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Tri-State Forestry Conference
at Sinsinawa County

2012 Speaker Biographies

more biographies coming soon ...
List of Conference Talks - .PDF or .DOC
 
"Farm Transition and Estate Planning"

Steven J. Bohr
Farm Financial Strategies, Inc.
Steve started his 18 year career in financial services with First Financial Center in 1992. In 1994 Steve started Farm Financial Strategies. Farm Financial Strategies, Inc is currently operating in 7 states, has 14 representatives and over 3,500 clients. While saving estate shrinkage is the company’s mission (estimated $350,000,000 in savings), keeping countless numbers of farms in the family has been the driving force behind day to day operations.

Steve is a 12 year life and qualifying member of the Million Dollar Round Table (5 Court of the Table and 1 Top of the Table) and the past president of the Cedar Rapids Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Coe College in 1992 with a double major in Business Administration and Economics and a minor in Math where he received the Laverne Marie Tucker and the Harley W. Howell Prize in Economics.

In addition to being involved with his church and Coe College, Steve is active on the family farm in southeast Iowa. He and his wife Jennifer reside in Swisher, Iowa and are the proud parents of an 12 year old son Brody, and 8 year old twins Baxter and Ayva.
 
"Working with Fire: the Nuts and Bolts of Prescribed Fire"


Ryan Harr
Assistant Scientist & Wildlife Biologist
Natural Resource Ecology and Managment
Iowa State University Extension
My name is Ryan Harr, and I am an Assistant Scientist & Wildlife Biologist in the Department of Natural Resource Ecology & Management at Iowa State University. I hold a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Animal Ecology from Iowa State, and have been a staff member at the university since 2006. My background lies in the ecology of prairie wetlands, grassland birds, and fire ecology. Currently I manage a series of research projects in southern Iowa examining the effects of a fire-grazing (a.k.a. patch-burn grazing) management system on the ecology of prairies, birds, and invertebrates, as well as the socio-economic impacts for people who live and work on the land. My thorough enjoyment is being involved in translational research – being a vehicle for the transfer of new and innovative concepts to natural resources professionals, agricultural producers, and private citizens who seek to better manage both reserved and working lands. Be it leading a prescribed burn, conducting bird surveys, or reviewing plans for prairie seeding and grazing management with biologists, I seek out opportunities to stay involved the worlds of research, management, and extension.
 
"Current Insect Problems; Some Old Some New"

Laura Jesse, PhD
Director
Interdisciplinary Plant & Insect Diagnotic Clinic
Iowa State University
Dr. Laura Jesse is the Director of Iowa State University’s interdisciplinary Plant & Insect Diagnostic Clinic and an instructor in the Department of Plant Pathology. She is responsible for the timely diagnosis of plant disease, arthropod and abiotic problems and collaborates with ISU faculty and staff to provide the citizens of Iowa with management recommendations to manage pest problems in horticultural and agronomic crops, forests and households.
 
"Beekeeping for the Beginner to Intermediate Levels"

Andrew Joseph
IDALS State Apiarist
IA Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship
Andy is the Iowa State Apiarist. As Apiarist, his responsibilities include inspection and regulation of honey bee pests, parasites, & diseases, and a good amount of outreach to both beekeepers and non-beekeepers. He serves on the board of the Iowa Honey Producers Association. Aside from his work for IDALS, he has bees here and there around central Iowa. He lives in Des Moines with his wife, C, and son, Harlan.
 
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Jesse Randall, PhD
Assistant Professor and Extension Forestry Specialist
Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Managment
Iowa State University
Jesse Randall is an assistant professor and extension forestry specialist in the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management at Iowa State University. Jesse received his bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources from Cornell University and his Ph.D in Forestry from Michigan State University. At ISU, Jesse conducts educational programs aimed at improving the management and sustainability of Iowa’s forest resource. He provides technical assistance to both urban and rural landowners throughout the state and Midwest region and conducts hands-on tree selection, planting, and pruning workshops, Master Woodland Manager Courses, Forest stewardship field days, and Maple syrup production demonstrations. Jesse’s lab researches the use of fire in oak regeneration systems, seedling exposure to agri-chemicals and the impact on seedling growth and function, as well as advancements in non-timber product development (ginseng and maple syrup).
 
"Wolf Management Updates in Wisconsin in 2012"

Adrian P. Wydeven
Mammal Ecologist
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Adrian P. Wydeven was born in the Netherlands in 1952, and his family immigrated to the U.S. and Fox Valley region of northeast Wisconsin in 1959. Adrian grew up in Kimberly, Wisconsin, where he graduated from High School in 1971. He obtained a BS in Biology and Wildlife Management at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1976, and a MS degree in Wildlife Ecology from Iowa State University at Ames in 1979. His MS research focused on elk ecology in South Dakota. From 1980 through 1982, he worked as an assistant wildlife area manager in Missouri. In 1982 Adrian joined the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as a wildlife manager, working at stations in Oshkosh, Appleton, and Shawano. In 1990 Adrian began work as a mammal ecologist in Park Falls, heading up the state wolf recovery program, and other programs on mammals. Along with the state wolf program, Adrian has been involved with monitoring and management of American martens, surveys for lynx, investigations of cougar observations, surveys of other carnivores, and serving on various state and federal wildlife advisory committees. He has published many articles in scientific and popular literature, and recent co-edited and co-authored a book on wolf recovery in the Great Lakes region. Adrian lives with his wife Sarah Boles near Cable, Wisconsin.