July 2021
Ken Kielsmeier lives near Oregon, Illinois and has worked on a farm near Leaf River to plant native species to create habitat for birds and other wildlife. He used the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) to covert about nine acres of cropland to tallgrass prairie and plant native trees and shrubs on another five acres. The CRP helps farmers convert marginal cropland to wildlife habitat by providing annual rental payments to the landowner. He planted the first CRP field in 2003, adding more land over the years.
Ken will take us on a virtual tour of the CRP plantings and discuss the advantages of using native species to create wildlife habitat.