Jason E. Andersen

Dear viewer,

You have found my secret portfolio. Hooray and welcome!

Below is a collection of works that I have produced — written, graphical, and otherwise. I was told that I needed to create something that showcases my writing and multimedia chops, just in case someone would ever want to view such a thing. I have mostly created these things as side projects during my pursuits as a wildlife biologist, volunteer firefighter, and as a hobbyist on the weekend.

Please enjoy.

-Jason

Photography

The photo above is of a lone monarch butterfly sitting atop a purple coneflower bloom. It’s possibly the most cliché combination of photography subjects in conservation. It’s not even a very good picture.

But, this little friend has a story.

I was working for Pheasants Forever as a wildlife biologist several years ago. It was a hot afternoon and I had been out looking at prairie plantings on several farms. Ready to call it a day, I was on my way back to the office. I stopped at the intersection of Highways 71 and 44, in the little town of Hamlin, Iowa, if you know where that is. At that stop sign, I looked out my truck window and saw this monarch, sitting in the middle of the road.

“Yo,” I called out, “what are you doing? You’re going to get run over!”

The monarch didn’t respond.

There was traffic coming behind me, so I had to drive on. However, after a series of probably illegal maneuvers, I was back to the intersection. The monarch remained, so I pulled off onto the shoulder.

“You look like you could use some help,” I offered as I approached. “It’s not very safe here.”

There was still no response, but they let me me pick them up by the wings. I took that as consent.

I walked my new pal to a nearby roadside prairie planting, placing them on what I thought was a comfortable-looking flower to rest on. Before leaving, I took that picture.

In the years since, I’ve thought about that monarch a lot. Sitting in the middle of the road waiting to be run over isn’t normal behavior for a monarch. They were probably sick, injured, or otherwise on their last leg. They probably died not too long after our chance meeting. Or maybe not — I’ll never know.

The point is that I tried to help. It might not mean much in the grand scheme of things, but I feel that monarch had a better chance to live because of my actions. I have come to think of that lone monarch as a metaphor for how I view land conservation and stewardship. All the actions we take, both big and little, affect the world. Many little actions, taken as a whole, can have big impacts.

Print media

Tabletop standup for exhibitions. I would often hold ‘habitat booths’ at expos and conventions, where I would hand out information and talk with people about wildlife and land management.
Tabletop standup for when I was handing out native seed packets at events. This served as a visual aid when I explained what species were included.
Flier for a series of in-person workshops I put on in 2016 discussing options to promote wildlife habitat on farms. This flier went out as part of a mailer to local farmers and landowners.
Handout I created to make prescribed fire more accessible to landowners. These handouts outline safe burn planning and provide contact info for local fire practitioners. These handouts were available in USDA field offices and the idea has been copied (with encouragement) across Iowa.
Flier advertising my fire department’s 50th anniversary open house. This was printed in 11×17 format and posted in local businesses.
Mills County plan for how to manage roadside vegetation. I wrote this document to be easily-consumable by the public while also serving as a guiding policy document for the local government.
Recruitment flier that was included in a mailer sent out to local residents. As a result of this initiative, we had 12 applicants for that class. We normally only get 2 or 3 applicants per year.

Videography

Iowa Pheasants Forever has an annual award to recognize private landowners for the good things they do for land, water, and wildlife, called Conservation Faces of Iowa. In 2021, we were unable to recognize those landowners in person due to COVID-19 (you remember that, right?). As an alternative, I offered to create videos to tell the story of these folks, beginning with Mike Ziemba (above) who was my nominee for the award (Mike is legitimately one of the nicest and clear-hearted people I have ever met).

The videos were a huge success and were featured on the social media and website of Pheasants Forever. I did all the camera work myself, using my personal equipment, and edited the videos in a really old version of Adobe Premiere.

Web design

I created the website for my fire department, Lewis Township Fire and Rescue, as part of a rebranding and recruitment initiative we did towards the end of 2020. Design companies wanted to charge some astronomical amount, so I decided to take it on myself. I did all the design and nearly all of the photo work, and also wrote all the content. The site was created and is hosted using the Wix platform. Not bad for volunteer work, if I say so myself.

My personal website, which you are on right now at this very moment. It isn’t anything fancy and that’s by design. I created it using WordPress and it’s a blog first and foremost. I wanted it to be simple, casual, and easy to digest. I use it to store my fun facts and to supplement my outreach efforts and conversations I have with landowners.

Funny story time.

Way back before I ever thought of being a biologist, I went to college for web design and database administration. I was, and still am, a computer nerd. I worked in the casino industry for 8 years before I decided to abandon that career and start a new one. I wanted to make positive change in myself and the world, and thought studying nature would be a good start.

Now here I am — a computer nerd with a master of science degree in biology, who knows about plants, birds, butterflies, and also has a knack for technology. It’s a bit of an eclectic skillset, really.

Thank you for taking an interest in my work.