A March 2021 Field Note by Vera Leopold, TWI Grants Manager/Development Associate and resident birder

A misty spring morning rises over the marsh. A pair of Virginia Rails starts up a strident squawking somewhere in the cattails. A Pied-billed Grebe slips silently beneath the surface of the water. Swamp Sparrows sing their clear trills around the vegetation’s edges. And a semi-truck rumbles by on the nearby road.

A November 2017 Field Note by Phoebe Thatcher, TWI Development & Communications Assistant and fire enthusiast

For the Wetlands Initiative’s Rick Seibert and his crew, fighting invasive species at the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge can be an uphill battle. Fortunately, TWI has a powerful ally in the form of fire. Despite what Smokey the Bear told us about forest fires, modern ecologists have found that regular burns are not just beneficial, but necessary, for the management of healthy prairies and wetlands.