Iowa DNR Interactive Mapping, Help Files

Livestock Burial Zones

This site is designed to assist livestock producers in planning for the consequences of an outbreak of catastrophic foreign animal disease (FAD). Should a FAD such as foot and mouth disease occur in Iowa, it may be necessary to depopulate large numbers of livestock in order to prevent further spread of the disease. The carcasses of those animals will be disposed of according to the State of Iowa Foreign Animal Disease Plan. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has been given the responsibility for the disposal of the affected animals. As part of this responsibility, the Department has developed a map to assist decision makers in locating areas in the state that can better tolerate the burial of large numbers of carcasses. A producer may view the maps in order to become familiar with the information the DNR will be using to choose a burial site. Proximity to water, soil types, steep slopes, towns, and other factors were considered in restricting portions of the state from burial of large numbers of animals.

Cautionary areas of the state, though not restricted, will only be chosen when better areas are not available. The site also includes the locations of rendering facilities, sanitary landfills, known livestock operations, DNR field office boundaries, county boundaries, towns, roads and aerial photography. A user who knows the legal description of the area of interest can simply enter the information into the Legal Description Tool and zoom directly to the township or section.

The maps were developed to assist in planning only, and do not take the place of existing state regulations for burial. All existing burial rules remain in place unless a disease related crisis arises, and the State of Iowa FAD Plan is activated. For questions in regard to routine disposal of animal carcasses, or disposal of large numbers of animals in a non-disease related situation, please contact the regional DNR Field Office.

Please Note:
Before you enter the Livestock Burial Zones interactive mapping website, you should know how to locate a legal description on the interactive map. Below are instructions for doing this. After you read the step-by-step instructions, click below to enter the website.

1. Make sure the Legal Description layer is the active layer (it is by default).
   
   
2. Click on the legal tool located in the middle of the Toolbar (under the "go to legal" text in the Toolbar Headings).
   
   
3. In the empty space, type the legal description in the format provided by these examples:
   82 2e 5
   100 13w 14

   Notice the format of the legal description examples:
   Type in the number for the township, leave a space, the number for the range with a lower case w (for west) or e (for east), leave a space, and then the number for the section. Do not type in zeros before single digit numbers.

   A legal description cannot be found if it is in the wrong format.
   
   

4. Click the "Find Legal Description" button. A table will appear with the attributes for the legal description, and the map will zoom in on the legal description entered.

This material was made possible, in part, by a Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). It may not necessarily express APHIS’ views.

Click here to enter.