#conservationart — Public Fediverse posts

Night Moves on the Tallgrass Prairie: The Intimate Bond of the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid and the Sphinx Moth

Whether you live right next to a remnant prairie or thousand miles away, you can take meaningful, hands-on action to protect these critical ecosystems and the wildlife that depend on them.

Here is how you can directly help:

Hands-On Volunteering (Be a “Steward”)

If you are anywhere near the Midwest or the Great Plains, regional organizations are constantly looking for volunteers. No prior experience is required, and they provide all the training

NATIVE SEED COLLECTING:

In the late summer and autumn, organizations like The Nature Conservancy (at sites like the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas or Nachusa Grasslands in Illinois) host community seed-harvesting days. Hand-collecting native seeds is the only way to get genetically resilient material to restore plowed agricultural fields back into native habitat.

JOINING A “WEED PULL” TEAM:

Invasive species like leafy spurge and sweet clover choke out delicate orchids. Groups like the Grassland Heritage Foundation (their “Groundhogs” team) or the North Branch Restoration Project in Illinois run regular weekend workdays to manually clear invasives.

THE FIRE CREW (ADVANCED):

If you want to get deeply involved, many local land trusts and non-profits offer training to help manage controlled, prescribed prairie burns in the spring and fall.

Practice “Homegrown Conservation”

You can transform your yard, apartment balcony, or local community garden into a sanctuary for wide-ranging prairie insects like the sphinx moth

PLANT NATIVE HOSTS:

Plant native wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), evening primrose, native sages, and native mints. These act as vital nurseries for sphinx moth caterpillars.

Opt for Light-Colored, Dusk-Blooming Florals:

Moths navigate by fragrance and moonlight. Pale pink or white native flowers that release their scent at twilight give adult moths the heavy dose of sugar fuel they need to fly long distances.

TURN DOWN THE LIGHTS:

Light pollution disorients and exhausts nocturnal pollinators, pulling them away from mating and pollen routes. Use motion sensors for outdoor security lights, flip off porch lights when not in use, or switch to warm-toned outdoor LED bulbs.

Become a Citizen Scientist:

You don’t need an ecology degree to contribute to real scientific research. Technology lets everyday people map the health of the prairie.

USE INATURALIST OR SEEK:

Download these free apps and document the plants, caterpillars, and moths you see in your area. Scientists use this exact crowdsourced data to track insect population declines, map shifting ranges due to climate change, and identify locations that need urgent legal protection.

PARTICIPATE IN MOTH WEEK:

Every July, global community science initiatives encourage people to document nocturnal biodiversity. Mapping where sphinx moths are thriving helps researchers understand where endangered plants like the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid have the best chance of survival.

Advocate for Land and Watershed:

Protection Prairies rely entirely on clean, undisturbed water tables and wide-open spaces.

SUPPORT FARM BILL CONSERVATION:

If you are in the US, advocate for and support policies that fund the NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service). They provide crucial financial incentives to farmers and ranchers to leave low-lying wetlands and prairie potholes unplowed.

SUPPORT LOCAL LAND TRUSTS:

Vote for local and state measures that allocate funds to purchasing conservation easements—agreements that permanently protect private prairie land from being developed or turned into monoculture croplands.

Non-Profits Research Institutes & Ecological Businesses Dedicated to Protecting Restoring & Advocating for North American Prairie Ecosystems

​National & Regional Non-Profits

• ​The Nature Conservancy: Manages the largest protected pieces of tallgrass prairie left on Earth, including the Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma and the Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge across Minnesota and Iowa.
• ​American Prairie: An ambitious conservation project working to connect millions of acres of Montana’s Great Plains into a seamless, massive wildlife reserve for biodiversity and native species like bison.
• ​The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation: While focused on pollinators, their extensive grassland conservation work directly impacts prairie health by protecting the native insects (like the sphinx moth) required to keep native prairie flora alive.
• ​Grassland Heritage Foundation: A Kansas-based non-profit focused on preserving and restoring tallgrass prairie through environmental education, research funding, and direct land protection.
• ​Prairie Plains Resource Institute: Based in Nebraska, this institute has pioneered high-diversity, local-ecotype grassland management and restoration across its network of native prairie preserves since 1980.
• ​Prairie Rivers Network: The Illinois affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation, focusing heavily on the intersection of river protection, wetland health, and prairie restoration to defend the landscape against industrial degradation.

​Academic & Research Centers

• ​Tallgrass Prairie Center: Rooted at the University of Northern Iowa, this center empowers people to value and restore resilient tallgrass prairies by providing seed-provider infrastructure, researching restoration methods, and integrating native plantings onto farms and public roadsides.

​Federal & Public Initiatives

• ​Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie: Managed by the USDA Forest Service in Illinois, this massive public infrastructure project partners with major environmental groups to monitor and recover rare, native prairie plants and wetlands.
• ​Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS): A branch of the USDA that provides science-based technical assistance and funding to help private landowners, farmers, and ranchers implement voluntary oak woodland and prairie restoration practices.

​Ecological Restoration Businesses & Private Services

• ​Prairie Restorations, Inc.: A long-standing Minnesota-based business specializing in the design, installation, and management of native plant landscapes. They offer large-scale ecological restoration services to establish diverse, high-quality prairie plant communities.

