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October, 1956 Number 10 LITZKRIEG ROUGH FISH • • • • • * • • • • FORT DEFIANCE I. By John Madson STATE PARK Within two weeks in late Sep tember nearly every fish was killed Charles S. Gwynn(' in a 10-mile stretch of the Des Professor of Geology Moines River, and in one morning Iowa State C ollege countless gizzard shad died in •veral things occur to the ge Storm Lake. All were victims of - lr ist as he visits Fort Defiance two sweeping experiments in wag t e Park. ing total war against Iowa's rough rst, there are the geological fish. t' esses now and recently at Angling in the Des Moines River 4 <. Second, there is the to- near Humboldt had been poor for PO ·aphy resulting f rom the ac about five years, and the area's ll of these processes. Third: the once-famed walleye, northern pike, h materials, revealed in the catfish and bass fishing had almost -- , cuts nearby and in the rocks ceased. ,- he park lodge and along the Catfish Dwindle eway near the lodge. F isher1es biologist Harry Harri uring the past million or so son, who had worked this area for ·s one of the active processes several years, knew why. He had glaciation. Ice scoured the noted that between the Rutland, surface, and left extensive and Humboldt dams the catfish 1sits of subsoil when it melted population was dwindling, stunted \1 y. The last glaciers occurred and thin. In 1953, Harry estimated owa about 10,000 years ago. a population between the two dams ' ' e the disappearance of the gla In the first 21h d ays of treatment , rough fi sh removal c rews scooped rough fish from a S·mlle stretch of the Des Moines River. Only a fract ion of the tota l of 104,000 catfish. In 1954, the esti -- ice a second process, weather kill , they were hauled to farms for fertilizer. mate dropped to 64,000. Last fall, has been at work altering the he carefully estimated Lhe catfish • ace and near-surface materials. population in this 5-mile stretch of t important of all has been the JHE PHEASANT CROP: WHAT IS IT AND WHY river at only 38,000. Nearly all ion by running water that is were small fish and were requiring ing out the valleys and ridges. By Richard N omsen I After Final Shot four to six years to grow ten wind may have played a tri- Phensan t Biologist Pheasants were being counted inches. In check ponds, catfish have ;t\J part, depositing a thin film less than a month following the grown eleven mches in one year. 10 ~ ust from time to time. To the majority of Iowa's hunt- final shot of the 1955 season. This ' nother great process which has ters, the highlight of the year is Some factor was reducing catfish first census of the new year closed production and depressing their , tys been active everywhere the annual pheasant season. The the 1955 studies and inaugurated the earth is crustal move- ringnecks have provided the I owa growth rate a factor that also Lhe 1956 program. It was designed caused muddying of the water, l. Slow depression of the crust gunner with upland game shoot to determine the sex ratio, or hens ~orth America brought about ing where other game birds have crowding, and competition It was per cock, of the winter pheasant thought that this factor was a tre •spread extension of the sea failed to prosper, and the pheasant population. () ~ the land. Similar slow eleva- has held his own through good mendOUl:i number of carp and other First of all, we learned the re rough fish, and it was decided early l1 of the crust and the area be- years and bad. sults of the previous season. What this fall to wipe out the 5-mile ! ~ e land again. All this, in north- The immense popularity of this effect did several hundred thousand ;; Iowa, tens and hundreds of colorful game bird has prompted portion of river between the dams hunters have on the rooster pheas and restock it in a unique experi ~ ions of years ago. the Iowa Conservation Commission ant population during the 25-day ment. Hills and Knobs to carry on extensive annual sur- shoot? 