DNR News Releases

Search for a News Release

Press/Media inquiries: PIO@dnr.iowa.gov

DNR News Releases

Archive by tag: Wildlife Management AreaReturn

Annual Prairie Chicken Day Set for April 1, in Kellerton

• 3/14/2023 2:20:00 PM
• View Count 3840

Kellerton, Iowa - The first rhythmic and haunting cooing begins as the night sky fades and sunrise begins. The short grass prairie booming grounds prepares for a display found nowhere else in Iowa.

Mitigation project addresses former strip mine sites on Pella Wildlife Area

• 11/22/2022 11:43:00 AM
• View Count 5246

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will begin a project to restore a 165-acre portion of the Pella Wildlife Management Area that was previously used as a strip mine.

Mitigation project addresses former strip mine sites on Pella Wildlife Area

• 11/18/2022 12:55:00 PM
• View Count 4895

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will begin a project to restore a portion of the Pella Wildlife Management Area that was previously used as a strip mine.

Restoration efforts bring life back to Mill Creek

• 11/4/2022 4:29:00 PM
• View Count 3698

DES MOINES — Once squeezed between two tall embankments, Mill Creek inside of the Big Mill Creek Wildlife Management Area now has room to meander and expand — and more space to fish.      

Fishing regulations to be relaxed at Martens Lake in Sweet Marsh in Bremer County

• 5/10/2022 2:03:00 PM
• View Count 1951

TRIPOLI - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will relax the fishing regulations at Martens Lake in Sweet Marsh Wildlife Management Area (WMA) beginning May 15 to allow anglers to more freely harvest fish as the lake is drained to prepare for a project that will repair the Martens’ Lake dike. 

DNR to discuss reclamation project at Pella Wildlife Area during public meeting on Feb. 24

• 2/3/2022 10:06:00 AM
• View Count 1400

The Iowa Department of Natural resources (DNR) is considering a mine reclamation project at the Pella Wildlife Management Area (WMA), that would restore the areas previously used as a coal strip mine.

New Look Lizard Lake Wildlife Management Area

• 11/8/2021 3:46:00 PM
• View Count 1604

Lizard Lake Wildlife Management Area in Pocahontas County has received a massive facelift over the past 10 years turning what was once a shallow lake full of rough fish that suffered from severely degraded water quality to a healthy functioning ecosystem with some of the best water quality in the state.

North Bear Creek Wildlife Area - Home to legendary wildlife, top trout stream and unique plants

• 6/16/2021 8:54:00 AM
• View Count 4254

Troy Anderson’s phone rang just as he was walking the most recent acquisition to North Bear Creek Wildlife Area. The caller from Florida wanted to know about the deer population on North Bear and if he should put in for a tag in that nonresident hunting zone or should look elsewhere.

Iowa DNR plants more than 100,000 trees on public lands in 2020

• 12/29/2020 11:39:00 AM
• View Count 2521

The Iowa DNR reached a milestone goal to plant at least 100,000 trees on state-managed lands in 2020. The tree plantings commemorate the 100th anniversary of the National Association of State Foresters, as well as the 100th anniversary of Iowa state parks.

DNR project targets grassland invaders

• 8/19/2020 8:59:00 AM
• View Count 1813

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be conducting an aerial spraying project targeting invasive cottonwood and willow trees that are encroaching on grasslands at 15 wildlife management areas.

A quiet wild place

• 6/30/2020 2:42:00 PM
• View Count 3260

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.

Iowa DNR to begin annual spring burning

• 3/16/2020 9:26:00 AM
• View Count 2114

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be conducting prescribed burns this spring on wildlife management areas managed by the Iowa DNR’s Maquoketa Wildlife Unit in Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque, Jackson, Jones and Scott counties.

Iowa DNR to conduct prescribed fires on state managed areas

• 3/12/2020 8:41:00 AM
• View Count 2016

SUMNER, Iowa - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be conducting prescribed burns this spring on wildlife management areas managed by the Iowa DNR’s Cedar-Wapsi Wildlife Unit in Floyd, Chickasaw, Butler, Bremer and Buchanan counties.

