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Jamn Br lllubttb '\l arch/ April 211110 \ 'olume 59. "'umber 2

Sl \H Ro\S Hurrhon Burc ou c hocf J ulie '>purl<' l c.lttor ,\lan Fo~lcr ., I n,tf'lll!' I dolor Loll til\\ K\hhurn Wntcr f'[email protected] Cia\ '>miiiL l'hnto~r.ophcr Larr) l'ool c '' tplm A no 1 Je\~ora furhn\ and Karrn ken ned,, I dllortJI As~a~can1 Circulation I~ 2k J.1JS9 or I ~~~h \ \ Tl R \l Rl SOl'RCI. C 01\1\ll'iSIO \ FEATURES Joan ">chneldtr,

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The accompanying table illustrate~. abundant. scrappy fighters among other things, a great diversity of and ta ... te great. Most of the }'f.lJ () opportunities for anglers who fish the fish run 8 to 10 mches. Work the rocky Moine~ River (Web'>tcr County) are top natural lakes, small impoundments, ~horclines in the c;pring and deeper choices. Fi'ih up to SO pounds are border riverc; and rich prairie streams of water in the fall. Yellows readily take caught in the'>c nver'> ever; year. northwest and north-central Iowa. There night crawler<> or mall yellow or white Chub'>, sunfi'>h and bullheads are are walleye~. yellow perch, black jigs fished near the bottom, over gravel traditional batts. It"" recommended bullheads, channel catfish, muskel­ bars or around stakebeds. anglers practtce ... elective harvest so lunge, bluegill, crappies, northern ptke, White bass offer plenty of excite­ others haw the opportunit} to expen­ smallmouth bass. largemouth bass and ment, espectall} on ltght tackle! The ence catchmg a ''troph) fish ... ''other species:· available. while bass population has reall} taken Man) angler' fail to rt!ahLe It's the "other species'' which off at Storm Lak.e (Buena Vista Count)) freshwater drum art! a fet'>t) -and BUt( h deserve mentiOn. Anglers shouldn't and anglers ~ill have many opportuni­ ta5t) - fi.,h. We ... r OkoboJi (Dickinson look pac;t the unique species - those tte~ for fi~h up to 17 mches. Most of County) hold~ good numbers of which have more limited distribution - these fish v. ill be caught on crankbaits fre~hwater drum. At ttme ... tt's hard to or <>imply those which don't get much or twisters. The best late-summer fish a jig and not catch a "sheep-of-the­ con<>ideration because anglers have fishing i<> with twister<;, fished near shore deep." Tr) a piece of crawdad tail on a traditionally pursue the more commonly during the evening hours. jig. The initial strike ,., exciting. sought-after sportfish species. Fishing for fl athead catfi sh is a Whether it's traditiOnal favorites Yellow bass can be found in traditiOnal summer favorite and live bait you're after or some of these other Arrowhead Lake (Sac County) and Clear (with a little patience) is the secret to "unique" fish- enjoy the day and Lake (Cerro Gordo County), with the landing these large fish. The Big Sioux appreciate the diverstty of opportunities latter being the preferred lake. They're River (Woodbury County) and the Des available to you. Species Lake or Stream, County Comments WALLEYE Cornelia. Wnghr Thts lake provtded good action for 2- to 4-pound fish during 1999. Cornelia is a relative!\ small lake with a limited number of fi.,h. Wtth thts m mind . • anglers are urged to practice selective harvest and/or catch-and-release m order to extend the years of good fishing. S1l\ er, Dtckinson Strong year classes (1995 and 1996) ha\ e produced good number' of 15- to 20-mch ftsh. Ingham. Emmet Sun ey!) conducted in 1999 md1catc 15- to 20-mch-plus fish are found m thi., 377-acre natural lake. lligh. Emmer There are quite a few 20-mch­ plus fish available m this lake. Many of these fish came from Ingham Lake during the last high-water period. Spint, Dtc kinson Good fishing will continue to be the norm on Iowa's largest natural lake. Fish range from 15 to 20 inches and larger fish are always available. We-.t Okoboji. Typically a consistent producer /)it ~II/ SOil of I- I /3- to 2-1 /2-pound fish. Larger fish are frequently caught m the fall Clear Lake. Cerro Gordo Fall electrofishmg survey., showed good numbers of fish between 12 and 16 inches. Angler-. fi-.hmg dunng the spring will notice an mcrease in the number of f1sh 14 mches and larger. The best months to f1sh are Apnl through June. Storm Lake. Buena \'ISla More than 4.000 \\ alleye-. 15 mches or larger were harvested from Storm Lake m 1999 and the f1shing should be just as good in the new mlllennmm. May and June are the be-.t months to catch walleye in Storm Lake. Trolling crankbaits or drifting live baits are proven methods. YELLOW PURC/1 are til' Trumbull. Clay Although there are large numbers of small fish present in the population. anglers will harvest plenty of 9- to 11-inch fish. Little <;\\an. Dickinson Plenty of R- to 11-inch fish, with "jumbos .. available. Ea ... t Okobop. Dickimon Perch rangmg from 8 to 10 inches will be common, especially during the early spnng. L1ttle Wall. Hamilton Large den.,ity of 7- to 9-mch fish. Excellent open-water and ice fishing during 1999 Rll·e Lake, R innebago SmaJI fish are abundant. Lots of sortmg reqmred. Sil1·er, Worth Expanding populauon has provided 10- to 13-inch fish dunng 1999. BLACK BUI.LHBJUJ Black Ha\\ k Sac Black Ha\\k Lake has a tremendous populanon of 6- to 7-mch bullheads. Early spnng IS the best nme to catch and eat these tasty members of the catfish family. A slip-we1ght. hook and a rught crawler are all that ts needed to catch a mess of bullheads. By summer's end. fish should be 8 mches-plus. Clear Lake. Cerro Gordo Population estimates completed during 1999 revealed nearly 3 million bullheads averaging nearly 1/2 pound. Rite Lake. Winnebago Large populat1on of fish averaging more than one-half pound aptece. F1sh will begm biting shortly after ice-out. High Lake. Emmet Relatively unexploited population of 8-inch fish offers angler1-1 the opportumty to harvest lots of fish. Ingham. J:..mmet Plenty of 9-inch fish available. Center Lake. D1ckinson Large (I I inche!>) fish are plentiful. Little Swan. D1ckuzson Untapped resource of 8-l/2-inch fish can provide both quantity and qualtty Ea'L OkoboJi. D1ckmson Large and numerous! Fi\ c Island. Palo Afro Improvmg fi-;hel) for 9-mch and larger fish. CHANNBI..- CATFIWI Storm Lake. Buena Fista Lob of catfish 111 the 2- to 5-pound range. Top baits for shore angler!> are mghtcra'v'v lers. stmkbatt. ch1cken livers and crayfish. Remember to fish mto the \\ md. Boaters caught limits dnfting shrimp. cutbal! and skinned chubs. Clear Lake. Cerro Gordo Harvest exceeded 5.000 f1sh m 1999.

:'>f.trch -\pn1.2000 • lo\\.1 Um>er,allon:~l 5 Des Moines Rtver Plcnt} of consistent action. (East and West Fori-.) Kosmth and Humholdr Boone River. Hmmlron Tt) a tloat trip to reach the more remote area'> on thts scemc nver. lowa River, Hardlll One- to 3-pound ftsh dommate thts ftsher). Lake Pahoja. Lyon A ... uc:cesslul cage rearing program has contnbutcd to tht'i ver} active fishef). Big Sioux River, Lyon, Large numbers. especially of 2- to 3-pound fish. Sioux and Pl)nwurlz Mill Creek. 0' Bnen Good numbers. Large (5-pound-plus) fish. MUSKELLUNGE Clear Lake, Cerro Gordo Most fish observed in last spring's surveys were 32 and 3R tnches. The number of smaller fish has increased substantially. Looh. for improved fi'>hing m the future. West Okoboji, Dicktnson A conststent producer. The fishery has tmproved: large fish are available. J/A/H BLUEGILL Little Wall. Harm/ton Seven- to 9-inch gills are common. Try msect larvae or ~mall leeches. West Okoboji. D/( kt11so11 An abundant population of 6- to 8-mch fish wtll pro\ tde plcnt} of actton. CRA PPIE Black Ha\\k Lake, Sm A good population of 8-inch crapptes are present. The manna on the north end of the Jake tmmediatel} after ice-out i-.. a -;ure bet. Small jigs under a bobber. lipped with a wax worm. ha" pro\ en to be a crappte-catching standb). Snyder Bend. ~ oodbun Last year Snyder Bend Lake produced some great crappie fishtng wtth fish up to 12 mches caught. This year looks promising for even better crappte LlRGL actton. Live mmnows fished under a bobber and jig., are the hot baits. Pine lakes, Hardin Both lakes have abundant populations of 7- to 8-tnch crappie. Lake Smllh, Kossuth Ten-inch crappte were common during 1999 survey'>. Fish near the bridge Ill the spring when fish are spawning. Beeds Lake, Franklin Most fish are between 7 and 8 inches, with some I 0-inchers available. Fish ncar brush, stakebeds or rocks on the causeway and jetties. Ingham Lake, Emmet Anglers fishing the submerged shallow water timber from April through mid-June should experience excellent fishing for 9-mch lhh. Five Island, Palo Alto Panfish anglers wtll see an upS\\- ing to Five Island crappie fishing as good numbers of qualtt} (8- to 10-inch) fish enter the fisher}. Stiver Lake, Palo Afro Anglers wtll get a bonus during 2000 as crapptes have reached 10 inches. East Okoboji, Dicktnson The 1996 year class (1 0 inches) will contnbute hea\ tly to the spnng fisher) Center Lake. Dzcktnson Eight- to I 0-inch fish wtll be plentiful NORTH ERN PIKE Crystal Lake. Hancock Good numbers of 3- to 6-pound fish. Fbh up to 15 pound.., have been tak.en m this shallo\\- Jake. Fish shortly after ice-out.

~ou are in attenng Bccds Lake, Franklin Pike are frequent!} caught in this lake and m the stream below the dam Little Swan, Dickmson Most fi sh run about 24 mchcs. however, fish larger than 5 e fishe pounds are not uncommon Tuttle Lake. Emmet Excellent numbers of 4- to 8- pound fish. H1gh Lake, Emmet Incidental catches by commercial anglers indicate a good number The of large fish. Trumbull, Clay Thirty-inch fi sh are common. Fish early in the year. able. ;MALLMOUTll BASS Lake. Dickinson Consistent. Excellent. Quality! Spring and early summer are the most productive tunes. West Okoboji. D1ckinson Find and fish the rock reefs and non!: rock) pomts. All ..,1zes - including a state record -present. Iowa River. Hardin Good numbers of f1~h c.an be found bet\'.een Alden and Eldora Use crawdad-st) le lures m back edd) areas . .ARGEMOVT/J H,\SS Lower Pine, Hardin Surveys showed excellent numbers of fi sh larger than 15 inches. Little WaiL Hamilton Good density Vanet) of si1es. Fish over submerged artificial structures. Mill Creek. O'Brien Good number of 15-inch ftsh . Selective harvest and catch-and-release are important in this 21-acre lake. West Okoboji, Dickinson A variety of si1es available. Has produced a nice fi shery over the past years.

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t.ll The gentle sound.., of crystal-clear spending time "on the water." six can be \\alleye. vater flowing over a rock and gravel Very early m the ~pring, JUst after Like walleyes. saugers are excellent iffle in a coldwater -.tream. The ice-out, is a pnme ttme for sauger tablefare. ltississippi River, with its tremendous fishing on the M1ss1ssi ppi R1ver. This Also very earl) in the spnng 1s the iversity of quiet backwaters, flowing close cousin of the walleye wngregate~ annual sucker spawning run m several 1de channels and bustling in late March and early April in the interior rivers. Good fi ~hm g usually hannel. A mynad of intenor rivers and tailwater areas immediately below the begins in late March and continues treams where, just around the bend, navigation dams. The tailwatcrs of through April. The three spec1cs most ou are in a world all your own. A dams 9 near Harpers Ferry. I 0 at commonly caught are the white sucker cattenng of artificial lakes and im­ Guttenberg, II at Dubuque, and 12 at (also commonly known as black •oundments when! you can leisurely Bellevue are prime sauger hotspots. sucker), shorthead redhorse and golden njo) the t-terenity of quiet "'ater from There is no mmimum length limit on redhorse. The Upper Iowa, Yellov.. 1ther the shoreline or a boat. saugers: ho"' ever. there is a I '5-mch Turkey. Volga and Maquoketa nver~ are That diversity of water resources. minimum on the sinular-looking prime sucker streams. The tackle 1s oupled with quality fish populations. "'alleye. The dtstmgUJ shing character­ simple - a long-~hanked hook baited . iw good reason to go out and enjo) istic to look for 1s saugers do not have a With worms or mghtcra\\ lers and JUst 1ese beautiful areas Iowa has to offer. white tip on the lo"' er tall fin. The enough weight to hold It on the bottom la\'ing a great fishing experience \\ill combmed daily bag hmJt for sauger and - and the actton ts often furious . efinitely add to the enjoyment of walle) e is I0: however. no more than Sucker meat is dehc1ous but bon). ~o

\larch Apnl2000 • lo\\a Con;t l'\';lhorusl 7 most angler'> e1ther pickle them or grind white bass or stnper. Th1s speedster the meat and deep-fr} as thin patties. loves to hit lures and will test your Another heep.,head. This fish is population. Stripers ltke a combination so plentiful It also supports a substantial of current and rock, wh1ch makes the commercial fishery. The serious action Mississippi 's wing dams a favored usually begin~ in June and continues haunt. Baitfish jumping out of the water through the wam1 summer months. or seagull s actively diving and feeding Drum love current, so look for them on the water surface are good indicators along the borders of the main channel, a school of wh1te bass are actively side channels and near wing dams. feeding. Fish the area using about any They love n1 ghtcrawlers and crayfish lure that resembles an mjured baitfish. tail-.. Tl') a l1 ve crayfish for a better It i::-. up to you to get out and chance of catching a really big one. enjoy these beautiful water resources Drum fillet.., are boneJe..,s: however, the and their anghng opportunities. URGE best eating I'> from those weighing less Here 's hopmg your fishing outings than 2 pound.,. are numerous. enjoyable and full of One of m) per.,onal favorites is the action.

BLUEGILL Casey Lake. Tama Abundant 7- to 8-inch bluegill with some up to 9 mches. Concentrate on c,;hallow waters in May and June. Lake Delhi, Delaware Fi sh up to 7 inches. Fish the early spring and late fall to avoid heavy boating traflic. Lake Hendricks, Howard Many 6- to 7- 1/2-inch fish. Fish over the habitat install ed three years ago during lake renovation. Lake Meyer, Wmneshiek Fi ::-. h in the 5- to 6-1/2- inch range very abundant. Mi ssissippi River Bluegill populations have rebounded the past few years due to an increase Pools 9-15 in vegetati on and mild winters. Expect numerous fish up to 7 inches. S\Neet Marsh Segment B Abundant number of 6- to 7-inchers with some up to 8 inches. Marten ·s Lake. Bremer Concentrate along shorelines in May and June. Volga Lake. F ayeue A con&istent producer of 6- to 8-inch bluegills. Drift over flats during the &pa\\ n or II') mid-lake cedar tree piles in the summer. CHANNEL CATFISH Cedar River Bremer. Cluckam..-.. Abundant 1- to 2-pound fi sh from Mitchell downstream. Floyd and Black Hawk Lake Delht. Delaware Good populattons of all sizes. Fish early morning or late evemng during tnJdsummer to avoid high recreational boat traffic. Maquoketa River, Delaware, Good populations from Manchester downstream to the Mississippi River. and Jackson Fi'>h exceeding 5 pounds sampled in Jones County in 1998. Meyer Lake, Black Hawk Good numbers of 3- to 5-pound catfish with an occasional fi sh exceeding 10 pounds. Mississippi River, Population numbers and average size continue to be very good. Early Pools 9-15 fishing generally begins in April or May drifting shad baits along main channel border riprap. As water temperatures warm in June through August. prepared baits and chicken liver become very effective near wing dams and running s1de channels. Shell Rock River. Butler Good numbers throughout county. Try the shallow riffle areas in the fall. Samts Lake. Bremer Th1s 4-year-old lake located just west of Waverly holds an abundant population of 1- to 2-pound fish. Upper Iowa River. 41/amakee Good abu ndance of catfi sh from the mouth upstream to the lower dam. Volga Lake. Fcneue Fingerling stockings have built a strong population, with occasional troph1es. Wapsipimcon River. Buchamm Good popul ation of large catfish below Littleton. Fish the shallow

R low ( 11 1\'aol 11'1 • \! HC1t t\pnl ~()(1{1 ster backwater-; after ace-out, and tree and brush piles on the mam nver during \Uf the summer. marL !r, L , CRAPPIE Casey Lake. Tama Average-size ftsh m deep-\\ ater structure; concentrate on shallow areas ~r dunng the May spawnmg season. ~ina:. George Wyth Lake, Good numbers of 8- to 9-mchers. Handicap-accesc;ible fishing pier ava1lable. s the Bla

\1arch April 2000 • lo" a Cor...er.at1onht 9 SMALLMOUTH BASS Cedar River, Bremer Be'>t habitat and number!:> are dO\\.ll!:>tream from Wa\'erl) and Waterloo. and Black Hawk Cedar River, Excellent population throughout both counties. The an.~a from Otranto to Mitchell and Fiord St. Ansgar is catch-and-release onl). Maquoketa River, The 'imallmouth bass population is at a record high lc\ cl in the catch-and­ Delaware release area below the Lake Delh1 dam. Big ltsh and lots of them. Maquoketa River, Great habitat and excellent number., belo\\. Monticello and Canton. Many Jones and Jackson fish exceeding 15 inches sampled. Mississippi River, Smallmouth bass are responding to increac;c., in river hab1tats and Pools 9-15 populations are on the rise. Fish rock ~tructure 111 the current with either live or artificial baits. Fair number of fish in the 15- to 18 inch range. ~ Shell Rock River, Good population from Greene do\\.n'>tream to the confluence with the Cedar Butler and Bremer River. Shell Rock River, Floyd Good numbers, but fe\\ trophtes. Turkey River, Clayton. Excellent habitat from Eldorado dov. ll'>tream. Spolt) habitat above Fayette, Winneshiek Eldorado, but some quality fish are present and Howard Upper Iowa River. C.tst a lure almost an) where in Allamakee. Howard the nvcr and you are hkel) to and H'inneshiek catch a \tnallmouth From Dewrah do\\ mtream to the Upper Dam i-. catch-and-release on I) . Volga River. Fayelle Small (but scenic) nver with lots of -,mall rish. Wapsipinicon River, The area from Littleton to Buchanan Quasqueton has the best habitat. Good number of -;mallmouth up to 18 inche..,, with a few over 20. TROUT Baile) 's Ford, Dela11'are Stod.. ed three tune<> each week. w1th catch.thle rambov. and brooJ... trout Bigalk Creek. Howard Brook and r.unbO\\ trout ..,tocJ...cd \\cdd) Watershed and habttat Improvements have rc.,ultcd 111 lumtcd natural reproductiOn of rambows. Ensign Hollow, Clayton Abundant t 2- to 17 -inch brown trout with ... ome target I tsh present. A 6- pound brown was sampled in 1999. Rainbow populallon grov. mg due to fingerhng stockings. Catch-and-release and artittunl lure on I). Fountain Springs, Delaware Stocked with catchable rainbow and brooJ... trout twice per week from April :he rn, through August; once per week m September and October. A half mile of state additional creek was purchased on the east side or the county park. and will four be stocked beginning this year. French Creek, Allamakee Catch-and-release area for wild brown trout. Artificial lure<> only. Limited reproduction of brook trout has also been documented in the upper reaches. Little Paint Creek, Naturally reproducing brown trout population. Rambow and brook Allamakee trout stocked weekly. Catchable brov.n and brook trout. and fmgerltng brov. n.., and ram bows Maquoketa Ri ver. ~ ~ Clayton and Delaware stocked. l tncrea<>cd almost four­ fb ... tx ~11/tlej>lliek fold !:>mce 1994. Catch-and-release and arttlicial lure onl) found Spring Branch. Water~hed project has resulted in stabiliLed banks and abundant trout Delaware hab1tat. Spring Branch is an artificial-lure-only stream and there"' a 14-inch minimum length limit on brown. rainbow and brook trout.

I 0 h.n\tl Conscn.stronut • \.lArch Apn1 21tOO Trout River. Habitat improvements completed Stocked Tloo. ~A.,'inne shi ck weekly \\lith brook and brown trout. \\ aterloo Creek. Very strong populatton of "'tid brown trout ramo to Allamakee on new pubhc land south of Dorchester. The segment below the Highwa) 76 bridge tch-and- is catch-and-release and arttftcial lure only. Stocked weekly with catchable rambow and brook trout upstream of Dorchester. WALLEYE Cedar Rtver, Bremer, Fingerling stockings have resulted in an either live Black Hawk, Floyd excellent population of all stles, with Chickasaw and some up to 28 inches. A I 0-pounder was the Cedar Muclte/1 sampled in 1999. Maquoketa Rtver, Good population of 14- to 20-mch Delaware walleyes below Manchester and the Lake Delhi Dam. MissJsslppt Rtver, The 1997 year clas-<; will be keeper status Pools 9-15 ( 15-inch minimum length ltmll) thts year. ~·herem Fish the tailwaters during the pre-spawn ikely to penod in March and April and m late fall. rom Fish the 'A ing dams m the po-;t-spa'A-n and to the summer/early fall penods U'>ing cnm lers d-rele~e and crankbatts. Shell Rock Rtver. Butler Fingerling stockings have resulted in an abundant number of 16- to 20-inch er with lots walleyes. A I 0 l/2-pound fish was sampled below Greene in 1999. Wap..,ipintcon River, Excellent numbers from Ltttleton downstream, with abundant 14- to 18~ to 8/1( l!anan inchers. Walleyes more than 10 pounds caught every year. Fish the deeper habitat pools in late fall and winter using a jig and minnow. llmOIJlh up

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T T + I I loot.... lor 2000 to be another and the good hole-; an! ob" ious excellent fishtng '>cason 111 southwest Crapptes u-;uall) start bttmg Iowa. t\lu\'- is usually the hest ttme to in mid-Apnl and ftshmg pcak.s 111 Ma). Summer heat moves f1sh to deeper fish the small rc'>crvom which provide lt ts common to sec buckets of these water where they often are more dtfftcult the majority or fishing m thts part of the tasty pantish being harvested each to catch. Dri rt !ishing lor bluegills and April '\tate South\\ est lmva fhhing centers on spring. Mmnows and small jigs are the crappie, fishing deeper '>tructure for bass of tour ..,pecic..,: largemouth bass. bluegill, best baits. Bass start biting about the and bottom fishing for catfish are all and wtll crappie and t.hannd catfish. There is ttme crappies do, although it is often effective in midsummer. The cooler good ltshing lor other 'ipecies in -;orne earlier in farm ponds where water wam1s temperatures of autumn make for more lake"> ,md reservoirs. hut the big four are more quickly. Crank balls and plastic pleasant fishing and better catches. every" here. worms are favonte bass catchers. There are two new lakes in south­ Most people think of catfish as Bluegill fishmg ptcl-..s up sigmfi­ west Iowa that wtll htt their peak thi-; warm-weather lish, but good lake cantl) m nud-Ma) as the crappte bite year. Three Mile and Fogle lake~ were catfi..,hmg can occur right after tee-out. declines. Faste">l fishmg lor bluegill first stocked in 1995 and probabl) the The bc'il h.tits arc winter-k.llled fish occurs \\hen the) arc spa\\ nmg. often best fishing of thetr ltle -;pan '"''ill be this four· found along the '>horelinc or sour shad comctding ''- tth Memorial Da) in year. Both have excellent populations purcha ed I rom a b,ut '>tore Summer southern Iowa. \V orm'> arc the be-.t ban of panfish. bass and catft'>h. ti .... hing for catlhh c.m be excepttonal on for bluegill. but small jtg-. or other hve Three t\.lile " an 880-acre lal-..e inland river' when water le\·els are low bait also ''ork well. located near Afton in lmon Count).

