Wildlife, Nongame - DNR News Releases

Rugged and remote, Tubaugh Wildlife Area packs a lot into its 533 acres

8/22/2023 12:14:00 PM
View Count 2847

Three wild turkeys disappeared quietly into the edge of the timber as Shane Frevert pulled his truck into the northeast parking lot at the Tubaugh Wildlife Area.

Riverton Wildlife Area wetland pumping delayed

8/18/2023 2:43:00 PM
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Riverton, Iowa- A delay in the delivery of the precast concrete and new metal screw gate required to replace the failing Spring Creek outlet at the Riverton Wildlife Area will impact the ability for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to pump water on to the main marsh, north of county road J46.

Hawkeye Wildlife Area to host 12th Annual Pelican Festival

8/16/2023 7:25:00 AM
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SWISHER, Iowa - The public is invited to the 12th Annual Pelican Festival, Aug. 27, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Hawkeye Wildlife Area, near Swisher.

High quality trout stream, timber make Big Mill Creek Wildlife Area popular year round

8/16/2023 7:19:00 AM
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The parking lot at the northwest corner of the Big Mill Creek Wildlife Area provides a good spot to people watch, or more precisely, vehicle watch. Cars and trucks and SUVs coming and going, up and down the access lane to Mill Creek, where drivers try their luck with the local trout population.

Big Creek Wildlife Area is hidden in plain sight

8/9/2023 7:30:00 AM
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Often overlooked for its similarly named state park or mistaken for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sprawling Saylorville Wildlife Area, Big Creek Wildlife Area is roughly 3,100-acre, one stop outdoor shop just 10 minutes from Ankeny.

Iowa pheasant population survey begins Aug. 1

7/25/2023 11:51:00 AM
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Pheasant hunters in the northern half of Iowa had an excellent season last year, and many are looking forward to what 2023 has in store. The fall forecast will be based on the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) annual roadside pheasant counts, that begins Aug. 1.

Diverse and unique, Dugout Creek-Yager Slough wildlife area packs a lot into 1,600 acres

7/25/2023 11:40:00 AM
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Dugout Creek-Yager Slough wildlife areas south of Lake Park, in western Dickinson County, is home to an array of marshes plus two unique and rare habitat types in the state - one of the largest and highest quality wetland fen complexes in Iowa and high-quality remnant prairie.

Swan Lake Road closed for road improvement project

7/18/2023 11:45:00 AM
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SWISHER - A section of Swan Lake Road on the Hawkeye Wildlife Area west of Greencastle Road, will be closed for several weeks while a bridge is being replaced.

Central Iowa birding opportunities abound at Chichaqua - Neal Smith Bird Conservation Area

7/5/2023 12:08:00 PM
View Count 3478

Dedicated in the spring of 2005, the Chichaqua-Neal Smith Grassland Bird Conservation Area (BCA) is an important stop along the bird migration. Based on weather radar, an estimated 800 million birds migrate through Iowa in the spring, and up to one billion in the fall, which puts Iowa in the top five states in the country for volume.

Work at Towhead Lake supports grassland species, upland gamebirds

6/20/2023 2:27:00 PM
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Towhead Lake was once a natural shallow lake, with a network of connected wetlands, considered sovereign land by the state highway commission when it visited the area in the 1910s.

Rugged and wild, Kirke Woods Wildlife Area is central Iowa’s newest public wilderness

6/13/2023 1:10:00 PM
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Kirke Woods Wildlife Area, north of Bevington in northeast Madison County, is a new 240-acre mix of oak and hickory timber, and maple and cottonwood bottomlands, a reconstructed prairie and a 30-acre wetland that is open to the public.

Different habitats on the Upper Wapsi Wildlife Area attracts and supports diverse wildlife

5/30/2023 11:48:00 AM
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The Upper Wapsi Wildlife Area is returning to a mix of wetlands, timber, and prairie that traditionally would make up this area, hosting various wildlife from sandhill cranes, Canada geese, red-shouldered hawks, bobolinks, pheasants, to wild turkeys, blandings turtles, smooth green snakes and white-tailed deer.

