Dan Carter is staff Ecologist for The Prairie Enthusiasts.
He is volunteer steward at the Mukwonago River Oak Barrens in Waukesha County, WI and is working to restore oak-pine barrens at a family property in Bayfield County, WI. Previously, Dan was responsible for natural area assessment and planning for the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, Rundblad Research Fellow with Milwaukee Public Museum studying remnant oak woodlands and savannas, and coordinator of a sagebrush-steppe restoration experiment for The Nature Conservancy in Oregon. Dan earned his doctorate in biology from Kansas State University, with research focused on the reconstruction of tallgrass prairie plant communities in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Dan has been active in prairie restoration and reconstruction since the middle-1990s.
Contact at: DCarter@ThePrairieEnthusiasts.org
Ka Vang is the District Conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). He is currently stationed in Ellsworth covering Pierce and St. Croix County. Ka have been with the agency since 2005 and has been working with landowners and producers on prairie establishment through the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) since 2005.
Contact at: kaying.vang@usda.gov
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Alex Bouthilet gained a passion for native plants in 2012 after reading Aldo Leopold’s “A Sand County Almanac” and began volunteering with conservation organizations including the Wisconsin DNR, the US Fish
and Wildlife Service, The Prairie Enthusiasts, and Standing Cedars Community Land Conservancy. After three years of volunteer work, the USFWS brought him on as an employee to assist with managing the local ecotype seed and plant program. Alex works to harvest and clean seed of native plant species to be used on public land restoration projects throughout the district. He helps with the design, preparation, and planting of prairie, wetland, and oak savanna species and enjoys providing educational opportunities to on the many benefits of native plant species.
Ruth Hilfiker and her husband Harvey Halvorsen turned their 1.7-acre subdivision lot from a brome and Canada thistle abandoned field into a ¾ acre backyard native prairie, a ½ acre eco-mow fescue lawn with 2 native plant raingardens, an organic vegetable and fruit garden, and borders of native trees and shrubs. Ruth designed the landscape to be a micro-ecosystem that is low maintenance and accepting to their neighbors. Ruth works part-time as a contracted conservation planner for the Natural Resource Conservation Service and is an organic farm consultant with her EcoGrow Consulting business. Previously, Ruth worked for 20 years with the University of WI Extension as a Commercial Horticulture and Crops and Soils Educator teaching, conducting field research, and coordinating local foods marketing projects. She has a BS in Horticulture and Crop Science, an MS in Soil Science, and an MBA in operations and marketing management. Ruth believes that organic farming and native plant landscaping are part of the solution for reversing climate change.
Ruth and Harvey
Harvey Halvorsen is a retired Wisconsin DNR wildlife biologist. Harvey was the Natural Resources Area Supervisor for the 12-county area for 6 years administering wildlife and endangered resources programs. In his 32 years with the DNR in Northwestern and Southeastern Wisconsin, Harvey coordinated the purchasing of 1,200 acres of land for prairie restoration including the Nagel Wildlife Area in St. Croix County. With his DNR crews, he managed the planting of 7,500 acres of native prairie habitat, conducted prairie burns on 15,100 acres, and restored over 350 wetlands. He spearheaded the development of the Star Prairie Native Plant Seed Farm. Earlier in his career he pooled over $90K for the creation of the first “Build a Wildlife Area in WI.” Harvey initiated the formation of the original NW Wisconsin TPE Chapter and has volunteered with the TPE for 30 years, serving as a president in its early history. Currently, Harvey is on the TPE Executive and Land Protection Committees and leads TPE prairie burns with landowners. Harvey also led the creation of the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin. Harvey has a BS and MS in Wildlife Management. Harvey believes wildlife deserves to be defended and preserved for enjoyment now and for future generations.