LandCAN Toolbox

Are you considering the value of carbon in your soil?
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LandCAN Toolbox

Pollinator Resources
Did you know that about every 3 bites of food depends on Pollinators? Pollinators are an important part of our communities and their protection is an important part of conservation! Below are several resources to learn more about pollinators and how to get involved in their conservation in your community. Click here to access Illinois DNR resources

Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants
This is the first comprehensive book to illustrate the specific relationships between native pollinators and native plants. Organized by plant communities, the book profiles over 65 perennial native plants of the Midwest, Great Lakes region, Northeast and southern Canada and the pollinators, beneficial insects and flower visitors the plants attract.

With its easy-to-use format, the book provides the reader with information on how to attract, plant for and identify pollinators with native plants. Beautifully designed and illustrated with over 1600 photos of plants and insects, the book includes information on pollination, types of pollinators and beneficial insects, pollinator habitat and conservation as well as pollinator landscape plans.

This is an important book for gardeners, students, native plant enthusiasts, landscape restoration professionals, small fruit and vegetable growers and farmers who are interested in attracting, identifying, supporting or planting for pollinators.

Get it on Amazon »

Portland State University - Catalog of Aquatic Invasive Species Education/Outreach Materials
Education on invasive species identification, impacts and management is critical to effective prevention efforts. While outreach materials come in many forms, the most common products are brochures, signs, handouts and other graphics aimed at specific audiences or advancing specific messages. An inventory such as this is necessary to avoid duplication of effort, to enhance exchange of readily available information, and to help educators, managers and outreach personnel evaluate gaps in existing outreach efforts.

Start Browsing Now / Login or Register to Use Full Range of Features / Frequently Asked Questions

This searchable inventory of AIS outreach materials is available to all users and has a dynamic web interface that allows registered users to input their own education and outreach materials as well as having a peer review and ratings system for material evaluation to help maintain a high standard for submissions. New users may wish to browse through the system before using the search features to get a better idea of the types of materials available. Organizations that have developed outreach tools that are available for distribution are encouraged to register and use the dynamic interface to upload a record of their own materials. Please see our FAQ section for more information on who should upload records and what information we need to validate your material(s).

In addition to the inventory of materials we are in the process of developing an image gallery where AIS images available for non-commercial use can be downloaded for use in the development of new materials (this will reduce image fatigue - i.e. seeing the same photo over and over again in every brochure). If you have images that you would like to share for non-commercial use in education and outreach materials you are encouraged to upload these to the catalog as well. We are still in the process of developing a non-commerical usage waiver so downloading posted images is not currently an option but you may contact the person who uploaded the image directly to work out a fair usage agreement.

This catalog has been made possible with funding from the Western Regional Panel and Portland State University. The inventory is managed by the Center for Lakes and Reservoirs at Portland State. Please send any questions or comments to draheim@pdx.edu.

Project Noah
Project Noah is a tool to explore and document wildlife and a platform to harness the power of citizen scientists everywhere.

Quick Energy
Quick Energy is a stand-alone tool that allows you to calculate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions based on anticipated fuel savings. You can use Quick Energy by itself or in conjunction with your COMET-FARM user account.

Rangeland Analysis Platform
Fast, powerful, and free, the Rangeland Analysis Platform is an innovative online tool that quickly visualizes and analyzes vegetation data for the United States. Launch the app to examine trends at pasture, ranch, watershed, or broader scales.

Reviews - finding the right tax software for you
Reviews is a tool designed to help your find the right online tax software. Here you can compare different online tax tool features to find which software is right for you Click Here.

Rural Bounty
Explore North America's Rural Bounty

Discover the rich bounty of farm fresh fruits and vegetables, outdoor activities, and family fun that our rural countryside has to offer!

Daytrip or Vacation to a Farm or Ranch

Pick Your Own-Fruits, Pumpkins, Trees

Discover Charming Countryside Wineries

Challenge Your Hunting & Outdoor Skills

In the U.S. and Canada, there are approximately 65,000 farms and ranches that invite the public to visit, and more and more are becoming members on the Rural Bounty website. We invite you to come back often to plan relaxing day trips, or weeks away, enjoying the Rural Bounty of North America. Visit website »

Sage Grouse Initiative Web Map Application
The SGI Interactive Web Map Application is free and available to the public, presenting cutting-edge geospatial data covering 100 million acres. The Sage Grouse Initiative science team has developed an easy-to-use web application that helps visualize, distribute, and interact with information about the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem.

All of the information can be easily visualized on top of physical maps or the latest satellite imagery. Users can quickly identify and compare areas of concern, evaluating potential restoration or prevention opportunities. Data can be imported from the web application directly into GIS software, which allows the public to customize the information for land management or conservation purposes. Data for individual counties can be downloaded using these simple instructions.

