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DNR News Releases

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DNR seeks comment on proposed publicly owned lakes watershed program rule revisions

• 7/25/2023 11:57:00 AM
• View Count 3192

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is seeking informal comments on administrative rules for the Publicly Owned Lakes Watershed Program (Chapter 31).

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

• 7/25/2023 11:40:00 AM
• View Count 2960

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.

DNR Enforcement Actions

• 7/24/2023 7:32:00 AM
• View Count 2869

DES MOINES – DNR staff work with individuals, businesses and communities to help them protect our natural resources by complying with state and federal laws. This approach is very effective. In the few cases where compliance cannot be achieved, the DNR issues enforcement actions. The following list summarizes recent enforcement actions. Find the entire, original orders on DNR’s website at www.iowadnr.gov/EnforcementActions

DNR requests public comment on statewide lake bacteria water quality improvement plan

• 7/24/2023 7:27:00 AM
• View Count 2744

DES MOINES – Iowans interested in the results of a DNR study to improve water quality in lake environments for bacteria can view a presentation on the Iowa DNR’s YouTube channel.

DNR offers public comment period on Chariton River Water Quality Improvement Plan

• 7/24/2023 7:17:00 AM
• View Count 2444

CENTERVILLE – Iowans interested in the results of a DNR study to improve water quality in the Chariton River can view a presentation on the Iowa DNR’s YouTube channel.

Teachers recognized for outstanding fishing programs

• 7/18/2023 11:47:00 AM
• View Count 3071

Jason Ohrt, South Winneshiek Schools, and Shane Blake, Davis County Schools, are recipients of the 2023 Brass Bluegill award from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Fish Iowa! program.

DNR seeks comment on proposed license regulations and docks administrative rule revisions

• 7/13/2023 3:17:00 PM
• View Count 3236

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is seeking informal comments on administrative rules for  Private, Commercial and Public Docks (Chapter 16) and General Licenses for hunting, fishing and trapping license regulations (Chapter 15).

DNR seeks comment on proposed Administrative Code revisions

• 7/11/2023 3:13:00 PM
• View Count 2822

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is seeking informal comments on administrative rules for the Agricultural Lease Program (Chapter 21), Barge Fleeting Regulations (Chapter 17), Rental Fee Schedule for State-owned Property, Riverbed, Lakebed, and Waterfront Lands (Chapter 18), and Sand and Gravel Permits (Chapter 19).

Natural Resource Commission to meet July 13 in Des Moines

• 7/7/2023 1:45:00 PM
• View Count 3096

Des Moines – The Natural Resource Commission (NRC) of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will hold its monthly meeting at 9:30 a.m., July 13, in the Wallace State Office Building, second floor, north conference room, 502 East Ninth Street, in Des Moines. The meeting is open to the public.

Air Quality permits under review

• 7/6/2023 2:32:00 PM
• View Count 2954

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. The public has the right and is encouraged to comment on draft permits. DNR considers public comments before finalizing the permits. Submit comments in writing to the assigned permit writer before 4:30 p.m. on the last day of the comment period.

Kimballton issues bottled water advisory through August 1st

• 7/6/2023 6:55:00 AM
• View Count 3041

KIMBALLTON - The city of Kimballton in Audubon County has issued a bottled water advisory for the community of 291 residents through August 1st.

Public meeting to discuss removing Steamboat Rock Dam on Iowa River

• 7/5/2023 12:14:00 PM
• View Count 3834

STEAMBOAT ROCK - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Hardin County Conservation, the City of Steamboat Rock, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will host a public meeting at 6:30 p.m., July 13, at the Iowa River Conservation Club Building near Pine Ridge Park.

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

• 7/5/2023 12:08:00 PM
• View Count 3853

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.

DNR Enforcement Actions

• 6/29/2023 3:21:00 PM
• View Count 2808

DES MOINES – DNR staff work with individuals, businesses and communities to help them protect our natural resources by complying with state and federal laws. This approach is very effective. In the few cases where compliance cannot be achieved, the DNR issues enforcement actions. The following list summarizes recent enforcement actions. Find the entire, original orders on DNR’s website at www.iowadnr.gov/EnforcementActions

New electronic fee payment option for Wastewater Construction permit applications and NPDES permits

• 6/29/2023 3:16:00 PM
• View Count 2825

The Wastewater Engineering and NPDES Sections now accept electronic payments for Wastewater Construction Permit applications and NPDES permit fees on the Iowa DNR Payment System.

