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DNR News Releases

Archive by tag: otterReturn

Habitat variety attracts birds and birders to Iowa River Bird Conservation Area

• 9/10/2024 12:17:00 PM
• View Count 4725

Driving slowly along the two-track, generously labeled “340th Street” by Google Maps, Anna Buckardt Thomas has her windows down and is identifying each bird by its call. “House wren, red-winged blackbird, killdeer, goldfinch, catbird, flicker, cardinal, Eurasian tree sparrow, common yellowthroat,” the state avian ecologist said.

Iowa’s furharvest season began Nov. 4

• 11/7/2023 11:54:00 AM
• View Count 4693

Iowa trappers can expect to find good numbers of furbearers statewide during the 2023-24 season, that began on Nov. 4.

Summer heat causes Otter Creek tributary fish kill

• 6/5/2023 4:14:00 PM
• View Count 2358

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.

Iowa’s furharvest season starts Nov. 5

• 10/25/2022 11:40:00 AM
• View Count 3183

Iowa trappers can expect to find good numbers of furbearers available statewide when the season begins on Nov. 5.  

Portions of Otter Creek Marsh temporarily closed after aerial spraying

• 8/30/2021 2:22:00 PM
• View Count 1642

TAMA/TOLEDO, Iowa - Hunter access to Otter Creek Marsh will be restricted to only segments - segments four and six on the southeast side of the wildlife area - through 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 1, to comply with the 48 hour no entry restriction required after the other huntable sections of the marsh were chemically treated. Segments four and six are currently holding the most water on the complex.

Fishing regulations to be relaxed at Otter Creek Lake in Tama County

• 6/8/2021 1:41:00 PM
• View Count 2660

TAMA - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will relax the fishing regulations at Otter Creek Lake, near Tama, starting June 15 to allow anglers to more freely harvest fish before the lake is dewatered this fall for a planned lake restoration project. The fish population will be renovated to remove common carp and yellow bass from the lake.  

DNR seeking cause of dead trout in Fayette County town of West Union

• 5/27/2021 2:14:00 PM
• View Count 2516

WEST UNION - DNR staff spent Wednesday in West Union working to track down the cause of a fish kill reported earlier that morning.

Hunting restricted at Otter Creek Marsh, Hawkeye Wildlife Area refuges to non-waterfowl species

• 12/8/2020 7:08:00 PM
• View Count 2574

The 450-acre wildlife refuge section of Otter Creek Marsh Wildlife Area in Tama County will open for public use on Dec. 9, including for trapping and hunting game species other than waterfowl.  

7 Iowa Wildlife Comebacks

• 3/2/2020 3:43:00 PM
• View Count 15800

In the last few centuries, a number of Iowa wildlife species have been extirpated from the state - but some have seen successful comebacks, too. Check out these seven animals that have made a comeback in Iowa:

Hunting restricted at Otter Creek Marsh Wildlife Area refuge to non-waterfowl species

• 12/16/2019 1:08:00 PM
• View Count 2769

The 450-acre wildlife refuge section of Otter Creek Marsh Wildlife Area in Tama County is open for public use, including for hunting game species other than waterfowl, and for trapping.

Otter Creek Marsh Wildlife Area refuge opens Dec. 13

• 12/5/2019 9:00:00 AM
• View Count 2421

The 450-acre wildlife refuge section of Otter Creek Marsh Wildlife Area in Tama County will be open for public use, including hunting and trapping, beginning Dec. 13. 

Iowa’s furbearer season begins Nov. 2

• 10/22/2019 3:43:00 PM
• View Count 6503

Furharvesters take note: the outlook is pretty decent for most of the commonly targeted species ahead of Iowa’s furbearer hunting and trapping season.

With its premier location on the migration superhighway - Otter Creek Marsh is about to get busy

• 10/8/2019 11:42:00 AM
• View Count 3816

Chelsea, Iowa - The viewing platform on County Road E66 can be a busy place when the annual migration is on. Looking out at the 3,800-acre Otter Creek Marsh, the platform offers and excellent view of tens of thousands of waterfowl, raptors and other birds as they zero in on this perfectly placed oasis during their journey each spring and fall.

Large volume of treated wastewater discharged in Hancock County

• 10/23/2018 8:21:00 AM
• View Count 2504

KANAWHA - According to Kanawha wastewater treatment staff, a lagoon at the treatment plant failed sometime recently, probably after 11 a.m. Sunday morning, sending treated wastewater into West Otter Creek.

Iowa’s furbearer season begins Nov. 4

• 10/31/2017 11:38:00 AM
• View Count 9075

Iowa’s furbearer season opens Nov. 4, and the outlook for 2017 is good as populations are stable to increasing statewide.

Montour man pleads guilty to shooting trumpeter swan

• 11/23/2016 11:31:00 AM
• View Count 4678

Danny Lopez, 46, of Montour, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Tama County Magistrate Court to shooting a trumpeter swan on Otter Creek Marsh on Nov. 12.

Iowa furbearer season begins November 5

• 10/25/2016 12:28:00 PM
• View Count 12374

Iowa fur harvesters will find good numbers of raccoons, muskrats, beaver, coyotes, bobcats, river otters and mink when the furbearer trapping and hunting season opens on Nov. 5.

5 Cool Things You Might Not Know About Otters

• 9/9/2015 12:00:00 PM
• View Count 53199

While assorted species of otters live on all but two continents, the only species we have in Iowa today is the North American river otter. These chummy, playful mammals are characterized as clever and mischievous, but there’s a lot more to an otter than that!

Cool Things You Didn’t Know About Otters

• 11/26/2014 6:42:00 AM
• View Count 24445

They may look cute and cuddly, but don’t let the playfulness of Iowa’s river otters trick you. Otters are serious swimmers and fearless, voracious predators. Here are some cool facts you may not have known about Iowa’s swimming weasels.