Given its size and ease of access – an hour south of Des Moines and just off I-35 - it’s no wonder that Dekalb Wildlife Area is a popular spot with hunters, birders and those who like to walk in the woods.
At more than 2,300 acres, access to much of Dekalb is available by county gravel roads that also serve as a get-away-from-the-crowd place to hike. Hiking options will expand this fall when staff from the nearby Grand River Wildlife Unit install fire breaks through the east side timber ahead of next spring’s prescribed fire season.
Prescribed fire is an important management tool that mimics what occurred naturally and has been used here to return prairie to the landscape.
Walking west from the small parking area near a turnaround in the middle of Dekalb, Short Creek leads to a new, developing prairie. “A year ago, this was almost overtaken by cedars,” said Josh Rusk, wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Grand River Unit. “We cut them last summer and after it was burned, this prairie returned.”
A deer hiding in the tall grass bounded away – flushing two hen turkeys and a number of their pheasant sized poults at the tree line.
A off a gravel access lane is an old rock quarry pond with a few lost bobbers firmly attached to tree branches just out of reach from shore. A hill above the pond has been cleaned of cedars with the intention of returning it to grasses and Rusk said they will continue to expand that project.
Dekalb is part of the Sand Creek Bird Conservation Area, dedicated in 2010, for its quality mix of woodland – grassland habitats that are home to about half of Iowa’s nesting bird species.
Work to improve that habitat includes thinning some of the trees and maintaining the portion in oak savanna according to the forest management plan, battling honeysuckle, autumn olive and multiflora rose, and to returning prairie to certain sections.
A recent addition on Dekalb’s northwest side provides a scenic overview of the bottomland and adds to the grass component to the area. Previously used for hay, the Grand River Unit will use prescribed fire on it in the spring of 2027 to set back exotic species and increase wildflowers.
“We’re seeing a good response from blazing star, the milkweeds, and the native warm season grasses. We will plan to burn it this spring to continue to encourage the prairie,” Rusk said.
While a popular spot for deer and turkey hunting, the deer numbers have been impacted locally from hemorrhagic disease outbreaks over the last few years (nearby Sand Creek, too), but it is still a destination for resident and nonresident hunters. It’s also a popular place to look for shed antlers after deer season. Springtime brings mushroom hunters and bird watchers, who come to Dekalb annually during migration.