New Director of Conservation Science Hired in Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa — September 5, 2007—The Nature Conservancy recently hired Jennifer Filipiak as the director of conservation science in Iowa. Filipiak will supervise Conservancy staff and lead planning, research and monitoring activities for Iowa with a focus on freshwater and grasslands conservation and restoration.

The Conservancy uses a science-based approach to conservation planning, called Conservation by Design. By conducting intensive surveys of plant and animal populations and habitat degradation, the Conservancy is able to make sound conservation decisions and to target the most critical areas for immediate action. As director of conservation science, Filipiak will develop adaptive management plans, assess conservation needs and identify plant and animal species to be targeted for conservation. She will conduct research to determine local stewardship needs and priorities, while coordinating fieldwork to fit into the Conservancy’s national and global framework of conservation initiatives.

“We’re excited to have Jennifer in this position,” said the Conservancy’s Vince Shay, interim state director in Iowa. “She has a rich background in wildlife research and many strong ties with Conservancy partners. She’s passionate about conservation and understands the priorities and communities in the Midwest.”
Filipiak received a bachelor of science in biology from Northern Michigan University and a master of science from the Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. She is a certified associate wildlife biologist and a certified wetland specialist. Since 2001, Filipiak has served as a wildlife biologist with the Lake County Forest Preserve District in Grayslake, Illinois, near Chicago.

Prior to coming to the Conservancy, Filipiak co-chaired the Chicago Wilderness Wildlife Task Force and served as treasurer of the Upper DesPlaines River Ecosystem Partnership. She has written numerous grant and research proposals, resulting in more than $600,000 in federal and private funding for diverse projects, such as the Blanding’s turtle recovery and the restoration of 50 acres of drained agricultural land and degraded savanna near the northern suburbs of Chicago.

“My experience in grant proposal and land management policy writing will help me here in Iowa,” said Filipiak. “However, it was the Conservancy’s commitment to building strong relationships with local landowners and communities and the sense of urgency that attracted me to Iowa.”

Filipiak will be working to implement effective conservation action and will depend on the involvement of private landowners, partner agencies and local and national governments.

In Iowa, 99 percent of the native land is altered. This means that nearly every stream has been straightened, every channel changed and almost every acre has been appropriated for agricultural or urban development. Iowa is in crisis, but there still is plenty to conserve. The Conservancy has worked to conserve and restore more than 9,300 acres in Iowa. The majority of acreage is in the Loess Hills landscape in eastern Iowa, where rocky, steep terrain made the land difficult to farm. Other priority areas include the Little Sioux Valley, Lower Cedar Valley, the Driftless Area and the Upper Mississippi River basin.

“I’m excited about the volume of projects happening in Iowa and am encouraged by the enthusiasm and support of Conservancy staff and partners and the local communities in the areas I have visited so far,” said Filipiak.

With support from the community support, private landowners and Conservancy partners, as well as the successful completion of the $9.5 million Saving the Last Great Places: Campaign for Conservation in Iowa in the coming year, the Conservancy will be well positioned to make a conservation difference in communities across Iowa.

Filipiak lives in Des Moines with her newly adopted boxer-mix puppy, Iggy, and her 16-year old chinchilla, Norman.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.