Skip to Main Content

Managing Conservation Plantings Series Provides Science-Based Recommendations for Landowners, Managers

The Managing Conservation Plantings series provides landowners and managers with science-basedNative grass after a thinning treatment recommendations to combat many of the common issues that arise in native warm-season grass and wildflower conservation plantings. From battling problematic plants like sericea lespedeza to reducing dense native grass, each publication focuses on a specific challenge and aims to provide practical guidance and best practices to improve native plantings for wildlife.

“These publications were created to provide landowners and managers with up-to-date and science-backed recommendations to address some of the common challenges when managing native plantings,” said Jarred Brooke, Purdue Extension wildlife specialist.

The publications are a result of a partnership between Purdue Extension (FNR and Weed Science), the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever.

“The ‘Managing Conservation Plantings’ publication series are much-needed documents helping guide those engaged in developing conservation cover through the common challenges, opportunities and hurdles that coincide with habitat management in Indiana,” said Josh Griffin, Farm Bill Coordinator with the Indiana DNR-Division of Fish and Wildlife. “The documents are dual purpose and guide both landowners and resource professionals in decision-making positions regarding how best to navigate and mitigate best management of conservation cover.”

The nine publications cover:

Olivia Fry, Southwest Indiana Farm Bill Biologist for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, said theA field full of dense goldenrod publications bring expert conservation assistance and multiple management options to the public.

“These publications address multiple problems that landowners and land managers have been dealing with on their property and demonstrate how conservation organizations/agencies like Purdue Extension, the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever and the Indiana DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife are addressing these issues in a collaborative way,” Fry said. “The ‘Managing Conservation Plantings’ series not only gives solutions, but it also gives options. With these documents, landowners can identify the method that is most feasible for them, manage their properties appropriately and feel confident doing so.”

From left to right: (Row 1) - Teasel; Reed Canarygrass; Johnsongrass; a field of woody vegetation. Row 2: Sericea lespedeza up close; goldenrod; Crownvetch; a dense field of native grass covered in patches of light snow. Row 3: Sericea lespedeza; a native grass field after thinning; cool-season grasses. From left to right: (Row 1) - Teasel; Reed Canarygrass; Johnsongrass; a field of woody vegetation. Row 2: Sericea lespedeza up close; goldenrod; Crownvetch; a dense field of native grass covered in patches of light snow. Row 3: Sericea lespedeza; a native grass field after thinning; cool-season grasses.

Featured Stories

Ethan Enochian (far right) with the 2025 FNR Outstanding Students
Meet FNR Outstanding Freshman Ethan Enochian

Ethan Enochian, an aquatic sciences major with a fisheries concentration, has been named as...

Read More
Jingjing Liang
New research determines soil-dwelling fungi affect global tree species

A team co-led by a Purdue University researcher has found that groups of fungi influence global...

Read More
Upinder Kaur, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, works on a robot dog that finds ticks and identifies tick activity.
Using artificial intelligence to understand the natural world

Purdue Agriculture researchers are harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and...

Read More
Lydia Pultorak works in the Geoinformatics, Ecosystem Management and Soil Sustainability Lab; Lydia holds a small snake; Lydia holds a Northern Saw-whet Owl.
Meet FNR Outstanding Sophomore Lydia Pultorak

Sophomore wildlife major Lydia Pultorak has been selected as FNR’s Outstanding Sophomore...

Read More
Yunmei Huang: Purdue’s Esri student of the year
Yunmei Huang: Purdue’s Esri student of the year

What if? It’s a question that drives innovation, and one that inspires Yunmei Huang, a PhD...

Read More
Four maps depicting maximum levels of PFAS — PFOA, PFHxS, PFOS and PFNA — in drinking water across all Indiana counties based on data from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
Purdue’s Institute for a Sustainable Future publishes first look at ‘forever chemicals’ statewide

Purdue University’s Institute for a Sustainable Future (ISF) has released the first Indiana...

Read More
To Top