Here are direct links to reputable non-profit organizations where your financial contributions directly fund prairie acquisition, land management and pollinator protection.

NATIONAL & REGIONAL LAND PROTECTION

Donate to American Prairie:

Directly supports their mission to build the largest wildlife reserve in the continental United States by purchasing and stitching together millions of acres of Montana’s native grasslands.

INVERTEBRATE & POLLINATOR CONSERVATION

Donate to The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation:

Directly funds habitat restoration kits, pesticide reduction campaigns, and defensive advocacy for the native insects—like the night-flying sphinx moth—that keep prairie flora alive.

WATERSHED & WATER QUALITY ADVOCACY

Donate to the Prairie Rivers Network:

Supports legal advocacy and grassroots organizing to protect the rivers, wetlands, and low-lying wet prairies from industrial and chemical degradation.

Make Waves: The Story Behind My Sockeye Salmon Painting and the Species It Champions

Conservation:

In Idaho, thousands of sockeye once swam up the Columbia, Snake, and Salmon rivers — migrating more than 900 miles from the Pacific Ocean to Redfish Lake every year. Between 1991 and 1998, only 16 sockeye returned to Redfish Lake. (NOAA Fisheries) In 1991, the Snake River sockeye became the first salmon in the Pacific Northwest declared endangered under the ESA. Within a few years, 16 more species were listed as either threatened or endangered. By 1999, wild salmon had disappeared from about 40% of their historic breeding ranges in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California. (RCO)The Pacific Salmon Foundation’s most recent State of Salmon report confirms the pattern holds: with two-thirds of salmon populations below their long-term averages, the data underscores persistent declines over many decades. “Recent gains for some salmon species show that salmon can rebound when conditions are right,” the report notes, but “a few good runs in recent years don’t outweigh decades of decline.” (Pacific Salmon Foundation)

The central battleground is the four lower Snake River dams. In 2022, NOAA published a landmark report concluding that removing the four lower Snake River dams as soon as possible is “essential” to avoiding extinction. In December 2023, the Biden Administration announced a historic agreement with six sovereign nations — Washington, Oregon, the Nez Perce Tribe, and other Columbia Basin Treaty Tribes — committing to advance salmon recovery and pause Snake River litigation. (Conservationalliance)That agreement is now in jeopardy. In June 2025, President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum directing federal agencies to withdraw from the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement. The White House also revoked a Biden-era memorandum supporting native fish restoration across the basin. Conservation, fishing, and clean energy groups represented by Earthjustice subsequently filed a motion in response to the withdrawal. (Earthjustice) What conservation hatcheries can and can’t do

The captive broodstock program helped save the Redfish Lake sockeye by protecting remaining genetic diversity in conservation hatcheries — and by 2000, 252 adults made it back. But NOAA acknowledges that over dependence on hatcheries could undermine the population’s genetic heritage and fitness. (NOAA Fisheries)Without removing the lower Snake dams, hatchery efforts and tributary restoration work risk being futile — spending enormous sums on actions whose benefits are negated by the gauntlet of dams and reservoirs the fish must survive.

After salmon spawn and die, their carcasses are a valuable source of energy and nutrients to the entire river ecosystem — contributing nitrogen and phosphorous that improve the growth and survival of the next generation of salmon. (NOAA Fisheries) The forest, the river, the next run — all of it depends on the body of the one that came before.

Government / Science

NOAA — Sockeye Salmon (Protected)

NOAA — Conservation Management

NOAA — Lake Ozette Sockeye

NOAA — Saving Pacific Salmon & Steelhead

Advocacy

Save Our Wild Salmon

Earthjustice — Snake River Timeline

The Conservation Alliance — Dam Removal

Wild Steelheaders United

Idaho Rivers United

Rogue Riverkeeper

Data / Reports

Pacific Salmon Foundation — State of Salmon 2025

WA Recreation & Conservation — Salmon Problems

Take Action

American Rivers

Trout Unlimited

#JoyScrolling #Seabirds #Conservation #ConservationArt

https://www.biographic.com/the-artist-showing-seabirds-home/

David Shepherd, urodzony tego dnia, był artystą z ogromnym talentem do przekształcania piękna przyrody na płótno. Jego zaangażowanie w ochronę środowiska oraz realistyczne malarstwo sprawiło, że jego prace są znane na całym świecie. Jego dziedzictwo nadal inspiruje kolejne pokolenia miłośników sztuki i ekologii. (fot. Wikipedia) #DavidShepherd #ConservationArt #Ekologia

Sharing #trumpetfish art inspired by #IconicFishes. This super cute Pacific trumpetfish was illustrated by Yuri Katayama. Feeling inspired, too? 🎨 Visit www.iconicfishes.art

💙💪 Together, let’s give these fishes the spotlight they deserve. 💪💙

#OceanArt #ArtforNature #ConservationArt

The Architecture of Trees continues @galleryeastwoodbridge through December, showing work by Arborealist members Tim Craven, @laracobden @alexmdegan @jemma_appleby, @buckmasterfrench @nahem.shoa and @mcintyre6381.
Oh, and me.
Plus awesome work by gallery artists @katesgiles @periennechristian @poole4914 and @jane.human.
.
.Online catalogue link under Exhibitions link in my bio.
.
#suffolk #woodbridge #galleryeast #thearborealists #treeart #conservationart #landscapepainting #guntonarms #pink