritual Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.“A wonderful bird is the pelican. His bill can hold more than his belican” — Poet, Dixon Merritt 1910 With it’s massive size and nine-foot wingspan, the American white pelican is one
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.The change of seasons is at hand. And right on schedule, the first species of songbirds are beginning to arrive in Iowa. During the next several weeks, bird numbers will continue to swell
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Elvis has left the building. For all practical purposes, this year’s spring snow goose season is over. Not because of any calendar date, but rather because one of the planet’s most highly migratory
Elvis Has Left The Building Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved. Preseason Scouting Can Pave The Road to Hunter Success Iowa’s five-part spring turkey seasons begin April 10 with a special, two-day youth hunt. The final segment of this year’s four-part regular season
Iowa’s Spring Turkey Seasons Begin April 10 Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Spring and fall migrations are a dangerous time for traveling songbirds. This fact was rarely more evident that when winter storm Iona rolled into Iowa on Sunday, March 15. Accompanied by rapidly falling
Ann WolfDirector
Ann serves as Co-Program Director for MidwestHealthyAg.org, a division of Regeneration International. She co-oversees scientific research teams in socio-anthropological data gathering analysis in Midwest agriculture practices that include studies in health, climate,environmental regenerative sustainability and stewardship. As an Iowa woman farm owner her professional background includes 35 years experience working with USDA, FSA, NRCS programs and projects regarding soil erosion mitigation, wildlife habitat restoration, wetland development, timber agroforestry and ecology (EQIP), stream bank stabilization, riparian buffer strips, silvopasture, pollinator CRP. Conservation collaborations include Iowa Pheasants for Ever, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, Iowa Environmental Council, Izaak Walton League of Iowa, eastern Iowa DNR, Central Iowa and Limestone Bluffs RCD, Regeneration Agriculture Alliance. She’s been featured in local, regional and national agriculture and farming publications for her conservation work on her 300 acre eastern Iowa family farm.
She holds an MA from University of Northern Iowa in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Development, BFA degree University of Iowa, professional certifications in nonprofit fundraising and leadership(CFRE, CNP). Nonprofit boards, committees, memberships include Iowa Women In Ag; Women in Agriculture Leadership Iowa State University Extension; IA Soil and Water Conservation Society; Climate, Land Leaders; Iowa Prairie Network; Iowa Pesticide Action Network University Northern Iowa; Practical Farmers of Iowa; Iowa and Jackson County Farm Bureau; National Association of Resource, Conservation & Development (NARCD); Iowa State University Extension Master Conservationist Program. Hobbies include outdoor recreation and sports activities, art, culture, traveling. Family members include two adult children Brett and Megan residing in Des Moines metro area.
Thomas RinehartDirector
Thomas is an anesthesiologist practicing primarily in central Iowa. Originally from central Iowa, he returned to the state after a brief time in Portland, Oregon, and maintains strong ties to the landscapes and communities that shaped him. He is actively involved in conservation efforts, with a particular focus on water quality and wetland restoration. He owns and manages two farms in Jasper County, where he has developed a particular interest in oxbow restoration, recently completing his first project and planning to expand this work. An avid outdoorsman, he enjoys upland and waterfowl hunting, as well as fishing, and can often be found dragging his family along on outdoor adventures. He lives in West Des Moines with his wife, Katie, and their two sons.
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.”