'le topography of Fort Defi- veys in an effort to keep track of After a thorough investigation Battle Begin!> ~ is the result of glaciation this exotic species. An over-all well over 1 0 0, 0 0 0 birds were In late September, fisheries bio the action of running water. picture of what the pheasants were checked- it was found that hunt logist Tom Moen and Chuck O'Far ung into the park from the doing from month to month during ers shot 62 per cent of the 1955 fall rell, supervisor of rough fish con 1 one has a fine view of the the year is drawn from frequent pheasant population. During the trol, joined Harry in the first step: ng country to the south. It is checks by conservation officers, winter months an average of 3.3 killing all fish for five miles above I of low hills and knobs, shal- rural mail carriers, farmers and hens was recorded for each roos Rutland and "sterilizmg" that up I ~ depressions, irregularly shaped game biologists. ter seen, and the percentage of kill stream area to slow the movement IS irregularly distributed. This is Records of similar studies taken was calculated usmg the difference of carp into the test area between end moraine formed in the during previous years are kept by in sex ratios from fall to winter the Rutland and Humboldt dams. se of retreat of the last gla- the biology section and a compari We also learned that the kill was O'Farrell and his crew rescued as The moraine is made of drift. I son of these with the latest results not excessive. It never has been. many game fish as possible before tly a bouldery clay, carried reveals how well the birds are do- For example· hunters shot 66 per chemical treatment, removing over (Continued on pa~e 76) mg this year. (Continued on page 77) (Continut>d on page 7fi) Page 74 IOWA CONSERVA TIONI ST - Iowa Co nservationist which makes the sport dear to us. A dead fish in a meat market is P1.."'.tshed lv n l y y •he lOWA CONSERVATION COMMISSION merely a dead fish, but a live fish East 7th and Court-Des Moines, Iowa flashmg from the clear, cold (No Rights Reserved) stream or lake is a priceless thmg LEO A. HOEGH, Governor of Iowa not to be measured in pounds BRUCE STILES Dlrcc•or and inches JOHN MADSON. Ed1lor A wild duck is not to be valued -"~L '1\J 81... J• LJU \ iJ ~ Ed1 r in te1 ms of food along with beef MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION :r.r t.A F s~~" t •wa and pork chops. It means day .-~ STA~·ITO!':. V ___ -··--· . D• Mome· breaking over the marshes and MRS. JOHN CRABB...... jammca GEORGE V. JECK...... Spmt Lake the whistle of fast wings in the FLOYD S. PEARSON ...... Decorat gray hght Who can put a price ~ D. REYNOLDS...... Creston G. TROST...... Fort Dodge on the sight of teal climbing over the 1 ushes or mallards setting CIRCULATION THIS ISSUE 51.500 then· wmgs to decoys? Subscription rate 40c per year Every sportsman know::; that the Three Years $1.00 Entored as ec• nd Ia matt• r at the thrill is in the taking and not in post off,ce m D~- Mom __ , l..>wa, September the pt·ocessing. Broiled venison 22, 1947, under the Act of March 24 1912 Subscnptions received at Conse;vatlon steaks are hard to beat, but so is Comm1ss1on, East Seventh and Court good beef steak. It is the memory Avenue, Des Moines 9, Iowa. Send cash 1 ters chock or money order. of a frosty morning and an old -- buck sneaking across the clearing IStl Iii Gf t which we cherish. MORE THAN FOOD • Fou B y J n<'k "t cH'n<~ This love of the chase- match- amF This is one o£ the last ing our WitS against the wild ~ditor's ~ote : ~ l articles wntten £or the Clear Lake Re- creatures comes to us as a hcri p_orter by Jack Stevens, sen1or conserva ~lany tion officer, who d1ed September 24. It tage from the early days of the expresses part o£ his philosophy, and indi- race. when man was forced to fish ~ ~! cates hts h(elong concern o£ tomorrow's 0 Ct sportsmen, and the outdoor legacy they and hunt 1D order to eat and live. dien will receive. It IS a natural instinct. Approximately one out of every I Today we do not have to hunt three or four persons in thts coun- fot fish and food but turn to the . 