Debbie Jahnke

Featured volunteer — April 2007

by Tim Boyle

Debbie Jahnkes many attributes fold out like tools from a Swiss army knife. From one side comes FMR volunteer, ready to remove spotted knapweed at the Sand Coulee Restoration Project or anywhere it might crop up near her Hastings home. Also included is a dedicated seed collector, anxious to learn about any and all plant life and help re-establish it at places like the erosion barriers at Sand Coulees pond. Flip the volunteer over, and out pops a veterinarian, writer and outdoor enthusiast, handy for adjusting small animals and keeping the public informed through her own column in the Chippewa Herald Telegram.

FMR Restoration Ecologist Karen Schik admires Debbies enthusiasm. She says that at the end of a spotted knapweed removal event in the Sand Coulee, she mentioned that folks were welcome to return on their own to do more habitat restoration, and Debbie latched onto that and made it her mission. Since then, Debbie has removed knapweed and collected native seed at an unparalleled rate, putting it over 50 hours in 2006 alone. Karen adds that she always looked beyond the patch where we started, and began to look at the big picture: Where did it come from? How it was moving around the site? What could we do about it?

Having grown up on a farm, all this fits together neatly for Deb. She continues to help her parents tend a large garden on her familys farm and has a pile of cats to visit when she gets back home.

Debbie travels Wisconsin and Minnesota as a relief vet, or fill-in doctor to assist local veterinarians when they need help. With her active schedule she loves the Sand Coulee, a rare dry gravel prairie, as a peaceful place of solitude. It reminds me of the places you didnt get to see, she says. Like something out of a history book. You imagine what it used to look like… its my sanctuary. Debbies dream is to go to see some of the remaining tallgrass prairie stands in Kansas.

Karen says Jahnkes Sand Coulee visits benefit FMR restoration work, even when shes not pulling weed or gathering seed. She can let me know about things that have happened there, which is a real asset for me since we have so many places were working on.

Karen continues: Debbie is the kind of citizen steward that we dream about — engaged, insightful, observant, dedicated to the resource. … If everyone was the kind of steward that Deb is, we wouldnt have any ecological problems in our natural areas — and thats the truth!

Tim Boyle is a freelance writer, photographer and fellow FMR volunteer, and can be reached via e-mail.

To learn more about the Sand Coulee, please visit our Sand Coulee profile feature and our Sand Coulee project page.