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Natural Resources

2007 Perspective on the Past & Future of the Conservation Reserve Program
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2007 Perspective on the Past & Future of the Conservation Reserve Program

4-page publication offering a perspective on the Conservation Reserve program, including administrative issues that must be resolved for the 2007 Farm Bill....

4-H Soil and Water Science, Level 1 Grades 3-5 (PDF)
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4-H Soil and Water Science, Level 1 Grades 3-5 (PDF)

The 4-H Soil and Water Science curriculum in digital format (PDF) is for youth who enjoy learning about science and two important natural resources: soil and water. Level 1 introduces basic terms and concepts. Activit...

4-H Soil and Water Science, Level 2 Grades 6-8 (PDF)
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4-H Soil and Water Science, Level 2 Grades 6-8 (PDF)

The 4-H Soil and Water Science curriculum in digital format (PDF) is for youth who enjoy learning about science and two important natural resources: soil and water. Level 2 activities help you put the basic concepts i...

4-H Soil and Water Science, Level 3 Grades 9-12 (PDF)
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4-H Soil and Water Science, Level 3 Grades 9-12 (PDF)

The 4-H Soil and Water Science curriculum in digital format (PDF) is for youth who enjoy learning about science and two important natural resources: soil and water Level 3 activities are divided into chapters based on...

A Landowner's Guide to Sustainable Forestry: Part 4: Conserving Nature
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A Landowner's Guide to Sustainable Forestry: Part 4: Conserving Nature

A forest is more than just trees. It's a collection of hundreds or thousands of living things interacting with each other. This publication provides information on managing wildlife habitats, endangered species, the rol...

Adoption of Agricultural Conservation Practices: Insights from Research and Practice
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Adoption of Agricultural Conservation Practices: Insights from Research and Practice

Because agriculture dominates the Midwestern landscape, it has a huge impact on environmental quality. Agricultural producers are often advised to adopt practices that help to reduce the impact of agriculture on the e...

Appreciating Reptiles and Amphibians in Nature
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Appreciating Reptiles and Amphibians in Nature

This 20-page publication will help amateur herpetologists and nature enthusiasts better enjoy the diversity of the amphibians and reptiles that call Indiana home, in a manner that maintains them for future generations. T...

Assessing Your Land's Potential for Wildlife
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Assessing Your Land's Potential for Wildlife

Many landowners would like to make their land area more attractive for wildlife, but do not know where to start. This paper outlines the basic decision-making process landowners must go through prior to initiating manage...

Beginner's Guide to Grant Writing Participant Manual
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Beginner's Guide to Grant Writing Participant Manual

Designed with novices in mind, the Beginner's Guide to Grant Writing manual -- a companion to the Beginner's Guide to Grant Writing workshop--demystifies the grant-writing process from planning through implementation. Ta...

Bovine Tuberculosis in Wild White-tailed Deer
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Bovine Tuberculosis in Wild White-tailed Deer

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a bacterial disease of mammals resulting from the infection of Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis). It is a zoonotic disease that can infect humans, domestic stock, and wild animals. Outbreaks ...

Conservation and Management of Butternut Trees
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Conservation and Management of Butternut Trees

This 10-page PDF publication describes how butternuts, native hardwood trees related to black walnuts, are threatened by butternut canker disease and have been listed as a species of special concern by the federal govern...

Conservation Tillage and Water Quality
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Conservation Tillage and Water Quality

This publication discusses conservation tillage, the impact of agriculture on water quality, and the impact of conservation tillage on surface and ground water quality. Tables are included listing the effects of surfac...

Construction and Trees: Guidelines for Protection
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Construction and Trees: Guidelines for Protection

This publication provides information on protecting trees within or near construction sites and home building projects from damage or death.

Urban Forestry, Department of Forestry & Natural Resources

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Control of Canada Thistle in CRP and Other Noncrop Acreage
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Control of Canada Thistle in CRP and Other Noncrop Acreage

This publication helps land managers effectively deal with Canada thistle problems in conservation plantings....

Corn Yield Response to Drainage Water Recycling Using Subirrigation
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Corn Yield Response to Drainage Water Recycling Using Subirrigation

Drainage water recycling is a practice of capturing and storing agricultural surface and subsurface drainage water in a reservoir, and then reusing that water as supplemental irrigation. This innovative approach to drain...

Designing Hardwood Tree Plantings for Wildlife
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Designing Hardwood Tree Plantings for Wildlife

This publication focuses on planting hardwood trees that are valuable to wildlife. The publication covers the variety, size and location of trees and shrubs to plant. Also included is a chart with selected tree and shrub...

Forest Management for Reptiles and Amphibians: A Technical Guide for the Midwest
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Forest Management for Reptiles and Amphibians: A Technical Guide for the Midwest

This 24-page publication describes the response of amphibians and reptiles to a variety of forest management practices in the Midwest, and offers general management strategies to minimize negative effects of harvests on ...