Water level to drop at Meadow Lake

• 6/27/2023 4:42:00 PM
• View Count 3284

GREENFIELD – The water level of Meadow Lake near Greenfield in Adair County will be lowered 3 feet starting the week of June 26, to help improve the size of bluegills in the lake. The water will be released slowly over the next two weeks to avoid any downstream impacts.

DNR seeks public input on conservation education & manufacturer's certificate of origin administrative rule revisions

• 6/27/2023 4:41:00 PM
• View Count 2505

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is seeking informal comments on administrative rules for conservation education and manufacturer's certificate of origin related programs.

Cedar River Water Trail in Mitchell County dedicated June 29

• 6/27/2023 4:39:00 PM
• View Count 2656

The Cedar River Water Trail, in Mitchell County, will be officially dedicated as Iowa’s newest water trail during a public ceremony at 10 a.m., June 29, at Bennett Access along the Cedar River, near Osage.

DNR Enforcement Actions

• 6/22/2023 2:48:00 PM
• View Count 3096

DES MOINES -- DNR staff work with individuals, businesses and communities to help them protect our natural resources by complying with state and federal laws. This approach is very effective. In the few cases where compliance cannot be achieved, the DNR issues enforcement actions. The following list summarizes recent enforcement actions.

Major restoration effort to improve Black Hawk Lake nearing completion

• 6/20/2023 2:38:00 PM
• View Count 3238

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.

Work at Towhead Lake supports grassland species, upland gamebirds

• 6/20/2023 2:27:00 PM
• View Count 2958

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.

Duplicate Air Quality Files in OpenText

• 6/20/2023 2:02:00 PM
• View Count 2722

Users of DNR’s OpenText electronic records management system may come across instances where searches for an air quality record may produce two identical records.

DNR Enforcement Actions

• 6/15/2023 2:58:00 PM
• View Count 3074

DNR staff work with individuals, businesses and communities to help them protect our natural resources by complying with state and federal laws. This approach is very effective. In the few cases where compliance cannot be achieved, the DNR issues enforcement actions. The following list summarizes recent enforcement actions. Find the entire, original orders on DNR’s website at www.iowadnr.gov/EnforcementActions

DNR Seeks Comments on Proposed Administrative Code Revisions

• 6/13/2023 1:34:00 PM
• View Count 2982

DES MOINES--Pursuant to Executive Order 10 (EO10), the Iowa DNR's Water Quality Bureau has reviewed the following rule chapter: 567 Iowa Administrative Code Chapter 9 - Delegation of Construction Permitting Authority.

New rules and laws address raccoons, create year-round open season

• 6/13/2023 1:18:00 PM
• View Count 22597

Changes are coming soon to the way Iowans can hunt and trap raccoons, and how farmers can deal with raccoon depredation issues.

DNR Seeks Public Input on State Park Administrative Rule Revisions

• 6/13/2023 1:15:00 PM
• View Count 3228

The DNR is seeking informal comments on administrative rules for Iowa state parks and related programs. Executive Order 10 (EO10), signed by the Governor on January 10, 2023, requires all state agencies to identify which administrative rule chapters will be retained or rescinded. The EO10 process includes public engagement with the opportunity for meaningful input.

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

• 6/13/2023 1:10:00 PM
• View Count 3523

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.

DNR Enforcement Actions

• 6/8/2023 3:17:00 PM
• View Count 2999

DES MOINES – DNR staff work with individuals, businesses and communities to help them protect our natural resources by complying with state and federal laws. This approach is very effective. In the few cases where compliance cannot be achieved, the DNR issues enforcement actions. The following list summarizes recent enforcement actions. Find the entire, original orders on DNR’s website at www.iowadnr.gov/EnforcementActions

Air Quality permits under review

• 6/8/2023 3:15:00 PM
• View Count 2701

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. The public has the right and is encouraged to comment on draft permits. DNR considers public comments before finalizing the permits. Submit comments in writing to the assigned permit writer before 4:30 p.m. on the last day of the comment period.

Grant awards and contracts highlighted at May EPC

• 6/8/2023 3:13:00 PM
• View Count 2726

DES MOINES— The Environmental Protection Commission will meet in Des Moines, Iowa on Tuesday, June 20.

Crane Creek fish kill under investigation

• 6/8/2023 3:08:00 PM
• View Count 2575

READYN - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was notified on June 7 of a fish kill in Crane Creek, southwest of Readyn in Bremer County.

