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DNR News Releases

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DNR announces Food Storage Capacity Grant offering

DNR announces Food Storage Capacity Grant offering

  • 11/12/2020 2:06:00 PM
  • View Count 2409
DES MOINES — The DNR is offering a second round for applications for a grant opportunity to help address food waste, an issue that negatively impacts environmental, economic and social sustainability in Iowa and across the country.
Trumpeter swan study following young for first year of life

Trumpeter swan study following young for first year of life

  • 10/20/2020 12:56:00 PM
  • View Count 4534
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is asking Iowans to help with a research project designed to learn more about trumpeter swan survival during the cygnets’ first year of life that will help to better manage and conserve this species.
Enrollment open for popular Iowa Habitat and Access Program

Enrollment open for popular Iowa Habitat and Access Program

  • 10/13/2020 12:41:00 PM
  • View Count 3182
The popular Iowa Habitat and Access Program (IHAP) is accepting applications from landowners interested in receiving technical assistance and financial incentives in exchange for allowing hunters to access the improved area.
She Goes Outdoors releases birding box

She Goes Outdoors releases birding box

  • 10/6/2020 1:39:00 PM
  • View Count 2047
She Goes Outdoors has partnered with the Audubon Society, Kansas Ornithological Society, and The Wild Bird Habitat Store for this month's release – a birding box.
Shorebirds flocking to mudflats at Lake Red Rock

Shorebirds flocking to mudflats at Lake Red Rock

  • 8/25/2020 1:14:00 PM
  • View Count 3169
Birdwatchers know that heading north out of Pleasantville on North State Street, will lead them to a dead end at Lake Red Rock, near the impoundment that holds the greatest number of shorebirds available to birdwatchers without a boat.
Renovation of Dan Green Slough and Burr Oak Lake to last through summer

Renovation of Dan Green Slough and Burr Oak Lake to last through summer

  • 8/4/2020 9:04:00 PM
  • View Count 1857
The water level at Dan Green Slough and Burr Oak Lake will be held down through the summer’s growing season to eliminate rough fish that had reentered the systems and to reestablish emergent vegetation that had been lost after years of high water.
Remnant prairie is the jewel of Blackmun Prairie

Remnant prairie is the jewel of Blackmun Prairie

  • 8/4/2020 11:38:00 AM
  • View Count 2438
Ackley, Iowa - Two miles northeast of Ackley off 320th Street blacktop is one of the rarest of Iowa’s habitat - roughly 60 acres of high-quality remnant prairie that is part of the Blackmun Prairie Wildlife Area – and is a popular site for prairie enthusiasts.
Simply put, Cayler Prairie has it all

Simply put, Cayler Prairie has it all

  • 7/21/2020 12:34:00 PM
  • View Count 3960
Standing on a vista overlooking the expansive Cayler Prairie, it’s easy to imagine bison - the icon of the open prairie - at home on this historic area. 
A quiet wild place

A quiet wild place

  • 6/30/2020 2:42:00 PM
  • View Count 3230
Mt. Sterling, Iowa - The Fox River Wildlife Area is about as far off the beaten path as person can get without getting totally lost. The public hunting area in southern Van Buren County is on the way to nowhere and except for some nonresidents who show up each deer season, it doesn’t get too many visitors.
Counting turkeys

Counting turkeys

  • 6/30/2020 2:32:00 PM
  • View Count 2678
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is looking for help with its annual turkey population estimates in July and August. 
Meet Phyllis Kimball, a Monarch Champion

Meet Phyllis Kimball, a Monarch Champion

  • 6/22/2020 2:33:00 PM
  • View Count 5544
Phyllis Kimball, of Creston, enrolled 160 acres in CRP pollinator mix in Ringgold County. Kimball had been away from the farm for more than two decades but returned to manage the day to day operations after an agreement with a local farmer was voided. What she found upon returning was failing terraces and trees that had taken over the valley. She stopped on the gravel road and cried at seeing what had happened to her land.
Bat Survey Looking for Volunteers

Bat Survey Looking for Volunteers

  • 6/9/2020 3:23:00 PM
  • View Count 3040
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is looking for volunteers interested in performing night time surveys for bats in Hamilton and Marshall counties. 
Iowa DNR to track sandhill cranes as part of pilot study

Iowa DNR to track sandhill cranes as part of pilot study

  • 6/2/2020 11:40:00 AM
  • View Count 6557
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has outfitted a greater sandhill crane with a GPS transmitter as part of a small pilot study to learn more about this unique species that is increasingly calling Iowa’s wetlands home.
New virus strain impacting rabbit populations

New virus strain impacting rabbit populations

  • 5/19/2020 1:27:00 PM
  • View Count 2935
State wildlife experts are on the lookout for a new virus impacting the native rabbit and hare populations in Texas, Arizona, Colorado, California and New Mexico.
Leave wildlife babies where they belong -- in the wild