Help the Hellbender, North America's Giant Salamander
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Help the Hellbender, North America's Giant Salamander

The eastern hellbender is the largest salamander in North America, found in and around rivers and streams in 17 states from New York to Missouri. Many hellbender populations are in decline within their geographic range. ...

How Anglers and Paddlers Can Help the Hellbender
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How Anglers and Paddlers Can Help the Hellbender

The eastern hellbender is an endangered salamander found in the Blue River in southern Indiana. Hellbenders live their entire lives in rivers and streams and are rarely encountered by people. Anglers and paddlers are the...

How Our Zoos Help Hellbenders
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How Our Zoos Help Hellbenders

Zoos work at the forefront of species conservation efforts worldwide. For example, the Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) is a giant, fully aquatic salamander that has experienced range-wide declines throughout...

Identification of Butternuts and Butternut Hybrids
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Identification of Butternuts and Butternut Hybrids

This 11-page PDF publication describes how butternuts, native hardwood trees related to black walnuts, are often hard for landowners to identify, because they are rare and people often are not familiar with them. In addi...

Importance of Hardwood Tree Planting
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Importance of Hardwood Tree Planting

The Importance of Hardwood Tree Plantings publication provides a brief overview of several key societal and environmental attributes that hardwood plantations provide, for example, timber production, wildlife habitat, fo...

Improving Water Quality Around Your Farm
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Improving Water Quality Around Your Farm

The eastern hellbender is an endangered salamander found in the Blue River in southern Indiana. It requires cool, clean rivers and streams with high water quality in order to thrive. Some farming practices can lead to so...

Improving Water Quality At Your Livestock Operation
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Improving Water Quality At Your Livestock Operation

The eastern hellbender is an endangered salamander found in the Blue River in southern Indiana. It requires cool, clean rivers and streams with high water quality in order to thrive. Livestock operations can lead to incr...

Indian Creek Watershed Project: Key Takeaways for Success
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Indian Creek Watershed Project: Key Takeaways for Success

The Indian Creek watershed project focused on improving water quality in a small agricultural watershed in central Illinois. The project encouraged local landowners to voluntarily adopt conservation practices and systems...

Indiana Farmland Provides Rest and Forage for Arctic Travelers
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Indiana Farmland Provides Rest and Forage for Arctic Travelers

Shorebirds, those little brown birds normally associated with ocean shorelines, make an appearance twice a year along seasonally flooded agricultural fields in Indiana. The birds are making their way in the spring to bre...

Indiana Soils: Evaluation for Agriculture and Home Sites
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Indiana Soils: Evaluation for Agriculture and Home Sites

This publication is the guide used to teach soils and land use in high schools and to conduct soil judging contests.

F...

Managing Wildlife for Sustainable Forests/Managing Forests for Sustainable Wildlife, Conference Abstracts
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Managing Wildlife for Sustainable Forests/Managing Forests for Sustainable Wildlife, Conference Abstracts

Scientists and natural resource managers depend on sound scientific research-based information on which to make future management decisions that will "manage our forest for sustainable wildlife and manage our wildlife...

Optimizing Conservation Tillage Systems: Plant-to-Plant Uniformity is Essential for Optimum Yield in No-Till Cont. Corn
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Optimizing Conservation Tillage Systems: Plant-to-Plant Uniformity is Essential for Optimum Yield in No-Till Cont. Corn

This publication presents research that shows how plant height uniformity influences yield in continuous corn using conservation tillage systems. This publication discusses some real causes of yield loss in no-till corn...

Planting Forest Trees and Shrubs in Indiana
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Planting Forest Trees and Shrubs in Indiana

This 20-page publication provides an abbreviated 10-step approach to successfully plant and establish healthy, productive forest and conservation plantings in Indiana. It discusses types of plantings, site selection, sit...

Planting Forest Trees and Shrubs in Indiana (50/pkg)
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Planting Forest Trees and Shrubs in Indiana (50/pkg)

This 20-page publication provides an abbreviated 10-step approach to successfully plant and establish healthy, productive forest and conservation plantings in Indiana. It discusses types of plantings, site selection, sit...

Promote Conservation Through an Effective Campaign
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Promote Conservation Through an Effective Campaign

Using two previously developed campaigns as examples, this publication walks you through four steps to help you create an effective campaign to change people's behavior. One campaign takes a comprehensiv...

Protecting Prime Farmland in Indiana
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Protecting Prime Farmland in Indiana

This publication seeks to answer the following questions: What is prime farmland? How is it determined? How much has already been lost, and how much do we have left? What are the consequences of continued loss locally...

Renovating native warm-season grass stands for wildlife: A Land Manager's Guide
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Renovating native warm-season grass stands for wildlife: A Land Manager's Guide

Many wildlife species use or require fields and other areas of early successional vegetation to meet their habitat requirements. Native warm-season grass and forb mixtures (NWSG) are promoted through various state and...

Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest: Identification, Wildlife Values, and Landscaping Use (Paperback)
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Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest: Identification, Wildlife Values, and Landscaping Use (Paperback)

As the definitive identification guide to the shrubs and woody vines of Indiana, this book also provides coverage of 90% of the species to be found in surrounding Midwestern US states. As well as covering indigenous spec...