~larch Apri12000 • lm1a ('onscm&uom;c II Development of the area has been under Those ..., ho had a chance to fish ~mallmouth b,ts.., along the riprap on tht wa) for several years and boasts a ne'A Twelve Mile two years ago when the dam and other rol "-Y areas. Catfish hav. beach. p1cnic shelters. campgrounds. crappie fishing was phenomenal can done excepuonall) well and a good rental cabins. boat ramps. fishing Jetties expect similar -;uccess at Three Mile th1s number of I to 3-pound t1~h are and accessible pier. Numerous underwa­ year. The lake is absolutely loaded with prc.:,ent. Walleye and redear sunfish ter fish reefs and extensive flooded thic"- 9-inch fish. I expect thousands of have been -;Locked in the lake, but are timber provide plenty of places to fish. crappies wi ll be taken from mid-April more dtfllcult to catch. If I had to pick through late May this one lake to lish tim ) ear. it would be spring. Early fall was Three Mile. excellent last year and Fogle La"-e was built and stocked should be again this year. the ~arne year as Three Mile. Located Summer fishing will be in Ringgold County near Diagonal, slow, but some fish will be this 40-acre lake is situated in a small caught by drift-fishing or recreation area. Facilittes are limited fishing deep structure. to fishmg JettJes. boat ramp. picnic Bluegills are also tables and o.;heltcr. Ft<>hing pressure /A plentiful in the lake. Most has been ltght at th1.., lake so far. If are 7 inches and will be vou 'A ant to catch a strin2:er of nice - ~ wilhng biters all summer. bluegills or a li mit of 1- to 3-pound Bass fishing has been catf1sh and do 11 ay, a) from the crowd. super the past two years Fogle IS the place to go. and should be good again The follov.mg table gives the best this year. Most bass will places to f1c;h 111 ..,outh Y. est Iowa in be 11 to 14 inches, but 2000. If you are mterested in a good there are fish up to 19 trip, consider one of those listed. You inches. There's a few will be glad you did.

BLUEGILL Ahquabi, Warren Great redear population, but tough to catch. Good for 6- to 8-inch bluegill. Anita, Cass Consistently large fis h. Try fishing around structure. Badger Creek, Madison Good for large numbers of 7- to 8-inch fish. Beaver, Dallas Good for 6- l/2- to 8-1/2-inch fish. Big Creek, Polk Moderate number of 5- to 7-inch fish. Fish pomt~. -.and) areas and tree reefs. Fogle, Ringgold Seven- to 8-l/2-inch bluegill:. common: redear up to I 0 mches. Hickory Grove, Stor_v Fish average 7 to 9 inches. Tl") around pallets and <>horelme <;trucrure. Hooper, Warren Redear population is good. Bluegills range from 6- 1/2 to 8 mches. Linle River. Decantr Good bluegill fi shing: 7- to 8-inch fish are common. Meadow, Adair Good population of 6- to 8-inch fish. Quality redear fisher). Nine Eagles, Decatur Good redear population. Little fishing pressure. Try marked fishing reefs. Nodaway. Adair Good for 7-inch fish. Three Mile, Union Tremendous population of 7- to 8-inch fish. with some up to 9. Redear up to I 0 inches. Twelve Mile, Union Bluegills between 7 and 8 inches common. Fish around 11ooded trees. Viking, Montgomery Best in spring and early summer; 6- to 8-inch fish common. CRAPPIE Ahquabi, Warren Nice 9-inch-plus fish. Anita, Cass Very healthy 8- to 10-inch fish. Badger Creek, Madison Nice 8- to 9-inch fish. Big Creek, Polk Most fi sh will be 7 to 10 inches. Fish the new structure or the jetties. DeSoto Bend, Harrison Good fishing for 8- to 10-inch crappies in the early spring. Fish structure. Don Williams, Boone Good population of 8- to 10-inch fish. Try fishing along dropoffs. Easter, Polk Good population of 7- to 9-inch fi sh, with a fey, up to ll. , Union Crappie up to 14 inches are possible, but 7-l/2- to 9-inch fish are common. Greenfield, Adair Good population of 8- to 10-inch fish. Icaria. Lots of 8-inch fish. Try fishing near riprapped areas. Littlefield, Audubon Eight- to 10-inch fish. Spring fishing should be good. Fish the dam face. Littl River, Decatur Lots of 8- to 9-inch fish, with some up to 12. Fish near flooded trees. Mana\\ a, Pottawattamie Good early ftshmg in lagoons. l\1anposa, Jasper Lots of 7- to 8-mch fish. a good Orient, Adair Although the water is al\.\ays turbid, crappie fishing ts still good. Most fish are are 8 to 9 mches. sunihh Praine Rose, Shelby Most fish are 8 to I 0 inches. Fishing is good all summer. but is best m the \ bUiare spring. Fish the structure. tad to picl Red Rock, Marion Lots ofbtg fish. Fish when water is clear. Try feeder stream embayments. vould be Rock Creek, Jasper Good population of 7- to 8-l/2-inch crappie. Fish the bays and near points. Saylorvillc, Pol/... Most fish are 8 to 11 inches. Fish near the marina and mile-long bridge areas. 1d stocked Shp Bluff, Decatur Good populatiOn of 8- to 9-inch fish. Very little fishing pressure. Located Three Mile, Union Tremendous number of 8-1/2- to 9-1/2-inch fish. with a fair number of 11 - to 13-inchers. Twelve Mile, Union Good number of 7- to 9-inch fish. Vil-.mg. Montgomery Good number of 7- to 9-inch fish. West Lake Osceola, Clarke Fall surveys showed impressive number of 9- to 10-1/2-inch fish. LARGBMOUTH far. If Ahquabi. Warren Excellent catch-and-release fishing. There is an 18-inch length hmit. of mce Anita. Cass Perennial favorite, with bass up to 6 pounds. Fish the structure. Badger Creek, Dallas Lots of 12- to 15-mch bass with an occasional lunker. the croli l Beaver. Dallas Good catch-and-release fishery. Most fish are under 15 inches. Big Creek, Polk Fish around ne\.\ structure, the face of the dam, new silt dikes and jetttes. In the earl} spnng, fish near woody structure along the shoreline and in coves. Don Williams, Boone Most fish are 13 to 17 inches, with an occasional Junker. Try the points and woody structure in coves and in the northern portion of the lake. Easter, Polk Most fish are 10 to 14 inches, with some up to 5 pounds. Farm~ ponds Many private ponds in southwest Iowa provide good bass fishing. Green Valley, Union With a 22-inch length limit, any keeper will be a real trophy. Hooper, Warren Excellent catch-and-release fishery, with 18-inch minimum length limit. blue~ill ltttle River, Decatur Good number of 2- to 3-1/2-pounders. Fish submerged brush and trees. Manposa, Jasper Good catch-and-release fishery. Meadow, Adair Good bass lake for fish up to 5 pounds. Nine Eagles, Decatur Good number of smaller fish. with an occasional large fish. Praine Rose, Shelby Fish the stake beds and brush piles. Red Rock. Marion Best from mid-May to mtd-July. Sa} Jorvllle. Polk Lots of I 0- to 13-inch fish. few legal fish. Fish the face of the dam. Big Creek outlet or an} rock) area. Spnngbrook, Guthrie Good catch-and-release fishery. Lake of Three Fires, Taylor Can be good for bass up to 5 pounds if the water is clear. The lake tends to be mudd}. Three Mile, Umon Tremendous fishmg for I 1- to 14-inch fish. wtth a good number of 15- to 19-i nchers. Twelve Mile, Union ExceJient bass fishery for 12- to 18-inch fish. Viking, Montgomery Good population of 12- to 15- inch bass. Fish the structure. West Lake Osceola, Clarke Good summer time bass fishing. WALLEYEISAVGEYE Big Creek. Polk Fishing outlook is good for 2000, with a good population of 16- to 22-inch walleyes. Des Moines River, Fish below Corps dams. low­ Polk and Boone head dams and gravel nffles. The Scott Street dam t'> good in the spnng. DeSoto. Harrison Best m the spnng. Fair number of 14- to 17-inch fi sh.

March April 2000 • !o"a Con~l'\·auont>t J 3 Little Riwr. Dec alllr F~<.. h average 14 to 18 inche~. up to 9 pounds. Manav.. a, Pol/a\\'Uttcmue c:ihould be good ftshmg in :woo. Most fi'ih Me 1-l to 16 inche'i. Sa} !orville. Pol/.: hsh ... and} pomts. the old m.cr c.:hannel and old road bed'>. Three Mile, Unum Fh . Twelve M1le, Union F1sh average 13 to 24 inches. ~Uf\t with potentwl for up to 9 WliU pounds. Best walleye lake for lion 1 ghtdJ number' tn c;outhwest lo~a . B ULLHEADS to put Beaver Lake, Dullw Fi'>h average I 0 mches-pJu .... hov.c\ cr. numbers are do~ n. Little River, Decatur N1c.:c "1/C ft-.h averagmg 10 to I 1 inc he'>. Mana\\a, Potfawattamie N1cc '>1te ftsh a\ eraging 1 pound. Rock Creek. .!mpa Fish .tre defmJtel) keepers: number' arc down slightly !'rom the pa"t. Three M1le, Unum Lots of I 0- to 13-inch fish. CHANNEL CATFISH Ahquabi. "arren N1cc s1zc ftc;h, averaging 19 to 23 m<.he" Big Creek, Pol/.. Really 111ce hsh, lots of them and rcl.llJVcl) lillie fishing pres ... ure. Cedar, Mad1son Good number of -l- to 6-pound fi..,h. Ma) h.tvc to sort through ... maller fbh. Easter. Polk c:\cellent population of 12- to 20-inch fish. Fogle, Ringgold Great number of 1- to 3-poundcrs. Green Valley, Union Good number of 14- to 18-inch fish, with some up to') pounds. abnut lcaria, Adams All :-.i1e~ up to 5 pounds. May have to 'iOrt through smaller fish. feedu Little River. Decatur Many 3- to 10-pounders. Fi~h small hH) s in m1d.,ummcr ha\e Littlefield, Auduhon Fish the north shore during a strong '>OU1h \\ md . han r Manawa. Pottawattwme Good number~. Most fish are 2 to 6 pound' \.\ tth "omc up to 12. 12·to Meadow, Admr Fi~h average 2 to 6 pound'>. or fl\ Morman Trail. Decatur Good population of catfish. tO\\ Nine Eagles, De( atur Abundant population of 1- to -l-pound fish: lillie tishing pre ... sure. hghtl Nodawa), Adair Bec;t fishmg earl) in the year: fair dunng summer months. ~hon Onent, Adair Stocked evet)' )ear. Fish the campmg area dunng a strong south wind Red Rock. i'vlanon Ftsh average 12 to ?O inche~. Best fi.,hing from mile-long bridge to dam. Rock Creek. Jasper Shallo"'. feru le lal,.e \~ith good number of large catfish. Saylorville, Polk f:xcellent fishing. Lots of 2- to -l-pound ftsh Summit Lake, Umon One- to 3-pounders common. Southwest Iowa Rivers Catft-.h arc abundant in all Iowa nvers. Three Mile, Union Good number of 1- to 3-pound fi.,h. Twelve Mile, Union Two- to 6-pounders are common, with a few up to 10 pounds. Viking, Montgomery All siLes of catfic;h up to 6 pounds.\.\ ith a few large fl'>h. West Lake Osceola, Clarke Good number of 2- to 4-pound fish, with a lew up to 12 pounds. YELLOW BASS Carter Lake. Pottawattamie Lots of o;mall fish. lcaria, Adams Lots of 6- to 9-inch fish. Hard hitters; good eating. Manawa. Pottcrwattanue Lots of -.mall fish. with an occasional pounder. Twelve Mile, Umvn Large number of 7- to 9-inch fish. Viking, MomgomeJ'_' Moderate number of 8- to 9-inch fish. MUSKELLUNGE Three Mile. Umon Ne\\est <,outhwest Iowa musk} lake. Fish up 10 36 inches and growmg fast. WHITE BASS/WIPER S Red Rock, Marion Ft-.h mtdsummer, from the dam tO\\ard the be

14 lo\\ • c orn» • \lar,l '\pn ~non A revi~w of last yl!ars fisheries minnow combination-.. are hi ghly surveys indicate.: we will sta11 the new effective. Wmgdam fishing during century with an l!xc·cllcnt fish popula­ summer and early fall will also tion m southeast Iowa. This is no Y2K produce sti mulating action. Try waxworms and small bobbers handy glitch thL' fi sh arc there and are waiting backtrolling crankbaits or three-way because these baits often out-produce to put smiles on the faL·es of Iowa nightcrawler rigs on the upstream side the traditional bluegill bail'>. Give anglers. Tho~e who have mcluded in of the wingdams. An upside to the tlyfishing for spring crappi e and thei1 New Ycar 1csolutions to go fishing summer angling period Js the peace and bluegill a try. Drift fish for bluegllls and will he handsomely rewarded. quiet of havmg a po1110n of the river to crappie during the summer v. hen they If) ou en jn) channel cat fi shing or yourself. v.hereas. the lock-and-dam have moved away from shore and are are ju"t looking to get out and tf) your fishing can be a btl competlttve for suspended about 8- to 12-feet below the ili:W Ch1 i s tma~ fi <., hing equipment. give some. Keep m mind. there 1s a I 5-mch surface. ice-out ch.mnd cat fi shing a tf). Early mmtmum length I imll for v. aile) e on Effective bass size regulations are a sea~on catfi:-hing \\US made for the the M i5sic;stppt RJ\ er benefit to all angler.... WJth an excellent famil y. hccau"e the fi,hing 1s easy and The .tvhssJsslppl Rtver also pro­ bass population. these important the action i!. last. Also. th1s type of duces excellent catches of wh ite bass. predators can whittle away at the angling JS t) pically done from shore. drum. carp. crappie. bluegill and panfish. improving thetr size for When water temperatures reach largemouth bass. Whlle bass can be positive angler benefits. Additional about "0 to 55 degrees. catfish begin a found m the same habitat as walleye benefits are improved bass catch rate~ kec.hng :-.pre~: feeding on fish that and sauger. and serve as a great bonus and larger sizes of bass to catch. Give have tiled tluring the wi nter. Fish the fish. Look for crappie, bluegill and size limits a chance, release a bass and bmt (cuthaits arl' best) m the shallower largemouth bass in the river's backwa­ do as the bass does - eat the panfish. (2- to 6-l'oot ). wanner port1on of a lake ters near stumpfields, brush and vegeta­ Southern Iowa is blessed with or river v. ith the wind blowmg across or tion. Remember. there ts a 14-inch several excellent bass/bluegill lakes. toward you. Use an egg-type sinker to length limit on largemouth bass. but perhaps the best systems are the lighten the hait, and set the hook after a Interest in tlathead catfish seems to small farm ponds. Ponds are excellent short run. The best areas for early spnng have reached a ne\\ h1 gh in southeast spots to start the new fi shing season. cattish angling are lakes Rathbun. Iowa due pnmarily to great fishmg for Because of their size. they are the first Coralvi lle. Darhng, Kent. Macbride. the these "big ones." Bank pole or rod and systems to warm up. meanmg a lot of Mtssiss tppi Ri''CJ and allmland rivers. reel, with green sunf1sh. bullheads or early action. Also, they are the best The Mt!lsissippi 's "Mr. Whiskers'' blueg11l for bait, are the can be caught in nearly all parts of the preferred techniques. Fish river using a variety of ba1ts, but best deep holes m summer and bets are above and below wingdams and fall, and around bndge riprapped head:- of islands v. here there is pilings in interior n vers and a current. Stumpfields and riprapped in side channels, eddy areas shorelines arc hotspot'> during the and below locks and dams prespawn and spawning periods. The on the Mississippi River. At size limit ~et on commercial fishing in Rathbun Lake concentrate 1985 has resulted m more spawning­ on riprap in the Bridgeview sized adults. This allowed nature to area in late spring to early replenish eattish numbers. benefiting summer for excellent action. both sport anglers and commercial For bluegill and crappie, tisher,. traditional baits and tech­ The GJeat River's walleye and niques are highly ... uccessful. saugcr angling i" "hat legends are made but don't put your Jce­ of. The lock-and-dam habttat produces fishmg equipment av.ay great catches in late \\ inrer. earl} spnng 'A-hen the warm season Big and late fall. Jigging Sonars or Jig-and- arnves. Keep your tee fhes.

\larch Apnl2000 • low.1 Con-~l'\11t10imt 15 fi~hmg.... hole.., to catch lunker bass and bluegill. But. man) of these mm1 - lak. e~ arc located on pnvate propert) and require ov.ner!'. · permi~sion to fish. You can read all the information CH.\ \ written about fi <> hing and spend Saturday and Sunda) in front of the television watching fi shing programs, but until you gather up the equipment and head to a fishing hole, you haven 't enjoyed the full experience. I can't think of a better way to spend a day than taking the family on a fishing trip.

BLUEGILL Mi ssissippi River Pool 16 Andalusia backwaters. Credit Island Slough. Wyoming Island Slough. Pool 17 B1g Timber. Cleveland Slough. Hidden Acres, Bogus Island, Blanchard Slough. Eagle F1ll. FLU Poo/18 Huron Island, Burnt Pocket, Johnson Slough. Dasher Chute. Pool /9 Burlmgton Island, Turkey Chute, Blackha\\ k. Bottoms, Lead Island Chute, Nwta weedbeds, Rabbit Island riprap, Devils Creek. weedbed and Gray's Bay. Farm Ponds Exceptional angling. Best chance for a troph) . Pleasant Creek, Linn Good qualit). many 7- to 9-inch fish available. Geode, H enr_v Average harvest <> ize 7 to 8 inches-plus. Trophy fish available. Hannen, Benton Good numbers, 6 to 8 inches. with l 0-inch fish reported. HUJ Hawthorn, Mahaska Good numbers of 6- to 8-inch fish. Lake Iowa, Iowa Good numbers of 6- to 8-inch fish. Kent, Johnson All sizes, easy shoreline access. Keomah. Mahaska Good numbers of 6- to 8-inch fish. II ~II Miami, Monroe Good numbers of 7- to 8-inch fish. Wapello. Dm·is Excellent numbers of 8 inch and larger fi sh. look to artificial habitat. White Oak, Mahaska Good numbe r ~ of 7- to 8-inch fbh. Union Grove, Tama Good quality with fish over 9 inches. Sugema. \ an Buren Tremendous numbers of 7- to 8-inch fish; a bluegill angler' .... dream. CRAPPIE Rathbun. Appanoose Superb crappie Jake. Average ..,ize 9 to 12 mche .... ; trophy f1'1h available. Mi~ ~issippi River Crappie fishing ''ill mirror bluegill fishing on the ~ll~sJ~Slppi River. Coralville. Johnson Exce llent numbers of 8- to 12-mch fish. 13- to 15-inchers a\ ad able. S.4UG Ode<>sa, Louisa A vcrage harvest ->ize 8 to 10 inches. Lake Iowa, I owa Good number-. from 8 to 10 inches. Darling, Washington Two s1Ze1. of fi sh are available; 6 to 8 and I 0 to 14 inche-.. Hawthorn. Mahaska Excellent numbers of 8- to 11 -inch fish available. Miami, Monroe Excellent numbers of 8- to 11-inch fi sh. Diamond, Po1t>eshiek Good numbers of 9- to 11 -inch fi sh. Macbride, Johnson Excellent for 8- to 10 -inch fish, 11 - to 13-inch fish common. Sugema, \fan Buren Good angling; 9- to 10-inch fish most common. Pleasant Creek, Linn Good in ~pring for 9- 10 I l-inch fish. Keomah, Mahaska Outstanding crappie fi shef)' for 9- to 12-inch fi sh. LARGEMOUTH BASS Mississippi River Try the same areas as bluegills and crapp1es. Fann ponds Bc"t chance for a trophy. Great fi shing. Mwmi. Monroe E\cellcnl numbers. various sizes. Pleasant Creek. L111n Excellent catch-and-release ( 18-mch size limit) with fic.;h up to 8 pounds Lake IO\\a. loll'a Good numbers. 'arious sizes. Geode, Good catch-and-release fishery . Macbnde. Johnwn Good number-. of 2- to -+-pounders: fish m all s1ze range ">.

16 o \...1( ,r. r tJoultt • :VH 1 pr• ZllH< Diamond. Poweshiek Good numbers of 2- to 4-pound fish with trophy s1zes present. Wapello, Dav1s No-kill regulation: lots of 10- to 15-inchers. Hawthorn, Mahaska Good numbers of 12- to 16-inch fish for catch-and-release angling. Kcomah, Mahaska Excellent numbers of 11 - to I 8-inch fish. CHANJ\'ELC,tTFISH t\. t issi ssippi All pools excellent: recruitment good. Inland Rivers Good to excellent: catfish factories! Corydon, Wayne Good numbers with a variety of sizes. Fish up to 29 inches collected m survey. Rathbun. Appanoose Exceptional fishery, all sizes. Post ice-out period excellent. Coralville, Johnson Exceptional fishery. all sizes. Post ice-out period excellent. Mwmi, Monroe Excellent number of all size fish. Matbride, Johnson Excellent for all sizes. Darling, Washington Good for a variety of sizes. Geode, Hem)' Good for a variety of sizes. Lake Iowa, Iowa Good numbers of 2- to 4-pound fish. Keomah, Mahaska Good for a variety of sizes. f lawthorn, Mahaska Excellent fisher): fish up to 25 inches. FLATHEAD CATFISH Mis<;issippi Best belov. locks and dams, wingdams and side channels. Skunk, lower Iowa, Des Moines Big ft,h m deep holes around bndge pilings during summer. Good numbers Waps1pm1con and Cedar rivers of 5- to 30-pound ti~h. Coralville, Johnson Good number~ of 10- to 30-pound fish. Rathbun, Appanoose Fair numbers of 2- to 20-pound fish available. Concentrate on rip-rap in Bridgeview area m late spring to early summer. BULLHEAD Wapello, Davis Ten- to 14-inch fi sh available. Keomah, Mahaska Ten- to I 2-inch fish available. Macbride, Johnson Best east of causeway in May for 8- to 10-inch fish. WALI..EYE Mississipp1 Seek locks and dams, and wingdams. Excellent for sauger. Rathbun, Appanoose Large numbers of 15- to 21-inch fish. Macbride, Johnson Good numbers of 15 to 20- inch fish with trophy sizes available. Des Momes River, Wapello Quality angl mg below the hydropower dam; trophy fish are available Coralville, Johnson Good in spring and late fall m upper end and around l-380 bridge. SAVGEYE Iov.a R1ver, Johnson Exceptional fi shery: lots of 2- to 4-pound fish up to l 0 pounds. Coralville, Johnson Best in early spring and late fall around 1-380 bridge: good number of 2- to 3-pounders. Umon Grove, Tarna High numbers of 14- to 18-inch fi sh with some up to 6 pounds. WHITE BASS Mississippi Seek locks and dams and wingdams. Rathbun. Appanoose Excellent numbers of I 1- to 15-inch fish: target humps and points. Coralville, Johnson Lots of 12- to 1-+-inch fish. Best in late summer on shad-colored crankbaits. Macbnde, Johnson Fair numbers of 12- to 14-mch fish. Pleasant Creek, Lmn Excellent for summer top~ater action. REDEttR SUNFISH Ha\\ thorn, Mahaska Average han est size 8 mches-plus. Keomah. Mahaska Good numbers of 8- to 11-inch fish. T\ hami. 1"1011 roe Good numbers of 8-mch-plus fish.

