| This year's conference featured over thirty speakers examining how Iowa landowners are using natural resource amenities to create economic opportunities and the role of public policy in supporting these initiatives. It was organized by the Drake University Agricultural Law Center in cooperation with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and USDA Rural Development - Iowa, with funding from the Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust. To read Neil Hamilton's article in the Drake Journal of Agricultural Law, click here. To read more about the events and its speakers, click here. Presentations from the conferenceSetting the Conference Goals - The Role of Iowa’s Land in Rural Revitalization – Prof. Neil D. Hamilton, Director of the Agricultural Law Center, Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa and Vice-Chair, Iowa Natural Heritage FoundationHarnessing Iowans’ Support for Land Stewardship – Mark Ackelson, president, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation Southern Iowa Hill Country: Returning the Wild to Iowa’s Hills - Mike and Dan DeCook, Lovilla Whiterock Conservancy: Using Stewardship and Agri-tourism to Create an Iowa Great Place – Tolif Hunt, executive director, Whiterock Conservancy, Coon Rapids Agren-Inc.: Innovative Methods for Working with Non Traditional Landowners - Tom Buman, Agren Inc., Carroll Natural Resources as the Catalyst for Economic Development – Kay Snyder, communications director, Iowa Department of the Economic Development Iowa’s Local Food Movement - Matt Russell, president, Iowa Network for Community Agriculture (INCA), and food policy project coordinator, Drake University Law School Harnessing Iowa’s Wind for Farmers and Communities - Tom Wind, Wind Utility Consulting, Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation Districts: Tapping Our Potential - Deb Ryun, Chariton Iowa's Resource Conservation and Development Districts: Catalysts for Change - Jim Cooper, coordinator, Prairie Rivers of Iowa RC&D, Ames Iowa’s Opportunity – Building on our History of Stewardship and Conservation – Richard Doak, retired editorial page editor, Des Moines Register, Johnston Rivers, Streams and Recreation– Nate Hoogeveen, Iowa Department of Natural Resources Iowa’s Lakes – Imperiled Gems – Steven Anderson, Clean Water Alliance, Iowa Great Lakes Connecting the Dots: Iowa’s Trail Network – Lisa Hein, program and planning director, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation The Upper Iowa River – Protecting Iowa’s Most Scenic River Corridor – Joe McGovern, land stewardship program director, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation 0 From Environmental Services to Entrepreneurial Networks: New Opportunities for farms and rural businesses – Dave Lyons, Chief Business Development Officer, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation Sustainable Funding and Protecting Iowa’s Resources - Liz Christiansen, deputy director, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Des Moines Conservation Easements – Flexible Tools to Accommodate Landowner Desires – Joe McGovern, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation Renewable Energy and Biomass: An Uncertain Future? – Jon Sellers, Chariton Valley Switch Grass Project, Chariton Entrepreneurial Training and Rural Amenities – Building Businesses in the Countryside – Penny Brown-Huber, Growing Your Small Market Farm, Ames |