Snakes and Lizards of Indiana
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Snakes and Lizards of Indiana

Snakes and Lizards of Indiana is a 100-page book that provides information on the identification, ecology and behavior of the 36 species of snakes and lizards that inhabit the state. Color photos and range maps accomp...

Soil and Water Science Facilitator's Guide, Level 1 (PDF)
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Soil and Water Science Facilitator's Guide, Level 1 (PDF)

Thank you for helping a 4-H member learn about Soil and Water Science as a project facilitator. This Facilitator's Guide answers the questions in the youth guides and suggests ways to facilitate the activities. It als...

Soil and Water Science Facilitator's Guide, Level 2 (PDF)
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Soil and Water Science Facilitator's Guide, Level 2 (PDF)

Thank you for helping a 4-H member learn about Soil and Water Science as a project facilitator. This Facilitator's Guide answers the questions in the youth guides and suggests ways to facilitate the activities. It als...

Soil and Water Science Facilitator's Guide, Level 3 (PDF)
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Soil and Water Science Facilitator's Guide, Level 3 (PDF)

Thank you for helping a 4-H member learn about Soil and Water Science as a project facilitator. This Facilitator's Guide answers the questions in the youth guides and suggests ways to facilitate the activities. It als...

Soil Erosion in Indiana  An Overview
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Soil Erosion in Indiana An Overview

Soil erosion on agricultural land is a significant problem in Indiana. Not only is yield decreased, but sediment (the end product of erosion) is a major source of water pollution. This publication discusses the erosion...

Soundscape Recorder (Android App)
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Soundscape Recorder (Android App)

Soundscape ecology is a new field of research that investigates how sound in the environment can be used to assess ecosystem health and human connection to nature and the environment in general. With this app, you can...

Soundscape Recorder (iOS app)
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Soundscape Recorder (iOS app)

Soundscape ecology is a new field of research that investigates how sound in the environment can be used to assess ecosystem health and human connection to nature and the environment in general. With this app, you can...

Status of Reforested Mine Sites in S.W. Indiana
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Status of Reforested Mine Sites in S.W. Indiana

Current Indiana coal mine reclamation regulations require the maintenance of at least 450 living trees and shrubs per acre, as determined in the last year of a five-year responsibility period. This publication discusses ...

Tax Treatment of Conservation Easements
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Tax Treatment of Conservation Easements

This publication discusses tax aspects of conservation easements from the standpoint of a forest landowner, the person selling or donating an easement. It is intended to provide you with a basic introduction to these ...

Terracing as a 'Best Management Practice' for Controlling Erosion and Protecting Water Quality
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Terracing as a 'Best Management Practice' for Controlling Erosion and Protecting Water Quality

This publication seeks to answer the commonly asked questions about terraces, including "What are the different types?," "How do they work?," "Where are they most effective (or ineffective)?," "What does it take to con...

The Basics of Managing Wildlife on Agricultural Lands
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The Basics of Managing Wildlife on Agricultural Lands

This publication includes extensive information about improving grassed waterways, buffer strips, and wetlands for wildlife, food plots, habitat maintenance and more. It also provides information on who to contact for as...

The Scientific Process of Conservation Biology: Analyze, Design, Debate
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The Scientific Process of Conservation Biology: Analyze, Design, Debate

Conservation biology is considered by some to be a "crisis discipline." Decisions within the field must often be made quickly, sometimes without enough time to gather all of the data one would ideally have, and they c...

Tools to Inform and Transform Drainage
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Tools to Inform and Transform Drainage

This 11-page publication describes eight tools that support decision-making for subsurface drainage systems. All tools presented are available at no cost and without creating an account. This publication is part of a ser...

Transforming Drainage: Potential Benefits of Drainage Water Recycling - a case study from Indiana
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Transforming Drainage: Potential Benefits of Drainage Water Recycling - a case study from Indiana

This publication, part of the Transforming Drainage series, shows how drainage water recycling can improve water quality and crop production. A 10-foot-deep reservoir representing 6% of an Indiana field area met irrigati...

Turtles of Indiana
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Turtles of Indiana

This 64-page, full-color publication describes in detail the 18 species of turtles in Indiana. The soft-cover book contains information about identification, distribution and status, and ecology and behavior. A quick ...

Water Conservation in the Home
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Water Conservation in the Home

Oftentimes we overlook ways to conserve water in and around the home; however, it is important to try to conserve water as much as possible. This publication provides practical water-saving techniques for the home, and r...

Why Is My Tree Dying?
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Why Is My Tree Dying?

This publication explains how trees can be injured and die from damage suffered during construction projects.

Urban Forestry, Department of Forestry & Natural Resources

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Wind Erosion Concerns in Indiana
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Wind Erosion Concerns in Indiana

This publication contains information on soil types by counties in Indiana, a map of Indiana graphically demonstrating soil parent materials of the 13 regions and considerable discussion on conditions that influence wind...