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Place On The Left Bank by Pat Lewi.

i R "' • C nserv mor , • \larch o\pn 2000 ,1"/t a vel) young age, Lowell . ~ .. , Waltet discovered he loved to hunt and fi'>h . He favored a local area with a sand<>tone rock outcropping along the left bank of the Wapsipinicon River, JU't up ... tream from the town of Qua ... queton. Pwneers named the outcropping Cedar Rock. and the scenic and produc.ttve spot on the Wap'> tpuucon River became etched in young Walter's mind. Ht s childhood days soon faded into adult llfe for Walter. but those early imprcssJOm \.\Ould forever be etched in hts mind. Vv alter graduated from the Capital Ctt} Commercial College m Des Momc" March 2, 1914. After working for a lumber company. he and a partner bought the Des Moines-based Iowa Road Building Company. Like it did to so man} others. World War I dis­ as pod.et knives and wicker bao;kets, Convincing The Best rupted the } oung bu-,messmen · s plans. and create brochures to market the'>e Frank Lloyd Wnght was a silver­ and the I\\ o left for the armed forces. \\ares. Some employees would help sell haired. outspoken, colorful renegade. When the) returned. Walter'-; pat1ner the products, "" htle others would fill He had such a profound effect on declmed to re-enter the busmess, and order<>. Walter's plan pro"ided regular American architecture the American Walter went at it alone. income and allowed him to keep valued Institute of Architects chose to desig­ As the automobile grew in popular­ employees. An astute businessman. nate 17 of his American buildings as tt y. so did the need for improved roads. Walter seemed able to marry civic examples of his contribution to Ameri­ Walter's business. whtch applied a hot obligations wtth sound business can culture. bitumtnous otl coatmg over dirt roads. dectsion<;. Considering Wright's architectural thrt\'Cd An earl ) newspaper arttcle tells of credentials and impressive portfolio. .\ young. -,uccessful busmessman. ho" "a Quasqueton farm youth made Walter knew tt would take more than a Walter marned Agnes Nteben Nov. 17. good m the ctty, but he dtdn 't forget hts simple request to entice the much 19 17 She JO tned her hu.,band m the home community's farm lands when he sought-after architect to accept the busmcs.... keepmg booh and managing looked for a place to invest h1s money." project. Therefore, in his letter, Walter the company's office. Walter acquired a little more than 5,000 included a photograph of Cedar Rock to Road buildmg was a seasonal acres in Buchanan County. Possibly his further convince the architect of the busmcss and thus Walter grew con­ most meaningful purchase, however. merit of the assignment. Before cerned for ht'> employee· s financial was I 1- 1/2 acres of woodland encom­ agreeing to accept this commission, welfare To keep them bU'>) }ear-round, passmg hts most cherished childhood however. Wright paid a visit to the he turned to retatl sales. Walter would getawa) - Cedar Rock. A short tune special site. During his visit he roamed purcha.... e 'anous product-; m bulk, such later. the Walters had a two-room cabm every corner of the ll -1/2 acres, no and a small garage built. small feat considering he was 77 years The Walters enjoyed their time at old. Cedar Rock so much, they decided to In a Feb. 3, 1945 reply letter, UPPER LEFT: Frank Lloyd Wright build a summer home there. Gtven the Wright confirmed in one small para­ O!';R Pho10 couple's intense appreciation of the graph. that he "would design a dwelltng CENTER LEFT: The Walter residence area, the home had to be special. even for them. It would tnclude neither attic DNRPho uncommon. Therefore. the search began nor basement." So began a five-year LOWER LEFT: Wright left his for an equall} "uncommon'' architect. process to butld their "uncommon" "autograph" on the Walter re sidence The search eventually led to "'arid­ summer home. - a red signature cornerstone. renowned archnect Frank Lloyd Wnght. Cedar Rock is derived from Ken F01manel.. one of the moc;t sought-after architects Wright's glass house designed for and of his time. In January 1945, Walter sent ABOVE: Cedar Rock boathouse published in the Ladies Home J au mal a letter to Wright seeking his services. Ro" H.1rri 'on June 1945 issue. lt was headlined

:\larch Apnl 2000 • to" a Conser.auont>1 19 "Opus 497 ... The world· s most means a" hole light-giving wall. Metal distingui'>hed architect designs a cry...,tal tsn 't the secret htddcn -.trength of the house, for town or country, which can house; metal in the form of stainleo;o; have far-reachmg effects on future steel is the beautiful out<,poken strength living for all of U'>." of slender T sect 1011'> that support the The archllectural editor of the roof and hold gla'>'> panel'> m place . . magazme. Rtchard Pratt. ''rites glov,­ And the graceful uplift lmes of the roof ingl) of the mantpulatlOn of four stmple are \\hat can happen \\hen an art 1st accessible matenals by the architect. explores the po-.-.tbllltte'> of hght\\ etght "Materials that are available any""hcrc. precast concrete ... Whtle sunlight and at any normal time and are basically fresh air are free, lew hou-;es have ever inexpensive." Wright remarks, "They taken full advantage of the health, make the house fireproof, vermin-proof. comfo11 and beaut) the; can pro\ ide and prett) near foolproof." Thts house does The glass walls are Cedar Roc~ 1s built excluSt\el; of fi>.ed tn place. f01 the ... ake of nghtness these same matenal -- bnck. concrete, and simphctt). but from the fe\\ oubtde glass and steel. This ts not to say that doors there can be a full w.eep of atr. wood is not to be seen, it is just not and in addttlon there can be completely required. controlled ventilation through the According to Pratt in the Laches movable sash of the clerestory that rises H ome Journal. above the mam roof. ·· "Each matenal work completely And so began the lo\ e affa1r \\ ith at its best for the pleasure of the Cedar Rock. Con-.tructton began m the occupants and the appearance of the spnng of 1948 The CUI IO'>lt) and pres<, house ... Glass no longer means a mere attention contmued long past the ume transparent hole in the ""all; glass here the home wa .... fint ... hecl . Wnght destgned the home. the landscapmg, a Council Fire for Cedar Rock outdoor cooking and entenaining, a overlooks the boat pavilion and an entrance gate to Wapsipinicon the propert). Inside. he destgned the River furniture. drapene and upholster; labnc<,. He e\ en v.ent so far as to \\ Iter recommend what chma. sliver and the o I mens to bu). and where to place a fe\\ ~ acceptable accessories. boo~~ Ro,,d

Like any great artist, Wright I "signed" his work with a red signature 11on ot tile block permanently affixed to the n out~ ide of the home. The Walters "ere very proud of this stgned llle; part!; because the tile \\.as one of onl; a fev. \\ nh Wright's actual stgnature. Lowell Walter died in 1981. and even though his will gave hi!) wife VI ' lifetime use of the home. she chose to home donate the home and It s contents to the cllizens of lo\\a m 1982. Prefer The Walters also left a trust fund from to pro\ tde for the home·., mamte­ nance The Lo\\ell and \gnes Walter f rust also provtdes two college o;cholar-.hips annually to the local htgh school. donations to several local civic organizations. treats at Hallow­ een and '>Lippert to the children's Chmtmas Part;.

20 lo"'" Con;cr\ataon"a • 'vlarch- ,\pnl 2000 This group shot was taken during a final inspection by Wright of the home. The event evolved into a celebration barbecue at the Council Fire, an outdoor feature Wright designed specifically for entertainment and recreation purposes. More than 50 guests showed up. Pictured from right to left are Frank and Agnes Walter and Olgivanna Wright. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright is pictured at center, wearing the hat. The child and the couple on the left are unidentified.

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e. the The Later Years popular c;pot w11h anglers, canoeists and In the evening, there will be more 1 ln 19H9 a Visitor Center was boaters. Canoe and boat access is music, popcorn, marshmallow roasting 1:ng. a opened on land purchased by the Trust. available at several locations along the and refreshments around the Council

::oate (0 Among the display"> at the center stretch, although access 1s not provided Fire and piano and marimba music ned the mclude several donated items, the at Cedar Rock itself. inside the home. The home's night stery origmal fhompson VT boat with motor The Walter home and grounds are lighting is periodically varied to allow to Walter once owned, a Volvo similar to open May 1 through Oct. 31. A guided guests a chance to experience the ·and the om .. Mr"> Walter drove and scrap­ tour is reqUired to \ icv. the mtenor of assorted lighting modes Wright de­ ce a fell boob of memorablllcl from the Iowa the home. Free gUJded tours begm at 11 signed. The Boat Pavilion will also be Road Bulldmg Compan) and construc­ a.m. and lea\·e e\·er) half-hour from the open to experience the sounds of nature ht tion of the home Visttor Center The last tour of the da) along the river. More informauon about The Fastcm lov.a Pond Society lea\ es at -t-:30 p.m the celebration w1ll be available in early donated supp!Jc-. .md labor in I 998 to Two spec1al-event'> arc held each June. lters "ere create cl pond and brook system at the year. the second Saturda) of June is Cedar Rock State Park IS located l pard~ V1s1tor Center P1cn1c tables and park Cedar Rock's "Candlelight Walk," and three-fourth-; of a mile north of [1) a Ce11 benchc'> nearby provide qu1et spots to the first Saturday of October 1s ''Cedar Quasqueton on Buchanan County sit and watt.h the b1rds and butterflies. Rock Under Moonl1ght." Both events Highway W-35. Quasqueton is approxi­ 81. and The stat t at Cedar Rock provides offer visitors a unique opportun1ty to mately 45 minutes north of Cedar wife vis1tors transportation to and from the view the home under night lighting. Rapids, or 30 minutes east of Waterloo. hose to home every half hour. For those who A special event celebrating the For further directions, park information, nts to prefer to walk, a short hiking trail leads 50th "birthday" of Cedar Rock will be and further information on the 50th from the Vl'>llor Center to the home. held Saturday. June 10. Festivities will Birthday Celebration, call the park ust fund Cedar Rock alc.;o includes a little begin at midday and conunue through office at (319)-934-3572. To e-mail , go the Candlelight Walk. nte· more than 175 acres of public hunting. to the DNR 's state park web ')ite at I\\'alter Some of the land 1s rented out for crops, Dunng the afternoon, public www .state.ia.us/parks. speakers. people who participated m the _e the n:'>t mcludes a'>sOrted woodland, "ocal high prame. :-.a\'annah. nver bottom and construction of the home. and Walter famll) members \\Ill be honored as 1ocal wetland'> \ '>mall sect10n 1s only w Hh al)0\1 acce'>:-.lbk tram the Waps•pmlcon River. guests A Ia\\ n p1cn1c mus1c both . The \\ clpsip1111COn River, from inside the home and around the grounds Pal Lew1s 1s the park ranger at Cedar n' Independence to Quasqueton. 1s a are planned. Rock The uplands \\ere dommated by "ar ol pra1rie grasse'> '>0 t,\11 and lush the} Second in a series THE .dod covered a nder·., '>llrrups. In north­ 1m Jar central lides covered with tlen·ua oak savanna. Brushy ravines and draw-.. other J)( TIF penetrated the surrounding upland !011 J J praines hringmg forests and grasslands rei.Jilh together. Early naturalists estimated \d\1 h about 70 percent of Iowa wac; prairie. 20 percent v..a-. forested and I 0 percent was "'Ohd wetl,md-.. ~r ~ort The ongm-. of the genrle landscape Junng 1 ~ and the great diversit) of o terr 1l; hfc 11 supported are found far back m the mtdst of hill} IO\\ a·., geologic record. ... ~.<~t r mnt a1 er J nd Water and Ice Shape mef\ an Ancient Landscape lllhhed 1uanlit} Hundreds of mi llions of xks, ' year'i ago most of the earth\ >~dy dnd land masses were huddled 'rom th nearer the equator and had 'llehed. lush tropical climates. qnn1ap

Interior North America wa-. ~oured covered with a vast 111land \IJ\,,~,, -.ea that ebbed and flowed lil~ J II over the cons but remained ~ 'elo essent1all) mtact. The A, calcareou-. hme-rich shells ~ere fu and skeletons of dymg en~:e l>t manne orgamsms accumu- reg ton c: 0 hued on the sea floor for J\rOI I ] mtllennia, eventually 0 . nolde ~ compacting and hardemng ·indblo ~ into limestone, sandstone. lCros~ dolomite and shale. the 0 When the first European explorers 1 feett sedimentary bedrock underl ying most entered Iowa in the 18th century, they ne11 dra A Brief History of of Iowa. Near shore. the death and ero\ion found an incredibly diverse and decay of tropical vegetation resulted in Wildlife Conservation beautiful land populated by an amazing the giJci coal deposits in some areas. behind. abundance of wildjife. The landscape Although it occurred at a snail's In Iowa they encountered v. as, for the most part, appear d pace. a gradual northward drift of the agair, gently rolling and easy to traverse. As conrinenr eventually brought it close to 'heet\ l they traveled from east to west they its current posllion. A cooler chmate t OllJe I byTerry W. Little encountered a succession of relatively and the uplift of the Rock} Mountams. gentle nver'> that had carved out The which blocked humid we~ t er l) breezes \\ i~con~, shallow floodplams. Even in the rough from the Pac1fic. eventuall) caused the O\\a bet eroded lands adjacent to the rivers the mland seas to dr) up. Gradual uphfting htlls were lov. and the slopes not gob;_ of the earth's c:.urface and mllhons of Des'' Lake Okoboji, above unbearabl) steep. 1¥1()1 lo\\a "I lated b} h the\' years of eroo,ion of the soft. sedimentary nonh­ bedrock created an anctent topography )thole\ qmilar to that seen m northeast Iowa :he land­ today -deep. sheer-walled valleys forested separated b) wide upland plains. •ered 111th Contmucd chmatic cooling eventually resulted in the Ice Age, the sand dm~> 1pland other powerful influence that shaped grasslands Iowa as we know it. Beginning a timated relati vely recent 2.5 million years ago, prairie. 20 vast sheets ol ice thousands of feet thick moved out of Canada and across much , rcenl 11 as of North America. Warmer periods dunng the kt Age caused the glaciers lands ~ to temporanl) melt and retreat. of ~ rsil)· The great tee juggernauts moved found r slo"" I) but \Vtth a destructive power Ids! of grcatc1 than any earth moving equip­ r cord. ment available today. Hills were ground do'"' n. valleys were filled and rSh ape rivers were blocked or rerouted. The ice andscape pushed or earned w tthin it a vast quantity of glactal drift - boulders, million ! rocks, sand and sotl picked up along the the earth '1 way and deposited thousands of miles huddled from their points of ori gin. As they and h1d melted, the great ice sheets spewed forth unimaginable volumes of meltwater that

:n~n r ~ Ill.\ scoured out great ri ver valleys. The inlarJ Misstsstpp1 and Mi ssouri river systems floll ~ and all their many tnbutaries were rem;nnal developed from this meltwater. The As glac 1en, retreated, strong winds were fueled by the temperature differ­ ence between 1ce-free and ice-covered reg10ns Wmds blew drying sediments across tht! landscape, depositing them on older glactal depostts. These \\ mdblov. n sot is or loess are common across much of Iowa and can be dozens of feet th ick. Between ice advances, ne\\c dramage patterns developed and erosion immediately began reshaping the glacial deposits and loess left behind. Then another ice sheet would appear and rearrange the landscape snail\ agam. Geologists now know several ice of the sheets covered at least portions of Iowa it clo'e r at some lime m the past 2 mjllion years. clifllate The last glacial advance. the Wisconsin. mo\'ed across north central IO\\ a between 12,000 and 14.000 years ago but only penetrated as far south as Des Me mes. When tt receded, it left lo\\ a wnh several dommant landforms Bluffton Area, along the Upper Iowa River

~l arch -\pnl2000 • Iowa Con>CI\~non"t 23 of smaller scattered depressions con- from tamed remnant ice-blocks. These fill ed with water as the ice melted and became A Northern Upp r Great Lak s Plains pothole'>. Surface soils were littered Tall grass with rocks and small boulders that Prairie ongmated m Minnesota, Wisconsin anc 'Dr on the Canadian shield . Most of Iowa's interior rivers ori ginate from or had their courses modified by the melting of the Des Moines lobe. They radiate outward Ih e from the path of the retreating ice to lundra empt) into either the Mississippi or Dis ected Till Plains M1 ssoun. Outs1de of the Des Moines lobe the rest of the state exhibits a much older and better dramed topography . Al­ though d1 fferem reg10ns have d1fferent Physiographic Regions of Iowa glac ial lw.torie-, and have had varying time'> for erosion to work. the1r land­ scapes are '> Uperfic1ally similar. Most e 1 'he of Iowa was formed from gently rolling .mner upl and glacial till pl ains that have been Gra\Se\ dissected by a network of ri vers and their interconnected creeks, ravines and draws. The roughest terrain is concentratec in the river "breaks," the most deepl y eroded areas that border and open onlo the noodplams of the major ri verc;. Slope'> of ravine'> and valleys gradually become les-. -. teep. -.hallower and narrower as they move toward their headlands. E\entually they disappear into gently rollmg upland valleyc; and ndge-. th at -.eparate Iowa's major ri' er systems. In generaL southern Iowa has older landscapes that are more high)) Topographic Relief of Iowa eroded and sharpl y dissected than in th at would affect the rest of its northern Iowa. botanical and faunal history. There are two major exceptions. The terrain on the Des The oldest, nearl y drift-free landscapes Moines lobe after the ice are in the Paleo7oic Plateau in extreme retreated was fairl y level but northeast Iowa. Fast-flo wing. cold wateJ was marked by low ridges and streams have cut deep, steep, narrow Prame mounds of glacial drift th at had valleys through hundreds of feet of dted sell led out of the ice. Occa­ sedimentary bedrock. Western Iowa's The <.;JOnal larger till ndges (mo- loess htlls resulted first from the build Ulan iu~t o raines) formed v. here an ice up of silt) loess -.oils that blew out of Praine ~ <.;heet temporarily advanced and the Mi ssoun Rtver basin m mterglac1al -hanges 7. retreated as it gradually melted. period'>, follov. eel b) thousands of years ong d :::l Slough'>. marshes or natural of eros ion. ":tllrie lakes were created where areas ~ .... Haefner Kettle Hole ol poorl ) dramed sotls were surrounded ifOIIllJs h) lov. ndge s of glacial till. Thousands

24 IO\\.l con r\, • '"· t • \1 rc1t.r \pnl ::nOuth as central Iowa such as gayfeather. prame -s that also created an uninviting environment dock, Turk' s-cap Iiiy and sconsin and for moo;t forms of life. A wide zone New England aster. around the ice was covered with tundra Better-drained loamy wers - the same mi x of lichens, mosses and soils on slopes and broad scrub birch and willows lying over a ridges were covered with bed of petmafrost that is found today at more moderate stands of the Arctic Circle. As the ice retreated, switchgrass. big bluestem, tundra v. as repl aced by spruce-fir boreal Indian grass and forbs like forest. then by temperate pine forests compass plant, rattlesnake and then b) mixed hardwoods as the master, smooth aster, wild climate gradually warmed. (White Pine indigo and goldenrod. HollO\\ State Preserve in Dubuque Drier sites on gravel and Count) is the last example of ancient sand ridges or steep pine forests that would have been slopes supported shorter common across Iowa centuries ago.) and more open stands of About 6.000 years ago the chmate was even warmer than today. Gra;;ses invaded v. here trees and shrubs found it too dry and warm to fl ourish. These grasses ~ had to face a constant I \ onslaught of periodic , I droughts, frequent fires ' f I and intenstve grazing by ' ~ graduall1 herds of anctent herbi­ ' vore<;. To survtve, prairie ilI )1/ I I I'' and grasses developed deep J root systems to provide nounshment fo r regrowth when the above-ground rile£ stems and leaves were ]0\13 h I consumed. These hi~hl) .. mcredtble root systems broke up the glacial tills to depths of several feet and provided a high organic content and - incredible fertility to ~ prairie soils as the roots died and decayed. The prairie was more than just a monolithic sea of grass. Praine plants are adapted to subtle changes in moisture and soils that occur " ... The uplands were dominated by prairie along a gradient from lov.- lands to drier grasses so tall and lush they covered a rider's prame ndges. Poor!) drained wetlands and v. etland margms supported rank stirrups." gro\\ ths of sedges. slough grass. cord

:\larch Apnl 2000 • lo"a Con,el"\>allom>l 25 httle bluestem, side-oats grama and shppery elm on lov.er slopes. Shrubs vegetatiOn v. ere replenished. Thus ~01 ('r. needlegrass, ~ith forbs like pasque were not abundant and v.ere primarily regenerated, wetlands awaited only the dian flower, s1lky aster, yellow pucoon and young sliver maples and hackberry with end of drought to return them to their common milkweed. catbriar, p01son IV)' and grape. former productive condition. Around 3,000 years ago the climate Forests on drier slopes and uplands ln v.et years, fi re was also less like!: 'uppre began coolmg again until it resembled were primanly oak openings or savan­ on the prairie. Without burning, the hi ~IOT) the humid continental climate we have nas - scattered old oak trees or small dead stems and leaves of grasses and today- a short, cold winter; a warm clumps of oaks with an understory of forbs accumulated on the ground, Hu dry summer; and cool, rainy spring and prairie or mixed prairie-forest shrubs creating a cooler, moister environment. fall. Cooler, wetter weather permitted and herbs. Burr oak. with its thick, fire­ (n some cases, coralberry and other forests to return to some areas. retardant bark dominated with some red shrubs were able to survive and spread Closed-canopy mature forests as we and white oaks on moister sites. The from forest edges farther into the know them today existed only on the understof) ~as primarily prairie grasses grasslands. During drought, flre burned floodplains where fire could not and forbo;, but hazel. coralberry, sumac off large areas of prairie and forest. routmely penetrate. Silver maple, and grape occurred where fire was less k.llled mvadmg shrubs and trees. American elm and swamp white oak common elimmated the litter. returned nutrients dominated on the wettest sites, v. ith The heaviest concentrations of to the soli and allowed grasses to regam. hickones. hackberry, black v. alnut. timber were m the cooler and moister thetr dommance Ftre also allowed v. hlle ash. red oak, basswood and ea-. tern th1rd of the state. In the west, annual plants hk.e ragv. eed. fleabane. only the floodplains thistle and pnmrose to take a temporary and the coolest sites foot-hold before the longer-lived on north and east gras<,es and forbs recovered and choked facing slopes in the them out. deepest river valleys Although f1res were common, it is were timbered. impossible to say how much and how Because of the many frequently the prairies burned. Weather river systems penetrat­ is seldom m complete synchrony over ing the prairies to the all of Iowa. Local dry spells undoubt­ north and west, edly created mmi-droughts. which however, at least some lowered wetlands and produced timber and shrub frequent fires while just a few miles lands were found all away prec1pttatton \\as normal. Even 1r across the state. normal years. a dry late summer could Drought, fire and result m a parttal drav. dov.n of marshes grazing combined to and subsequent!). occas1onal fires. Tht make Iowa ·s prairie­ network. of wetlands. creeks and nvers wetland-forest probabl} ~topped smaller fires from ecosystem an even expandmg too great!}. more diverse place. In Grazer'> and browsers. such as bison elk and deer. also had an effect. Where wet years water levels house\ were high, wetland feeding was tntense, they suppressed lion ot shrubs and slowed the growth of tall vegetation gradually corn ~ died out and marshes grasses. Elk and bison created wallows. § began to look like sandy areas where they rolled in the 0 ';;; ponds or small lakes. loose earth to remove hair and discour­ u S1oux, =" But dry weather runs age insects. Prairie dogs. though not common in lowa. kept the vegetation Prain~~ in approximately 10- forks around thc1r town-. clipped short. E'en " ... The heaviest con­ ycar cycle ~ on the prairies, with severe Rl\'er gophers created -.mall openings over ' drought at roughly 20-year intervals. 411d ,, centrations of timber Drought cauo;ed wetland basins to thetr mound~ where annual plants coulc temporanly dry out, but this de­ gain a foothold. vvere in the cooler and v.atenng v. as a benefi cial process. The result of all thts variet} in so1ls Seed-, buned m moist wetland soils v.ere topography. weather, fire and animal n1oister eastern third able to germmate once the water was activity "'ao; a great patchv. ork of plant of the state." removed. and dense stands of emergent communirtes in both time and space. Thu~ Not only were prairies, forest and ans, they probably lived in harmony could. The incredibly diverse plant wetlands in close proximity, but at any with their environment, taking only communities supplied an equally given location plant communities were what they needed for food and fiber. diverse selectiOn of niches or habitats in a state of growth. retrenchment or Our Indtan predecessors learned supporting more than 450 species of suppression depending on thetr local early in their histor} to use fire as a tool birds, mammals, repttles, amphibians hi!>tory. to improve their hunting. Fires were and perhaps many more never recorded. probably flrst set to drive unsuspecting That nchness did not last. Within a Human Influence game animals into ambush. Hunters century, nearly a quarter of those soon learned herds of grazing ammals species were extinct (gone forever from other The first influence of humans on were attracted to the lush new green the earth), extirpated (eliminated from spread Iowa's landscape and its wildlife long growth that sprouted almost as soon as Iowa) or reduced in numbers so severely the predated European settlement. Paleo­ the ashes cooled. Forests were also their continued existence was in peril. fire burned Indians invaded IO\\:a as far back as burned to ktll the understory and keep The great diverS It} of plant communi­ 11.500 year~ ago. They were descen­ them open enough for travel b} horse­ ties was in equally sad condition. By dants of Asians that crossed the Bering back. Wtldlife were probabl} impacted 1900, more than 95 percent of Iowa had land bridge when sea levels were more by fi re and its effect on plant been converted to agricultural land - depressed during the Wisconsin communities and wildlife habitat than 95 percent of the wetlands, 99 percent gladation. These early hunter-gatherers by the Indians who consumed them. of the prairies and two-thirds of the were attracted by herds of ancient game The first white travelers across Iowa forest land were gone. A single century like woolly mammoths, mastodons, kept records of the game animals they of civilization changed forever what musk-ox. camel, caribou, horse and encountered as a source of food or pelts had taken thousands of millennia to bison. Intense hunting pressure from for trade. Large predators were also create. these raptdly expanding human noted because the} v. ere a threat to OOffi()O,it I' soctetles may be the reason many of livestock. Little mention was made of and ho11 these anctent species became extinct. animals that did not affect thetr datly Weather By the time of European explora­ survival or welfare. Yet the number of Terry W Little is the Wildlife Research o1•er tion, seven different Indian tribes species that couldn't be shot, trapped or Supen•isor for the department in Des undoubt· repre-;enting two distinct cultures were eaten was far greater than those that Moines. which settled in Iowa. Sauk and Fox

