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Historic photos guiding management decisions at Hooper Wildlife Area

Historic photos guiding management decisions at Hooper Wildlife Area

  • 6/6/2018 9:38:00 AM
  • View Count 4392
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.
Iowans reminded not to “rescue” wildlife babies

Iowans reminded not to “rescue” wildlife babies

  • 5/16/2018 11:19:00 AM
  • View Count 20308
Springtime means baby season for Iowa wildlife, beginning with the first hatched great horned owls in March on to June when most of the pheasant chicks arrive and nothing looks more innocent and cute than baby animals. Just check the internet.
Annual spring wildlife survey underway

Annual spring wildlife survey underway

  • 4/3/2018 1:11:00 PM
  • View Count 3430
Ordinarily, a slow-moving vehicle at night in the Iowa countryside spotlighting deer, raccoons or coyotes would send Iowans to their phone, speed-dialing their local conservation officer, but in this case, it may be the officer doing the shining.
Iowa DNR to begin annual spring burning

Iowa DNR to begin annual spring burning

  • 3/27/2018 1:05:00 PM
  • View Count 3904
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, Pocahontas and Cherokee counties.
15th Annual Prairie Chicken Day is April 7

15th Annual Prairie Chicken Day is April 7

  • 3/20/2018 12:58:00 PM
  • View Count 5391
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.
Iowa citizens playing key role in tracking imperiled wildlife

Iowa citizens playing key role in tracking imperiled wildlife

  • 2/6/2018 1:12:00 PM
  • View Count 4607
It’s 10 o’clock on a summer night along a gravel road anywhere in Iowa. In the farm pond next to the road a raucous chorus of male frogs are making themselves heard as they vie for mates. A volunteer stands clipboard in hand, ear cocked, mentally sorting out each of the calling species which are using this seemingly ordinary pond. 
Tax Season is Almost Here - Hurrah!

Tax Season is Almost Here - Hurrah!

  • 12/14/2017 8:40:00 AM
  • View Count 3730
It may seem odd to cheer the start of tax season, but for the Wildlife Diversity Program it means a season of giving.
Hawkeye Wildlife Area refuge opens Dec. 19

Hawkeye Wildlife Area refuge opens Dec. 19

  • 12/8/2017 10:28:00 AM
  • View Count 5046
The wildlife refuge at the Hawkeye Wildlife Area in Johnson County will be open for public use, including hunting and trapping, on Dec. 19. 
Winter-time Land Management Tips for Wildlife Diversity

Winter-time Land Management Tips for Wildlife Diversity

  • 11/27/2017 1:59:00 PM
  • View Count 4001
Iowa's fascinating wildlife diversity consists of a wide array of species and their habitats. From wetlands and woodlands to prairies and pastures, habitat needs for wildlife can begin with you and your land. Most of us think cold weather means we have to hunker down by the fire and wait until spring. Fortunately, winter is a great time for land management!  Here are three important wildlife management practices that can be done right now.  
Public meeting to discuss bird conservation area near Ottumwa

Public meeting to discuss bird conservation area near Ottumwa

  • 11/21/2017 11:43:00 AM
  • View Count 3905
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will discuss the proposed designation of the region including Soap Creek, Fox Hills and Eldon Wildlife areas, Stephens State Forest, Lake Wapello State Park and Pioneer Ridge Nature Area as a state Bird Conservation Area (BCA) during a public meeting on Dec. 7. 
DNR investigates two spills in Southwest Iowa today

DNR investigates two spills in Southwest Iowa today

  • 10/25/2017 4:20:00 PM
  • View Count 3575
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

Hunters, wildlife share the Lake Odessa lifestyle

  • 10/10/2017 12:53:00 PM
  • View Count 8111
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

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

  • 9/19/2017 2:24:00 PM
  • View Count 20640
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.
Former flood prone farmland now a popular wildlife area

Former flood prone farmland now a popular wildlife area

  • 9/5/2017 1:00:00 PM
  • View Count 11050
COGGON, Iowa - Word is starting to spread across the hunting circles in east-central Iowa, about a new wildlife area surrounding Buffalo Creek, on the Linn, Buchanan and Delaware County line.
Refuge on Hawkeye Wildlife Area open for teal, special September Canada goose seasons

Refuge on Hawkeye Wildlife Area open for teal, special September Canada goose seasons

  • 8/29/2017 1:12:00 PM
  • View Count 4541
Swisher, Iowa - The wildlife refuge section of the Hawkeye Wildlife Area on the west side of the Coralville Reservoir will be open to hunting until Sept. 20, to allow hunters access to public hunting areas for the special September Canada goose season for the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids zone as well as for the experimental teal season.
Tieville Bend Wildlife Area is western Iowa’s secret hunting hot spot