'th • h' f d · II' Jlm SherMan Ey es spar klJng :"'I m1~C: te an 1 nt ~ I!Jenc:e, the rac:c:oon IS at home in trees, )n watc o .on try of ours is interested in some outdoors for spot ts and relaxation or on land . Ev1dently 1nsult e d .a t be 1ng c:alled "the Indian's pork" in 1840, he left l ow~ l :a! form of fishing or huntmg-the The very fact that 40 millions of E1ghty years later he returned .4a farm boy who dunks a doughball Amencans find their chief recre "' * nd lev m a muddy stream for carp; the ation with rod and gun means that office clerk who casts a plug for we must approach the situation LITTLE BROTHER TO charaetcrs Even more than mos get c bass; the o~shore enthusiast who with a new realization of the prob- THE BEAR animals, be has a burning itch I ( trib battles a big marlin; the rabbit lems not on a basis of meal hunt- investigate the universe. 1\''11 b hunter, the pheasant hunter, the ing, takmg all we can, but with a By J ohn Mad-.on Once, for a photographer, I en Ump fox hunter, and the man who seeks full realization of the meaning of Shambling. through our dense tered the big State Fair raccoo j ts ha the gtant moose and bear of conservation in terms of the fu- 11ver forests m the easy, flat-footed cage which held about eight J ecu, Alaska. ture. fashion of the bear, goes an Amer- young 'coons. The curious lilt A vast new army of hunters and There is no place today for the : ican legend. I ringtails swat:med all. over m fi shermen has come into being game and fish bog-if the next He was the reluctant haber- stole my penc1l, and tned for m tl'he 1 smce the war. Many of the re- generation of Americans is to have dasher for a pioneer eta, furnish- notebook. They saw the foil on m) .e gla cruits are city men who have any sport afield. The rising gener- ing warm headgea1 to several gen- c1garette and almost go 1td packa~e, ca1 learned the spell of the outdoors ation is very keenly interested in erat10ns of fronttersmen. He has away wtlh my lighter. They wer t
to a semi-liquid soup, losing most honored trapping method is I1 of the original meal in the process. place a trap m shallow water an Even a frog or crayfish freshly cover the trap with shiny tinfo taken from clean water may be 'Coons can't resist it. Like chi 1 epeatedly dunked dren, raccoons often get into trou No one really knows why. Away ble through their ability to pic~ from water, the 'coon takes his things up. Their long, black, de~ food as he finds it, sans dipping. terous fingers are capable of grasp Some naturalists think it's because ing objects and mantpulating then 1 the raccoon likes to mess around and while the 'coon does not ha\' water like a small child, and others the opposable thumb of man and suspect that the raccoon just likes the higher primates, he does riglll to feel submerged food with its well. Fot most practical purpose~ s~nsitive hands. One authority says he has hands. Simply that "Perhaps this sensi- Sna il r., and Hawk tiv1ty is an obsession, just as some With beavers seemingly hope to flood th these hands, he may world " e under rocks and along margms o! . streams for crayfish and frogs 1'1 Ctm o~ . You'd expect something lik th' may eat snalls and mussels, or tear ·om the raccoo ' e IS apart rotten logs for worms and fl I Hunt!n!J me an ~ more tha n j.ust meat: it means d ay bre;,Jcing ove r the ma rs and the n He S a character b R d wh1st le of w1ngs In gra y light It means t he smoke of a campfire a nd a wint er su n ~e t . that stands alo~e 1n a f ores t of gru S (Conlmuedaccoons on may page 78)eat bir s I tht II IO W A CONSER V ATION I ST Page 75