Leave wildlife babies where they belong -- in the wild

  • 4/14/2020 2:23:00 PM
  • View Count 4049
It's as predictable as May flowers - from border to border, the Wildlife Baby Season has arrived in Iowa. From now until at least mid-June, DNR field offices across the state will be inundated with hundreds of phone calls and scores of deliveries regarding "orphaned wildlife."
Iowans can do their part in helping the Monarch habitat grow

Iowans can do their part in helping the Monarch habitat grow

  • 4/14/2020 2:21:00 PM
  • View Count 5842
The recent news from the World Wildlife Fund and Mexico’s Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas on monarch wintering numbers was an eye opener  – the butterflies covered an estimated seven acres of forest canopy in Mexico – less than half of last year’s population. Experts estimate a long-term average of 15 acres of occupied forest canopy is necessary to sustain the eastern North America monarch population.
Caves at Maquoketa Caves State Park to remain closed through at least April 30

Caves at Maquoketa Caves State Park to remain closed through at least April 30

  • 4/14/2020 2:16:00 PM
  • View Count 2686
MAQUOKETA - The caves at Maquoketa Caves State Park will remain closed through April 30, in accordance with Governor Reynolds’ social distancing efforts. The trail system for the park’s most popular caves involves narrow boardwalks and handrails, making it difficult for visitors to maintain physical distances of at least six feet. Visitors can access the rest of the park while the caves are closed. 
8 cool things you should know about peregrine falcons

8 cool things you should know about peregrine falcons

  • 4/14/2020 2:05:00 PM
  • View Count 22305
It’s spring, and one of Iowa’s most fascinating and rare birds of prey is currently getting down to the serious business of nesting! Do you know these facts about one of the fastest animals on the planet?
Caves closed seasonally for bat hibernation at Maquoketa Caves State Park

Caves closed seasonally for bat hibernation at Maquoketa Caves State Park

  • 3/24/2020 12:05:00 PM
  • View Count 4460
MAQUOKETA - The caves at Maquoketa Caves State Park will reopen to the public after bat hibernation season on April 15. The popular caves are closed annually from Oct. 15 to April 15 to protect hibernating bats. Visitors have access to the rest of the park while the caves are closed. 
Iowa DNR to begin annual spring burning

Iowa DNR to begin annual spring burning

  • 3/17/2020 2:36:00 PM
  • View Count 2433
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be conducting prescribed burns this spring on wildlife management areas managed by the Iowa DNR’s Iowa River Wildlife Unit in Linn, Johnson, Benton, Iowa, Tama, Poweshiek, Cedar and Mahaska counties.
Prairie Chicken Day is April 4

Prairie Chicken Day is April 4

  • 3/12/2020 12:23:00 PM
  • View Count 2759
KELLERTON, Iowa - The first rhythmic and haunting cooing can be heard as the night sky fades and sunrise begins. The short grass prairie booming grounds prepares for a display found nowhere else in Iowa.
Natural Resource Commission meeting moved to March 17, held via teleconference

Natural Resource Commission meeting moved to March 17, held via teleconference

  • 3/11/2020 11:36:00 AM
  • View Count 2042
Des Moines, Iowa – The Natural Resource Commission (NRC) of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has rescheduled its monthly meeting to 8:30 a.m., on March 17, and will meet via teleconference originating from the fourth-floor west conference room, in the Wallace State Office Building, 502 East Ninth Street, in Des Moines.
Land donors honored during reception in Des Moines

Land donors honored during reception in Des Moines

  • 3/10/2020 11:41:00 AM
  • View Count 2160
DES MOINES, Iowa – More than 3,800 acres of Iowa land in 24 counties with an estimated value of nearly $4.8 million was permanently protected through donations for conservation.  
Natural Resource Commission to meet March 12 in Des Moines

Natural Resource Commission to meet March 12 in Des Moines

  • 3/9/2020 8:19:00 AM
  • View Count 2161
Des Moines, Iowa – The Natural Resource Commission (NRC) of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will meet at 9:30 a.m., March 12, in the fourth-floor conference room, in the Wallace State Office Building, 502 East Ninth Street, in Des Moines.
DNR to host public meetings to discuss chronic wasting disease

DNR to host public meetings to discuss chronic wasting disease

  • 3/5/2020 2:32:00 PM
  • View Count 2959
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has scheduled public meetings in Leon, West Union and Decorah after hunter harvested deer in Decatur, Fayette and Winneshiek counties tested positive for chronic wasting disease. It is the first time deer have tested positive in these counties.
7 Iowa Wildlife Comebacks

7 Iowa Wildlife Comebacks

  • 3/2/2020 3:43:00 PM
  • View Count 14442
In the last few centuries, a number of Iowa wildlife species have been extirpated from the state - but some have seen successful comebacks, too. Check out these seven animals that have made a comeback in Iowa:
8 cool things you should know about Canada geese

8 cool things you should know about Canada geese

  • 2/24/2020 2:12:00 PM
  • View Count 130556
Canada geese can be seen all across Iowa. These big birds, who can be spotted flying in their well-known V formations, have some pretty interesting features. Check out these fun facts about Canada geese: 
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