#14: Birds! Land Management to Help and Support Our Avian Friends, May 27, 2026
- maddy0092
- May 29
- 3 min read
For this Minnesota Women in Conservation Welcoming Wednesday Webinar on May 27, 2026, we heard from two women practitioners who study the impact of land use on bird populations, including the effects of insecticides on bird health. They also shared better land management practices which support avian life.
May 27, 2026
Webinar Topic:
Birds and Land Management
Webinar Hosts:
Alex Kiminski, MNWiC West Central Region Coordinator
Conservation Professionals:
Nicole Davros, PhD., Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Annie Bahn, Audubon Upper Mississippi
Bios:
Nicole is the Group Supervisor for Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Farmland Wildlife Populations and Research Group (FaWPRG), based out of Madelia, MN.Prior to this role, she was the Upland Game Research Scientist for the FaWPRG from 2012-2016. Originally from a south suburb of Chicago, she has spent nearly all of her adult life living and conducting wildlife research in other places, including southern Minnesota, east-central and southern Illinois, New Hampshire, and Panama. Her primary research interests are in avian ecology and conservation in agricultural/working landscapes. Her previous research in Minnesota has focused on grassland bird use of conservation buffers enrolled in USDA’s Continuous Conservation Reserve Program, ring-necked pheasant survival and habitat use in reconstructed prairies, and on the exposure of grassland wildlife to agricultural insecticides. She still dreams of getting a wildlife/cover crops research project going one of these days. In her free time, she enjoys biking, hiking, and exploring Minnesota with her husband, Charlie, and their dog Appa (Yip! Yip!).
Annie is a Range Ecologist with Audubon Upper Mississippi River serving west, central, and southwest Minnesota. Her primary focus is to help ranchers manage their grasslands in ways that boost forage productivity, improve ecological health, and create vital habitat for grassland birds through the Audubon Conservation Ranching program. Prior to her work with Audubon, Annie earned her M.S. in Natural Resources Management from North Dakota State University where she studied rangeland and wetland restoration.
Links to Resources Shared in the Webinar:
UM Extension – scouting for soybean aphids - https://extension.umn.edu/soybean-pest-management/soybean-aphid
Nicole’s Research - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GncarS8xnWpJAd_8OTEeNmru3nouyb9F/view
MDA surface water pesticides of concern - https://www.mda.state.mn.us/pesticide-fertilizer/surface-water-pesticide-water-quality-monitoring
Fact sheet: The effect of trees and shrubs on grassland nesting birds – an annotated bibliography - https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2022-10/nrcs141p2_001552.pdf
2025 Iowa Leopold Conservation Award Recipients: Landon and Anne Plagge - https://sandcountyfoundation.org/our-work/leopold-conservation-award-program/landon-and-anne-plagge
(The Plagge’s use a 3-crop rotation on 4,000 acres using no-till and cover crops)
Handout: Treated Seed Stewardship for Handling Spills - https://seed-treatment-guide.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Treated-Seed-Stewardship-for-Handling-Spills.pdf
Also see: Guide to seed treatment stewardship website - https://seed-treatment-guide.com/about/
MDA seeks public comment on neonicotinoid-treated seed rules - https://www.mda.state.mn.us/mda-seeks-public-comment-neonicotinoid-treated-seed-rules
Neonicotinoid Movement in the Environment - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vb11-iSxfSdJvtisDtm-l56soVBW4x-n/view
Audubon Upper Mississippi River - https://www.audubon.org/umr
Conservation Ranching - https://www.audubon.org/our-work/prairies-and-forests/ranching
Wildfarm Alliance Protecting Birds in Agricultural Landscapes - https://www.wildfarmalliance.org/protectbirds
Grant - https://mrvac.org/grants/
NRCS Conservation Programs & Practices - https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/state-offices/minnesota/wildlife-minnesota
Contacts
Nicole Davros: nicole.davros@state.mn.us
Annie Bahe: annie.bahe@audubon.org
About Minnesota Women in Conservation
Minnesota Women in Conservation (MNWiC) is a project of Renewing the Countryside in partnership with the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). MNWiC's mission is to engage women in conservation conversations, connecting them with the tools and resources needed to develop their own goals. We facilitate Regional Networks to help all women of every experience level to learn and to implement practices in their own spaces, both urban and rural. We are here to nurture land and community. Join us!
Content Disclaimer
While the MNWiC project strives to make the information provided to individuals as timely and accurate as possible, we make no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the content of our webinars. The information presented is solely the speakers’ expressed views and MNWiC expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in content.
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