Three men charged with illegally taking trumpeter swan

• 11/20/2019 4:16:00 PM
• View Count 10059

MUSCATINE COUNTY, Iowa -- On November 17, 2019, DNR Conservation Officers received a TIP that a trumpeter swan had been shot at Cedar Bottoms Wildlife Management Area in Muscatine County.

DNR Conservation Officer helps rescue duck hunters

• 10/20/2019 4:17:00 PM
• View Count 3198

MONONA COUNTY, Iowa -- On Sunday October 20, at approximately 10:57 AM, Monona County dispatch received a call that Decatur Fire and Rescue was en-route to Tieville Bend Wildlife Management Area for a call of two hunters whose boat was sinking. 

Restoring ruffed grouse habitat makes Falcon Springs Wildlife Area unique

• 6/25/2019 12:48:00 PM
• View Count 5939

Decorah - Northeast Iowa’s towering bluffs and cold water streams are like nowhere else in the state. Add in a popular river that is on endless national lists as one of the best places to paddle in the country and it’s easy to see why Winneshiek County is a destination for outdoor recreation.

Partnership project leads to diverse wetland

• 6/18/2019 2:04:00 PM
• View Count 3256

FAIRBANK, Iowa - Fans in the stands of the Wapsi Valley Warriors football stadium have taken notice of the large birds with long necks and grinding, raspy calls flying overhead during games in recent years. The once rare sight has become more common as the local sandhill crane population at Aldo Leopold Wildlife Management Area continues to expand.

Iowa DNR to begin annual spring burning

• 3/18/2019 12:42:00 PM
• View Count 2569

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will be conducting prescribed burns this spring on wildlife management areas managed by the Iowa DNR’s Black Hawk Wildlife Unit in Sac, Buena Vista, Calhoun, Crawford and Ida counties.

Iowa DNR to begin annual spring burning

• 3/18/2019 8:31:00 AM
• View Count 2979

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be conducting prescribed burns this spring on wildlife management areas managed by the Iowa DNR’s Prairie Lakes Wildlife Unit in Buena Vista, Clay, Emmet, Palo Alto and Kossuth counties.

Hunter, dog rescued after kayak capsized

• 10/25/2018 8:21:00 AM
• View Count 3154

JACKSON COUNTY, Iowa – On October 20, around 9:00 a.m., the Sabula Fire and Rescue were dispatched to Browns Lake near Green Island Wildlife Management Area for a hunter in the water holding onto a capsized kayak.

Gabrielson Wildlife Area offers visitors a glimpse of what Iowa may have looked like centuries ago

• 8/21/2018 12:43:00 PM
• View Count 7142

Forest City - The 800-acre Gabrielson Wildlife Management Area in northeast Hancock County is a unique mix of mature oak timber with wetlands dotting the savanna, prairies and hidden fens.

Hawkeye Wildlife Area: The high tech corridor's rough and rugged neighbor

• 7/24/2018 12:20:00 PM
• View Count 12353

SWISHER, Iowa - Hawkeye Wildlife Area has a well-earned reputation as an important birding area during the spring migration and as a duck hunting hot spot during the fall.

Eldon, Fox Hills Wildlife Areas still wild after all these years

• 7/3/2018 11:46:00 AM
• View Count 9217

Ottumwa - Iowa’s newest bird conservation area includes two public wildlife areas steeped in pioneer history and important to generations of Sac and Fox tribes. The Eldon Wildlife Area and Fox Hills Wildlife Area, near the Des Moines River southeast of Ottumwa, provide nearly 2,700 acres of public land to hike, hunt, birdwatch, fish and camp.

Visitors drawn to bountiful wildlife and natural areas at Ingham-High Wetland Complex

• 6/26/2018 11:47:00 AM
• View Count 5983

Heading north on Emmet County Road N40 drivers are welcomed by a centuries-old oak tree lined canopy leading to the Ingham-High Wetland Complex Wildlife Area, a unique wild oasis nine miles southeast of Estherville.