\larch .-\pn12000 • Iowa Con,cnauomst 27 "Uilt 'II Jf, othe I tn

d e fud F

Two anglers enjoy the bountiful fishing at Red Rock. \\ha

n :: I PORT ISH ESTORATION Depanr ~e I( 5 0 YEARS 0 F SuccEss

or 50 years angler5. ha\ e been upport­ Article by Martin Konrad mg more fishmg opportumttes and F impro\'ed fishmg and boatmg programs Photo by Clay through the taxes patd "'hen buymg fishmg equtpment and boat fuel. That's nght. buymg a first rod and reel for a ch1ld, stockmg up on tackle before the season begms or ftllmg the boat tank '' tth fuel all help support the sport anglers enJO} Ta,es anglers ha\e pa1d for 50 years have er dt gone to the Sport F1sh Restoration Program. 1nce 1950, th1s federal program ha been expanded several t1mes to benefit more anglers and boaters. The program nO\\ places a I 0 percent tax on most fish1ng equ1pment Three percent ofthe cost ofelectnc trollmg motors and flasher-t) pe fish finder support the program A portton ofthe federal gas ta\. from motor boat fuels also goe to the program

How the Program Works! The port Fish Restoration fundmg cycle 1s shov. n at nght. Although tt appears Staff photographer Clay Smith makes sure his catch-of-the-day gets complex. 1t IS qutte stmple ~hen an angler or photographed. boater makes a purchase. the tax the)' pay IS

28 I l\\a Con tf\auonllit • ~llrc~Apnl2000 bUilt 111to the wholesale cost of the item. The manufacturer passes the excise tax collected on to the federal government, which then distrib­ utes the money to state fish and wildlife agenc1es The amount each state rece1ves IS dependent on the number of fish111g licenses sold and land area. S111ce 1986, the lO\\ a Depanment ofNatural Re ources has rece1ved an average $2.5 million annually 111 program funds. For example, Gi ll F1 sherwalks into Wallys Tackle Shop and purchases a fishmg rod. The manufacturer sold the rod to Wally for $20 and pa1d S2 111 excise tax to the Sport F1 sh Restora­ tion Program. Add that $2 to the amount collected from millions of other purchases over the past 50 years. To date, the u .S. FI Sh & Okoboji canals can be a great spot for bass fishing. Wildlife Serv1ce has passed more than $44 million to the DNR to improve fish111g and boating recreation. Anglers & What Sport Fish Restoration means Boaters to Iowa Anglers! Benefits to Users S111ce 1950. Spon F1sh Re torat1on has brought more than $44 milhon to the Iowa • More sport fi sh opportunities DepartmentofNatural Resources, $35 million • Improved programs related s1nce 1985, when Congress significantly expanded Items subJect to tax collection. With to fishing and boating. these funds the D R has: • Implemented an AquatiC EducatiOn Program 111 Manufacturer/User Payments \\l11ch 11.000 teachers annually reach 500.000 • Excise taxes on fi shing ~n sup!Jl)n· students 111 more than 65 percent oflowa 's school :te, and d1stncts. equipment ng programs • Pro' 1ded 1mproved shore fi sh111g opportuni­ • Import duties on fishing n!! fish1ng ties at 27 lakes and two trout streams, and ~ nght. bu) In: state-w1de ma111tenance actiVIties at boat ramps. equipment/boats ·kina up on • Constructed three lakes and restored four - 0 •filling the lakes • Motorboat and small rt the ,pon • Constructed fi sh hab1tat m II Iowa lakes, SIX engine fuels taxes n\ ers and SI Xtrout streams ;o ~e~ lll'e • Improved and restored t\\ o fish hatchenes. nPrograrr. • Conducted research stud1es resultmg 111 J Aquatic Resources 1as been management techmques to nnprO\ e and create Programs more angler• better sport fishenes. • Fisheries conservation and Trust Fund laces a 10 • AcqUired 5,115 acres to construct five lakes Department of the Treasury ment. Three and to protect fish habitat and water quality in education programs hng motol"l s1x lakes • Boating access programs aort the • Acqu1red 3, 743 acres at 14 trout streams. • Boating safety programs J aas ta\ fro'!l c U.S. Fish and Wildlife program • Clean Vessel Act Pumpout Service Grants ·orks! Division of ( .te iJndlng · ~ State Fish & .J Federal Aid ,pears n~lero Wildlife Agencies 1 ana • the~ pl) ' Iowa High School

tu ent,s connect with their environment

Article by Lowell Wa hburn Paulsen's next opportunlt) to u<> a chance to look at agronomic 1ssue' Photo by Clay Sm ith prov1de studen ts wnh h1<> "hands on" but also provided an opportumt] to approach to education came ''hen he look at water qual it} 1 ues at the sam!! T he Iowa Department of Educa­ ''as granted permission to use an t1me. ltwa theideaofwaterquaht) tion has named Carroll H1 gh School undeveloped tract of land O\>\ ned b] the that got the students interested m instructor Tom Paulsen, Teacher of the school distnct. e'>tabhshing buffer <.,trip . and from thei • Year 2000. Paubon teache~ 'oca­ thmg., began to get \efJ exc.Jung as tJonal agnculture to grade~ 9 through their enthustasm grew:· 12, where he places heavy emphasis By the time the '96 chool ) ear on land stewardship and em lronmen­ rolled around, Carroll High School tal respons1bihty. agnculture student., were act!\ el) " 1 beheve th at students shou ld recrUiting local landowner to e tabll~h have the opportunuy to see, hear. feel, buffer <.,trips along the Middle Raccoon taste and touch -- "" hate\ er 11 take so R1 ver Phea ants Forever prO\ Ided that the] can truly understand what 1s native prame seed and absorbed all of being taught," said Pau lsen. "You the farmer's cost share. By the end of have to be creatJ\ e to get some the 98-99 ... chool year. the students hmd treatmen t plant. The treatment plant I'> hickory nut at Swan Lake State Park 1n Paulsen. "The space ,,a., limited and. alo;o located along the ri ver. and 1t ga\'t: Carroll Count). lookmg back. there· no den) ing that us one more "a) to focus on "ater erthe "At Swan Lake the k1ds got the plots ''ere crude- but the] \>\ere quallt) ," sa1d Paulsen. ~\en involved 111 a lot of other acti VIties as also cffect1ve." As thei r accompl1o;hmenh contin­ I rn~ke ''ell." sa1d Paulsen "The) pruned "The first thmg we d1d ''a estab­ ued to mulllpl]. the actt\ Ittes of the eenh trees. made brush plies for'' Jldltfe. and lu~h a test plot of high population corn. local vocatiOnal agnculture deparrme• At even helped supply teepee poles for the The te:o.t plot was 111 the M1ddl e Rac­ d1d not go unnot1ced by the ct ttzens of o,e to local naturalist. The kids had fun and coon [nver] \>\ater<;hed. and what wa-. the communit}. the state or even the OlJr.~o the] learned ... real!) e\.cltmg ''as that 11 not onl) ga' e nation. In J 998. and agam 111 J 999. the Idd e ~ )OOffilC I ' >nunit) to sat the •am :~ ter qualtt) ested tn and from tl ere :xcittng ~ Paulsen taking special care of the green house plants. :hool )ell •h Sch" l 'acn,el , Carroll Htgh School vocational tours of those buffer stnps and the partnershtps with the community, the) agnculture department received the rs to e'ta" praine buffe r at the water treatment will be able to answer this question." M on ~a nto Operation Green Stnpe, plant. Thts spring. we're gomg to try ddle RJC provided Best tn the Nation A ward for outstand­ somethmg new by conducting a sorbed all o mg achievement. As a result of that community prairie bum," said Paulsen. award the department received $8,000 Paulsen wa~ born and raised on ' the end of "So far, it has been a very positi ve ; srodent- bld experience for everyone an Iowa famil\ farm. His mother. a mvolved. This spnng. \ve 'II teacher 111 cow1tn schools, made edu­ "ntin!! molt ~ v "You have to be creative cation and a griculture top pnonues r a very tion as a career After graduatmg " able to you just can feel the enthusiasm v important, ongoing educa­ from Northwest Missouri State Um­ of nauve and interest bloom." tional tool. I don't think l'erslty, P ,wl~en taught agn culture carroll 113!~1 there is any question th e~e educatton at L ~ nm • lf!e- Su lly Htgh tment plant hands-on acti\ tttes hc1 ve School 111 Sui!\ before mm ing to and it iJ ' er. • O\ er the pa t t\\O years Accordmg to enabled our students to understand the Carroll Htgh Schoolm 1992 on" ater Pauh.en, most of that mone) \\ as used importance of thmgs like v.ater qual ll) As !oll'a· ~ Teacher of the Year. to make tmpro\ ements to the school's and buffer stnps at an earl ) age," sa td Paulsen t.\ granted a one-year sab­ greenhouse. Paul sen. batical hegt1111ing inJul} 2000 Dur "At thi s point, we're gettmg very "All educators must be able to mg that tune, he \\til \'t.m schools and clo<,e to hav ing several miles of answer the student who asks, 'Why do I commu11111 es as Iowa· s "Ambassa­ continuous buffer strips along the need to know thi s?' and 1 feel th at if dor/or Educatton " Mtddle Raccoon. We've had public teacher can create relationshtps or 0 0 Blue catfish 0 0 0 74lbs. 8 oz. I 0 0 0 0 0 Pat Lutz of Panora 0 0 0 set the ne~ Iowa 0 0 0 record fo r blue 0 0 0 0 catfi h with a 74- 0 0 pound, 8-ounce fish 0 0 0 0 0 caught Aug. 14 in the 0 0 0 M 1 so uri River, 0 0 0 Pottawattarn1e 0 0 County. The pre-v wu 0 0 record of 62 pounds 0 NEW 0 ''as held by DaiTell 0 Carter of Jeffer on 0 0 0 STATEO Buffalo 63 lbs. 6 oz. -Wei J 1m \Vm ter of Je up Ba .--CORDS set the new state fish lOlb record for buffalo, surpassing Terry Gann 's 1996 record by 7 pounds, 6 CAUGHT IN ounce . Winters caught the 63-pound, 6-ounce fi h m the M1 1 tppl River, Alla\\"akee County, 999 Aug. 14. Rele Saugeye If you catch a fish eligible for a 1o lbs. 9 oz. .. '!­' new all-time record, the fish Mark Jon Havinga must be examined and verified of Webster City 23' by Department ofNatural broke the saugeye 22\' record with a 10- 22.5 Resources personnel. pound , 9-ounce fish ~ A list of state-record fish and caught February 19 ts 111 the Des Moines ,,r--.25 the top 10 fish awards for Rl\ er, Polk County - 1999 can be found in the Mike McGilligan of \Veb ter Ctt) held special fi sh award in ert. the pre' 1ous record fo r three year . IowA CoNSERVATIONIST MAGAZINE The following list includes the top 10 entnes and released of each species taken in 1999. Current state records are tn bold type. An (*) indicates a new state record this year.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ISH ARDS •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Weight/Length Date Angler, Hometown Location, County Bass, Largemouth (Minimum -7lbs. or 22") lOibs 12oz 5/84 Patricia Zaerr, Da'\- enport Lake Fisher, DaYis lOlbs 2oz 5/16 Karla Lander'>, Gnnncll Arbor Lake. Poweshiek 8lbs 9oz 6/15 Arlie Vander Hoek, Pella Quarry, Poweshiek 8lbs6oz 611 4 D 6(28 Rtd.. Ed\\ ards. Oskaloosa Farm Pond, Marion 8lbs 5f22 Mark Gremer. ~ l aplcton Farm Pond. Monona 8lbs 3(22 R)an Da\td Stout. Des \lome'> Sun Valle) Lake, Ringgold 7lbs 12oz 7/17 Chns Ro)d. Des Motnc'> Sand Pn. Polk 7lbs 10o7 6!20 Matt Truman, Lacona Farm Pond. Warren 7lb'> 9oz 5/3 1 Kcvm M Eppens. Bata\ ta Farm Pond, Wapello 71bs 9oz 4n Mtke Monteleone. Nc\\-ton Farm Pond, Union Released 24" 5/31 Clifford D. Mom'>, Augusta Fann Pond. Rmggold 23 5" 5(21 Randall Berg, Somer-; Smtth\\ a) Quaff}. Webster 23.25" 8/13 Jeff) D Jenkms. Adel Farm Pond, Dallas 23" 7117 Chns Flo}d. Des :V1ome-. Sand Ptt. Polk 23" 6113 Ntckolas E. Neppl. Counctl Bluff-; Farm Pond, Pottawattamte "'3".... 6/12 Robert Alan Shomng. Des Momes Pond. Warren 23" 6/6 Terry Stockstrom, Indtanola Sun Valley Lake, Ringgold 22.5'' 7/18 Dennis Carbaugh. Red Oak Farm Pond, Montgomery 22.5'' 7/4 B.J Franson, Grant Farm Pond, Montgomer) 22.5" 5/5 Mtke Hertges, Vv aterloo Farm Pond. Poweshiek 22.5H 11114 Mtke Wtlson. Waterloo Upper Pme Lake. Hardm 22.25".,.., .. 5/31 Mart) Wttt, BucJ..mgham Farm Pond. Tama -..,..,- .. 6/24 JohnS Bald\\ m. Omaha Farm Pond, Shelby _.., 8/14 James Buck. Cherokee Dog Creek, O'Bnen 22" ..,.., .. 6(29 Joe Budde}. Omaha Badger Lake. Webster -- 8/23 Tom Preston, Omaha Lenox Lake. Taylor 22" 7/3 Scott Spires, Omaha Farm Pond, Madison ..,.., .. ..,.,...... 4/23 Ed\\-ard Van Prooyen. Wa-.hta Rand) 'Walker Gravel Ptt. Ida -- 8/22 Ste\en J. Waller. Red Oak Pond. Montgomel)

1999 l·"h " "'ard~ • Iowa CoMCf\atJon"l FtSH A\1\ARDS • • • • • • • • • • • • • ' ' ' Bass, Smallmouth (Minimum- 4lbs. or 20") Ba 71b 12oz 9/90 Rick Gra}, Dickinson \\est Okoboji, Dickinson lib 51bs lo7 )/I Shane Ttmmennan. Worthington Btg Sptrit. Dickinson 41bs I 2oL 9/24 Scott Echelberger. Otha Qua IT) Pond Vv eb~ter 41bs 12oz 5114 Lanny M Pterce Sr. Jmce \\- e'>t OkobOJI. Dtckmson 41bo; 1Ooz 9/22 Greg L Noms, Spencer Sptrit Lake. Dickmson 41bs 8oz 10/29 Gerry Korver, Orange City Sptrit Lake. Dickmson 4lbs 8ol. 6/18 Bob M tene Jr. Monona Turkey River. Clayton 4lbs 801 4/20 Larr} 0' Connell. Charles Ctty Floyd Iowa. Hoyd Bh Brett Wmgfteld. SpmtLake Btg Sptrit. Dickmson 41bs 8o7 5!29 Jib~ 41bs6ol 5/8 LaJT) Kunt. Curlew ~ptnt Lake, Dic.kmson 41bs 5oz 5110 Rtck) L Carlson, Ackley Bea\ crCrcek. Butler 4lbs 5oz 8/ll Ste\e Han en. Mtlford We-.t L tke, Dickmson 41bs 5oz 8113 \1erl} n Scheller. SpmtLake Btg Sptrit. Dickinson Released 21" 9/26 ~1tchael Garthman. Spencer West Okoboji. Dickmson 21" 10/3 Shav. La Doux. Arnolds Park V.. e-.t Okoboji. Dickm~on 2075" 8/21 Chad McKeag. Ne\\ Hampton Cedar River. Flo) d 205" 217 Mtke Salzman. Gram tlle West Okoboji. Dickmson 20.25" 7/6 R}an Ruhs. Stoux Raptds V.. e-.t OkoboJi. Dickmson 20" 9111 Mttchell Creswell, Spencer \\-est OkoboJi. D1ckinson 20" 7/24 Tom Draper. Sutherland Spmt Lake. Dtckmson 20" 4/24 Dwane Krogman. Ltsmore \\-est OkobOJ '· Dtckinson 20" 8/4 Courtney Magnussen, Sioux Raptds West OkobOJI. Dtckinson Bass, White (Minimum-2.5lbs.) 31bs 14oz 5172 Bill Born, \\'est Okoboji, Dickinson 31bs 7ol 4/18 \nthon) Harrel. Stoux City Snyder Bend. Vv oodbuf) 31bs 6ol 4/25 Merl) n Scheller, SpmtLake Sptrit Lake. Dtckmson Bul 3lbs Sol 5/17 Ron Hollada). Cedar Rapids Cedar Rl\ er Linn 3lbs4oz 2/10 B11l Ferns. Spmt Lake Sptnt Lake Dtckmson 3lbs 10/23 Adam Kraayenbrink. S1oux Center \\est OkobOJI. Dtd.mson 31bs 512 Ju•>tm Urger. Spencer V.. est Oboboji. Dtckmson BuJ 2lb!> 15oz 4130 Jm Dubhnskt, Arnold Park Btg Sptrit Dickmson 2lbs l4ol 8/2 Ron Da}. Indtanola Lake Red Rock. Manon 2lbs 14ol 10/22 M1ke Monteleone. Ne\\ ton Red Rock Dam. Marion 21bs I 207 7/2 Justtn Fe\iold. Humboldt We-,t Lake. D1ckmson 21bs I 2oz Il/13 Logan Kruse. Clinton MI'>'>IS'>1ppt Rtver, Jackson Cat 21bs 12oz 9120 Karen Tratchell, West OkobOJI. Dtckmson SOihs 43!bs Bass, Wipet (Minimum-4lbs.) 31Jb 251h, 181bs lSoz 9/97 Don Ostergaard, Des Moines Des Moines Rher, Polk ~'lb IOlbs 13oz 10/13 Henry Tnmdad, Cedar Rapids lo\\a Rl\er. Johnson 81b'> 8ol. 9115 Rodney Powell. North Ltbert} lo\\a Rl\ cr. Johnson IO\\a Rner. John~on 81b~ 6oz 9/11 Scott Kleppe, Solon Cat Coral\ tile Spllh\a}. Johnson 7lbs 8oz 10/26 John Dtrks, Anamosa 741b 71bs 801 I 1/29 Ron Holladay. Cedar Raptds Corah tile. Johnson 61bs 8oz Joe Wtlhs. East Dubuque M•~~~s~1pp1 Rner. Dubuque 6lbs4oz 10/27 Dan C CrO\\. Cedar Rap1ds Jo\\ a Rl\ cr. John'>on 6lbs 4126 Arme NtS\\ander. Iowa Cit) ) 0\\ a. Johnson 61bs 7/24 Chnsuan Olson, Red Oak T\\ehc Mlle. Union IO\\ a R1 \cr. Johno,on Sib~ 7/25 Robert Coleman, Iowa Ctt}

2 lov.a Con..,..,auonosr • 1999 F"h Av.ards FrsH A wARDS • • • • • • • • • • • • • Bass, Yellow (Minimum- .75 lbs.) lSOD llbs 9oz 4/91 Bill Campbell, Council Bluffs LakeManawa,Pottawattamie Jibs 2ot 4120 Rtck L Olson. lndtanola Lake Antta, Ca<,s r lib.., lot 4/3 John H Millspaugh. Mount Pleasant Geode. Henry son Jlb.., loz 4/3 Matthew Millspaugh, Mount Pleasant Geode, Henry Jibs I01 6/5 Larry Stark, Wall Lake Gravel Pit, Sac 1307 8/1 Cody Vanden Bnnk, Lytton Arrowhead, Sac Bluegill (Minimum -llbs.) 31bs 2oz 7/86 Phil AI green, Earlham FarmPond,Madison 2lbs 3ot 9/3 Rtchard E Schoenauer, Dubuque Mississtppi Rt\er, Cla}ton 21bs 2oz Karli Borcherdmg. Ankeny Farm Pond, Madt'>On 21b'> 107 7/19 Jason Carlson, Le Farm Pond, Monona 2lbs lo1 4122 Andrew Met mann. Ne\ ada Farm Pond. Stor} Jibs 14o/ 4120 Mtke Augu..,tm. Colo Farm Pond, Stor) son llbs 1201 Oaf) IF Dinkla. Urbandale Farm Pond. Adatr )00 Jibs 8 5oz 7/3 Kath) Adnan. Madtson Farm Pond. Manon Jibs 8o1 811 Bnan Bland. Ruthven Farm Pond. Palo Alto tSOn llbs 801 5/18 Van Gtlmore. Clannda Farm Pond. Page tson lib.., 8oz 3/30 Cod) Krcutt. Wellman Farm Pond. WashtngiOn ISOD Jibs 6oz 5/23 JtllBcntlcy, IowaCtt} Farm Pond, Johnson tSOn Bowfin/Dogfish (Minimum-5 lbs.) tson lllbs 9oz 5/94 Bill Gretten, Blue Grass Mississippi River, Clayton 51bsl0ot 4/3 Gary L Huffman, Washington Cone Lake, Muscattne Sibs IOo1 6n Mau Lovelace. Coral\.. die Iowa Rtver. Johnson nson )Uf) Buffalo (Minimum-20 lbs.) 1 * 631b~ 6oz 8/99 Jim Winters, Jesup 1\lississippi River, Allamakee 34lbs 4124 BaiT)

n~on Bullhead (Minimum-2.5 lbs.) Sibs Sot 1189 Michael Hurd, Ellsworth Farm Pond, Hamilton on 21b..,l0ol 5/22 Douglas Wayne Farrell, Forest City Pond, Adams on n Carp (Minimum-25 lbs.) ckSOD SOibs nson 5/69 Fred Hougland, Glenwood Glenwood Lake, Mills 431bs 4n Enc Paul, Cherokee Spring Lake. Cherokee 31Ibs8ot 7/23 Dennis Dougherty, Marengo Farm Pond, Iowa 25lb.., !lot 11117 Andrew C Iverson, Fort Dodge Des Moines Ri ver, Webster 'olk 251bs 4/14 Shane Jacob'>, Stoux Ctty Missouri Rtver. Woodbury Catfish, Blue (Minimum-20 lbs. or 35") *741b 8oz 8/99 Pat Lutz, Panora 1\lissouri Ri"er, Pottaw attamie John on

tubuqlle Catfish, Flathead (Minimum- 20 lbs. or 35") 811bs 6/58 Joe Baze, Chariton Lake Ellis, Lucas 721b~ 8f27 Robert Slerltng Me Qutre. Des Moines Des Momes Rl\er, Polk 591bs 5/1 Ron Me Dov.ell. Farmtnglon Des Momes Rl\er. Van Buren

