Ep. 362 Inside Iowa’s Biggest Prairie Restoration and The Bison That Graze It

Ep. 362 Inside Iowa’s Biggest Prairie Restoration and The Bison That Graze It

From The Prairie Farm Podcast by Nicolas Lirio & Kent Boucher

May 29, 2026 · 1h 6m

About this episode

Andrew Di Alessandro discusses prairie restoration and conservation efforts in Iowa and Illinois.

Andrew Di Alessandro of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service joins the Prairie Farm Podcast to discuss Neil Smith Refuge, prairie restoration, prescribed fire, bison and elk grazing, private lands conservation, funding challenges, and how landowners can connect money, recreation and legacy to meaningful habitat work across Iowa and Illinois. Hoksey Native Seeds (for all your CRP, Backyard Prairie, Native Pasture, Hunting Mixes, and more) McKay Insurance (for all your insurance and financial planning needs) BirdHunterSupply.com (for all your bird hunting supply needs, and all your bird dog supply needs)

People in this episode

Hosts: Nicolas Lirio, Kent Boucher

Guest: Andrew Di Alessandro

Topics covered

  • prairie restoration
  • bison grazing
  • private lands conservation
  • prescribed fire
  • funding challenges
  • habitat work

Keywords

  • prairie restoration
  • bison
  • elk grazing
  • private lands
  • habitat work
  • funding challenges
  • prescribed fire

Sponsors

Hoksey Native Seeds, McKay Insurance, BirdHunterSupply.com

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Places: Neil Smith Refuge

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