Tree steward program; Purple martin workshop; Bowhunter class; Youth turkey hunters

Community Tree Steward Program set

OTTUMWA ? Iowa State University Forestry Extension and Indian Hills Community College have partnered with Wapello County Extension to offer the Iowa Community Tree Steward Program to the residents of Wapello and all surrounding counties in May and June.

The Iowa Community Tree Steward Program is intended for citizens and professionals who wish to learn more about trees and tree care. The course consists of seven hands-on classes covering tree identification, tree selection, pruning, planting, disease and insect management, hazard tree assessment, community inventory methods, and more.

Classes will take place from 6-10 p.m. May 7, 14, 21, and 28 as well as the evenings of June 4 and 11. A Saturday class is set 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 31 to conduct a street tree inventory in the community. All classes will be held at the Horticulture Building on the IHCC main campus.

The cost is $50 per person or $60 for couples sharing course materials. Each graduate is expected to contribute 28 hours of volunteer service to the local community. Options for volunteer service hours will be identified during the class.

Information and applications can be downloaded at www.extension.iastate.edu/forestry/education/treesteward.html. The deadline to apply is April 11. Contact Jesse Randall at 515-294-1168 or at randallj@iastate.edu for information.

Purple martin workshop set in Kalona

KALONA ? A workshop/seminar on attracting purple martins to the neighborhood will begin at 9:10 a.m. Saturday at the CAM Iowa Clothing Center, 1.8 miles north of Kalona, and 1 mile east of Highway 1 on Nutmeg Avenue.

The morning session will cover why native plants matter to songbirds, pollinators and people; bluebirds still need help; and Iowa owls.

The afternoon program will feature Andrew Troyer from Conneautville, Pa., on getting to know and care for the purple martin. Troyer is one of North America?s leading purple martin authorities. He is a longtime martin landlord, housing-design innovator and owner of Troyer?s Birds Paradise, a national supplier of martin housing and accessories.

A panel of experts will then answer questions, followed by door prizes and an auction.

The registration fee is $2. Kids aged 10 and under are free. Lunch is available onsite.

Bowhunter education class offered online

A new online bowhunter education course is designed to help Iowa bowhunters improve their skills and stay safe in the woods.

Bowhunter Ed, which is an official course of the National Bowhunter Education Foundation, teaches safe in-the-field practices, bow shooting basics, different methods of bowhunting, and shot placement and recovery techniques. By completing the Bowhunter Ed course, students satisfy bowhunter educational requirements for the state of Iowa, with no field day required.

?The bowhunter-ed.com course is Iowa?s official online bowhunter education course,? said Megan Wisecup, hunter education administrator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. ?The training is a great idea for new or experienced bowhunters because they learn safe practices and study information that will truly help them in the field.?

The new online bowhunter education course allows students to study for free, paying only when they pass the course. The course is mobile friendly so students can take the course on a smartphone, tablet, laptop or other device. It features easy-to-understand information, instructional videos, plus detailed illustrations and animations to help students become better, more prepared bowhunters.

To take the Iowa-approved bowhunter education course, visit www.bowhunter-ed.com/iowa.

Students must be at least 18 years of age to register for and complete the online course. While bowhunter education isn?t required in some states, several states and provinces do require bowhunter education.

The Iowa Bowhunter Ed course will satisfy the bowhunter education requirements mandated by Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Nova Scotia and Quebec.

For more information regarding the NBEF or becoming an instructor, contact the National Bowhunter Education Foundation at info@nbef.org or visit www.nbef.org.

To take an online bowhunter education course, visit www.bowhunter-ed.com.

Young hunters have second chance

Hunters with a youth turkey season license who are not successful at harvesting a turkey in the April 5-13 youth turkey season can now use the unfilled youth license in any of the spring turkey hunting seasons.

Youth hunters can also obtain an additional license for the fourth season.

Last year, 4,100 hunters participated in the youth turkey season and reported harvesting 1,050 turkeys.

The new regulation became effective when Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad signed the bill into law March 14.

Information was updated at www.iowadnr.gov/Hunting/HuntingLicensesLaws.aspx, but the change occurred after the printed regulations booklets were issued in August.