1999 F1>h Awanh • lo":a Co~3tlonl>l 3 FI<;H AvvARDS • • • • • • • • • • • • • 53lbo, 8ot 6fl John J Tom'>. LO\\den Wapsipinicon. Cedar 48lbo, 8oz 9!26 Patl utz. Panora Mt..,~oun Rl\er. Pottawattamie 4 '5lb-, 7!27 Ja,on Toms. lO\\a Cit) lov.a Rt\er. Johnson 45lb" 9111 Andy Smtth. Central City CedarRt\er. Lmn 41lb" 913 Bub Goodv.m. Washmgton Skunk. Keokuk 42lbs2o/ 8/13 Man tn D Thompson. Cedar Raptds CcdarRt\er.Linn 41Jbo, 9113 Morn~ Webber. Mtssoun Valley DeSoto Bend. Hamson Released Ga 43" 6!28 Ken E. Allsup. Oskaloosa Edmonson Pond. Mahaska Hs 42" 9/23 Mark Haffner. L) tton Raccoon Rl\ er. Sac 41" 9/18 John McPherson. Ankeny Say lorv tile Lake. Polk 3925" 6/19 Ke\tn L Wardnp. Davenport Mts'-t'>stppt Rt\er. Scott 3T 711 Ryan \\a.,smk. Hull Btg Stoux Rt\er. Lyon Catfish, Channel (Minimum -15 lbs. or 30") 36lb~ SoL 8/93 Ron God,,in,Earlham !\lid. Raccoon Rher, Dallas 3.11bs6oz 5!21 MMk Klepper. Waterloo CedarRI\cr B1ackHa\\k 211h" 8oz 6/2 TtmSmtth. 1anon Cedar R1ver. Linn 221h" 8/11 Shon Agard. Ankeny Farm Pond. Polk 20ih<,607 6!22 \\ tlliam Sand\ tg. Rolfe De-, Momes Rtver. Pocahontas 201h" 6/14 Tra\"' Me Donald. Sanborn Ea~t OkobOJI. Dtclunson 18lb" 12oz 5/17 Delano Bergemann. Welcome Lo\o\ocrGar 18lh-.4oz 5(20 Wally Johnson. Stanton V tkmg Lake. Montgomef) 171bs 8oz 9/5 Breck Norton. Hartley East OkobOJI. Dtckmson 171bs 8ol 7/21 Rtchard Rhmehart. Brooklyn Dtamond Lake. Poweshtek 16lbs 8/8 Bob Htke Jr. Belle' ue Green Valley. Adams Released 14" 7/5 Mark Cottrell. Kensett Keunan" Quaff). Worth 34" 811 Jerald Rathsback. Cedar Raptds Plcao,ant Creek. Lmn 34" 811 John Rath<>back. Palo Pleasant Creek. Lmn 32'~ 4/4 Kent K Kruger. Ionia \\ ap-.tptmcon Rl\ er. Bremer 31" 10/31 Brett K :vtonteleone. Ne\\ ton Green Valley Lake. Vmon 11" 5!2 Ste\ en J \\ alker. Red Oak Pond. f\.1omgomef) 10.5'' 7!20 Mtke Schwarck. Eldora Sand Pn MarshaJI 30" 5130 ChnsGrover. Olewem Volga Lake. Fayette 7/11 Gar) L Kaut. lsantt Plca..,ant Creek. Lmn 30" Rei 30" 10/10 R1chard Vaughn. Muscatme Mt-,stsstppt Rt\er. Dubuque Crappie (Minimum-2lbs.) 4lbs 9oz 5/81 Ted Trowbridge, Marshalltown Green Castle Lake, Marshall 2lbs I Oot 9/6 Jeffrey A Joens. Frederika Wapc;tc Rtvcr. Bremer 2lbs I Ooz Mtchael Rtfe. Williamsburg Farm Pond. Iowa 2lbs I Ooz 6/5 Raymond Uthof. Fenton West Swan Lake. Emmet 2lb" 8oz 4n Thomas R Dtbble. Stoux City Farm Pond. Woodbury 21hs 8oz 6/11 Curt Moats. Anamosa Jone" County Central Park. Jone" 21hs6oz 9/10 Da" td Go\ tg. Clarinda Farm Pond. Page 2lbs 6oz 10/31 1tm Karatdos. Des Momes Red Rock. Marion 21b.., So1 3!29 Norm Rehnelt. Jackson Btg Spmt. Dtckmson 21bs4oz 5/11 Vv ade . Cedar Falls D1amond Lake. Poweshtek 21h" 4oz 4!24 Jtm L Custck, Independence \\ ap~<,tntCon. Buchanan 21b,4oz 4/4 Roger Faltys. Stoux Cit) IO\\a Rner. Johnson Per 21bs4oz 5130 Oa\ td Kruger. Wa\·erl} Jnsterstate Lake. Franklin 2Jr. 7118 Jack Machacek. Central Ctty Farm Pond. Jones • 2lb:-. 4oz ~ I

4 low ( onscrvaU<'mSI • 1<199 F"h Awards • • • • • • • • • • • • r 2Jb.,4oz 4/1 Bnan Kun Peterson. \\est Des Momes Farm Pond, Polk 1wananue F ISH A\\ARDS • • • • • • • • • • • • • I 0 lib~ I I 01 J/ 17 Robert \\' John.,on. \-hlford High Lake. Emmet lib" I 0 Soz 1/16 Scott )C\ crc1d. Spencer Trumball. Clay lib-. I Ooz 2/2J Mark Haffner. L} tton Trumball Lake. Clay Itb .. 901 1/ 11 Shane KendalL Sp1rit Lake High Lake. Emmet lJb., 8 Sot IllS Rand} Schaffer. Storm Lake HighLake.Emmet 1/30 lib., 8oL Allen Bohr Ro)al Trumbull Lake. Clay • Jib~ 8oL 1114 Robert Fitlgerald, Milford High Lake. Emmet II b!o. 8o7 2121 Pat Hynn. Storm Lake Tmmball, Clay lib~ 807 2/21 <;teve Johnson. Estherville Trumbull Lake. Clay Jib .. 80/ 2119 Greg Seaman. D1ckens Trumbull Lake. Clay lib:-. 401 212S Bill Koopman. George Trumball. Cia} lib., -lot 1/16 Yan<.) Momc; Swux.Falls Trumbull Lake. Clay lib., 2oz 2117 Stanle) Tmkham. Menden Trumbal l. Cia}

Sanger (~Iinimum- 2.5lbs. or 18") Tr 6lbs 8o1 10/76 :\Irs.\\. Bu er. Sloan \li souri Rher. \\oodbury 4tb ... 3/ 14 Dan Brenner. Dubuque \ll'>'>l'>'>lppl Rl\er. Dubuque -lib:-. I0111 L) leD Rt'>mger. S1oux City \11-.:-..oun R1ver. \\ oodbury ' 1Jb:-. 80/ 7114 George Karam. Cedar Rapids CcdarRt\'cr. Lmn 11b:-. 80/ 2110 \\ C'> \lahan. S1oux Ctt} Woodbury 11b:-. 8ot 11n Kc\ m Strom. Stoux Ctty Mt.,.,oun Rt\ cr. \\ oodbury 3lb~ 7ot 3/19 Curt D Vv ood. Garna\ Jlle Mt '>'>lS'>tppt Rncr. Clayton 31b.,1ot 3/12 Dan Glann. Guttenberg Mt'>'>l')'> lppl Rtvcr. Clayton 3Jb., I ot 3/S K1dron Knox. Andrew Mts"I""'PP' Rner. Jackson 1tb ... 1218 Ed Fox, Silvis Mt'i'>t'iSlppl River. Scott 1lbs 10/9 Kcvm Ira. Ne\\ Hampton MI'>St'istppt Riv er. Allamakee 1lbs 11/21 Donald L Rmg1er. East Mohne Ml sstsstpp1 RJ\'er. Scott 3lbs I IllS Jeanette R WII'>on. Walker M, .,.,,.,.,,pp1 Rner. Clayton Tr( Released lOS' Chm Bremel. Muscatme \!lt""'""'PP' Rner. Muscaune 19.5'' 4/1 LaiT) Goranson. Manchester l\1,..,.,...,.,,pp1 Rner. Cla} ton 19' 9/4 R)an Hmgtgen. Andre\\ \1J .,.,,..,.,tppt Rl\ er. Jackson 19" 10/30 Bob\ allero). Stockton \1t.,'>l'>'>lppt Rner. f-.luscaune Saugeye (Minimum- 6lbs. or 25") lOibs 9oz 2/99 Mark Jon Ha\ inga, \\' ebster City Des Moines Rher. Polk 61bs 8ot 10/11 Albert A Me\\ s. Inwood BtgStoux Rl\er, Ljon 61hs 801 6/26 Dav td W Rutherford, Bellevue Lake Ieana. Adarm

Sturgeon, Shovelnose (Minimum-3lbs.) \Va 12 lbs 4/74 Randy Hemm,Douds Des Moines River, Van Buren l~ib~ Sibs 13oL S/8 Colt Marttn Age 7, Mount Vernon Cedar Rt ver, Lmn )) bs Sucker (Minimum-4lbs.) 15lbs loz 9/83 Glen E. Dittman, Onawa 1\lis ouriRher,Monona

41bs 7oz 11 /16 WJl!Jam 0 Sass. Waterloo Cedar Rn cr. Black Ha\\ k \ Sunfish (Minimum -llbs.) llbc; l~oz 6/97 Russ Farrell, Prairie City Farm Pond, Union II h., 9oz S/22 Ralph Mayer. Knoxvtlle Fam1 Pond. Marion •j llbs 1oz 7/5 Kelle) Doggett. Ne"" London Fann Pond. Van Buren • I

6 l•l"'" l on~ ~uonrst • l '199 FISh Awiltds

gcFrsH AvvARos • • • • • • • • • • • • l0lb">201 3130 Rtehard E \\alton. Dubuque M1-.s1..,..,1pp1 Rl\er. Dubuque Released 30" l0/14 Robert r Chnstensen. Maquoketa Maquoketa Rl\ er. Jackson 2975" 6/13 Dan Brenner. Dubuque M1..,..,1..,..,1pp1 Rl\er. Allamakee 29.5'' 5/1 Jon Ruenle, Cleghorn West Okoboji, Dtckmson 2925.. 3/29 J:d Reed, Cedar Falls Shcllrock Rn er, Butler 29" 4/l Dav 1d Markert, Manson Des Momes Rner, Webster 29" 6115 Chm Paul. West Branch Mtsstss1ppi Rtver. Allarnakee 2875" ll/1 I K1m Swanson, Dolliver East OkobOji, Dtckwson 28 5" 7/2 Ira Dun ... worth, Davenport M1ss1ss1pp1 Rner, Clinton 28 5" 5/6 RKk Kreb">bach, Spencer we ... t OkohOjl, Dtckmson 28 5" 10115 ShJ\s. LeDoux. Arnolds Park \\e..,t OkobOJ I, Dtckmson 28 25" 9/1 D""' 1ght Durfe}. Cedar Raptds M1s..,i"s1pp1R1 \er. Allamakee 28" 2/14 l.aL Bmder. Ro;al \\> e"t OkoboJI. Dtckmson 28 .. l/20 George L B1shop. Pella Des \1ome"> Rtver, MartOn 28" 512 Rand; \le; er. S1ble} \\est OkobOJI. DKkmson 28" 5/21 Tefi) ~tock.strom. Indianola Sun\ aile} Lake. Rmggold White Amur (Minimum-25lbs.) 6llb 8oz 5/98 T} ler \\' arner, Greenfield Lake Greenfield, Adair 55 lb ... 6!20 Jeff Pov.ell. Case} Lake Greenfield, Adatr 53lb">507 4/12 Ron Tamez, Belle\ ue Schley Park. Hamson 501bs I oz 4/6 Matt Kono, Center Pomt Fann Pond, Lmn 451b ... 5/27 Terry Green, Walnut Y1kmg Lake, Montgomery 431bs 801 8/10 B1ll Harsha, Baxter Farm Pond, Jasper 40lbs 7111 Chn .... tmc Frazer, West Union Volga Lake, Fa}ette 331bs8o7 5/29 Marty Enckson, Massena Cold Spnngs, Cass r ------, ENTRYBLANKFORIO\\ ~RECORD FISH • • • • • • • • • • • I (One entr} per species, per }ear. Please print.) 99 FI SH A WA RD S I Name ______• • • • • • • • • • • • • • ) I Street/RFD______•If you catch a fish ehg1ble for submtsstOn for a hig fl">h award. please fill out this entl) blacnk for man) of the : Ctty______State __ Z1p ____ predator spec1es, you may release the fl'>h and '>ttll ret:e1vc I Spectes______the b1g fi5h award by meeting the hsted length hmHallons One 'Witness must attest to the \\eight of the ftsh to the I Date______nearest ounce on scales legal for trade, or to the length. Name of Lake/Stream______wh1ch 1s measured from the up of the snout to the t1p of the tat! (total length). If there is some doubt tn '>pecic.., County where caught __ identificatiOn, the angler should contact the nearest DNR personnel in the area for venficatJOn. Length ______Welght ______- New all time record fish must be examined and verified Bait or lure used. ______~----- by DNR personnel. •The entr} blank should be filled out and matled with a Wa<> this fi h released? (c1rcle one) Yes No photo or color shde of the angler and f1sh to Witness Fi'>h Records, Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Name ______Wallace State Office Bmldmg. Des Memes lA 50319 0034 Photo \\Ill be returned to angler Large ft.,h 'Will be recog­ Cit) ______S tate ___ Ztp____ _ mzed for each year as well as all-ttme records O\ cr J period of }Cars An anghng a\s.ard cemficate and shoulder patch (Entries offish caught during the current }ear must will be sent to the angler for each qualif;mg entr} The besenttothelowa DepartmentofNaturaJ Resouce b} top lO record fish and released of each spec1e., arc hsted Januaf) 15 of the folio'' ing }ear.) I each ;ear tn the Iowa Conserratwnnt. L ------~ Juque

~on makee ;on

~bster makee m tton ;on iOD makee iOD JlOn ;on I ~old r ·'- r c~ n IO"VVAI ' ir J v 1'1 D • • • • • • • •

.·- __ -,

Send this form with $6 to the lov. a Depanment of arural Resources, State Office Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0034. Limit I one-year subscrip­ tion per person. Please clip and enclose mai ling address -- from back cover.

Address. ______

Ctl) ______State __ Ztp. ___

Phone______

SS#______and da) length. are t'AO \'er) Important After the 1ce goes out in the Iowa components Another cnucal factor 1s Great Lakes area many angler put a'Aa) ph) s1cal habitat. '' h1ch 1s dependent on the1r tee f1 hmg gear and walt for the the natural chara<..tCn">tlc~ of a lake or ''allc)e season to open. But some anglers art 1fic1JI obJCCh that 1m pro' e the H !.! have cho'ien another. often overlooked phy~1cal habllttt. opuon. The) 've turned to the excellent Ea'it Okoboji has a maximum depth panfi'ih IJ'ihmg occurring on Ea t of apprO\Imatel} 7-feet north of the OkobOJI from late April through July. "Narrow'>" (local tel mmolog} for a s During the spnng and early summer noticeably con..,tncted area 111 the upper period ~evera l species of panfish move one-third of East OkobOJI). Th1 shallov. 1011 from the deeper, cooler water of East and area of the lake 1s one of the fir t loca- •JI fo West Okoboji to the shallow (warmer) tion'i to warm up in the spnng, offenng Pm waters for spawning. This behavior ideal spawn1ng temperatures for bluegill. ~Ides by Jon Christensen pattern IS predictable and anglers can crappie. yellow perch and v. h1te bass. ~le take advantage of a great opportunit)! The in nov. of v. ater from East OkoboJI Slough a'> v.cll a'> the ">pillv.ay, v.luch An Optimal Spawning c,\rnes '' ater from Spmt Lake. also Environment attract'> ft..,h to the nonh end of East OkobOJI ra ... t OkobOJI Slough pro\ Ides Temperature "am1er '' ater to the lake. v. hich ra1ses the Se"eral factors combme for optimal v. ater temperature 111 the area and 'ipa,,nmg cond1llon Weather and time prO\ rdes 1deal '' ater temperatures tor of year,'' h1ch affect v. ater temperatures pav. nmg \\ ater no,, rng out of the

34 Iowa Con e..- '•on1st • \larch Apnl 2000 spillwa) from Spirit Lake attract certamt) because nestmg crappte and --. i vanou ~ species of fish: orne come to bluegill \\Ill strike baits out of aggres­ i 'Pa,.. n while others come to feed on sion rather than hunger. At umes. ! ~malle r fish or invertebrates. Panfish spav.nmg beds can be difficult to locate WEST RIT LAKE ~ also find suitable "early" spawning in East OkoboJi because the water is OKOBOJb ST ! OKOBOJI I habitat on Upper Gar, Lower Gar, often turbid. Instead of relying solely ! Minnewashta and other areas of East on seeing a spawning bed, anglers I i DICKINSON CO. MILFORD ~ Okoboji. should consider fishing around struc­ ·-·-·- -- ·-·------· · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · ~ Fish may be more active in different ture or look for fish suspended below areas throughout the day. ln the the surface. A pair of polanzed sun­ mommg panfish are often found along glasses can really make a dtfference the west shore of the lake. The morning under these conditions. 'lin warms this side of the lake first. The weM shoreline north of the Hi ghway 9 Bndge can be a great area to fish in the early morning hours. Boat and shore anglers often find panfish on the west MINNESOTA <;horehne near brush habitat and docks. IOWA IOWA Panfish will move to deeper areas throughout the day and throughout the OlAMON~ LAKEV spnng as the water warms. Towards late SPIRIT afternoon and evening panfish will LAKE usually be more active on the east shoreline since the setting sun wi ll offer a few more hours of warmth. Anglers should concentrate efforts around docks, and m the area south of the Pioneer Bait Shop to the north end of the Highway 9 Bndge Another area to fish during late er) importJnt afternoon and evenmg ts the shoreline ical factor I' below Camp Foster. dependent on of a Jake or Habitat o\'e the Once panfish find the ideal water temperature to spawn, they will seek the aximum d~plh l best physical spav. ning habitat in that rth of the particular area. Panfish use many o!!' for a d1fterent types of natural habitat. i~ the upper ~RAIRIE LAKE Shallov. areas with sand and gravel are . Thl~ ~haJioll 1deal for panfish to build nests. he fir~t loca· Panfish usually like some cover. N • 0 offering EMERSON BAY nn~· .11 Besides being ideal for spawning es for bluegl , purposes, cover provides protection from !white baS'·.. predators and also attracts food such as East OkobOJI baitfish and insects. Brush, logs, aquatic ""' ·h '"a)· \\uA plants and overhanging limbs are ake.aho 'ultable areas to locate panfish. Cover A 3 4 1 -dof EJ' c. an make the difference between a good 1 2 3 4 n h prO' ,del MILES JoU" ftshmg outing and a poor one. SCALE c h ral~e' thl wh1C Spawning panfish can be finicky, rea and hut once the bait is placed in the ll!rature' for "Pa\\ nmg area, a strike is almost a 'out of the ;

\l o~tch Apnl2000 • lo"'a Cons~nauomst 35 Man} fJ-,h specte also use the 9 Bndge. Hmsha'' Bndge and the artiflc1al hab1tat 111 Ea t Okoboj 1. Trestle Bndge '"here East and West Pnvate and public docks are con­ Ok.oboJi connect. Once an area \\ 1th structed -,oon after 1ce out. These docks good numbers of fish is located, fe~ can offe1 great f1shmg for both shore remember it- panfish often use the an~ r and boat anglers. Docks in deeper water same area~ to spawn each ) ear. with either vegetation or brush nearby u ... uall} attract larger numbers and lie b1gger panri..,h. Anglers may have East Okoboji's Panfish greater succes~ fJ

Yello'' Perch Yello'' perch are the first panfish to spm' n 111 the lo\\'a Great Lakes. The} mo' e from deeper'' mtenng areas to shallO\\ spa\\ mng areas around mid­ Apnl. once the\\ ater reaches 43 to 48 degrees F. The male perch are the first to arrn e at suitable spa'' nmg area:-.. The larger female perch are found m deeper watei Immedt

36 I O\\d [ on>.r • t • !\!arch -\pnl 2000 Spav.. ning perch are relatively easy however, there ~and the and West to catch once they are located. Anglers are some area with usually kno\~ perch are biting when brushptles and •cated. they feel a quick tap on the line. Both logs along the ten use the live and artificial baits work well. Slip Highway 9 shoreline w vear. bobber rigs equipped with smaller short­ hich • shanked hooks or I/ 16- to l/32-ounce yield fi sh. Jigs are preferred because of the perch's Another area -;maller mouth. Minnows, worms, for crappie is in sh wax-worms or wigglers also work well. the northwest Tube jigs, ice flies and small spinners comer of the ts of an are somettmes effective and anglers may lake. Most tent protocol want to expenment \\ ith a variety of crappie caught 1\ke. nettm!!.. color-;. Perch are usually attracted to in the north­ ril in the area bnght flash) baits, but darker colors can west comer are to'' perch and .\Jmellmes tngger a bite. Allo-w the bait caught prior to pecie~ of to smk slo-w ly and set the hook when spawn. ~t thb time of 1 ou feel the slightest bite. Small Accordtng ,f quaht) lS­ sphtshot smkers can be added for easier to creel ch and larger castmg. Jigs cast from a boat towards harvest records :d during the shore v. ork well this time of year if the compiled for ;an al~o expect ha1t 1s allowed to swing slowly back to East Okoboji, 1ppie from the the boat until fish are located. anglers caught the most crappies in Areas with woody debris are favorites .dult bluegills After spawning, yellow perch can May and June. April crappie fi shing of spawning crappies. Slip bobber nets. which still be found in spawning areas. The can also be good for pre-spawning rigs such as this one (below) with a shing season. perch will eventually seek deeper, crappies, but it may be tougher to crappie jig, work well . cooler water once East Okoboji's water locate fi sh because they are a bit more temperature begins to warm. sedentary. first pantish to ,akes The} Crappie 02 areas to Crappte are the next to spawn and ro~d mid· usuall) begm spawning in East Okoboji pe~ .t3 to ~S around earl) to mid-Ma) when the hare the fJISt "ater reaches about 62 to 65 degrees F. ing area~. \1ost crapptes in East Okoboji begin e found in mO\;mg off spawning areas shortly after prior to \1emorial Da). Crappies can be found spawning any-where from 2 to I 0 feet deep with whue crappies spawning in slightly deeper water than black crappies. Crappies are notorious for spawning around woody debris. They become very vulnerable to angling during the

\larch Apnl2000 • lo\\a Con,en.al1on~>t 37 Crappte can be caught on a variet) tackle and balls. Shp bobber rigs again \.\ ork well for crappie as well as other panfish. Crappte can accept larger baits than other panftsh due to their larger I mouths. Number 4- or 6-sized hooks \\ baited with a minnow work well for crappie. I look the minnow through the back above the spine when vertical fishmg under sltp bobbers. When crappie are reall; active. Jtggmg around bru h or docks also wor~ well U">tng l/ 16-ounce Jigs fished either \\ l!h 01 \.\ llhout batt. Both marabou and plasuc-bodted Jigs m black, \\ hite. yellov. , chartreuse or a combination of these color catch fish. Mmnow used c Jigs should be hoo"ed through the lip for proper Jig actiOn. Small spmners can \\Ork great on crappies, too. There 1s a variet) of tackle on the market, but tt usually comes dov. to \.\hichevcr tackle you have had succe• with and have confidence m. Look for suspended crappies above nests. Boat anglers should not approach too close tc potential fishing spots and keep noise tc a mmunum because crappies can be ea-,tly spooked.