Bat survey looking for volunteers

5/23/2023 1:32:00 PM
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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State University are looking for volunteers interested in performing night time surveys for bats in Dubuque, Pocahontas, Marshall, Franklin and Butler counties.

Help stop the spread of invasive species in your community

5/23/2023 1:25:00 PM
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Governor Kim Reynolds recently proclaimed June as Invasive Species Awareness Month in Iowa.

Fawning season is here, deer are on the move

5/23/2023 1:20:00 PM
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The calls have been coming in to field offices and conservation officers for the past few weeks and will only increase as the first few weeks of June marks the peak of the deer fawning season.

Midwest black bear population may start calling parts of Iowa home down the road

5/9/2023 2:04:00 PM
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There’s a pretty good chance that, in the next several weeks, Northeast Iowa will be visited by a few wandering black bears coming down from Minnesota and Wisconsin ahead of the breeding season. It’s been an annual occurrence in this region each spring since 2014.

National Amphibian Week is May 7-13

5/2/2023 11:42:00 AM
View Count 2419

The loud singing from springtime marshes comes from a tiny package, the chorus frog – an inch-long virtuoso common to Iowa. Chorus frogs along with other frogs, toads and salamanders are being recognized during National Amphibian Week, May 7-13.

Annual state auction is live online through May 6

4/25/2023 11:50:00 AM
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DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources annual spring auction is being held online now until May 6.

Outdoors Day with the Iowa Cubs April 29

4/25/2023 11:48:00 AM
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Join the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, in partnership with the Iowa Cubs, for Outdoors Day with the Iowa Cubs, on April 29.

Bird feeding 101 – attracting birds and maintaining feeders

4/25/2023 11:42:00 AM
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Bird feeding is among the most popular pastimes in the country, enjoyed by an estimated 57 million people who spend roughly $4 billion annually on seed, baths and feeders, books and binoculars.

Birders of all skill levels are invited to Iowa Ornithologists' Union spring meeting, May 5 – 7, in West Des Moines

4/21/2023 4:31:00 PM
View Count 2500

WEST DES MOINES - The Iowa Ornithologists' Union is celebrating it’s 100-year anniversary as part of its annual spring meeting, May 5-7, at the Stine Barn and grounds, 4000 Turnberry Drive, in West Des Moines.

Earth Day—Saving the earth one small step at a time

4/18/2023 4:16:00 PM
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DES MOINES—Figuring out what you can do to help the planet can seem overwhelming.

Leave wildlife babies where they belong --- In the wild

4/18/2023 4:11:00 PM
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It's as predictable as May flowers - 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."

Show your support for the outdoors while enjoying a day at the ballpark

4/11/2023 2:19:00 PM
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Join the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, in partnership with the Iowa Cubs, for Outdoors Day with the Iowa Cubs, on April 29.

Get weekly wildflower bloom reports in your inbox

4/10/2023 4:12:00 PM
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Enjoy Mother Nature's show of spring beauties with Iowa DNR's new weekly woodland wildflower bloom report. Get an up-to-date list of woodland wildflowers in bloom by region - northern Iowa, central Iowa and southern Iowa.

Iowa DNR to begin annual spring burning, Cedar Wapsi Wildlife Unit

3/27/2023 3:51:00 PM
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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.

State awards contract to Achieva Enterprises to operate Honey Creek Resort

3/27/2023 9:47:00 AM
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DES MOINES—State-owned Honey Creek Resort at Rathbun Lake has a new concessionaire, Achieva Enterprises, which will assume operations on April 14, 2023, when it reopens for the season.

“Are you here for frog school?”

3/21/2023 11:43:00 AM
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Iowans who are graduates of “frog and toad school” have collected data on more than 2,200 wetlands since 1991, providing an incredible record of activity. The goal for this year’s graduates is to add to that legacy.

Iowa DNR to begin annual spring burning, Black Hawk Wildlife Unit

3/20/2023 4:18:00 PM
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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be conducting prescribed burns this spring on wildlife areas managed by the Iowa DNR’s Black Hawk Wildlife Unit, and by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in Sac, Calhoun, Crawford, Cherokee, Buena Vista, and Pocahontas counties.

Iowa DNR to begin annual spring burning, Prairie Lakes Wildlife Unit

3/20/2023 4:15:00 PM
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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 Clay, Palo Alto, Emmet and Kossuth counties.

