After retiring as a family physician, Jon became deeply involved with several environmental groups. He served as a board member for Mississippi Valley Conservancy and is currently a board member of Friends of the Blufflands. He has been an active member of The Prairie Enthusiasts for several years, leading hikes, and is building partnerships amongst local environmental organizations.
Contact at: Info@ThePrairieEnthusiasts.org
Addie, @mnprairiegal (she/her) is a native-Minnesota botanist that is employed at Bolton & Menk, Inc. as a Natural Resource Specialist. Her job focuses on rare plant surveys, federally listed species habitat assessments, wetland delineation and monitoring of restoration sites. Her areas of expertise include tallgrass prairie ecology, native Minnesota biomes, botany, and plant identification. She studied botany at MNSU-Mankato, where she published a local prairie field guide. After graduating in 2017, she started a master’s program to investigate biology education and prairie conservation. Her thesis work created a new survey tool that asked individuals their attitudes, values, and knowledge of tallgrass prairies. After graduating, she worked at a variety of outreach opportunities like Riverbend Nature Center and Forestville Mystery Cave SP. She continues educating online through social media. Addie is active in her community by being a board member for both the Friends of Minneopa State Park group and the Mankato Zero Waste Group. She lives in Mankato with her husband and three cats on a 1-acre lot in town that she is slowly planting with native species. Her favorite part of her yard is her native cactus rock garden. Addie has been a member of the prairie enthusiasts for over six years and is excited to begin work as chapter representative for Many Rivers.
Peter recently retired as a scientist and engineer who served over 38 years at 3M Company. He holds multiple patents and has over 30 years of project management experience in a wide variety of products and divisions. His goal for this third chapter of life is to spend as much time with family and nature as possible. His insatiable curiosity and affinity for all things nature began in Northern Minnesota. His respect and care for nature emerged from the crucible of the environmental and ecological movements that started in the early 1970’s. He strongly believes in leaving a space in better condition than he found it; this belief led him to restore prairie, which ultimately led him to The Prairie Enthusiasts! As he begins reclaiming the three-acres that he acquired shortly before retiring, he’s excited to expand his knowledge and provide assistance to the long-term preservation and maintenance of prairie environments. He’s very happy to be a part of The Prairie Enthusiasts.
Rich has 48 years of experience in natural area inventory, assessment, research, and management of prairie, sedge meadow, oak savanna, and oak woodland ecosystems. He was a research ecologist with the Wisconsin DNR for 33 years, and prior to that held many short positions in natural resources management and research. Rich has volunteered extensively with the WI Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and The Prairie Enthusiasts, serving four years as past president of The Prairie Enthusiasts. He was one of the originators of the Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area covering 50,000 acres in Dane and Iowa counties in southwest Wisconsin. He’s lent his skills to serve as the leader and motivator of many land protection projects in Wisconsin.
Katie brings a range of knowledge from her professional career, which has focused on land protection and restoration in both the public and private sectors. As an advocate for fire-dependent ecosystems, she is excited to support The Prairie Enthusiasts’ initiatives through its mission and programming.
Gary is a founding member of The Prairie Enthusiasts and an avid artist of the natural world. He acted as president of the Southwest Prairie Enthusiasts for 5 years. When that group merged into The Prairie Enthusiasts, Gary continued his leadership as president for an additional 10 years. His dedication to saving fire-dependent ecosystems and thoughtful conversations with landowners resulted in the protection of several properties, including Muralt Bluff Prairie, Hogback Prairie, Iltis Savanna, and more. His artwork has been a staple of The Prairie Enthusiasts and inspires those interested in native-plant ecosystems. For his accomplishments, he was inducted into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame in April 2021.