#53: Michelle Foss on Forest Stewardship at Fontenelle Forest

Today's episode is really exciting and was a new experience for me - a field interview! And I couldn't have asked for a better guest than Michelle Foss, Director of Resource Stewardship at Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue, Nebraska. Fontenelle Forest is not what most people would typically think of if they envisioned Nebraska. It is 2100 acres, with a mosaic of habitats. It's largely wooded, and much of it heavily forested. It is hilly, and also includes riparian spans, flood plains and hilltop prairies when considering the Neale Woods portion of the properties.For this episode, Michelle and I took a walk in the forest, with my goal to learn more about the ecology of this system and the stewardship that Michelle and the team at Fontenelle Forest oversee. You'll hear our footsteps, singing birds, and even evidence of the hills we were walking in the form of our occasional heavy breathing. And in a way this is like many of the nature hikes I lead, where we have a hike theme, but we give ourselves leeway to discuss and interpret fun things we happen upon along the way.So be prepared to learn about Bur Oaks, Loess soil and the Loess Hills, American Redstarts, the natural fire regime of this more eastern North America forest, how the team is working to restore more of the natural habitats, and much more. You can follow Fontenelle Forest on twitter, instagram, and facebook. FULL SHOW NOTESLinks To Topics DiscussedBiological "Rules" - interesting relationships seen in nature.Fontenelle Forest Nature Search (ffnaturesearch) - excellent catalog of living things found at Fontenelle ForestNebraska Natural Legacy Project - map showing Nebraska's 35 unique biological landscapesOther Nature's Archive Episodes You Might LikeIf you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these:Today we spoke a bit about prairies and wildfire. Check out my interview with Chris Helzer, The Prairie Naturalist, to learn more about prairie management. And check my interview with Rick Halsey on wildfires in the western USA.Today I pointed out leafminers and plant galls. Check out my interview with Charley Eiseman where leaf miners are covered extensively, or Adam Kranz for plant galls.Episode Ideas?Do you have an idea for an episode or a guest? Maybe it's you? Please contact me at naturesarchivepodcast AT gmail DOT com.Music CreditsOpening - Fearless First by Kevin MacLoedClosing - Beauty Flow by Kevin MacLoedBoth can be obtained from https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/Support Us On Patreon!Buy our Merch!Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz MusicLicense (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseArtist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!