White Bass Whtte bas<; spa\.\n about the same ume a-, the crapp1es. The1r spa\\ ning wr peab around m1d-Ma) m East OkoboJI \\hen the \\ ater temperature reaches abm 60 degrees F. The runoff of \.\ater from Sptrit Lake mto East Okoboj1 has been a traditional<;pawnmg area for \.\hite bass. There is usually plenty of current around the sand and gravel bottom, where white bass prefer to spawn. White bass also come to the area during the spnng to forage on the abundant numbers of spottail shiner.., m this area. >. c: c: Wh tte bao;o; usually spav.n for about c v I\\ o wee" pcnod m East O"obOJI- pro' tdmg -,orne d) namite fishing! Wher The bulk of all white bass caught in the Great Lakes are caught in spa\' n 10., m full force, the shorelme ts the spring. The catch at top was taken in May from the East clustered '" llh angler catchmg large Okoboji spillway. numbers of '" htte bass. The bulk of all \\ h1tc bass harvested tn the Great Lakes Opposite page: Bluegill nests resemble large bowl-like area arc caught tn the spnng. and the depressions or elephant tracks. ~ht on a vanetv . maJonty are ltkel} caught below the can also be found along the east fish. Panfish anglers should consider . ' tbber rigs again '>pillway. Fewer adult fish are caught shoreline just north of the H1ghway 9 using 5-foot, 6-inch to 6 foot spinning well as other throughout the rest of the year, since Bridge, near the Hinshaw Bridge, rods with an ultra-light, light or me­ :eptlarger baits while bass seek deeper open-water after around the public docks below the dium-light action. Smaller ultra-light > their larger they spawn. Trestle Bridge between East and West spinning reels or slightly larger reels -SIZed hooks White bass can be caught readily Okoboji and the shoreline below Camp will work well for panfish. Select a )rk well for wuh the right tackle and technique. Foster. good 2- to 6-pound monofilament for O\\ through the Live bait, especially medium-sized Catching spawning bluegills does panfish. When fishing heavy cover ten vertical 'ihiners or minnows, works great on not adversely affect the overall popula­ anglers will have fewer problems if they rs. white bass. Shiners can be either cast or tion since these fish are very abundant use a 4- or 6-pound line. eally active, ftshed below a bobber. Anglers are also and prolific spawners (bluegill s produce docks also '' -;ucce s<;ful usmg artificials, such as an average of about 64,000 fry per nest). gs fished either small crankbaits and spmners. White The bluegill's mouth is designed Spring fishing for panfish on East 1th marabou jigs work ver) well fi shed alone or in primarily for eating small insects. Small Okoboji is an overlooked experience tck. white. combmatton w1th ltve bait. artificial baits that resemble insects providing a variety of quality-stzed fi sh ombinarion of usually work well Some good and many memories. There 1s a 25-fish ~linno'' ~ used Bluegill artificials to use are Otes, tee fhes. limit on yellow perch. There is no rrough the lip' Bluegill are the last of the panfish poppers and small Jigs. L1 ve bait such minimum size or catch hmits for spectes to spawn tn East Okoboji. as waxworms, v. tgglers, mealworms and bluegills, crappies and white bass. Now,

!\ ork great on Activit) begins anytime from late May worms are also very effecti ve on you know when, where and how to fi sh to mid-June when the water temperature artificial lures, or used wtth slip-bobber for pan fish. It 's springtime-winter is varietY• of all) comes do" reaches the high 60- to 70-degree F rigs on number 10, 12, or 14 hooks. over- enjoy the day and remember have had succc range. The bulk of East Okoboji's timing is key! e in. Look for bluegtlls are harvested in the months of Tackle and Gear ·e nests. Boat May, June and July. Fishing is a lot like golf in one Jach too close t' Bluegills begin looking for warmer aspect; just as different clubs are used nd keep not 'e t, water 'iOon after ice-out. An early throughout a golf game: it takes Jon Christensen is a natural resource >pies can be hshtng spot for bluegills is in the different gear for different species of aide stationed in Spirit Lake. '>hallov. northwest comer of East m.. obOJl. ThiS water warms fairly raptdl> and offers some protection from the wmd. Bluegtlls will typtcally stage ~ut the ~arne. near spawnmg habitat pnor to spawn- spa'' ning ur . ~ir tng In East OkoboJI Pre-spawnmg bluegt lls may be rure reache~ a~ found from mtd- to late May. around of'' ater from crappte spawnmg sites, offering anglers .oboJi has bc:en a mixed bag of fi sh. They move into for ,,hite ba~· shallow areas ncar the shoreline to Jf current arou.~ construct their nests, which resemble ·here whtt• om." large bowl-like depressions ("elephant 'hi re bass also tracks") in sand or gravel. These nests the spring to can be seen when the water is clear. numbers of Male bluegill s can be caught off these rea. t ne~ts, while the fema les are usually . for abOU pa'' n . found in '>lightly deeper water. okobOJ1-- . o' \\ The area north of the Highway 9 e fishtn,· . Bndge ts a good place to find both pre­ ~hOrehne t' 0::: e. ' Pa\\ nmg and spa\\ nmg bluegill. Look c (l 1arce .r Jun m c ate • fall for these ft sh 'hallov. \.\ater near ~ [he bulk o docks and brm;h along the west shore- ~ Great uM~ hne of Ea ... t OkobOJI Spa\\ nmg bluegill ~ hn· en (I and the -. ) ~·

\larch Apnl2000 • lo"~ Con

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Sure, there were problems. Rain . A Frigidaire Company plant its there ce The Frigidaire plant overlooks the site Flooding. Migrating contaminants. now. lb) of last summer's work on the Boone But overall , the project to clean up the Manufacturing gas plants burned lllalie, River. The plant sits on the site where 1 coal tar in the Boone River in Webster the former manufactured gas plant coal to provide fuel for street lamp in Olton operated for nearly 40 years. City went smoothly. growing frontier communities. Coal tar ,et n Webster Ctty pent about $ 1.5 i a by-product of that proce s. After the aJ million and II month to remove coal plant wa demoli hed, Electrolux built a

tar from under the rock and ediment in facllit) \\here the plant once stood, jt the Boone Rtver, and to in tall a po ibl) damagmg the underground contamment y tern to prevent any area \\here the coal tar\\ a tored. The Article and photo by more from reaching the nver. The area coal tar m1grated to'' ard the nver and 1s a floodplain and i ju t belov.. a pooled m the flood plam area. Mick Kleme rud former manufactunng ga plant ite. The D R and Barr Engmeenng 0 The plant operated from 1907 to 1947. des1gned a ~) tern to mtercept the flov.. ' ( :d( 40 lo"~ Conser.allonast • \larch. .>.pnl 2000 of the product and to collect and pump beams to help keep the water out. An nearby area about the tze of a the matenal to a central location for "Nothing keep tt complctel)' \\ater­ football fi eld was graded and packed to dtsposal. The sy tern was operating proof, but it helps," Stroner said. be the drying site for the excavated soJI successfull y until a few years ago when Pumps remove the water at a rate of The plan was to shtp the soil to Minne­ the rams came. High waters eroded the 400 gall ons per minute and will run sota for incineration, but it would not nverbank, remov ing a barrier and while the work goes on inside. A dry to an acceptable level. e helping release the coal tar. backhoe scoops the ri ver bottom and "It has to be seven percent or less Johanshir Golchin, project coordi­ gently searches for the clay liner. Each (moisture content) and we let our's dry nated for the DNR, emphasized the scoop sends the black material rushing out for months and months and worked danger m working with coal tar. toward the surface glistening in the it and worked it and the lowest we could "Health and safety training is sunhght. lt smell s like diesel fu el. get it was 10 percent," Stroner said . So, requtred when workmg \\ ith coal tar," The water pumped from the cell now disposal became an 1ssue. Golchtn atd. "What we had was a goes through an 011 and water separator. The silt and excavated soJI , combmallon of toxtc and carcmogenic a carbon fi lter and a b1o-med clay filter estimated at more than 5.750 tons. wa material. " to remove the coal tar. The filtered put through a enes of tests to determme Investigators discovered three \\ ater 1s sent to the sam tar} sewer for the level of contamination and if it channels of coal tar m1gratmg toward fin al treatment could be accepted at the llam1lton the nver lrom tts ongin al depository. a main channel and two smaller branches on each stde. Signs warned residents to sta} away from the area. Bri an Stroner, the environmental and safety coordinator for Webster City oversaw the projecl. Stroner said in the beginnmg they discovered the coal tar on the nverbed and four to fi ve feet below the ri ver bottom, but it stopped at the tmpermcable clay layer below the nver Webster City. Barr Engineering and the DNR developed a plan to enhance the collcctt on and recover} system. remove the coal tar and contaminated soil from the n ver and rebuild the ri ver bottom and tream bank. Construction began Ill January 1999. To better m.mage the project, the contaminated nverbed \\.as di vtded into several areas called cells. 'The ftrst cell we did was the The product swirls around on smallest section and we did that top of the water after th e tntenttonally," Stroner said . "We tried backhoe digs into the to get an idea of how to do the bigger riverbank. There is a strong ones a ltttle bit better. We had a little smell of diesel fuel. trouble With that first cell because that Outside the beams a mixture stu ff ts JU st ltke water, it goes anywhere of bentonite, sawdust and it '"ant's to." cracked corn was packed to It took the live-man construction help keep the water out. ere\\ ctght to I 0 day to dn ve the sheet "Nothing keeps it completely pihng ... mto the nver and nverbank to waterproof, but it helps," make a cell The p1ling Interlock and a Stroner said. mt\turc of bcntomte. sa'' dust and cracked com 1s pac!..ed out 1de the

\1 ~rch Apnl1000 • lo\lo a Co n ~eru1 1on•" 41 Count) landllll Te'>t'> pro,ed tt could The cre'" u... cd the '>arne p1hngs for pumped po-,al <..ontamtll<.lled -.oil. the work sh1fted to mo' C'i to the bottom. 1s remo,ed and bill wa-, more than $::?.65.000. rebt11ld1ng the "' erbank and bottom. sent for treatment. \\1 Work progressed slo""'l) on the f1vc Compacted clay and loo e rock Large boulder., \\.ere arranged as Ill area-. '"here coal tar was discovered. replaced the s11l and nver rock. A wtng dams to protect the new riverbank mun Crcw'i were flooded out three times. collcc11on system wa'i installed to from fast cuncnt'i that could expose ·c "We'd get good weather, come Intercept an) rcmam1ng coal tar. so it more coal tar. The reltabi I tty of the 01 dov. n, pump out the pods, '' ork one da) could be removed "Y'>tcm I'> cnttcal because there 1s no ,md here come the rams." said Bob The collection system dram the '"a) to tell hO\\ much coal tar v.. a tored f Wllltam'>. con.,trucuon s1te upenntcn­ coal ta• -ba.,ed ltqUid matenal and v.. ater on the '>lte and hO\\ much has pooled dcnt to fou1 collccllon pomt'i "here It" 111 be dO\\ n b) the m er "Estimates 'ar) :· said \1; Golchm ··An)'' here from 35.000 gallon'> to a much Cr a'> 60.000 gallons. The producuon record from the old ga" plant "ould have ...gl\ en us an 111dica- Lion. but the) are not available." The project \\as completed in earl) No,embcr. The machinery ,.., gone. as arc the pilings and ... oil. There are plans thi -.,pnng or summer to fimsh a btke and recreatiOn trail that folio'' s the m·er. The old Cit) pond that s1t m the nood plam near the rt\ er ma\.. be com·erted to a wetland and the area po. s1bl) turned mto a park. The Boone River IS one of the more cenic The contaminated soil was stacked nven. in IO\\a. " It 1s probably one of our most popular canoeing stream ," aid nearby to dry before going to the \eoI landfill. Jim Wahl, fi sheries biologist for the Kro DNR. ''The water quality is very good." Man The new wing dams (right) will protect "The old dam, removed in the M 1 the riverbank from future erosion and clean-up. \\as a popular fi. hing hole for provide some new river structure. ~ · ~ I local angler~. producmg smallmouth \ ! ba !>, cat fi'>h. crapp1e and an occasiOnal Oel\ pike," Wahl '>ald . ·There 1. no problem eatmg f1sh from then' er." Wahl sa1d. "And It ound hke the ne\\ dam w1ll pro' 1de orne good habnat." Accordmg to Golchm. \\henever

42 lo" Con crv .>m t • \tach.Apnl2000 1oldm!! tanks ~ one of these proJeCts are completed, histoncall), so doc., the value of the was built a fev. year-. ago on one of he coal tar generall) the value of the propert) goes surrounding netghborhood." these s1tes. loved and up. Golchm c1ted a number of e\­ After finishmg a clean up at a Cedar "What has happened, is many of amples. Rapids site, a h1gh-nse federal building ranged as these sites are centra II y located in the ]n Davenport, the Quad City Time will be built. :w riverbank communtties, in the prime real estate building sits on a former manufactured ·'Jt is always a good idea to go after j expo~e area'>," Golchin said. "When the gas plant site. The $20 million invest­ these sites not on ly to fix the problem, it\ of the ment helped spur other downtown ' pollut1on happened, the land was a but because history has shown us that 1ere 1s no liabthty. After the remed1al activity. the development. development will occur after the clean ar ''as stored value of the real estate increases and. Waterloo Recreatton and Art Center up.'' said Golchin. 1as pooled Iowa has 52 former manufactured gas plant sites 111 d1 fferent stage'> of q:m.'\aid Manufactured Gas Plant Sites cleanup. \\here from • , to as much Under Consent Order M1ck Klemesrud IS an mformmwn on~. The \me-. (College Park Site) Osceola spenahst for the departmem 111 De~ :ords irom Anamosa 0 ·kaloo-;a Momes mt \\OUid AtlantiC Poplar Street Ottumv.a an mdica­ AtlantiC State Street Pella are not Belle Plame Pleasant Htll (Vandalia Road) Boone Red Oak ct ''as Burlington Sioux Clly earl) Carroll Storm Lake he machmeT) Cedar Rapids Vinton the pilings Centervi ll e Washin gton Chant on Waterloo plan' this C'harles City (Recreation mer to firu,h Cherokee Center) rearion rra1l Clannda Waverly Cre-,ron Webster City 1e rh er. The that ~It' 1n Da\ en port (Rejuvenate Davenport) Da\ enport - Marquette St. Service 1 near the EPA Lead :onwrted to a Center Sites De!)~ lome!'> (T\A. o Rivers) 1e nea 1) Fairfield Dubuque (Key City) :d intO 3 2) Dubuque Gnnnell (Peoples 1 Hampton 1e R1\er ~ Natural Gas Independence ~ re sceniC Site) lo\A. a Fall bl >one of our 3) LeMars Keokuk "saJd 4) Iowa City ams. Knoxville st for the .. 5) Council Bluffs After 11 long months, the job is Marshalltown s veT) good. 6) Decorah complete. Nature will work magic this Mr. Pleasant d mthe 7) Clinton spring and it will be hard to tell there )ling hole for Mu~catin 8) Waterloo (Sycamore Street site) was ever a problem. Nevada naumouth 9) Mason City occJSional Oelwein 11 IOWA'S unc MASON IMPACT -- I

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POCAHONTAS co I HUMBOLDT co tool-. the meteonte to penetrate about Mmnec:lpoh-.. St. Louts). and probabl} I one mtle 1111 0 the ground. the shock ktlled most ammc:lls wllhm about 650 ''ave created b} the tntttal contact \\ Jth mtles (Detroit. Denver) The bla t left a' the -.urface reached the back ide of the cr no land ·urface - TNT An electromagnetic pul e moved e:\preS'> IOn of the crater that extsts 100 a\.\ay from the potnt of impact at nearly to 300 feet bela"" the town of Manson

0 5 10m los the '>peed of l1 ght , mstantly igniting (Calhoun County). whtch ltes near the I I I I I I I I I , ! I anyth1n g that would bum within center of the crater that bears Its name. approximately 130 miles of the impact The area of the Man on Impact CALHOUN CO I WEBSTER co (most of Iowa). The shock wave toppled Structure has been known as a geologic Location of Manson Impact Structure trees up to 300 mil es away (Chicago, anomal y since the early 1900s. At th at Cross, and principal feaures of its crater.

a by Raymond R. Ander on

Se \·enty-four million years ago, near the end of the Cretaceous Penod, central IO\\ a Ia) near the shoreline of an in land seaway that separated eastern No11h America from rapidly ri ing Ct C mountains to the we t. The low-lying thm( Iowa landscape was home to a ri ch and c~po varied population of plants and animals, Pr~uce1 including dinosaurs and small mam­ lcanic ma ls. These organi sms lived in a fern­ gill fQ nch, mi xed conifer and deciduous forest c: db j with a warm , moist climate much like ~ -:::>"' ~ today's Gulf Coast. The envi ronment c: -1: PJ dramaucall) changed when a ton) meteonte, more than one mtle m dtameter. weighmg about 10 btl lion A microscopic view through a thin-section of rock from the Manson Crater's ton') and travelmg about 45,000 mtles Central Peak is shown. Lines in the brownish quartz grains are impact-derived per hour. blasted through the atmo­ "parallel deformation features." Such features are found at meteor impact sites sphere and crashed to earth . around the world and are considered irrefutable evidence of extraterrestrial In the fractton of a second that it impacts. Horizontal field-of-view is 3 mm.

44 low, (on CrYdiiOniSl • \larch Apnl 2000 w Apparent Crater E Transient Crater undisturbed Terrace Crater Central Crater Terrace undisturbed strata Terrane Moat Peak Moat Terrane strata

X • • X X X •

X ' X ,., -...... _ _ _,._,- X X X X X X X X X X 0 5 miles X X X X X X d probably about650 1e blast left a Glacial drift Paleozoic rock Jeter cen­ D E3 nable death Phanerozoic clast breccia (debris flow) D Proterozoic red clastic rock • . surface • . Transported brecciated rock Proterozoic crystalline basement . • • [2] t exists 100 ~ # of Manson lxxxxxxl Brecciated crystalline rock ~ ...... Transient crater 1es near the rs its name. I D Cretaceous rock Fault ~Impact 15 a geolo~c ' ~Os. At that Cross-section view of the geologic features of the Manson Impact Structure

time, a new water well for the town of energy shock wave generated by an ; that is, it includes an Manson encountered an unusual impact passes through a quartz grain, outermost "Terrace Terrane" of down­ sequence of rocks that yielded the only creating thin regularly spaced zones of dropped blocks, an inner "Central naturally soft groundwater known in melting along preferred crystallographic Peak," and a "Crater Moat" in between Iowa. The first investigation of the planes. Extraterrestrial impacts are the (see diagram above). anomaly, in 1955, consisted of drilling only known natural force with sufficient Some of the most important data two research cores and studying rock energy to create these features. obtained from the research cores was a samples collected during water well In 1991 and 1992 the Geological more accurate age for the impact, about drilling in the area. Because meteorite Survey Bureau and U.S. Geological 74 million years. Also significant was impact craters were almost unknown at Survey began to investigate the the identification of six types of impact that time, the feature was interpreted as possibility that the Manson impact rocks which were emplaced during a "crypovolcanic structure," a crater played a role in the extinction of the actual crater formation. Four impact produced by a giant explosion of dinosaurs and other species at the end of rock units were identified on the Central volcanic gases. The meteorite impact the Cretaceous Period, 65 million years Peak. These include Proterozoic origin for the structure was first pro­ ago. During the course of thi s investi­ Basement Blocks (large blocks of posed by Robert Dietz in 1959 and gation 12 research cores, totaling more granite and gneiss from below the crater confirmed in 1966 by Nicholas Short, than 4,000 feet, were obtained from all floor); Crystalline Clast Breccia with a who published photographs of "parallel terranes of the crater. Study of those Sandy Matrix (smaller fragments of deformation features" in quartz grains, cores and other data by scientists granite and gneiss in a matrix of sand­ including specimens from the Manson throughout the United States and from sized rock and mineral grains); Crystal­ Structure. Short concluded that these several other countries produced a good line Clast Breccia with a Melt Matrix ;rater's features constituted incontrovertible understanding of the processes involved (similar to the previous unit, except t·derived evidence of a meteorite impact origin. in the formation of the Manson Struc­ most of the sandy matrix and many of ~pact sites The so-called "shocked quartz grains" ture. This investigation identified the the larger fragments have been melted); restrial (see p. 38) are produced when a high- Manson Structure as a "complex" and the Keeweenawan Clast Breccia

March1Apnl2000 • Iowa Con,ervatlOn!Sl 45 (broken and partially melted billion­ impact, expoo;i ng the area to erosion. Structure 1s nov.. one of the best pre­ year-old shale). The fifth impact rock Over the next 70 million years, about served and beo;t studied comp! eA. tmpact type is Ejecta (rocks thrown from the I ,000 feet of rock layers were removed craters on Earth, many unanswered crater during formation), found only in from the region by erosion, including ques tions remain about the effects of the Terrace Tenane. The sixth impact all impact rocks beyond the crater. thi s impact on life forms. Additional rock is Phanero:oic Clas1 Breccw However, With its thick cover of developments in crater research as well (material ori ginally tripped from the PhancrolOic Clast Breccia for protec­ as a detailed model of the crater's land surface, mixed wi th ejecta in a tiOn. on ly small areas on the Central formallon can be obtained from the ground surge that moved ahead of the Peak and Terrace Terrane were eroded. Gcolog1cal Sun e) Bureau's v..eb stte at growmg crater. and then quickly Dunng the last 2.5 million years. '' v.. v. 1g-.b.u10\\ a.cdu/brov. se/manson/ transported back mto the crater b) conttnental glacters covered the man-.on htm. returmng ea v. ater ). Thi matenal ''as 1anson area repeated I}. The e glac1ers found m all three tenane of the crarer. fu rther eroded the tmpact feature before The shallo'' eaway retreated from blanketmg tt '' ith glacial sediments that Ru.' R Ander':lon IS a geologiSt u uh the the reg10n of the Manson Structure cover 1t from vte\\ toda). depanmem's ~eolog/C·a/ sun el} bw·eat wllhm a fev.. million years follov. ing the Although the Manson Impact 111 /ol1'a Cu .... ~ The money from natural resources license plates goes to the Resource Enhancement and Protection Fund-REAP. Created in 1989, REAP has received the highest national award for consen'ation programs. So far, it has generated $70 million and rising. To buy a set of the $35 plates, take yo ur current plates and registration to your county treasurer and request the natural resource plates.

he be\t pre· · pact :ornple\ 1111 REAP In Action 1ans11ered he effects of City Parks and Additional Open Space 15% DNA Open Space 28% . arch as II ell ~se e crater's ·d from the · . eb ... ite 31 lU II (llan,onf Roadside Vegetation 3% )II ,e Soil and Water Historical Resources 5% Enhancement 20% DNA Land Management 9% County Conservation 20%

\larch. o\pnl 2000 • lo\\a \o"'e"~t•on" 47 p

Planting the Right Tree ' ;\e Don't reach for the shovel ju t yet Redwood tree won't grow in Iowa mtr • \\ f Before you start dtggmg holes m } our bad.} ard. spend -.orne Select a pecie and "anety to best match the reason } ou are ttme askmg the nght questions and findmg the best tree for plantmg and the conditions of the ">lle you ha\e chosen. Certain falf your purpose and planting areas. Wh) are ) ou planung a tree'> trees thnve in certam condlltOn'> '>0 be ">ure you research an~ ofr Do you need llto provide shade. pri\acy. \\lldltfe habttat. carefully before you purchase and plant your tree Choose a tree beauuful color or a creen for unstghtly vtew-.'? Where are that \\ tll not outgrow the sue as ll becomes larger. and choose a gr~ \\at you plantmg the tree? I the planting area m the mtddle of a site that is 15 to 30 feet a\\ a} from bulldmgs and powerhnes. to •Tht grove, in an open backyard or on the edge of a marsh? Is the prevent damage to the tree. Below ts a list of tree species and stte wet or dry, sunny or shady? their most favorable condiuons. • lo n incl •Ov Species Mature Size Favorable Growing Conditions Proper kill !2a Wei Sun Sltade SHADC TRCES Planting Sugar Maple 65 feet tall Ye .. 0 Yes Yes • Spt Bur Oak 65 feet tall Yes 0 Yes lo Techniques ~htJ