Tieville Bend Wildlife Area is western Iowa’s secret hunting hot spot

  • 8/29/2017 1:08:00 PM
  • View Count 10201
The parking lot of the Super 8 at I-29 and Hwy. 175 fills each fall with trucks pulling boats covered with duck blinds. For hunters, the bread and butter at Tieville Bend is the fall duck migration and if you want to know how the hunting is, go to Onawa and stop in Dave’s World Truck Stop and Restaurant, Suds and Jugs, or Millers Kitchen.
Mount Ayr Wildlife Area is southern Iowa’s rugged retreat

Mount Ayr Wildlife Area is southern Iowa’s rugged retreat

  • 8/22/2017 12:00:00 PM
  • View Count 9854
Mount Ayr, Iowa – The Mount Ayr Wildlife Area is a 1,500-acre outdoor playground on the way to nowhere. While travelers are not likely to stumble upon it, hunters would be wise to know its location.
Landowners, hunters, bird watchers realize Big Marsh’s benefits

Landowners, hunters, bird watchers realize Big Marsh’s benefits

  • 8/15/2017 11:56:00 AM
  • View Count 9236
Parkersburg, Iowa - The Big Marsh Wildlife Area is a working example of the benefits of taking wet farmland where crops struggle 70 percent of the time and creating a large public area with expansive wetlands and prairies attractive to waterfowl and waterfowl hunters, snakes, shorebirds, pheasants, deer, turkeys and even endangered wood turtles.
North Raccoon Wildlife Area is building a recreation reputation

North Raccoon Wildlife Area is building a recreation reputation

  • 8/1/2017 11:44:00 AM
  • View Count 4431
The North Raccoon Wildlife Area just might be the biggest playground in Greene County. But rather than teeter-totters and swings, this playground offers excellent deer hunting, turkey, dove and rabbit hunting, river access and sandbar camping, bird watching, hiking and more.
Floodwaters damage Sweet Marsh Wildlife Area

Floodwaters damage Sweet Marsh Wildlife Area

  • 7/31/2017 8:35:00 AM
  • View Count 5392
TRIPOLI, Iowa - Heavy rainfall last weekend in the Wapsipinicon and Plum Creek watersheds in Chickasaw and Bremer counties has caused a 60 foot by 40 foot section of the dike on Martens Lake on the Sweet Marsh Wildlife Management Area to fail. The breach likely occurred during the night of July 23. 
Eagle Lake Wildlife Area is quietly becoming a really big deal

Eagle Lake Wildlife Area is quietly becoming a really big deal

  • 7/25/2017 1:23:00 PM
  • View Count 9479
ESTHERVILLE, Iowa - Eagle Lake is a survivor. The 290-acre natural shallow lake on the Iowa-Minnesota border in northern Emmet County staved off being drained entirely in the early 1900s by a newly formed drainage district on the lake’s south side.  
Three Rivers Wildlife Area is beginning to blossom

Three Rivers Wildlife Area is beginning to blossom

  • 7/18/2017 3:01:00 PM
  • View Count 7351
Thor, Iowa - Brothers Roger and Palmer Larson had a vision of what their farm could be in 2001 when they invited the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in for a visit.
Red Rock’s wild side

Red Rock’s wild side

  • 7/3/2017 11:23:00 AM
  • View Count 8584
The evidence was easy to see that hunters had found the recently mowed 10-acre sunflower field at the Red Rock Wildlife Area on the first day of dove season – 25-30 vehicles were parked along the road whose drivers had abandoned their bucket seats for real buckets set few rows deep in the remaining sunflowers waiting for the nation’s most popular game bird to come rocketing through.
Time to register for popular U of Iowa wildlife camps at six state parks

Time to register for popular U of Iowa wildlife camps at six state parks

  • 5/2/2017 12:11:00 PM
  • View Count 5762
Looking for a fun, enriching adventure for the kids this summer? Six Iowa state parks will host the popular University of Iowa Wildlife Camps for local families. The conservation education day-camp program will be offered at Maquoketa Caves, Mines of Spain, George Wyth, Springbrook, Viking Lake and Ledges state parks.
Indian Bluffs and Pictured Rocks wildlife areas to become a bird conservation area

Indian Bluffs and Pictured Rocks wildlife areas to become a bird conservation area

  • 4/25/2017 12:27:00 PM
  • View Count 5731
MONTICELLO – A public ceremony to dedicate the Indian Bluffs and Pictured Rocks wildlife areas including the privately owned Indian Bluffs State Preserve as Iowa’s newest Bird Conservation Area (BCA) will take place on May 10 at 1:30 p.m.  The event will be held at the Pictured Rocks Pavilion, located about four miles southeast of Monticello at the east end of 190th Street and just north of the boat ramp, located on the west side of the South Fork Maquoketa River.
Bishop to lead DNR Wildlife Bureau