Sage-Grouse Local Working Group Locator
The Sage-grouse Local Working Group (LWG) Locator is a web-based, geographically-linked database that describes Local Working Groups and what types of projects and conservation efforts have been identified in their area. The LWG Locator provides a central resource for LWGs and interested stakeholders to facilitate greater connectivity and information exchange throughout the region. Click Here.

Sagebrush Conservation Design
In 2022, a group of experts from across the sagebrush biome came together to publish the Sagebrush Conservation Design. The SCD used new remote sensing technologies, like the Rangelands Analysis Platform, to map the entire sagebrush biome and categorize it into Core Sagebrush Areas, Growth Opportunity Areas, and Other Rangeland Areas.

SAGEMAP
The Snake River Field Station of the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center developed and now maintains this database of the spatial information needed to address management of sage-grouse and sagebrush steppe habitats in the western United States. This site is a portal for spatial data needed for research and management of sage-grouse and shrubsteppe systems. Click Here.

Save Water Texas
Save Water Texas is a showcase for Texas water conservation programs — identifying the tools for public outreach programs for homeowners and classroom materials for students in grades 2, 3, 4, and 7, and hosting community events and workshops to promote greater understanding of water issues in Texas.

Saving the Lesser Prairie Chicken - Texas Park and Wildlife Official Video
Once spreading across the plains, Lesser Prairie Chicken populations have steadily declined due to habitat loss. Wildlife biologists are counting on private landowners to help restore the habitat and hopefully save the bird.

Smart Ag
Our vision at Smart Ag is to become the autonomous farming platform of choice in a driverless future.

In our opinion, the smartest way to solve the huge worldwide challenge of feeding a fast growing population is to empower farmers to complete operations faster, more consistently and with less labor than ever before, we believe they can unlock the potential of the land better than anyone else. With the correct tools, technology and knowledge, farmers can do the seemingly impossible.

Our goal is to give farmers the technology to operate smarter and eliminate the choice between what is best for their farm and constraints like available labor, brands of equipment or the cost of larger machinery. That is why our first product AutoCart can be used with an operator in the grain cart tractor or autonomously and will be compatible with any brand of equipment.

Contact Us

2710 S. Loop Drive

Ames, IA 50010

(515) 599-0346 • info@smart-ag.com

Snakes of Louisiana
This web site is intended to provide information to the public concerning snakes native to Louisiana. Snakes are a fascinating part of Louisiana's natural heritage, but are also a source of much worry and fear among Louisiana residents and visitors. Most of Louisiana's snakes are harmless, and many are beneficial as predators of insects and rodents, as a source of income for reptile collectors, and as a necessary component of the food chain or "balance of nature." The fear of snakes in general, and particularly the venomous species, can be alleviated by understanding the behavior of snakes, and the limits of the threat they may pose to humans.

Frequently Asked Questions

Snakebites

Soil Conditioning Index
The Soil Conditioning Index (SCI) predicts the consequences of cropping systems and tillage practices on soil organic matter in a field. Soil organic matter is a primary indicator of soil quality and carbon sequestration. A positive SCI indicates a cropping system that, if continued, is likely to result in increasing levels of soil organic matter. For more information see this NRCS PDF.

Solar Water Pumping Worksheet
New Mexico State University College of Engineering Professor Tom Jenkins is developing tools to show New Mexico’s farmers and ranchers how they can use one of our state’s most plentiful resources, the sun, to access one of the most scarce, water. Click Here.

Southern Great Plains Crucial Habitat Assessment Tool
The Southern Great Plains Crucial Habitat Assessment Tool (SGP CHAT) is a spatial model put together to designate and prioritize areas for Lesser prairie-chicken (LEPC) conservation activities and industry development. As such, it plays a duel role in that it is used to encourage development activities to occur outside of high priority areas as well as monitor activities that occur in each of the categories. In many ways it is the spatial representation of the LEPC Range Wide Plan (RWP). Another purpose of this dataset is to create an online tool usable by conservation managers, industry, and the public that identifies priority habitat, including connecting corridors that can be used in the early stages of development or conservation planning. Click Here to open the CHAT.

Click here to learn how to use the CHAT

Southern Plains Wind & Wildlife Planner
The Colorado Renewables and Conservation Collaborative (CRCC) is an informal group of representatives from the renewable energy industry and the conservation community whose common purpose is to constructively and proactively address conservation concerns related to renewable energy development in Colorado. The CRCC developed a science-based site selection and mitigation framework that describes avoidance, minimization, and/or mitigation actions appropriate to a range of environmental impacts that have a nexus with wind energy development. Use the Southern Plains Wind & Wildlife Planner to find the priority issues that may impact a wind farm location and download applicable shapefiles and Best Management Practices (BMPs).