Books in the Bur Oak Book series

Acts as a manual for identifying the butterflies of Iowa as well as 90 percent of the butterflies in the Plains. This guide begins by providing information on the natural communities of Iowa, paying special attention to butterfly habitat and distribution. It then covers the history of lepidopteran research in Iowa and creating butterfly gardens.

Weary from the journalistic treadmill of 'going from one assignment to the next, like an itinerant fieldworker moving to his harvests' and healing from a divorce, Douglas Bauer decided it was time to return to his hometown. This memoir is a picture of an adult experiencing one's childhood roots as a grown-up.

Historically, tallgrass prairie stretched from Canada to Texas, from central Kansas to Indiana. Now the last major expanse of tallgrass occurs in the Flint Hills, a verdant landscape extending in a north-south strip across eastern Kansas and into northern Oklahoma's Osage County. In these essays, Gary Lantz brings the beautiful diversity of the prairie home to all of us.

Illustrates the beauty and diversity of prairie through an impressive series of photographs, all taken within the same square meter of prairie. During a year-long project, Chris Helzer photographed 113 plant and animal species within a tiny plot, and captured numerous other images that document the splendor of diverse grasslands.

Shows how almost anyone can get involved in conservation and do something for wildlife beyond giving money to conservation organisations. In this fascinating and practical read, Greg Hoch blends historical literature with modern science, and shows how our views of conservation have changed over the last century.

Using an introspective personal voice, this narrative nonfiction work weaves stories of Iowa's natural history with a cast of unforgettable characters. Wildland Sentinel touches on what it means to be a woman working in the male-dominated field of conservation law enforcement.

Argues that Iowa must reckon with its past and the fact that its farm economy continues to pollute waterways, while remaining utterly unprepared for climate change. Iowa must recognize ways in which it can bolster its residents' standard of living and move away from its demographic tradition of whiteness.

Greg Hoch combines natural history, land management, scientific knowledge, and personal observation to examine one of the oddest birds in North America. Woodcock have a complex life history and the management of their habitat is also complex. The health of this bird can be considered a key indicator of what good forests look like.

2023 Midwest Book Awards in Nonfiction - Nature, winner In a straightforward, friendly style, Iowa's premier scientists and experts consider what has happened to our land and outline viable solutions that benefit agriculture as well as the state's human and wild residents.