Spending time outdoors as a kid was easy for Korey Wolfe—in fact, it was a necessity. Growing up on a farm, Korey helped to work the land that supported his family. There, he learned that conservation management practices are an integral and economically-beneficial part of farming decisions.

Now, as Audubon Missouri’s Director of Grassland Restoration, Korey works with landowners, city officials, and volunteers to re-establish the state’s important grassland ecosystem. With less than one tenth of one percent of Missouri’s tall grass prairie remaining, this is one of the most threatened habitats on earth.

With his TogetherGreen Fellowship, Korey will conduct seminars and workshops for landowners to highlight and emphasize the economic benefits of conservation practices to their operations. Korey will arrange one-on-one visits with landowners of high priority tracts to discuss the benefits of conservation practices. Because over 98 percent of the Hi Lonesome Conservation Opportunity Area where Korey works is under private ownership, connecting with or motivating just a few individuals can have a tremendous impact on the landscape.

By connecting with landowners and providing them with the tools and information necessary to make changes to their farming practices, Korey believes that together, they can make their operations both more beneficial to grasslands and wildlife and more economically efficient.

From growing up on a working farm and helping operate one as an adult now, Korey knows firsthand the importance of combining conservation management practices with the bottom line.