Waterloo Creek Wildlife Area is 1,980 acres of timber, prairie, with a few small wetlands and roughly four miles of coldwater trout stream. The area is popular for deer and turkey hunting with pheasant numbers on the rise.
“This has something for everyone,” said Troy Anderson, wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “This is the heart of Iowa’s Driftless region.”
Summertime means trout fishing at Waterloo Creek and on this Wednesday, fishing was good.
“It’s a high quality, large trout stream known for big brown trout below Dorchester, and is stocked weekly with rainbow trout above Dorchester,” said Caleb Schnitzler, fisheries biologist with the Iowa DNR’s Chuck Gipp Trout Hatchery. “Being this close to Minnesota and Wisconsin, we have a lot of nonresidents come here when their trout seasons close.”
A stream improvement project completed in July 2024 will help reduce impacts from future flooding by reshaping the bank to better handle the high water. Boulders were placed in the stream to deflect the current, break up the water surface and provide places for trout to hide.
Waterloo Creek is consistently in the top 10 most popular trout streams and since the stream does not freeze during the winter, it provides fishing all year long.
Staff with the Iowa DNR’s Fisheries Bureau was sampling a small tributary stream for the presence of sculpin and while they found the unique looking native fish, they also found Iowa’s native brook trout in this section. This small, pebble-lined stream was once the site of a small mill, with hand lain stones creating the stream edge. It is now home to the recently reintroduced South Pine Creek brook trout.
Walking alongside the stream on their early June morning, an insect hatch is underway – with trout feeding on the larvae hitting the surface. Fish can be seen in the deeper pools.
In the woodlands, management work follows the forest stewardship plan covering 1,000 acres, that includes creating a soft edge transition zone from prairie to timber. Within the timber, area managers are working to emphasize oaks.
Anderson said 240 acres has been restored to prairie with another 40 acres returning in a few years. The restored prairie mix of grasses and forbs includes flowering spurge, prairie cinquefoil, small skullcap, little bluestem, common blue violet, side oats gramma, false boneset, tall anemone and more.
The steep hillsides are home to patches of native prairie and while plants won’t be in full bloom for another month, a handful are identifiable, including spiderwort, hoary puccoon, leadplant, rough blazing star, and common yarrow. Much of Waterloo Creek is managed with prescribed fire.
Two neighboring producers manage 230 acres of habitat leases with 25 acres remaining as food plots.
“It’s not one landscape, but many – steep hills, valleys, open ground on top with plans to continue to convert former ag fields into prairie,” Anderson said. “We have a few dove fields here that get a lot of use by the locals.”
Given its location, there is the possibility that ruffed grouse could be on the area. Anderson said part of their management plan is to provide grouse habitat through Aspen cuttings to that are preferred by the secretive bird.
“We did a grouse survey here this year, but didn’t record any, but we’re not giving up,” Anderson said.
Early inhabitants
There is evidence that Iowa natives lived on a portion of Waterloo Creek Wildlife Area, based on research from Luther College. Surveying the area uncovered small underground storage and trash pits, and roasting pits. There is also a large ovoid that was dug that aligns with the spring equinox. The ovoid was investigated and no artifacts were found at the site.