DNR News Releases

Search for a News Release

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

DNR News Releases

Archive by tag: blackReturn

Iowa’s Scholastic Clay Target Program crowns youth sporting clays champions

• 6/19/2024 10:38:00 AM
• View Count 983

Athletes from 36 Iowa teams participated in the 2024 Iowa Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) Sporting Clays Championships held June 13-15 at Black Oak Clays near Pella. The course was set by Dave Koch of Little Fox River Sporting Clays in Missouri.

Storm damage and flooding impact some Iowa state parks for Memorial Day weekend

• 5/23/2024 10:41:00 AM
• View Count 2872

Several Iowa state parks have been impacted by recent heavy rains and storms, causing closures in some areas. Visitors are urged to plan in advance heading into the holiday weekend in case a park activity or location is affected.

Experience the rugged beauty of the Loess Hills at Green Hollow and Blackburn areas

• 9/12/2023 1:30:00 PM
• View Count 3358

Tucked in to the southern end of the Loess Hills, within eyeshot of I-29 and nearly adjacent to Forney Lake, is the Green Hollow and Blackburn wildlife areas and state park complex in northwest Fremont County.

Iowa’s Scholastic Clay Target Program crowns youth sporting clays champions

• 6/20/2023 2:39:00 PM
• View Count 2958

Athletes from 33 Iowa teams participated in the 2023 Iowa Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) Sporting Clays Championships, June 15-17, at Black Oak Clays, near Pella.

Major restoration effort to improve Black Hawk Lake nearing completion

• 6/20/2023 2:38:00 PM
• View Count 2977

LAKE VIEW – A second and final season of dredging on Black Hawk Lake, located in Sac County, is scheduled to end the week of June 18th. An additional two to three weeks of site clean-up and contractor demobilization will follow the dredging work.

Collision on Black Hawk Lake Sunday sends two teens to the hospital

• 6/13/2023 1:11:00 PM
• View Count 3339

A collision between a personal watercraft (PWC) and a pontoon Sunday afternoon at Black Hawk Lake sent two Harlan teenagers to the hospital.

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

• 5/9/2023 2:04:00 PM
• View Count 9942

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.

Major restoration effort to improve Black Hawk Lake water quality

• 4/5/2023 9:13:00 AM
• View Count 3715

DES MOINES – A second and final season of dredging on Black Hawk Lake, located in Sac County, will start this week and is scheduled to end in early June. An additional two to three weeks of site clean-up and contractor demobilization will follow the dredging work.

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

• 3/27/2023 3:51:00 PM
• View Count 2556

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.

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

• 3/20/2023 4:18:00 PM
• View Count 2150

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.

Black Bass catch and release regulations on upper boundary of the Middle Raccoon River moved upstream

• 2/21/2023 12:02:00 PM
• View Count 4915

The Lenon Mills Dam has served as the upper boundary to the Black Bass, both smallmouth and largemouth bass, catch and release regulation in the Middle Raccoon River since it was established more than 35 years ago.

Black Hawk Lake restoration efforts receive national recognition

• 12/6/2022 8:56:00 PM
• View Count 5263

DES MOINES – Project partners behind a major restoration effort to improve water quality in Black Hawk Lake, located in Sac County, received national recognition for their achievements.

Dubuque residents encouraged to secure garbage, remove pet food and bird feeders to avoid encountering wandering black bear

• 5/19/2022 3:17:00 PM
• View Count 1292

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is working with the City of Dubuque, the Dubuque County Conservation Board and the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Department to monitor the movements of the black bear that has been seen in northeast Dubuque since early May.

Midwest black bear population likely to expand into parts of Iowa in the not too distant future

• 5/11/2021 1:17:00 PM
• View Count 6995

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.

Iowa DNR adds four conservation officers

• 1/12/2021 12:36:00 PM
• View Count 4836

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources swore in four new state conservation officers on Jan. 8, who will undergo several months of training before reporting to their assigned territories later this year.

New Dry Run Creek watershed sign raises awareness of project in Black Hawk County

• 10/29/2020 1:26:00 PM
• View Count 2592

CEDAR FALLS — Travelers along University Avenue and County Road D-18 in western Black Hawk County may have noticed a new highway sign marking a feature they may not have realized existed before – a watershed.

Zebra mussels found in Black Hawk Lake

• 10/6/2020 1:36:00 PM
• View Count 3762

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently confirmed that zebra mussels are in Black Hawk Lake.

Remnant prairie is the jewel of Blackmun Prairie

• 8/4/2020 11:38:00 AM
• View Count 2601

Ackley, Iowa - Two miles northeast of Ackley off 320th Street blacktop is one of the rarest of Iowa’s habitat - roughly 60 acres of high-quality remnant prairie that is part of the Blackmun Prairie Wildlife Area – and is a popular site for prairie enthusiasts.

Iowa fisheries biologist selected for Award of Merit

• 6/16/2020 1:32:00 PM
• View Count 2814

Iowa fisheries biologist Ben Wallace recently received the American Fisheries Society’s Fisheries Management Section Award of Merit for his efforts in community based watershed management and lake restoration projects.

Former resident honors family connections in Fremont County by donating land in the Loess Hills to the Iowa DNR

• 1/7/2020 12:33:00 PM
• View Count 8085

Thurman, Iowa - William and Sara Blackburn, from Long Grove, Ill., donated 151 acres in northwest Fremont County to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources that will be used to create the Blackburn Wildlife Management Area and Blackburn Unit of Waubonsie State Park. The donation is valued at more than $515,000.

DNR responds to semi crash with leaking diesel fuel

• 11/29/2019 2:42:00 PM
• View Count 1965

GRUNDY COUNTY, Iowa - DNR environmental specialists responded to a semi tractor trailer leaking diesel fuel after a crash on November 26 in Grundy County.

