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Polk Soil and Water Conservation District - IA

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Polk County, IOWA. Dedicated to Soil and Water Conservation.

11/04/2026

The Eastern Tiger Salamander is Iowa’s most common and widespread salamander species. They have dark bodies with irregular yellow spots or stripes with four toes on their front feet and five toes on their back feet. Growing up to 13 inches long, they are one of the largest land dwelling salamanders on Earth.

Tiger Salamanders spend most of their lives hidden from view, burrowed underground or protected by the darkness of night. Early in the spring, salamanders emerge and make their way towards their breeding pools. Females can lay up to 100 eggs at once and 1,000 eggs per season. Eggs hatch within a month. Most larva will grow limbs and metamorphosize from their aquatic to terrestial stage. Some individuals can experience neoteny, meaning they retain their larval gills and remain aquatic.

It is easiest to catch sight of Tiger Salamanders after heavy rains or during their migration periods. Newly metamorphosed adults can be found mid- to late summer leaving their larval ponds. They dig their own burrows and also take shelter under logs and rocks.

11/03/2026

November's Native Plant of the Month: The Eastern Prickly Pear

When you think of Iowa native plants, anything in the cactus family is probably not what you're picturing. The Eastern Prickly Pear cactus is rare, but native to the rare sand prairie remnants of Iowa.

This cactus has the largest range of any cactus in the U.S. thanks to the specialized antifreeze chemicals found inside of its cells.

11/02/2026

This Monday's Mood: Brightest, sunshine yellow prairie plants.

The trees are turning and plant and wildlife are getting ready for winter. As we are getting less and less sun, we find ourselves thinking about the many bright yellow native prairie plants we have here in Iowa that simply light up the landscape.

What is your favorite prairie plant?

11/01/2026

Today marks the first day of No-Till November: KEEP THE STUBBLE!

First launched in 2017, the NRCS project is a conservation twist on the national cancer awareness No Shave November campaign that encourages people not to shave during the entire month. The NRCS campaign encourages farmers to “keep the stubble” on their harvested crops fields.

“No-till farming is a cornerstone soil health conservation practice, which also promotes water quality while saving farmers time and money,” said Iowa NRCS State Conservationist Jon Hubbert. “One of the first soil health principles is ‘do not disturb’. This campaign is a fun way to remind farmers about the important relationship between tillage and soil health.”

Improving soil health increases soil biological activity, which provides erosion control, nutrient benefits, and can simulate tillage.

Are you up to the challenge?

10/31/2026

Happy Halloween and the final day of Bat Week!

Did you know that bats and humans share a similar hand bone structure? Bats use their elongated fingers to flex their hands to fly like we flex our hands to swim.

They can move each finger independently!

How does bat flight differ from bird flight?
🦇 Microscopic wing hairs help bats sense and adjust to changes in wind speeds, turbulence, and direction.
🦇 Birds can walk and take off flight from the ground, but few bat species can do this.
🦇 Birds have elongated arms with a single finger on the end.
🦇 Birds use the downstroke of their wings to fly, while bats rely on the upstroke by twisting their wings backwards.
🦇 Many birds can fly with more speed, but bats can fly with more agility. That doesn’t mean all birds are faster, though! Some species of bats have been recorded flying as fast as 75-100mph.

10/30/2026

Day 7 of Bat Week: Primary Pollinators & Pest Protectors of Our Favorite Foods!

Bats are usually generalist pollinators who visit a variety of plants, but some plants have adapted to need specific bat species as specialized pollinators, making them responsible for almost all of that plant's pollination needs.

But that's not all! Some plants rely on bats without needing their pollination skills. Bats act as natural pest control, keeping crops like cacao and mangoes safe from the pests that usually decrease their yields. Bats prevent about 22% yield loss in cacao alone!

Large desert cacti like the agave, saguaro, guava, and pitaya (dragon fruit) plants rely on bats as their primary pollinators. Other pollinators may visit, but we have bats to thank for margaritas. They are also the primary pollinators for unique fruit like durian and jackfruit. While jackfruit is visited by quite a number of pollinators, it stool sampling has found that jackfruit makes up most of the diet for cave nectar bats in those regions.

Even more fascinating, some plants have developed this unique relationship with bats of different species in different regions. The fabulous Baobab tree in Africa is pollinated by different bat species depending on the region.

Like birds, bats consume and disperse a ton of fruit seeds and are a huge win for reforestation. The natural, nutrient rich fertilizer dropped with the seeds help them grow into strong, healthy plants. Unlike birds, bats are not afraid of open spaces and end up spreading seeds where birds may not.

10/29/2026

Day 6 of Bat Week: Chiroptophobia (And also happy National Cat Day!)

Chiroptophobia (sometimes chiropterophobia) is the fear of bats. It is also occassionally referred to as vespertilionophobia.

Why are people scared of bats?
Chirophtophobia often comes down to a fear of the unknown or having misinformation about bats (or having had unpleasant encounters with them). Understanding bats better can help decrease anxieties towards them.