Swamp White Oak 65 feet tall Yeo; Yes Yes I 0 rad • Start v. tth a health}. well-formed Red Oak 65 feet tall Yes I 0 Yes No to 6 nursery tree. White Ash 60 feet tall Yes Yes . 0 turf ' 0 • Handle the nev. tree carefull) Green Ash 60 feet tall Yec; Yes Yes Yes pou Ye~ before and dunng the plantmg Honey locust 50 feet tall Ye~ Yes ~0 trur Ltnden 60 feet tall Yes 0 Yes Yes stage<>. ' A\ Bald Cypress 50 feet tall Ye~ Yes Yes No • A\ otd pl anttng tree too deep or con too hallow. Do not add oil • Tht Wt ~DBREAK TREES amendment (i.e. moss, potting are< Black Hills Spruce 40 feet tall Yes 0 Yes 0 oil, etc.) to the planting hole. Blue Spruce 60 feet tall Yes 0 Yes 0 • Dig a hole at least 2 to 3 times Norway Spruce 60 feet tall Yes 0 Yes 0 wider than the root ball, but no White Spruce 40 feet tall Yes No Yes No Concolor Fir 50 feet tall Ye!> No Yes 0 deeper than the root ball. Serbian Spruce 50 feet tall Ye-. No Yes 0 • Remove as much twine. wire and White Pine 75 feet tall Yes 0 Yes 0 burlap as posstble from the root Larch 65 feet tall Yes Yes Yes 0 ball. • When puttmg o:;oil m the planting Lov.. GRO\\ 1'\G TRCLS hole. don't pack. too ttghtly. Use Flowenng Crab 25 feet tall Ye~ "Jo Yes 'o your hands to gently settle the Amur Maple 25 feet tall Ye., Ye~ Yes Ye sod m the hole around the roots. 25 feet tall Ye., Yes Yes Yes Sen tcebeiT) • Water the tree tmmedtately after llav.thorn 25 feet tall Ye-. No Yes 0 plantmg to ">ettle the o;otl and Tree Ltlac 25 feet tall Ye., No Yes 0 remo' e au pockets

48 IOY.d Con-crvaunn&>l • \lardi/Apnl 2000 Proper Care and Protection Why should I Give trees a chance plant a tree? To help them grow properly and live long, healthy Ji ves, newly pl anted trees need • The Need for Trees attention and a lot ofTLC. In the few years that foll ow planting your tree. keep a clo e Iowa has been called the "most altered eye on its progress and follow these steps to en ure proper care. tate in the nation"- a phrase that refers Watering Stak111g to the Joss of 99.9 percent of our praine, • ev.. Jy planted trees must be watered a • Stake or guy young trees tf they are 90 percent of our wetlands and more mmtmum of one year after planting. not able to tand on thetr O\\ n. than 80 percent of our forests. Changmg • \\ ater needs of a tree depend on • Remove the stakes or guys as oon as farming practice and mcreased ubur­ sons ~ou are ramfall and soil condJtJons. In general poss ible: do not lea\ e them on longer ban development have resulted in the :hosen. a ne\\)) planted tree requires one inch than t\\O years. loss of man) \\ i ld It fe habt tat . B) esearch of motsture every 7 - I 0 days during the • U e oft matenal that ts '" tde ( 1 to 3 plantmg trees. \\e not onl) help pro, ide • Choo'e a tree grov. mg ea on. In the fall. continue inches) around the trunk (not v. tre homes for wtldhfe, but also improve the . and choo'e a watenng until the soil freezes. through a garden hose) to secure the quality of the air we breathe, prevent JO\\erline,. to • The key to watering is to allow water tree to avoid gtrdhng the trunk. erosion and add beauty to the natural species and to move through the root area (6 to 24 • Do not stake ti ghtl y, allow the tree to Iowa landscape. Help restore Iowa by mches deep), and then allow it to dry. have some movement. This will allow planting a tree or by participating in • Overwatering (every day) can actually the tree to build up trunk and root Earth Day and Arbor Day activities. ·oper kill a tree. strength . Earth Day - April 22 Earth Day has been celebrated each year Mulch111 g Pruning mting since April 22, 1970. On the first Earth • Spread mulch material such as wood • Begin pruning 2 to 3 years after a tree Day, more than fi ve millton people chtps or bark in a 3- to 4-foot v. ide is planted, contmuing as a gradual miques participated in cleaning up our envi ron­ radJU !) around the tree at a depth of 3 process over man) year., ment, from pickmg up trash to planting . \leU-formed to 6 mches. Thts will reduce weed and • Remove com pet mg leaders. v. eak and trees. Since then, the number of partici­ turfgrass competJtJon. and reduce the broken branches. rubbmg and compet­ pants has increased to an esttmated 20 e carefull) potent tal of mower damage to the ing branches. and basal sprouts. mill ion, from countnes all over the world . the planting trunk • Never remove more than one-lhtrd of Be an active player tn Earth Da) 2000. • A\ otd havtng the mulch m direct the tree· s li vmg crO\\ n at any one time. either b) plantmg a tree or gettmg e too deep or contact '' Jth the trunk. • When remO\ mg branches. take the involved in Iowa' Earth Year 2000. For t add soil • The longer you can keep a mulched v.etght of the branch off and make the 1 more in form a ti on ,v t ~ it the Earth Year noss. potung area around a tree, the better. fin al cut out stde of the branch collar. website at http:// Ulllng hole. www .earthyear2000.com. I) to 3umes " To Protect Your Tree, Avoid the Following Practices: Arbor Day- April 28 t ball. but no • Do not tie a dog chain around the tree, or lock a bike to the tree. Arbor Day started in 1872 in the state of Jl bail. • Do not hit the tree with mowing equipment or weedeaters. . e wire and Nebraska in response to a state procla­ 1\'lfi • • Do not use weed killer in the area of a tree's root zone, unl ess the mati on urging settlers to pl ant trees th at from the root materi al is labeled for use around trees. would provide shelter, shade, fruit, fu el STOP • Avoid heavy compaction of soil around the tree by people and and beauty for rel.ident s. Ce lebrations of equipment. Arbor Day are still held all over Amen ca. • Do not change the soil grade around a tree. Thts means. v. tthin the \\ith the date determmed by the best root area under a tree' branches, do not add an) sot! a ~ ftll and do planting ttme Ill each area. lo\\a cel­ not remove any otl from thi area. Both of the e practtces can be ebrates Arbor Da) on the nauonall) ' er) damagmg to a tree' root S) stem. recognized holtda). the last Fnda) tn • Do not ha' e a tree topped. Thi practtce ts the excesstve remo' al of April. For more mformatJO n,' tstt the ,, a tree· s It' ing branches. Thts pracuce destrO) s the tree· structure. ational Arbor Da) Foundatton '' ebstte and creates an unhealth) tree. at hrtp://v. "v. .arborda) org. Pnrl~s ProfHe It'., no great ~ecret, state parks don't The matenah7e O\Crn1ght De,elopmg a eco ~tate park take~ considerable thought tor 1 and planning. and ma} come 111 siO\V, calculated stages 1 he process ma; take years to complete to en.,ure certain cntena are 1r1ct and goals reached. After years of planning and building, A k.c; crrte r1 a cons1dered Vvhen this park holds great outdoor creating a state park 1s reta1nmg the mon natural beauty, un1que features and tre~~ treasures for the entire family protected and threatened spec1es of an ladil area. The Lake Darling State Recreation thre• Area 1s a good example of Vvhere great effort'> Vve re taken to sat1sf} th1s goal VvhJle ..tt the '>amc time accommodatmg Lake Darling the need., ,md ''ants of the more than 200,000 annu,tl 'l.,ttor'>

In The Beginning In 1947. the State of lo,,a allocated State Recreation [\ mone) for an artl r1c1al lake along Hone) Creek.. located three miles \\est of unc Bnghton. Construcllon began on the tur 300-acre lak.e 10 August J 9.f9. and the Area lake began to IIll 111 September J 950. Lak.e Oarl1ng Vvas ofC!cwll} dedicated Sept. I 7. 1950, and named after J. N. Article by Jeff Hi Ide brand "Dmg" Darling. a PulltLer Prize­ Photo by Clay Smith wmmng cartoorm.t for the Des Moines Regwer and a noted comervatwnrst. Darlmg Vvas alo;o a co-author of the "1933 lmm 25-Yew Consenat1011 Plan," \\h1ch recommended de,eloping a large artrlrcJal lake 111 Washmgton Count) Bet'' een 1959 and 1960 additiOnal l,md ''as acqUired. bnnging the recrc,lliOn Mea to Its current s1ze of I .417 acre., Lak.e Darl1ng I'> charactenzed b; gent!) rolltng hill-.. 51lt) and loam) soli and ""'a" formed 111 loess or glactal till.

LEFT: Lake Darling's campground is unique in that it is situated along the lake's shore.

RIGHT: Jetties and sunken habitat provide numerous fishing opportunities.

UPPER RIGHT: Because of Lake Darling's diverse ecosytem, It is not uncommon to see deer, turkey, red fox, coyotes, squirrels, weasels, wood ducks, geese, owls and raccoons. state park~ oo· The soli ts v. hat ma(...es Lake Darhng · s many camper\ knO\\. levelopmg a CWS)Stem SO diVCr'>e Jt 1!. \\ ell-suited raccoons Spnng and fall rable thought fo1 \\ oodlands as well as grasslands. visitors can v1ew mtgratmg :orne m~IO\\, Lake Darhng has fi ve prame or birds passmg through the rocess rna~ lar, prame remnants cons1sung of b1g blue recreat1on area. Some of the ;ure certam ,tcm, s'A 1tchgra\s and van ous praine more common spec1es Is reached. flov.ers . The recreat1 on area al so has a include great blue heron\, idered when lew unique and rare plants including American egrets, cormorants, etainin!! the monkey flower, great plains ladies ospreys, swans, cluch, belted ~ eature~ and tresses, summer grape and slender king fi shers, bald eagles and I I j species of Jn ladie., tresses. the latter considered various song birds. State Recreatt threatened in Iowa. The woodlands The li st of outdoor of \\here !!rea Lontam trees common to southeastern recreatiOnal opportunities at ~ lmva. mcluding elm , white oak, shingle Lake Darling is extensive. ICcommodJil~c na l-.. and walnut. The extens1ve trail Campmg is very popular 111 the more than ... ) stem mal-..es all of these areas easi I y the summer. The camp­ •cces'ilble to mtcrested pari-.. visitors. ground locat1 on I'> one of the As one can 1magme. '>UCh a di verse park's btggest dra~ s. Unl1(... e .:COS) c; tem prOV IdeS 1f Jo,, a alloca 'labllat for a 'A 1de range ake along Hon 1f wi ldlife. It 1s not ,mcommon to see deer. le~ \\N of ...... urkc). red fox, - - ·--·--·-- be!!an on the I WASHINGTO v .·oyotc'>. squirrels. I t 19~9. and tne i I \\C,t\el<. . wood duck!., i \ 1tember 1950 i i ( cesc, ow Is, and as ' all\ dedicated i I ':. ' I \ ~ 1ed after J.N 'tJASHINGTON \ I l 1 1-- zer Prize· LAKE dARLING ~ ~ I- he Des ,\tow I I nservauomst. I* co-author oft msen at ion nded de,eloplll­ \\ ashmgton and IQ60 most parks 111 IO\\ a. Lake Darlmg 's luired. bri~g111: s current ~tze campground 1s situated along the lake's shore. aractenzed b} There are a number of boat docks at the campground, all o'A mg campers to r and Joa01~ ' s or gJactal ul park their boats near thc1r sites The recreati on area has 118 campsites, 81 have electrical hookups. Another eight ~ have full hookups, incluclmg elec tri clly,

campground JS water and sewer connecti ons. The uated along th campground has two showers. one scheduled to be repl aced ~ tthtn the next fe'A years. Jnken habitat In addition to the campground, ;hiOQ three cabins 'A ill be available to rent this spring. and poss1bl) two more later in the year. The cabm'> ~t il have bunk beds, a table \\lth t\\O chair\, a fut on. a fire ring and a bench on the cabm' s porch. Cabm at tons can be made by calling (3 19) 694-3-ll 3 111 the

\IJrch \pnl ~ouo • 10\'·' C on,cn a11on1' 51 -,ummel. or (5 15) 636-3 1-+0 m the tall hunter'> 0 1 '' ildhl e and '' 1nte1 \ I C \ \ C J O., F1-,h111g I'> another popular -, port at I he trail .., ) .,tem Lak.c O,ulmg The t\\ o boar ramps i.l i'>O ofl c1.., un1que pnn 1dc ca'>) s for boat Jaunch10g. challenge., to b1k. cr'> and cleared ... hore hnes and jett1es omc a1ca., arc fa1rl} prO\ 1de e:\ccll cnt opportunnies for bank. lc, el and pro' 1de a f1 .,hing. In the earl y 1990s. the lake relax mg da) 's nde. \\ a'> dramcd fo1 repa1rs and wh1l e the while other drea'> have '' atcr wa'> low. Jellies were added, hil ls to challenge even -,h orclmcs were deepened, rip-rap the mo'>t dedicated protecti On \\ a.., placed and fi sh habllat ndcr. Cro..,., country \\ a., -, pread throughout the lake. The runner-; alo;o face the habitat pile.., are marked \\ Jth buO} for '>a me challenge-.. angler..,· com en1 ence. Channel and Wmtcr doe-.n 't put fl athead c,llfi .,h. crapp1es. largemouth an end to trail u-.c for bac;o.,, blucgllh. green sunf1 h. bullheads. the .,ea'>on The '' 1de. golden o., hmer'>. g•zzard shad and carp mov.. ed tt <.ul o., pro' 1de a are found 10 the lake good ba'>e for On hot o., ummer da) . Lake snov. mobllmg and Darlmg·., beach o, ·erflow '' Jth '1 1tors cro'>'> tountr) .,k11n g -.eekmg refu ge from the heat. The large once sno\\ reaches beach area prov1des sand , gras and SU fft CICnl depth <; trec-'>haded area-.. Motonzed fishmg One of the boatc;, row boats, canoe , kayak • challenges the DNR Park visitors relax under a shade tree on a warm pontoon and paddle boats can be has 10 each of tts state summer day. rented at the boat house. parks and recreati on The 15 miles of trail s provide areas is to manage the area to protect the opportun1tJ cc; for hikers, bird watchers. resources while prov iding a wide variety • th1nnmg undes 1reabl e trees and w!ldOower enthusiast • mushroom of recreat1 onal opportunities for the pl antmg more ash trees 111 the public. One tool to accompli h a-, h unll thl '> 10., an ecOS}Stem management pl an • pl anung more ,., alnut trees and The Lake Darhng Recreat1 on remO\ m...g \ll1es from tree in the Area !::.cos) stem Management Plan \\alnu t un!l pro' 1de-. pnnc1ples and manage­ In the ncar future. lmpro\ ements ment recommendatiOns to \\Ill be made u... mg funds from the nuu nt am the mtegnt) of Lake "Re-.tore the Outdoors Program.·· Darltng. prc<>e n mg the unique Impro' emenh mclude renovatmg of the woodl and., and grao.,s lands of the beach fac JIH ). rcplacmg the west area. Se' era! tasks \\iII be earned campground shower blllldmg. repl acmg out over the next few years to the boat house. renovat1n g of the park en-. urc the goals of the manage­ shop and upgrad1ng the \V astewater ment pl an are mel. including: system. As you plan your summer vaca­ • controlled praine burns every tiOns, be sure to 1nclude Lake Darling. three to fiv e years EnJO) \\hat the area has to offer and see the changes each season brings. For • th1nntng undes1reable trees 111 an) qu e'>l! On., about Lak. e Darlmg oak forest areas to allow more Recreatton Area. call (3 19) 69-f-23 23. '>Unllght for oak seedlings to grow

• bummg the \V htte oak area ever} three to fi ve year to .lf'jj 1/i/de/mmd o the pork ran~er at Channel catfish is just one of the abundant remove understor) and allo\\ Lake Dw ling State Pork. fish species at Lake Darling. v. h1te oak. seedlings to gro\V Turkey hunting in Iowa has rapidly One of the side benefits of seeing a into a popular sport in which the gobbler up close is the possible harvest of ;'J(ltbble is pursued as much as the gobbler. one of these magnificent birds. These is a wonderful experience to sit out in the birds are among the finest of table fare and woods before first light and hear multiple can be cleaned and cooked in many ways. gobblers expressing their dominance over I prefer to process the turkey into cuts of lhe spring woods. These thundering meat that can be used in a variety of reci­ gobbles are enough to rattle the most sea­ pes. Following are some of the steps I use soned veteran of the outdoors as well as the in cleaning and preparing the bird . first-timer to the spring woods. Many people have discovered this experience - STEP 1 - Discreetly sho\\> off your 48,225 turkey hunting permits were issued newly acquired trophy, by first taking a warm for the 1999 spring season. pictures in the field. Long after the turkey is eaten, the hunt is remem­ bered in your mind and you able trees and are J..ept truthful by the pic­ t trees mt he tures you have taken. Pic­ tures can be improved by g the an rna in or near wiping off any blood and natural environment preserves the moment. Jnut tree) and including certain objects re­ I usually use my garage floor v. ith a -om rrees in thl lating to the hunt such as hunters, guns, bl inds and piece of cardboard laid down to k.eep the local scener}. The largest area clean. nprovement~ tmprovement) ou can make • a location for all the non-edible pans of the turkey to be deposited- [ ; from the in pictures i ~ taking them at .. usually u e a box or garbage sack . ·o~· the hunting site rather than !O;\'ating of tilt taken m the garage or on the STEP 3 - Lay the tu rk.ey on his back the "est tatlgate. and pull the ski n open over his breast ]ding. replactog STEP 2 - Cia) Smllh 12 of the park After taking time ro \~astewa ter enjoy the moment, assemble the tools tmm er \'aca·,. , needed to clean your Lake Dar tO~· turkey. These m­ and lee to offer clude: . for bn ng~. • a large ·e DarliM • clean bowl to hold . ,., ) J9l 69~·~ ·' · the meat from the : turkey ~ • a medium :.: sized sharp kni fe Wild turkeys are great game and delicious tablefare. for cutting After the breast is exposed, make two cuts downward until you feel the bone and then turn • a clean area knife towards the base of the wing. to do the process -

March Apnl 2000 • lo"a Con,el"allonl\1 53 pull the skin around hiS back: embedded shot and blood. To effectively this will expose this piece of freeze the meat, I suggest sorting it into meat and allow you to re­ desired portions and inserting each por­ move it. After removing this tion into a large resealable freezer bag. meat, put it in the bowl and squeezing out all air, labeling the package repeat with the other side. and freezing. STEP 6 • At this Cooking is up to the cook's discretion point you should have two but can be accomplished in a variety of boneless breast pieces. two ways. I like to have my father-in-law smoke pieces of thigh and drum­ the bird, but I at so enjoy a variety of recipes stick that can be separated from the oven. One of my fav orite recipes or left together, and two involves baking the turkey with cream of smaller bonelec;;s pieces mu ~hroom soup. Good luck in the upcom­ -= from the back. Take the meat ing turkey season. Hopefull y. it will be a ;: ~ afe and enjoyable ti me for everyone. c;.,, into the kitchen and deposit C it into a clean kitchen sink. ~~~-' This will all ov.. you to wash A clean area, a large bowl and a medium­ the meat free of any feathers. sized knife are essential elements for cleaning the turkey. towards hi., wi n g~. This will expose the large breac;;t muscles of the wild turkey. Afterthe sk in i.., pulled off the breast, make two cut<; continuing downward along the breac;t plate until you feel bone. Then turn ) our knife so you are cutting toward the base of the v. mg. Thi c;; will allov. you to cut along the nb., and ultimately remo\'e the breast meat from the bt rd. Complete th t., procc<>., b) putting the meat in the bowl and remov mg the oppostte breast mu.,cle. STEP 4 - Ne>..t. pull the skin dow n one leg and di SJOmt the leg at the point where the feather<> stop. After di sposing of th at leg with ac;;c;;oc1atcd feathers and skin , pu sh the thi gh (attached to the drumstick) toward the back of the bird. You will hear a pop which i<> the dic.; location of the ball and socket JOint that attaches the thigh to the main body or the bird. The thigh and drumsti ck can now be removed by cutting next to the b1rd '<> bod) , through thi s ball and ... ocketJOllll. Put thl "> meat in the bowl and repeat \\ ll h the other stde. STEP 5 - The last t\\O pieces of meat that need to be retrieved are the A } a \ \\ l llt£'1' I\' a fl'ctllllllg offiu>r at the mu..,cle'> along the scapula on the back. Spn 11 ln oo/.. Education Ce11ter 111 Gwlure behmd the bao,es of the wmgs. To remo\'e Cel/(er thc.,c p1eces, lay the btrd on hts side and ihe Mississippi River has been used for recreation as well as Subjects lit'$)Jbrtatipn: The river was first navigated by French and Spanish explorers in 1718. Social Studies, Science variety of ~ru~titca1ts first started using the river for commerce (trade; business) in the 1790s, but -law smoke lriclth1er half century passed before the first steamboat chugged up the mighty Missis­ Skills yofrectpes SiPJ~i in 1850. Communication, discussion, rite rectpes The Mississippi has changed a lot since that time. The current 9-foot navigation evaluation, interpretation, listening, th cream of channel was built between 1930 and 1940. The 1, 300-mile waterway links five states writing theupcom­ to the Gulfof Mexico. The Upper Mississippi River System contains 29locks and dams, it will be a which replaced rapids and falls with a stairway of water for commercial and recreational Objectives traffic. A lock is an enclosed part ofthe river with gates at each end for raising or lowering ·eryone. Students will be able to evaluate vessels from one level to another. The lock and dam system is operated by the U.S. Army the effects of expanding the current Corps of Engineers. Barges. unpowered vessels, are used to transport such things as locks system on the Mississippi com. coal, soybeans, oil and fertilizer up and down the river. Barges transport more River. thanl20 million tons each year. The river system is widely used for recreation. Recreational use involves direct and indirect spending of more than $ 1.2 billion annually. Method The river system is also home to a large diversity of fi sh and wildlife. More than Students role-play individuals 20percent of North America's ducks feed and rest on the river during migration. A total representing differing perspectives of 156 species offish and 40 species of mussels call the ri ver home as well. However, and concerns related to expanding there is a decreasing number of these fish. plant and animal spec ies in the Mississippi the locks on the Mississippi Ri ver. River habitats due to increased erosion, sedimentation and decreasing water quality. Islands disappear due to erosion, spawning beds are blanketed by silt and backwaters are fi lling with silt. Current plans call for even more change in the river's structure The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is proposing expansion or replacemenL of the current locks. The Corps would like to expand the 600-foot locks to I ,200 feet. The longer lock would eliminate the need for the double lock process. In this process, modem barges that are approximately I ,200 feet in length have to break into two pieces to fit through the lock and reconnect on the other side. This process takes about two hours compared to 25 to 40 minutes for a single lockage. This decrease in 11me would allow more barges and recreational ves<>els through in the same amount of time. This proposal has generated a lot of debate.

EFFECTS Expanding the lock system would have many effects, including: I. Loss of bottomland timber due to flooding. 2. Increase in jobs due to increased traffic. 3. Increased traffic will increase shore erosion by pa'ising tows. 4. Decrease 111 lock time to 25 to 40 minutes. 5. Elimmate need for double lockage process.

6 Man} homes and public landings would have to be relocated .t: due to flood111g. e V': 7. Reproductl\:e potential of mussels. a t} pe of fre~hwate1 clam, I'> not Impacted 111 h1gh traffic areas. so numbers should not decrease. Barge traffic on the river can be heavy at times.