Kettleson Hogsback is like nowhere else in Iowa

• 6/19/2018 1:35:00 PM
• View Count 9398

SPIRIT LAKE - Dickinson County is home to a unique Iowa glacial area that has been attracting thousands of visitors a year, some from as far away as California, just to enjoy the scenery.

Noddleman Island is Western Iowa’s secret wild playground

• 6/12/2018 11:41:00 AM
• View Count 9365

The old advertising tag line – just waiting to be explored – could have been written for Noddleman Island Wildlife Management Area on the east shore of the Missouri River.

Historic photos guiding management decisions at Hooper Wildlife Area

• 6/6/2018 9:38:00 AM
• View Count 4106

Indianola - The Hooper Wildlife Area is a highly popular place to hunt deer and turkeys, but outside of those seasons, it doesn’t receive much attention, save for the lake. But that quietness of the offseason could be changing thanks to a series of old photos that are helping to transform the area.

DNR investigates two spills in Southwest Iowa today

• 10/25/2017 4:20:00 PM
• View Count 3363

ATLANTIC—Staff from the DNR’s Atlantic field office were in the field Wednesday checking for the sources of a spill in Fremont County and a manure spill that reached a tributary of East Tarkio Creek in Page County.

Hunters, wildlife share the Lake Odessa lifestyle

• 10/10/2017 12:53:00 PM
• View Count 7862

Sitting along the west bank of the Mississippi River in Louisa County, Lake Odessa, with its network of islands, waterways and hidden sloughs, might be the wildest place in Iowa.

Riverton Wildlife Area is a high quality duck marsh and so much more

• 9/19/2017 2:24:00 PM
• View Count 19403

Riverton, Iowa - Hunters for generations have called the Riverton Wildlife Area home each fall. This high quality marsh in central Fremont County has been a magnet for ducks since the 1950s and '60s, when farmers finally quit trying to produce a crop from its wet soil.

Visitors to Big Wall Lake enjoying benefits of renovation, expansion

• 9/12/2017 3:07:00 PM
• View Count 10157

Big Wall Lake has character. Once home to a small resort and an occasional source of ice used for consumption, the area has 30 or so duck hunting cabins on the southeast side and acres of wild rice growing in the marsh.

Heavy Rainfall Closes Shooting Range At Hawkeye Wildlife Area

• 6/22/2016 1:55:00 PM
• View Count 4623

IOWA CITY - The Tim Dorr rifle and handgun range at the Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area is closed after a nearly six inch rainfall Tuesday night damaged the recently completed renovation on the popular shooting range.

Meeting Set to Discuss Proposed Bird Conservation Area in Loess Hills

• 3/1/2016 9:31:00 AM
• View Count 4318

PISGAH, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will discuss the proposed designation of the region including Loess Hills State Forest, Preparation Canyon State Park, and Loess Hills Wildlife Management Area as a state Bird Conservation Area (BCA) at a public meeting on March 16. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Loess Hills State Forest Visitor Center in Pisgah, two blocks west of State Hwy. 183, at 206 Polk Street.

Wastewater Discharge Reaches Little Storm Lake Wildlife Area; Heavy Rain Causes Discharges Throughout State

• 12/14/2015 10:23:00 AM
• View Count 3800

DES MOINES – Heavy rainfall throughout much of the state has overloaded many wastewater treatment systems in Iowa, causing wastewater discharges.

Lake Sugema and Lacey-Keosauqua State Park Becoming a Bird Conservation Area

• 9/29/2015 12:00:00 PM
• View Count 4997

KEOSAUQUA – A public ceremony to dedicate Lake Sugema Wildlife Management Area, Lacey-Keosauqua State Park, Shimek State Forest Keosauqua Unit, and a portion of the Fox River watershed as Iowa’s newest Bird Conservation Area (BCA) will take place on October 15 at 1:30 pm. at the Lacey-Keosauqua State Park Lodge.

Effort to Curb Illegal Activities Results in Arrests at Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area

• 8/31/2015 12:00:00 PM
• View Count 4736

IOWA CITY – A year-long effort to curtail illegal activities at the Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area in Johnson County has resulted in multiple charges being filed over the weekend by law enforcement officers for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.