State Preserves Advisory Board to meet via teleconference June 20

• 6/6/2023 2:24:00 PM
• View Count 2543

The State Preserves Advisory Board of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will meet via teleconference at 1 p.m, June 20.

Summer heat causes Otter Creek tributary fish kill

• 6/5/2023 4:14:00 PM
• View Count 2412

OELWEIN - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) investigated reports of dead fish in the unnamed tributary to Otter Creek that flows through Oelwein in Fayette County.

Avoid Contact with Perry Creek South of Hinton in Plymouth County

• 6/2/2023 4:46:00 PM
• View Count 2309

DES MOINES--Downstream users of Perry Creek west of Hinton in Plymouth County should avoid contact with the water, including recreation, and water for livestock after a manure discharge from a 3,000-head cattle facility flowed into the creek.

Fish Kill in Hampton Under Investigation

• 6/2/2023 10:45:00 AM
• View Count 2262

DES MOINES--DNR officials are asking for the public's help in determining the cause of a fish kill yesterday along Squaw Creek in the Franklin County town of Hampton.

Natural Resource Commission to meet June 8 in Des Moines

• 6/1/2023 4:29:00 PM
• View Count 2382

Des Moines – The Natural Resource Commission (NRC) of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will hold its monthly meeting at 9:30 a.m., June 8, in the Wallace State Office Building, second floor, north conference room, 502 East Ninth Street, in Des Moines. The meeting is open to the public.

Air Quality permits under review

• 6/1/2023 4:18:00 PM
• View Count 2276

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. The public has the right and is encouraged to comment on draft permits. DNR considers public comments before finalizing the permits. Submit comments in writing to the assigned permit writer before 4:30 p.m. on the last day of the comment period.

DNR enforcement actions

• 6/1/2023 4:14:00 PM
• View Count 2249

DES MOINES – DNR staff work with individuals, businesses and communities to help them protect our natural resources by complying with state and federal laws. This approach is very effective. In the few cases where compliance cannot be achieved, the DNR issues enforcement actions. The following list summarizes recent enforcement actions. Find the entire, original orders on DNR’s website at www.iowadnr.gov/EnforcementActions 

Don’t be fooled by summer heat: Iowa’s waters are still dangerously cold

• 6/1/2023 3:56:00 PM
• View Count 3783

Summer heat entices many to plunge into local lakes to cool off. Air temperatures may soar into the 90s this weekend but water temperatures are much cooler, especially below the surface.

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

• 5/30/2023 11:48:00 AM
• View Count 5594

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.

DNR seeks comment on proposed Administrative Code revisions

• 5/25/2023 3:34:00 PM
• View Count 2757

Pursuant to Executive Order 10, DNR has reviewed the following rule chapters: 567 Iowa Administrative Code (IAC) chapter 3 (adopted by reference from 561 IAC chapter 3), 567 IAC chapter 10, 567 IAC chapter 12, and 567 IAC chapter 17. Following the review of the rule chapters, the DNR has combined and revised the chapters to remove redundancies and create efficiencies. DNR seeks informal comment on the proposed rules. DNR will accept written comments until June 23, 2023. Written comments or questions regarding ...

Air Quality permits under review

• 5/25/2023 3:29:00 PM
• View Count 2653

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. The public has the right and is encouraged to comment on draft permits. DNR considers public comments before finalizing the permits. Submit comments in writing to the assigned permit writer before 4:30 p.m. on the last day of the comment period.

DNR enforcement actions

• 5/25/2023 3:27:00 PM
• View Count 2518

DES MOINES – DNR staff work with individuals, businesses and communities to help them protect our natural resources by complying with state and federal laws. This approach is very effective. In the few cases where compliance cannot be achieved, the DNR issues enforcement actions. The following list summarizes recent enforcement actions. Find the entire, original orders on DNR’s website at www.iowadnr.gov/EnforcementActions

Help stop the spread of invasive species in your community

• 5/23/2023 1:25:00 PM
• View Count 2466

Governor Kim Reynolds recently proclaimed June as Invasive Species Awareness Month in Iowa.

Iowa Administrative Code Chapter 65 revision update

• 5/18/2023 2:39:00 PM
• View Count 3245

Pursuant to Executive Order 10, DNR has reviewed and drafted animal feeding operation rules (567 Iowa Administrative Code Chapter 65). 

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