This article was featured in the Des Moines Register Opinion section on April 2, 2024. When it comes to helping wildlife and protecting the environment, small changes have a big impact. That’s the message Iowa Wildlife Federation Executive Director Ryan Smith wants […]
Trumpeter swans once thrived in Iowa, nesting in wetlands and waterways throughout the state. The population dwindled for many years due to unregulated hunting and wetland drainage, with the last nesting pair recorded in 1883. But thanks to extensive restoration
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.The first segment of Iowa’s five-part, spring turkey season kicks off April 5 with the opening of the annual special Youth Season, followed by the first segment of the regular hunting seasons on
Iowa’s Spring Turkey Hunt is Just Around the Corner Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.The annual northward migration of the lesser snow goose ranks as one of creation’s most awe-inspiring events. Heading toward ancestral breeding grounds in arctic Canada, goose flocks containing tens of thousands of birds
On the Move – Spring Snow Geese Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Popular, challenging, and nutritious, the white-tailed deer is one of Iowa’s most treasured natural resources. I love watching, hunting and, yes, consuming our nation’s most popular big game animal. But when Iowa’s deer
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Sub-zero temperatures. Winds gusting in excess of thirty miles per hour. Drifting snow. Near zero visibility. Dangerous wind chills. Not a pretty picture for most Iowans. But those were the exact conditions that
Weathering the Storm Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.The final segment of Iowa’s [North Zone] duck season ended December 5th. Despite widespread drought and ever receding water levels, the 2023 season was surprisingly productive. In addition to seeing overall good duck
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Even when you’re anticipating their arrival, wood ducks have a way of sneaking up on a guy. Of course, there are those happy occasions when the two-syllable, screeching call of an incoming hen
October Wood Ducks Read More »
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Following months of searing summer drought, water is at a premium across much of Iowa. Resident wildlife – especially those species depending on wetlands – face a daily array of new challenges and
Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.For most folks, the words ‘Snipe Hunt’ will bring to mind one of the world’s most famous practical jokes. The joke takes place when a naive newcomer is taken to a spooky, nighttime
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.
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.”
