The Iowa Wildlife Action Plan — Now Available Online

In August, 2006 the “Iowa Wildlife Action Plan" (IWAP) received final approval from the U.S. Department of Interior and now is available in various formats for public use. This plan is the culmination of more than 10,000 hours of work by over 120 wildlife and fisheries specialists, educators, private conservation group representatives and citizen conservationists.

Iowa Wildlife Action Plan

Securing a Future for Fish and Wildlife: a Conservation Legacy for Iowans is the first attempt ever to enumerate most of the state’s wildlife and evaluate the status of each species. It also examines stresses on wild creatures or their habitats and lays out visions and strategies to conserve wildlife over the next 25 years. Originally called the Iowa Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan, the IWAP identifies 999 species of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, mussels (freshwater clams), land snails, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies. Nearly one-third of all species found in Iowa are of concern due to their decline across Iowa. Although plant species are not listed in this wildlife plan, plant communities are addressed as an important part of the habitats for most of Iowa’s wildlife.

Wildlife Action Plans are required of all 50 states, five U.S. territories, the District of Columbia and several Native American tribes receiving these annual grants from Congress through the State Wildlife Grants (SWG) program. Iowa DNR has received more than $6 million from 2001-2008, with funds used to enhance its Wildlife Diversity Program through increased research, habitat protection, and management for "species of greatest conservation need". Iowa must match the SWG income dollar-for-dollar with non-federal funds.

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Recent Iowa Success Stories Resulting from the Plan - An Overview

The entire Iowa Wildlife Action Plan is provided below in .pdf format. Because of plan's large size, it has been separated into multiple files for faster downloading. The 16-page Executive Summary offers a very brief look at the condition of Iowa's wildlife and habitats, plus visions for the future, without the extensive tables, maps and other data provided in the complete 366-page plan.

Copies on CD-ROM also are available by telephone request at 515-281-8396, by email request to katy.reeder@dnr.iowa.gov, or by writing: Katy Reeder, Wildlife Action Plan Manager, Wallace Bldg., 502 East 9th Street, Des Moines, IA 50319-0034. A very limited number of printed copies are available upon special request.

	*.pdf	Size
Iowa Wildlife Action Plan - Executive Summary		569KB
Iowa Wildlife Action Plan - Status Chapters 1-3		3.8MB
Iowa Wildlife Action Plan - Status Chapters 4-5		5.1MB
Iowa Wildlife Action Plan - Action Chapters 6-10		6.8MB
Iowa Wildlife Action Plan - Appendices 1-14		313KB
Iowa Wildlife Action Plan - Appendices 15-21		4.3MB