The DNR is helping Iowans across the state improve our lakes and streams by supporting and working with watershed projects. By making changes in how we manage both private and public land, we can reduce the amount of pollution like sediment, nutrients and bacteria, reaching our water. The stories featured below are just some of the many successes we've seen so far, and there's more work underway.

	Family builds a conservation legacy Jim and Jody Kerns' belief in conservation education is as deeply rooted as the trees that protect the banks along their Volga River acreage. For 10 years, local high schoolers and the Kerns' own six children have used the area as a living classroom. Read more
	Partnerships protect Brushy Creek Outdoor groups like the Webster County chapter of Pheasants Forever are doing more than increasing habitat for wildlife - they're also making a difference in water quality. Read more
	Work protects Icaria investment Where Lake Icaria’s clarity used to be measured in inches, it’s now measured in feet. Before, you could only see down six inches in the murky waters of the southwestern Iowa lake. Now, following work in the watershed and in the lake, you can watch your toes wiggle when standing in waist-deep water. Read more
	Lake Darling Lake and park use went down as the lake's water quality declined. But as a result of strong partnerships between landowners, the DNR and other agencies, Lake Darling is remarkably clearer and swimming advisories have decreased. Strong local effort is bringing Darling back. Read more (*.pdf)
	The Rebirth of Iowa's Trout Streams In 1980, only six Iowa trout streams were clean enough to allow trout to reproduce naturally. Today, with improvements to watersheds and in streams, 32 streams support natural production. The clearer, cleaner streams are drawing in tourists to small northeast Iowa towns, bolstering both local businesses and the environment. Read more (*.pdf)
	Nine Eagles Lake and Slip Bluff Lake These southern Iowa lakes landed on the state's impaired waters list for sediment problems. Watershed projects surpassed their goals for water clarity, improving fishing, wildlife diversity and lake use. To top it off, the lakes' sediment problems have been removed from the state's impaired list. Read more (*.pdf)

Read more about watershed improvement successes in 2007 (*.pdf)

Learn more about organizing your own watershed improvement project

Future successes: learn about current improvement projects

Read brochures about watershed improvement projects

DNR Contact
Allen Bonini
(515) 281-5107
Allen.Bonini@dnr.iowa.gov