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Prairie, Pollinators and Wildlife Habitat

NRCS uses many science-based disciplines in helping people help the land by providing related technical references and tools.

Plant Resources

Native Prairie Resources

Documents to help establish and manage native prairie:

Increasing Forb Diversity in Native Grass-Dominated Prairie Stands (4.88 MB)
Native Prairie Planting Guide: Interseeding with Fall Tillage (2.04 MB)
Native Prairie Planting Guide: Organic Transition Options (3.06 MB)
Native Plant Material Sources (59.35 KB)
Native Prairie Planting Guide: Terminate and Reseed - Fall Herbicide Only (2.04 MB)
Native Prairie Planting Guide: Terminate and Reseed - Spring Herbicide Only (2.81 MB)
Guidance on Using Iowa Native Prairie Guide - Increasing Forb Diversity in Native Grass-Dominated Stands (133.9 KB)
Establishing and Managing Native Prairie (4.41 MB)
Planning and Understanding Diverse Native Seed Mixes (798.63 KB)
Planting Native Prairie Into Cool Season Sod (819.86 KB)
Planting Native Prairie Into Corn and Soybean Stubble (2.1 MB)
NativePrairieSeedingCalculatorSept2022 (1.23 MB)

Approved Iowa NRCS Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Guides (WHEG)

Iowa Wildlife Working Lands Habitat Evaluation with Appendix (2.55 MB)
Monarch WHEG and Decision Support Tool Instructions, Version 2.0 (1.72 MB)
Monarch WHEG Decision Support Tool Data Sheet, Version 2.0 (2.57 MB)

Supporting Monarch Butterflies

Important Plants of the Monarch Butterfly - Midwest (15.81 MB)
2018 Monarch Plant List Guidance for Iowa (254.84 KB)
Best Practices for Monarch Butterfly: Achieving Best Results for the Monarch in the Midwest (58.87 KB)
Working Lands for Monarch Butterflies Fact Sheet (1.67 MB)

Wildlife Friendly Fences

A Landowner's Guide to Wildlife Friendly Fences (3.26 MB)

Aquatic Habitat Evaluations

Stream Visual Assessment Protocol Version 2.0 (SVAP2) (6.71 MB)
SVAP Datasheet (1.26 MB)

Contact

Find Your Local Service Center

USDA Service Centers are locations where you can connect with Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or Rural Development employees for your business needs. Enter your state and county below to find your local service center and agency offices. If this locator does not work in your browser, please visit offices.usda.gov.