Bishop to lead DNR Wildlife Bureau

  • 4/25/2017 12:21:00 PM
  • View Count 5682
DES MOINES –Todd Bishop has been hired as the head of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Wildlife Bureau on April 12, replacing Dale Garner who was promoted to the administrator for the Conservation and Recreation Division in February.
Leave Wildlife babies where they belong --- In The Wild

Leave Wildlife babies where they belong --- In The Wild

  • 4/25/2017 12:19:00 PM
  • View Count 8697
It's as predictable as August heat.  From border to border, the Wildlife Baby Season has arrived in Iowa.  From now until at least mid-June, DNR field offices across the state will be inundated with hundreds of phone calls and scores of deliveries regarding "orphaned wildlife."
Annual spring wildlife survey underway

Annual spring wildlife survey underway

  • 4/4/2017 12:41:00 PM
  • View Count 3815
Ordinarily, a slow moving vehicle at night in the Iowa countryside spotlighting deer, raccoons or coyotes would send Iowans to their phone, speed-dialing their local conservation officer, but in this case, it may be the officer doing the shining.
Six Iowa state parks to host University of Iowa wildlife camps

Six Iowa state parks to host University of Iowa wildlife camps

  • 3/7/2017 12:11:00 PM
  • View Count 9013
This summer, six Iowa state parks will host University of Iowa Wildlife Camps for families living near the parks. The popular conservation education day camp program will be offered at Maquoketa Caves, Mines of Spain, George Wyth, Springbrook, Viking Lake and Ledges state parks.
Go wild - posters help support Iowa wildlife

Go wild - posters help support Iowa wildlife

  • 2/23/2017 11:15:00 AM
  • View Count 13528
What do monarchs and warblers have in common? They, along with more than 1,000 other birds, reptiles, insects, mammals and amphibians, rely on Iowans to support wildlife diversity initiatives in the state.
Iowa citizens playing key role in tracking imperiled wildlife

Iowa citizens playing key role in tracking imperiled wildlife

  • 1/24/2017 12:19:00 PM
  • View Count 5915
It’s 10:00 on a summer night along a gravel road anywhere in Iowa.  In the farm pond next to the road a raucous chorus of male frogs are making themselves heard as they vie for mates.  A volunteer stands clipboard in hand, ear cocked, mentally sorting out each of the calling species using this seemingly ordinary pond. 
Chickadee tax check-off hopes for a needed increase in donations on 2016 tax forms

Chickadee tax check-off hopes for a needed increase in donations on 2016 tax forms

  • 1/24/2017 12:17:00 PM
  • View Count 6234
Last year, roughly 7,500 out of 1.6 million Iowa taxpayers helped boost wildlife conservation with donations to the Fish and Wildlife Fund on their state tax form.  Despite a steady increase in the total number of returns since 2009, this amount has stayed roughly the same since 2010, with only small fluctuations.
Aerial spraying planned to combat invasive plants on wildlife areas

Aerial spraying planned to combat invasive plants on wildlife areas

  • 10/20/2016 8:29:00 AM
  • View Count 4901
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be aerial spraying for bush honeysuckle on the Mount Ayr, Sand Creek, Dekalb and Red Rock Wildlife Management areas (WMA) in south central Iowa through mid-November.  Spraying will occur after most trees have lost their leaves but while the honeysuckle leaves are still green.
Southern Iowa wildlife areas beginning annual fall burns to benefit wildlife

Southern Iowa wildlife areas beginning annual fall burns to benefit wildlife

  • 10/20/2016 8:27:00 AM
  • View Count 4387
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources plans to conduct prescribed burns on select wildlife areas in Ringgold, Union, Decatur, Adair, and Adams counties between October and December to improve wildlife habitat, control invasive plant species, and restore and maintain native plant communities. 
11 tips and tricks to handle “nuisance” wildlife responsibly

11 tips and tricks to handle “nuisance” wildlife responsibly

  • 9/23/2016 3:12:00 PM
  • View Count 21028
Not every furry face has to be your favorite, but you can support a healthy ecosystem by choosing to handle your wildlife woes responsibly. Rather than exterminating these common “nuisance” critters, use the following tips to avoid problems while preserving wildlife in your area.
Flooding Impacts Aldo Leopold Wildlife Area Ahead of Dove Hunting Season

Flooding Impacts Aldo Leopold Wildlife Area Ahead of Dove Hunting Season

  • 8/30/2016 1:53:00 PM
  • View Count 4533
The 1,350-acre Aldo Leopold Wildlife Area in southeast Bremer County has experienced significant flooding from storms that rolled through northeast Iowa last week. The area is popular with dove hunters and with the season opening on Thursday, hunters who were planning to hunt the area are advised to scout it again before heading out.
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