Out of sight wetland at Blackhawk Bottoms is in plain view of waterfowl

• 9/24/2019 12:51:00 PM
• View Count 4275

Burlington, Iowa - It’s not often that a trip to the grocery store ends with an unsolicited public endorsement but that’s what Andy Robbins got last year while walking to his vehicle.

Iowa DNR to begin annual spring burning

• 3/18/2019 12:42:00 PM
• View Count 2620

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.

Pilot program utilizes invasive tree species to build furniture

• 2/12/2019 12:17:00 PM
• View Count 3244

POLK CITY, Iowa – A pilot program is in its first year at Big Creek State Park utilizing Black Locust trees to build wooden chairs.

Banner and Butch Olofson shooting ranges open Black Friday

• 11/13/2018 1:04:00 PM
• View Count 2817

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has a solution for those wanting to avoid the holiday tradition of standing in long checkout lines on the day after Thanksgiving – the Banner and Butch Olofson shooting ranges will be open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Black Friday. As an added incentive, the DNR has discounted its annual passes for 2019 by $40 which is the perfect gift for the hard-to-buy-for member of the family.

7 lakes you’ve got to fish this fall

• 10/23/2018 3:27:00 PM
• View Count 11277

Get out and enjoy Iowa’s fantastic fishing opportunities. The air is cool, the views are picturesque, lakes are less crowded and the fish are easy to catch.

Air quality permits under review

• 5/17/2018 11:32:00 AM
• View Count 3349

DES MOINES – The DNR Air Quality Bureau has the following draft permits up for review. The permits help protect Iowans’ health and the air where we live. DNR’s permitting staff review the applications to ensure facilities comply with state and federal air quality standards.

Iowa DNR to begin annual spring burning

• 3/27/2018 1:05:00 PM
• View Count 3799

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.

Muskrat trapping season extended to April 1 on Burrows Pond and the Black Hawk Marsh Complex

• 2/2/2018 10:45:00 AM
• View Count 4253

LAKE VIEW - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is extending the muskrat trapping season on Burrows Pond and the Black Hawk Marsh Complex in Sac County from Feb. 1 to April 1 to offer additional trapping opportunities of a temporarily abundant resource.

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

• 8/29/2017 1:08:00 PM
• View Count 9848

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.

Iowa's most Instagrammed state parks

• 8/22/2017 10:07:00 AM
• View Count 20895

For many, when they step outside to enjoy Iowa’s state parks, snapping some pictures is a natural part of the journey. Explore parks all over the state by hiking, biking, relaxing lake side and experiencing extraordinary views – you can start with these 10, which are the parks posted about the most by Iowans on Instagram

Quietly wild, there’s more to Black Hawk Marsh than meets the eye

• 8/8/2017 1:38:00 PM
• View Count 10434

Lake View, Iowa - Lake View is a small town with a big outdoors reputation. Case in point: the Black Hawk Marsh Wildlife Management Area (WMA).

7 Ways to Skip the Crowds and Take It Outside this Holiday Season

• 11/21/2016 3:57:00 PM
• View Count 15584

Find time to take it outside this holiday season. Pick an activity based on weather conditions and your condition, and just get outside. Iowa’s state parks, recreation areas and forests are ready to supply the dose of nature we all need to decompress during this stressful time of year.

Two injured in personal watercraft explosion on Black Hawk Lake

• 7/6/2016 3:55:00 PM
• View Count 5075

LAKE VIEW – A personal water craft exploded Tue on Black Hawk Lake in Sac County sending two people to the hospital.

Black Bear Killed on Allamakee County Highway

• 6/27/2016 11:11:00 AM
• View Count 6906

DES MOINES – A young black bear was struck and killed by a truck Friday evening on Highway 76 near the Yellow River Forest in southeast Allamakee County.

Catfish with a Cajun Kick [Recipe]

• 3/11/2016 8:46:00 AM
• View Count 8234

With roots in Cajun-Creole cuisine, this recipe for blackened catfish - along with homemade remoulade and coleslaw - is sure to be a hit at your next fish fry.

Make a Financial Investment with the High-Value Hardwood Packet from the State Forest Nursery

• 1/5/2016 9:33:00 AM
• View Count 5979

DES MOINES – Add some value to your future forest, with the High-Value Hardwood specialty packet from Iowa’s State Forest Nursery.

Top Iowa Cabin Fall Getaways

• 11/6/2015 9:53:00 AM
• View Count 85288

Enjoy an overnight stay and the beautiful changing seasons in Iowa’s state parks.

6 Nature Foolers: Can You Tell the Difference?

• 7/10/2015 8:54:00 AM
• View Count 19238

Mimicry is about more than flattery for these Iowa organisms. Looking similar to a dangerous model helps the mimics of these pairs avoid confrontation, predation and disturbance, particularly from animals that learn to pick a meal based on what its prey looks like. Can you tell the difference?

6 Great Iowa State Parks for Spring Fishing

• 5/12/2015 11:41:00 AM
• View Count 18868

Spring is a great time to head out fishing, so grab a buddy, call up Dad or Mom, or load the kids into the car and get out there. Plan a day trip or spend the entire weekend at one of Iowa’s great state parks. Enjoy the beautiful weather and “hook” some memories that will last a lifetime.

7 Native, Easy to Care For Plants for Your Yard

• 5/12/2015 11:15:00 AM
• View Count 24130

Natives are resilient and pest resistant, take less watering and care, and will reward you with an April through October blooming season. With some 250 native prairie plants (translate prairie as “sun-loving”) to choose from, which plants are the must-haves for the average garden?