Author Archives for Lon Drake

About Lon Drake

This old guy's favorite large-scale conservation projects include integrating soils, water, plants, and animals, especially native species. I still bike through my South Sycamore stormwater management system from 2001.

Milk Sickness

September 17, 2020 10:00 pm Published by Lon Drake 1 Comment

As the calendar rolled over from the 1700s to the 1800s, pioneers from the Eastern Seaboard states were moving westward... Read More →

Replacing Crown Vetch with Milkweed

September 10, 2020 9:59 pm Published by Lon Drake 1 Comment

Crown vetch is one of our most difficult invasive species to eradicate from a prairie, whether original or recreated. In... Read More →

Tippy Trees: Lessons From The Storm

September 3, 2020 8:37 pm Published by Lon Drake 1 Comment

When the storm of Aug. 10, 2020, roared through Cedar Rapids and Marion, the devastation was pretty complete. Among the... Read More →

The Advantages of Contiguous Conservation Properties

August 27, 2020 6:59 pm Published by Lon Drake 2 Comments

For conservation nonprofits there is always the challenge of getting the most conservation from a limited landscape. A good... Read More →

Elderberry: For the Birds

August 20, 2020 8:00 pm Published by Lon Drake 2 Comments

This year, with an abundance of spring and early summer rainfall, our native wild elderberries bloomed prolifically. The huge, white... Read More →

Buttonbush – Iowa’s Mangrove

August 13, 2020 4:47 pm Published by Lon Drake Leave your thoughts

Everyone knows that mangrove trees grow in thickets along tropical marine shorelines. They protect the shore from erosion during storms... Read More →