Ames Tribune file photo by Todd Burras A dickcissel perches on a
fence. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has listed
dickcissels as a species of greatest conservation need, meaning
they have small or declining populations. PRAIRIE CITY — With
small strips of native prairies, Iowa farmers can provide vital
habitat for grassland birds that have diminished in numbers
across the United States, according to research funded by the
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Anna MacDonald, a
graduate student in wildlife ecology at Iowa State University,
studies how birds use narrow strips of native prairie
incorporated into row-cropped fields as part of the STRIPs
project at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. Her work is
featured in a new Leopold Center video. The STRIPs project
(Science-Based Trials of Rowcrops Integrated with Prairies), led
by Matt Helmers in ISU’s Department of Agricultural and
Biosystems Engineering, began in 2007 with a competitive grant
from the Leopold Center. Researchers plante