Iowa DNR to begin annual spring burning, Clear Lake Wildlife Unit

3/20/2023 3:52:00 PM
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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be conducting prescribed burns this spring on wildlife management areas managed by the Iowa DNR’s Clear Lake Wildlife Unit in Cerro Gordo, Hancock, Franklin, Winnebago, Worth and Wright counties.

Birders of all skill levels are invited to Iowa Ornithologists' Union spring meeting, May 5 – 7, in West Des Moines

3/15/2023 1:13:00 PM
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WEST DES MOINES - The Iowa Ornithologists' Union is celebrating it’s 100-year anniversary as part of its annual spring meeting, May 5-7, at the Stine Barn and grounds, 4000 Turnberry Drive, in West Des Moines.

Annual Prairie Chicken Day Set for April 1, in Kellerton

3/14/2023 2:20:00 PM
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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.

DNR to host open house to discuss Boone Forks Wildlife Area forest wildlife stewardship plan

3/7/2023 12:19:00 PM
View Count 2499

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will hold a public open house on March 23, beginning at 6 p.m., at the Hamilton County Conservation Board, 2490 Briggs Woods Trail, south of Webster City, to discuss a proposed forest wildlife stewardship plan at the Boone Forks Wildlife Management Area (WMA).

Iowa raptor identification guide

3/1/2023 10:28:00 AM
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It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s — well, in our case, it’s actually probably a bird. It could even be a raptor. If you spend enough time looking up, you’re likely to spy some of Iowa’s frequent flyers. The state has several species of hawks, eagles and vultures that call Iowa home or visit during the year. We’ve put together a non-comprehensive list. Here’s how to tell them apart.

Black-capped chickadees astonishing secrets

2/14/2023 11:58:00 AM
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Black-capped chickadees survive the harshest winters with amazing adaptive behaviors and abilities. From adjusting their core body temperatures to shedding and adding brain cells to memorizing hundreds of locales of stashed foods, these tiny wonders have astonishing secrets.

Oxbow restoration project returns unique ecosystem to Cedar Rock Wildlife Area

2/13/2023 9:45:00 AM
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Staff with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Cedar Wapsi Wildlife Unit were working to install wetlands on the Cedar Rock Wildlife Area when the opportunity to restore an oxbow on the Wapsipinicon River came along.

Harsh winter across North Iowa is reminder habitat is critical for wildlife survival

2/7/2023 8:24:00 PM
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State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) is a nationwide Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) practice within the continuous sign-up administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA).

Outdoor education workshops scheduled this spring and summer

1/31/2023 11:39:00 AM
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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is sponsoring workshops for K–12 educators on Iowa’s outdoors this spring and summer.

Indian Creek Nature Center to host trumpeter swan program on Feb. 4

1/24/2023 12:00:00 PM
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Indian Creek Nature Center is hosting an event on Trumpeter Swans on Feb. 4, from 1 to 4 p.m., at Amazing Space at Indian Creek Nature Center, 5300 Otis Road SE, in Cedar Rapids.

Number of donors to the Chickadee Check-off continues to decline

1/24/2023 11:57:00 AM
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Last year, more than 6,200 Iowa taxpayers helped wildlife conservation with donations to the Fish and Wildlife Fund on their state tax form, which is nearly 1,000 fewer than who donated in 2020. and represents about 0.4 percent of total taxpayers in Iowa.

Early childhood online outdoor education training scheduled this spring

1/17/2023 11:40:00 AM
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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach are offering an online training for the national award-winning Growing Up WILD activity guide.

Elk appearing on trail cameras in central and western Iowa

1/10/2023 4:13:00 PM
View Count 15272

Elk seem to be visiting Iowa more frequently each fall, and thanks to social media, their visits are now shared at the speed of downloads among tens of thousands of people among the various social networks.

DNR to discuss bobcat recovery and management Jan. 18 at EB Lyons Nature Center

12/21/2022 2:45:00 PM
View Count 9144

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will be discussing bobcat management at 7 p.m., Jan. 18, at the EB Lyons Nature Center, in Dubuque. The meeting is open to the public.