\larch o\pnl 2000 • lem-a \c:>n,cl"\ atoono ,, 55 Materials 8. Increa-sed shitli>m.g, Vllhit'!: rne4::tea$es.:· Notecards the amount of commodities shipped by rAil or Writing utensils truck (Shipping by rail and truck causes more air pollution and less fuel efficiency). Duration 9. Commercial and recreational vessels - stir up sediment that interrupts the feeding of T wo 45-minute periods mussels, slowing their growth (These mussels Group Size: are an important food source for fi sh, muskrats, minks, otters and some birds. Mussels are also 20-30 students harvested and exported for the cultured pearl industry). Setting: l 0. The cost to expand tive locks on the Classroom Upper Mississippi is approximately $1.2 bil­ lion. Evaluation ll. Gain in pool size due to increased Students should be able to present lock size. and support their position on the issue 12. Increased traffic and turbidity slow of whether to expand the locks on plant growth, which could result in lower oxy­ the Mississippi River or not. gen levels in the backwater areas (This leads to fish kills and decrease in other aquatic c 0 organisms). .1:! Resource Materials 0. • Rock Island District. U.S.A.C.E. 13. Increase in recreational spending. z~ 0 website: \\W~ .mvr.usace.army.mil/ 14. The current locks are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Boats and barges navigate • "T he Mighty Mississippi: A impassable stretches of river Places. Balance of Integrity," half-inch VHS, through lock and dam systems. available for loan from Aquatic Education, 2473 16Qih Rd. PROCEDURES: Guthrie Center. Iowa 50 I 15 l. Cop} the list of effects of expanding the current loeb and distribute it to student~. • Upper Mississippi River 2. Provide students with background information. Generate an initial discussion ConservationCommiuee website: about the possible effects of expanding the old locks. considering a variety of perspec­ www.m ississippi-river.com/umrcc/ tives. Use the list provided as a reference to ;;tart the discussion. 3. Establish a 'ariety of role "ith people who have conllictmg values and concerns relating to the potential Im­ pacts of the lock expansion. A sign each student (or pair of students) a role. (e.g. lock cperator, hipping company repre- entati ve. DNR fi~he ries biologi!>L local historic societ). local l ando~ ner. barge operator, etc.) Ask students to prepare for their role by developing a short position paper for use as background for the dramatization of their role. 4. Have the students present their po iuon to the entire group or a panel of tudents or adult . 5. After all students have made their presentations, ask the panel to render a decision about whether or not to expand the current locks. 6. Have a brief discussion to summarize the "pros" and "cons" of expanding the locks that emerged from the students' presentations. 7. After the role-play and cia s discussion, ask each Some want to see lock-and-dam systems, like the one at Bellevue, expanded to accomodate more barge traffic. student to'" rue a brief essay de cribing his or herO\\- n per onal Others say existing systems already cause too many recommendation for a lock expansion plan. problems.

56 to\\ a C"onse..-atoomst • \1arcll .O.pnl 2000 tion and Natural Resources Cen­ ter in Madrid. The youth hunter education 1-800-Ask-Fish (275-3474) challenge is designed to teach is a complete source for anyone shooting safety, responsibility wanting infor- and woodsmanship, and provide .., mation an opportunity for youths to test ~~ about fish- their skills in those areas. Contes­ ~~ inginlowa tants compete in eight events: ~.,- and other hunter responsibility exam, hunter states. The safety trail challenge. wildlife toll-free identification. orienteering and four shooting accuracy tests. Contestants may enter as a information member of a team or as an indi­ on license fees vidual. Individual s will be as­ and sellers. the location of camping ar­ signed to a team whenever pos­ eas and boat ramps, and how to order sible. All teams must be accompa­ fishing catalogs and brochures. Begin­ nied by an instructor and all indi­ ning in April, callers can access the vidual contestants must be ac­ Archery accuracy is just one skill tested at weekly Iowa fi shing report to find out compani ed by a parent, legal the Youth Hunter Education Challenge. where the fi shing hotspots are. guardian or instructor. All partici­ The l-800-ASK -FISH program is sup­ pants must be hunter education graduates. Satre, DNR recreational safety officer, at ported by the Wallop-Breaux/Sport Fish The challenge IS open to those ages (515) 281 -8652; or Jim Pease, JSU Exten­ Restoration Fund. 12- 19. For more mformation.contact Sonny sion wildlife specialist. at (5 15) 294-7429.

Fewer Turn in Poachers Calls Proces ed In 1999 I ho have mtial im· The Iowa Department of Natural successfull ) Resources· Turn In Poachers (TIP) mves t1 gated cases. ~r pair of TURKEY3% program processed fewer calls in State rad10 MISC 14"/o ~ ' repre· e;y.local 1999 compared to 1998 , but the dispatchers re­ ·epare for number of successfull y investi gated corded 25 percent of or use as cases remained relatively unchanged the calls on weekends. from past years. holidays and after hours, DEER 46% the entire The TIP Annu al Activity Report while DNR law enforce- for 1999 showed 29 1 cases were ment and administrative support staff adverti sement , was estimated at investigated , approximately 7.5 recorded the remaining 75 percent. ns.askthe more than $ 12,000. percent (22) fewer cases than last The DNR Lav. En fo rcement xpand the The TIP program 1s jointly year. However. of those calls, 28 Bureau also succes.,full y mlliated a admimstered by the Iowa DNR 'c; Lav.. .. and resulted in 67 citations issued. The TIP public serv1ce announcement Enforcement Bureau and the TIP of pros , near I 0-percent uccess rate is (PSA) campa1gn Through \ arious students IO\\a orgamzauon Si nce 1ts begm­ comprable to past years. ''hen succes local med1a, 134 T IP PSA appeared in ning in 1985,7,18 1 TIP call s have rates vaned from 9 to 12 percent. 53 ne\\ spapers last ) ear. reachmg more been processed reasultmg m 1.656 Approximately $8.500 m rewards than I 02.000 hou'>eholds. The cash CJtauons 1ssued and $100.875 pa1d ~ed la5t )Car to informanr m 'alue of the PSAs. 1f purchased as an out m re\\ards.

\l,uch -\pnl2000 • lo"J C'on'c" JliOnl>l 57 Iowa endangered wetlands will get a helping hand from the Iowa Nature and and bOating 8CrQSS lbe nation. Wildlife Art Show and Sale March 25-26 in 'lf~e'.del'al Atd in 5'PCl•rt That support has meant approximately Cedar Rapids. Fish Restoration Act (SFR). $44 million from Iowa anglers and boaters The event is being held to increase In 1950,CongresspassedtheSFRAct, over the past 50 years. Iowa currently awareness of the natural resources and commonly referred to as Dingell-Johnson receives approximately $2.5 million per heritage of the Midwest as portrayed by Act or Wallop-Breaux, to provide funds for year, which has helped implement an the region's artists. Proceeds from the the management, restoration and conser­ aquatic education program reaching more event support the acquisition of targeted vation of the nation's fisheries. SFR was than 500.000 students annually; construct and endangered wetlands in Iowa. initially funded through an excise tax three lakes and restore four more; increase The art show and sale will be held at placed on most fishing equipment. shore fishing opportunities at 27 lakes; the Collins Plaza Hotel and Convention Since that time, the SFR program has maintain boat ramps; improve and restore Center. located at 1200 Collins Road expanded several times. Possibly the great­ two fi sh hatcheries and acquire 3. 743 acres NE in Cedar Rapids. Event hours are I 0 est change came in 1984, when Congress along 14 trout streams. among other pro­ a.m. to 7 p.m. March 25 and I 0 a.m. to 5 adopted the Wallop-Breaux Amendment. grams. p.m. March 26. Admission is $3 for That legislation increased funding of the To celebrate the anniversary, the Iowa those ages 13 to adult and S I for chil­ SFR program by extending the excise tax DNR is giving away a rod and reel combo dren ages 5 to 12. Children under 5 are to include previously untaxed sporting and a life vest. To enter the contest, answer free. equipment, pleasure crafts and motorboat all five questions correctly on the form The event i sponsored by the fuel s. below, fill in the name and address area and Kirkwood Community College Student The excise taxes is collected from the mail to the Iowa DNR. Prizes will be drawn Wetlands Group and Steering Committee. manufacturer, who passes it on to the con- on National Fishing Day, Sept. 16. r------, 1 Answer Correctly To Win A Rod And Reel Or A Life Vest : 1. Your purcha e of fi shing equipment and motor boat fuel upport port fish re toration and I boating access fac i litie . True or Pal e I 2. The National SPR logo i a boat angler and fish. True or Pal e

1 3. The SFR program is al o known a DJ and Wallop/Breaux? True or Pal e ? T 1I 4. Since 1950 Iowa anglers have contributed more than $44 million to the SFR program. rue or Fal e : 5. Have you heard of the SFR program before now? Ye or No

I NAME: ______

: STREET: ------

: CITY: ______STATE: ZIP CODE: ------

I PHONE: ------1 I Mail to Iowa DNR, SFR Conte t, Wallace Building, De Moine , Iowa 50319 I . s . I Pri ze donated by the Iowa Chapter of the Amercian Fi henes oc1ety. ______.J L------58 lo"a Con•cl'\altOn"t • !\larch Apn12000 I o w a P h e a s ant s ~-----___.·-- ~ Forever chap­ PHEASANTS ters are work­ ing with farm­ ers and land­ mcrease owners to establish toun:es and wtldlife habttat. The goal of Pheasants Forever brtra1~ed by from the is to restore pheasant populattons of targeted through qualH) habitat. PF ts paying landO\\ ners to plant food plots. nest­ (o\\ a. beheld at ing CO\er. shelterbelts and other habi­ tat for game and nongame \\ Jldltfe. I O\\ a current I) has 98 chapters throughout the '> tate lookmg to work with local farmers and landowner~ for Oa.m. to5 Toxic Cleanup Days Planned In Three Iowa Counties the benefit of all upland and wetland is S3 for Residents of several Iowa communi- •POCAHONTAS COUNTY wildlife. 1 for chil· ties can dispose of certain hazardous mate- Bradley H. Freidhof. Pochontas For help pl an ting wi ldlife habitat rials during three Toxic Cleanup Days Counry Conservation Board. (7 12) 335- or more information about Pheasants (TCD) scheduled this spring. 4395. Pockyccb@ ncn.net; or T im Forever .contact Jim Wooley (S. Iowa) bv the Toxic Cleanup Days are scheduled McKirnan. Pocahontas County Emer- ' at 5 15/774-2238, Mall O'Connor (N. Student April 15 in Clayton County, April 22 in gency Management Agency, (7 12) 335- Iowa) at 3 19/926-2357. Mark Committee. Page County and May 6 in Pocahontas 3 188; Pocahontas Fairgrounds in Heckenl aible (M t~souri Valley) at 402/ County. Residents of those counties can Pocahontas. 687-2004. or wnte PF at 1205 Ilion dispose of hazardous materials such as oil- Ave, Chanton. lov.a 50049. based paints, tlammable liqu ids, pesticides l and household cleaners at the designated cleanup site in their area. Other materials may be accepted. I Those planning to dispose of hazard­ I ous materials should contact the coordina­ I tor in theu county for a complete list of I accepted materials and to schedule an ap­ I pomtment. Following is a list of TCDs, I contact person. spons01ing agency, contact l phone number and location of the TCD. I I • CLAYTON COUNTY I Tim Engelh ardt, Clayton County Conse rvation Board , (3 19) 245-1 516, I Clay ton County Fairgrounds tn I Garnav illo. I • PAGECOUNTY I Ron Sanson, Page County Extension I Educatton Dt rector. (712) 5-+2-5 I 71: or I Jerr) Abma. executtve director Page I Count) Con ervat ton Board. (7 12) 542- I 186-+: Page County Fairgrounds in I Clannda. .J ~larcll .'\pnl1tKlO • lm•·• Con•cn.troom 1 59 Lacey Day Celebrates Iowa Conservationist, Historic Legislation Air On April 30, To Track Air 1900. Iowa Con­ Air pollution experts from die DNR grt!ss man John F. and four other Midwestern states com­ Lacey rose in the U.S. pleted hi-tech computer model training to House of Represen­ predict how air contaminants form and travel across the country. t a t in~' uren int:o the pas-.ing of hi ~ tv. ice- "This technology gives DNR the tools rev ised "bird'' bill. to predict how and where air pollution ·· w e have given forms in the Upper Midwest, taking into an aw ful exhibition account emissions as far away as Atlantic of slaughter and de- Coastal states." said Brian Button. DNR air ~ srrucuon. \\ hichma} quality information specialist. serve as,, wammg to ''Just as weathercasters show storms ~ aJ I ma n"-.md. Let u ... -c tracking across the nation, air poll ution now g1vc an example models also show where pollution origi­ nates and track winds that move it across to 'A l';e con sen anon of \\hat remams of the natiOn:· he -.a1d. the g1fh of nature .. The technolog) I'> extremely impor­ tarlt a~ many atr polluuon issues no longer A century later. The Lacey Act benefitted game birds, such as mallard can be solved wtthm a state boundary due the Lac~:y Act is rc ducks (left), and nongame birds, like the great blue heron. gardcd a... the ftrst na ­ to tran:-,port ot pollutants. tiOnal lt:g1..,lauon tor wildlife protecllon '>ponded to the t\\0 mo-.t '>Cn'>JtJve "'1ldhfc Air poll utton models even help ad­ On \Ita) 25. 100 }Car" to the da} after the J'>sue ol the 19th centun - the raptd dre.,., water quaiJt) concerns. The Chesa­ peake Ba) and other eastem e-;tuanes are bill \\ c\'. \lgned mto Ia\\ Lace) Da) \\Ill deplet1011 ol game btrd" and mammals celebrate the l eg1~ l allon. and the man v. ho caused hy overharvestmg b) "market hunt 1nvest1gatmg n1trogen water pollution. authored 11. for thc1r "l !_! nlftcant c:ontnhu ers ·• and the dc.,tructlOn of many non-game Perhaps halfthe nitrogen m the water comes tion to v. lldhfe protect 1011 specte" for mllhnery decoratton from the air. not runoff. as airborne nitro­ The nauonv. 1de Lc khrat1on will rec­ Lace) \\a-, horn Ma) ~0 1842m West gen partlcle.., tall mto the water much like .mhorne ac 1d.., are earned \\ Hh ramfall. ogmte l aLC) for the landm,trk co n~erv a­ Ytrgtma and mo,ed to IO\\ ,\ \\lth hr.., fam ­ tlon legl'.lauon he helped passed dunng Ily m 1855 The) made the1r home m \\hat Re-,earchers m ca ... tern state<> are usmg model'> to cleterrntne how much a1rborne hts seven tenm as lf <-:, Representative It IS nOW Q<.,kHJOO <.,a before 'lettJtng Oil a farm mtrogen come'> from M1dwest states. will al.,o celebrate thL I .lle\ Act wh1ch Ill Mahaska County He foughtm the Civd contmue., to protct t '' tldl1h:. spec1e" to War fort he Umon Army and .tch1eved the "Begmmng w1th acid ram m the da) Without the l accy At I. man) con,cr­ rank of mat or he tore his dl\c harge m 1865 1980-; and smog dunng the 1990.... the next decade \\til llkel) see a focu~ on a1rbome \ atJOill't"' feel e\'l~ n mon. pre' tousl) un­ He sen cd a-. U S Representaii\'C lorlO\\a 's mercury. vJ~ IhJIJt) loss from haze. to>..ms protected specJe-. '' ould 11L e"-tlntt S1xth Ot.,tm t lrom 1889 to 189 1 and agam The Lacey Act authOJJzcd federal toratlOn of game b1rds and "otheJ Lacey ha" heen referred to as the "Fa­ "These arc emerging natiOnal l'>sues \\lid b11d., .. and e-.tahiJ..,h~:d LOntroJ.... mer ther of Amc J~tdn Conser\'atJOil.·· ·Father that force the DNR to use nev. tools and the mtroductton of non native '' lltlhk of Feder.tl Consenauon LegJslallon." gam ne\\ e>. perttse to keep up - that's "hat the trammg 1s about. .. sa1d Button. s pcc t c~ ThL most tontnn cr<,tal and "Ftrst Congn:!'>'>lonal Champ1on for Bird 'D1scovenng 'A here emtsslOn'> go once poss1bly most unpo1t ant provtsJon in and WddiJI~.-." and "Fatherol Federal Game the bill called for reslliCtlon'> on the mat Protec tt on " they are m the a1r and how they react wHh othc1 chemJcal'> ,., a new realm of tcchnol­ ketmg ol 'A lid an 1mah fhe Ia"' called l01 For more mformauon about Lace) -;uff fin e-, for mter-,t,\ll '> hlpment of lilc Da}. conl tt the Lace\ Oa) website Better au quaht)' 1s the end result that's va..,t. dlcg,tl s1de of 'A lid game markctmg through the 1-'oundatJon 's wcbstte at 'J h1 ough the Lace) At 1. Congre.,.., rc www. mhf.org what 1t JS all about," sa1d Button.

60 IO\\d ( ,>n,er•dllon • l\llfc~ \pnl "mo NRC and Meetings Fairchilds Make Volunteering A The dates and locations have been set Family Project for the following meetmgs of the Natural Resource Commission and Environmen­ A 1993 New Year'> resolu­ tal Protection Gommission of the Iowa tion has turned mto a seven­ the tool Department of Natural Resources. year dedication of lime. energy polluuon Agendas for these meetings are set and resources for the Fa1rchtld ltaklnl! mto approximately 10 days prior to the sched­ famt ly of Decorah. as Atlanuc uled meeting date. For additional infor­ DNR alf Trout Run, a cold-water mation. contact the Iowa Departm~.:nt of stream meandering two m des Natural Resources. Wallace State Office from Siewers Spring to the Up­ Building. Des Moines. [owa 50319-0034. per Iowa River. was "adopted" The Fairchilds in 1993 at Trout Run Park. by Ron. Patty and David Fairchild through the Adopt-A-Stream Program Natural Resource Adopting a stream usuall} mvolve<, '> lmple '>!ream cleanup. but lor the Commission: tmpor· Fa1rchilds, what staned out as a family proJect ha-; e' ol\.ed mto an educ,liiOn and no longer community serv1ce endeavor that has enhanced and preserved Trout Run and Apnl 6 lund•~ due mvolved those residents who hve near it. Individuals and groups of volunteer-;, De'> Moine-; students of all ages, the Iowa DNR and the Wmncsh1ek County Comcrvat1on May ll Board have all joined forces with this family to expand monitoring of the 'it ream Anamosa Trout Run is tested for pH (acidity/alkalinlt} ). ammoma, phosphorous. biOlogi ­ June 8 cal oxygen demand (BOD). nitrates. pest1c1des and bactena. The Ottum ~A-a macroinvertebrates (lin) larvae. worms and other orgamsms ll\ mg 111 '>! ream­ J ll l} beds) are also sampled to help indicate the health of Trout Run. No meetmg OIITO" The Fairchilds and volunteers have cleaned up trash (espectally St} rofoam August l 0 much like ban containers), completed uccessful streambank stabilization proJects, con­ Storm Lake th rainfall structed bankhides to enhance trout habitat and butlt a handicap-accesstble trail are usmg and fishing pier at Trout Run. In 1996 Trout Run became a part of a federal Clean Environmental Protection atrbornt Water Act Watershed Protection project, coordinated by Ron Fairchild. Commission: Trout Run is a better natural resource today because of the dedication of the Fairchilds. They have donated many hours to present educational programs, to Ap11l 17 recruit and train volunteer , and to inform the pubhc about the opportunllte'> to Des Mome make a difference tn Iowa' envtronment. Ma) I '5 (0\10' If you are ever up m the Des Momes Decorah area be sure to visit ns:ud June 19 Trout Run. If you happen to o;ce .onal ~~sue' Des Moines the Fairchilds, be sure to thank w toob and July 17 that ' them and ask if there is anything Des Motnes JP-- you can do to help. d Button August 21 ion~ go or .ce De' l\1omes ' react "lth \ olumeenng Toda\ Fm 4 •of techno!· Belfer /0~1 a Tomorrm1 rs a State Preserves he ,a~d. ne11 feacure recogm:rng Advisory Board: Jetter under· those indl\'lduals and Apnl 25 fecl' 11. orgam:attons making a 1at af . Brushy Creek State thJI ' The Fairchilds today after a recent difference tn Iowa through ;ult .- cleanup project at Trout Run. Rccrcat 10nal Area uon. 1 olunteers effort\

\larch ApnllOfKI • lo\\a C un-en • l'n" 61 eFishing.com

It never fails. Just when I think I've seen everything, fish. Because fish are often missed because the strikes are so soft, something comes along to jolt me back to reality. seeing the strike allows the angler to hook more fi sh. I've written before about my aversion to electronic things. Eric probably wondered if he was in the presence of a man The worst thing that happened over New Year's is my computer whose boat was no longer tied tightly to the dock. survived. I look at electronic gadgets in much the same way as Bob "What?" I yelled. "You've got to be kidding me! Are you Moats looks at life in general. "Ifitdoesn 't have fur. fins or feathers, serious!" I honestly think the poor guy feared for his safety. I was it can't be trusted," he often said. waving my arms. My blood pressure was redlining. I've been taken to task by letter writers for my dislike of cell "You mean to tell me that thing is for watching fi sh striking phones. laptops. beepers and other electronic umbilical cords the lure?" I went on and on. Where is the sport I wondered? people can 't seem to live without these days. I still put forth the My dad passed on to me what he learned from his dad, that theory the outdoors cannot be fully experienced and fully enjoyed being that fishing is comprised of two immovable truths. Truth A unt il people are willing to leave these gizmos behind. But I know is fi sh bite when they are hungry. Truth B is you have to be smarter they are fun for some, and in an emergency they have a place. so than the fish. I can handle A. It's B that messes me up. I accept that. That was. however. until 1 encountered the Fishing is touch and speed. Surveying the water and picturing electronic ice angler. the likely submerged structure. Pitting you against the fish by I was training a new offi cer one cold , winter day when I serving up something to entice its taste buds whether it is a fly, decided to show "Eric" the finer points of checking ice anglers. a lure or bait. Becoming so in tune with the line. the outdoors and Approaching the first portable shack we came across. we could the task at hand that you are ready to ... et the hook at the slightest hear a commotion inside. The sound was all too fami liar. like that nudge or wait out the finned opponent and call its bluff only when of an ice angler hauling in an illegal fishing li ne. Moving as the time is right. But now, we can insert electronic gizmos to qu ickly as l could,"" hile being careful not to shoVv Eric the pitfalls eliminate the need to think and concentrate and to feel. smell. of walking on ice. I pulled down the zipper to the ~helter and hear and taste the cl ues the outdoors gives us. opened the door. Think of what electronics can mean to the sport of fishing. The lone occupant was sitting on a bucket. ""11h three holes You can go out on the lake and take your cell phone and stay drilled tn the ice. Two of the holes each contained a fishmg lt ne. connected with the rest of the"" orld in'ltead of real!} being alone. a~ permttted b) law. But from the thtrd hole. a"" tre tretched across No"". you can even go on-line v. ith the phone and ..,urf the \\eb or the ice to a de\ 1ce the like of my C) es had never seen before. At download and send mail. Can 't find your ""ay off the lake? No the end of the wtre. ne>..t to the angler. sat a cone-shaped dev tce \\ tth problem if) ou remembered the G PS. No longer is there a need a sc reen monitor. The angler mentioned something about his to know which side of the world the sun nses and sets or where the camera. but 1 ""as too busy looking for ""ater dripptng from an north tar is usually fou nd. [n fact. you don't have to go out at all. illegal thi rd line. Not finding one. I asked to see ht-. li ce n~ c. lie Just stay home with some "virtual fi shing" software. had left it at home. so after taking care of th at matter, Eric and I left On and on I went. I was on a roll. but I was wtndtng down. for the warmth of the truck. Finally [ paused to take a breath. '"What's next?"' I asked. "A Dri vtn g down the road, discussi ng the stop, I asked Eric what built-in VCR so you can go home and watch what you thought he had noticed. Hi s answer proved one should never U'l<>umc you did?'' rookie officers don't know what they are doin g. ··w ell ," Eri c an wered. "The new generation ca meras are '"We ll , I ... aw the light for his camera do"" n the tlmd hole," he heat sensing, o if the water is murky and the camera can't ee the sa td . fis h, it will till project a heat sensing image ..." " His Vvhat?" I asked. "What? Are you kidding me?" I was off agai n. Oh "ell. Enc e'\platned the ltght was IO \.\ erect into the hole to prO\ tde guess I'll have to get"" tth the times. But I v. on 't do tt \\lthout a lot illumtnatton for a camera. The cone-shaped de\ tcc '"''"' actuall) of ki cking and creamtng. a vtdeo screen for '' atchmg fi h. "Watch ftsh'?'" I quened. \\ Ondenng ''h) an) one \\ Ould \\ ant to do that. Enc C'\platned thts ne'" device enabled the angler to 'ICC the by Chuck Hume ton

62 I m.1l onsc"auomst • !'.IJrch ·\rnl 2000 are so soft,

IOWA--- Portrait of the Land

picturing the tish b) it is a fl}. 'ntdoors and sli!!htest ~ only when 10 ecrizmos feel. smell.

of fishtng. and sta} lheu· 11( alone