Superstitions about bats have existed all across the world and have been recorded as early as the 14th century. It is believed that encounters described by explorers sparked vampire hysteria across Europe. Everywhere there are bats, there are superstitions surrounding their unique nature. And it is no wonder! Their erratic flight patterns, nocturnal habits, and and unique body structures aren't like any other mammal we usually interact with.

Vampire bats might be the scariest type of bats to humans, but don't worry, they are not actual "blood suckers," they do not live in Iowa, and they really are quite sweet creatures who take care of each other. All species of vampire bats have been recorded regurgitating blood for their roost mates who were not able to find food while hunting.

In fact, the saliva of vampire bats has been used to develop stroke prevention medication for humans. So, even the "scariest" of the species brings great benefits to our world. Bats are pollinators, they help with seed dispersal, and they eat all the insects we don't want bothering us. We hope that seeing bats in this better light will help start to destigmatize fears about this incredible species.

Pictured on the left are three of Iowa's native Hoary Bat, it's common name comes from it's beautiful white tipped fur. Hoary bats also have white spots on their wrists. We chose this lil guy specifically because is super fluffy and friend shaped.

10/28/2026

Day 5 of Bat Week: Myths DEBUNKED

We found the four most common misconceptions about bats, how many did you know the right answer to?

1. The majority of bats do not carry rabies, only about 1% do. However, bats are the leading cause of rabies transmissions to humans in the US. This is due to the unique way bats interact with the environment and humans, and causes a confusing and frightening statistic.

If you notice a bat in the day time or one at night who is not behaving normally, it may be best to steer clear. Remember if you ever see wildlife in need of human help, you can always call the DNR to have an expert safely address the animal.

If you want to dig in and learn more about rabies in bats, visit: https://www.batcon.org/bats-rabies-fact-vs-fiction/

2. Blind as a bat isn't actually all that blind it turns out. In fact, fruit bats do not use echolocation (with a few exceptions). Bats have good eyesight, even at night, but they use their echolocation to lock on to tiny insects, they can consume over 1,000 insects in an hour!

3. Bats are not flying rodents, though it's understandable how that misconception came about: their habits and facial features do lead one to some conclusions there. In fact, shrimp is bugs is a little more accurate than bats being flying rodents (shrimp is not bugs, actually, but bugs are related to shrimp?) Bats are in no way related to rodents, they belong to their own evolutionary track which evolved 65 million years ago!

4. The idea that bats will attack human hair most likely comes from instances where a bat may swoop near a human to eat bugs that are attracted to humans, like mosquitos and gnats. Their erratic flight paths might make them appear unpredictable or chaotic. According to the Virginia DNR, this misconception goes as far as to suggest that bats lay eggs in human hair! Bats, like most mammals, do not lay eggs.

10/27/2026

Day 4 of Bat Week: Conservation Actions

Bats face three major threats to their populations: Habitat loss, White-Nose Syndrome, and Wind Energy Harvesting.

How We Can Help:
Habitat Management
Preserving, enhancing, and protecting woodlands keeps habitat space available for migrating and hibernating bats.

Install Bat Boxes
Think birdhouses, but for bats! Certified bat boxes can be mounted to poles or buildings to give bats safe places to roost outside of your homes and barns. Farmers, gardeners, and producers can benefit greatly from the free pest control services the bats will provide.

Citizen Science
The Iowa DNR Wildlife Monitoring Program tracks regional bat and other wildlife data to help biologists evaluate population health.

Explore with Caution
Avoid sharing caving gear between different underground sites. Do not bring gear, clothing, or shoes from a WNS positive site to an unaffected site.

10/26/2026

Day 3 of Bat Week: What is the Greatest Threat to North American Bats Right Now?

North American hibernating bat species are faced with a fatal fungal infection called White-nose Syndrome (WNS). It is named after the white fungal growth that occurs on infected bats’ muzzles and wings. The visible signs appear at a later stage in the diesease.

The fungus spreads during hibernation from physical contact with other bats and from contact with their environment, like where they roost. It can also be spread by humans accidentally carrying the fungus on shoes, clothing, or gear.

How Does WNS Kill Bats?

Hibernating bats infected with WNS wake up to warm temperatures more frequently, using up their fat reserves and starving them to death before spring arrives.

It causes electrolyte imbalance, dehydration, and causes infected bats to use energy twice as fast as healthy bats.

It also causes bats to display strange behavior, such as flying during the day in freezing winter temperaturs or clustering at hibernation entrances.

Learn more at: https://www.nps.gov/articles/what-is-white-nose-syndrome.htm

Address

1513 N Ankeny Boulevard, Ste 3
Ankeny, IA
50023

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 4pm
Tuesday	8am - 4pm
Wednesday	8am - 4pm
Thursday	8am - 4pm
Friday	8am - 4pm

Telephone

+15159641883

Website

http://www.polkswcdiowa.gov/

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