May 2025 Newsletter

Meet Your Farmer event at Milk & Honey tomorrow

Golden Hills will have an informational table at this free event in Harlan.

Friday, May 2

5:00pm-8:00pm

• Meet local farmers
• Try their food
• Learn how you can purchase processed meat, vegetables, dairy and more!

Bar & Kitchen open too!

2025 Cooperative Burn Week held in southern Loess Hills

Golden Hills staff joined 45 other organizations and well over 100 participants to help partners burn more than 2,600 acres in the southern Loess Hills region.

Loess Hills Cooperative Burn Week is an annual event each spring that provides on-the-ground training opportunities and helps land managers meet ecological restoration goals. Prescribed fire is an important tool for prairie, savanna, and woodland management and stewardship.

See the summary report here and check out the video below from Iowa DNR.

Pasque Flower Walk hosted at Loess Hills State Forest

Golden Hills and Iowa Prairie Network hosted a Loess Hills Pasque Flower Walk in early April. Thank you who everyone who braved the cold to see the first-blooming flowers!

Many more species are now blooming on the prairies and in the woods--take a hike and see what you can find!

Stay tuned for future prairie walks with Golden Hills.

LoHi Trek explores the Loess Hills

The 2025 LoHi Trek was held last week in parts of Pottawattamie, Harrison, and Mills counties.

This Trek brought 40 people from 8 states and 30 ZIP codes to hike the Loess Hills in portions of Pottawattamie, Harrison, and Mills counties.

Our fifth LoHi Trek, this annual event has now included parts of all seven Iowa Loess Hills counties!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this year's event a success!

Check out our photo-blog summary for more.

Land Stewardship Series continues through November

Classes started Tuesday, March 11, 2025 from 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm and continue one Tuesday evening per month until November. The next session, Herbicide Use, is May 6.

This hands-on series is designed for landowners, natural resource professionals, and outdoor enthusiasts looking to deepen their knowledge of managing Iowa’s unique ecosystems. Participants will explore topics such as tree and plant identification, invasive species management, herbicide application, equipment operation, trail design, tree and shrub removal, wildfire planning, and ecosystem restoration. Some classes will include fieldwork at off-site locations, offering real-world application and insights.

Registration closes 3 days prior to each class.

For registration questions, contact Megan Blakely at Iowa Western.

Each class is $65, or register for all classes in the series for a total of $499. 

Detaills & registration.

Brent's Trail Veterans Hike

Golden Hills RC&D and Operation 22 Til Freedom are excited to partner on a hiking event for local veterans in the greater Omaha-Council Bluffs region.

Operation 22 Til Freedom is a 501c3 nonprofit working to lower the veteran suicide rate to zero. Golden Hills RC&D is a 501c3 nonprofit that collaboratively develops and leads community, conservation, and cultural initiatives to improve quality of life in rural western Iowa.

Spending time outdoors can be an effective way to improve mental and physical health, and doing so with other people provides additional benefits of socializing and building community. 

​Our goal is to help create a sense of community, get veterans outdoors in nature, and help veterans improve their mental health. Hikers will also have the chance to learn about the unique Loess Hills landform, Iowa's prairies, and related conservation issues.

Join us for a hike of Brent's Trail in the Loess Hills of Harrison County, Iowa, on Saturday, May 10 at 9am. 

Brent's Trail is a scenic and rugged hiking trail. Hikers should meet at Murray Hill Scenic Overlook by 9am, and we will then shuttle some vehicles to Gleason-Hubel Wildlife Area. The hike is about 8 miles and includes difficult, steep terrain. Hiking typically takes 3-4 hours.

The event is free to all military veterans and their families.

Please RSVP before May 7!

​RSVP here.

HeARTwood Dinner

**Please note this event is sold out!**

Join us for an evening under the Heartwood Pavillion at Hitchcock Nature Center, Sunday, May 18th from 5-9pm.

A five-course meal prepared by Evetta Farm’s Paul and Jess Urban, owners of Block 16, will highlight ingredients including mushrooms, lamb and short rib, sourced from small Iowa producers.

Three of the five courses will be served on Loess Hills inspired handcrafted pottery by ceramicist, Anna Stoysich, of Malvern, Iowa. Included in the ticket price, each guest will take home a handcrafted dessert plate, washed and packaged for safe travel. Pottery from this event will be available to purchase.

In addition to the local flavor and handcrafted pottery, local writer and conservation advocate, Kelly Madigan, will read an original poem inspired by this event.

The evening will end with a music set performed by The Wildwoods, a folk/Americana trio from Lincoln, Nebraska.

Loess Hills Prairie Seminar

The Loess Hills Prairie Seminar is May 30-June 1 in Monona County. This free, family-friendly event has educational programs about conservation, prairies, the Loess Hills, and more. See the agenda.

Head to Monona County early for the Great Race Against Shrubs and Shade (G.R.A.S.S.) event in the morning of Friday, May 30.

This year’s workday will take place at the Turin Wildlife Management Area, where volunteers and partner organizations will work together to remove invasive cedar trees and help preserve the health and vitality of the Loess Hills' hillside prairies.

No RSVP necessary—just show up! Learn more.

New WanderLoess stickers now available!

Based on the popularity of our shirts, we worked with Raygun to print stickers with the WanderLoess bison logo.

Attend a Golden Hills event or donate to get yours!

Thank you for your support!

Learn about all our upcoming events, including volunteer opportunities, at goldenhillsrcd.org/events, and follow our blog for program updates at goldenhillsrcd.org/news.

As a small nonprofit, we rely on contributions from donors like you to fulfill our mission. You can donate to Golden Hills at any time at goldenhillsrcd.org/donate

Golden Hills RC&D  |  712-482-3029  | goldenhillsrcd.org