- Ile n t exposur es of the drift, almost t956 Qu AIL HJNT ~J G SEASOIJ ~ Defiance • • • all till, on the road eastward to (Continued f rom page 73) Estherville. The lower part, gray \ LYON OSGEOLl OICICINSC!o E1111ET lll_UIBACiO WOITH MITtHtU IIOWAI.D g frozen in the bottonn of the m color, is the unweathered till. KOSSUTll ALU~ The front of the ice wavered The upper part of the exposure is SIOUX O&RIEH CLAY PALO.wt HAHCOCJt FLOYD QIICI('lolil <-3 ~ and forth throug h E mmet brown because of the weathering. fAYETT£ CWWM\ other northern Iowa counties _., f'IWC ~U N BUTLER Iron-containing miner a 1 s have PLYMOUTH QitROKEI IICDI.IIISIA HUHBOlD WRIGHT BW!ER . >w advancing and retr eating weathered to the mineral limonite, ---1 ! t he final retreat. The end tl lloit'AA~ brown in color. '(.WOODBURYl IDA SAC AUtOU H wtiiSTLI\ KAI111.1'011 IWIMN GRUNDY ~ aine, the Algona Moraine, is The stones of the drift are in . ~ ~ ~ deposit made while the ice g reat variety, for they represent ~ CRAWFORD CARROll. GREENE BOONE Sl'CmY 11 Tfllt~ llt)ltofl p iUI · t was thus wavering back and materials gathered by the glacier ·- I] h. It is not so rugged in the "~NA from a wide expanse of country. :"' ' Jity of the pa rk. ~ ~ I~ ..·~ ...., . ~. ~-"""~y ~ One of the most prominent is a ~lt AIIIIID HELBl' 1011 1!01 ~ ~· rn ~~ t.~ 4¥~~~ rttt~~~~~ .ow,., ..l41iwr .....: ~( he wooded a rea is mostly in reddish-purple rock called quartz ·' ~sdin,d~ ~ e and is l hreaded by park "\ .,.,=- :f' I . tl I .. ~ J :n ite. The rock used in construction ~JIOTTA'/(A~ CA$S w j .• Is. A mile or so east of the at the lodge is almost all quartzite, ·~ t~ '1' " am~l + ~JI f~~ . ,±: · 1 1 r is the W est Fork of the Des 1 but it probably came from quarries !iijr" ~)j ( -.~. ~r.. j rt:Rl!C~: + ~ 1'"WI ~ ~ ·tt. ~ : '1 "l''tf '-"" "t ..... nes River, flowing in a rather in the vicinity of Sioux Falls, South 1""0-: r IJ:.....•b ...... l '-!'+ ...... :l valley. The valley is the re- Dakota, where the quartzite forms ~tl!A rl'osi F.; ~ :IY.i~~· c ..,.. '"~ ~-- . •. .Lit of the work of running water, the bedrock beneath the soil and ~ ++ H ,i" M lhib H 14 "• T e of it occurring before the subsoil of the area. ~, PE ~ FRON' "JOV 3,1956 'THRU ~EC 5, 1956 ·iers or between glacial periods. Scratches Steel c:::J OPEN FROM tJOV 3,:956 1 HRJ NOV 7,,956 "J • is the valley along the north This quartzite is composed al- of the park. This is the work c l"our Mile Creek which flows most entirely of the common min- stone in irregularly shaped masses. known to be least harmful to ani n Four Mile Lake a few miles eral quartz which lS hard enough Under natural conditions limestone mals, biros, fish and desirable in t. t? :cr:t~h s~eel -~~d i~ is t~uite re- IS subject to solution. This ac sects will keep harmful effects at [any smaller valleys, ravines, S IS an ° a rasl · ur ermore, counts for the shape of these !rag- a minimum. gullies are tr1butary to Four it is n?t changed by chemi~al ments Covered with subsoil and As an example, Dr. Springer re ~ Creek. These all have high weathermg as a_re mmcrals hke I in eontact with subsurface water ports that insecticides known as dients and everywhere the feldspar and pynte. the limestone slowly dissolves parathion and dieldrin are the >es are steep. This rough, Most of the particles of quartz away, leaving fragments oddly most destructive to bees, while ken country is lhe result of were probably originally part of and curiously shaped. toxaphene, methoxychlor and TDE ;ion by running water in post- granite or a related rock. Weath- The park lies just west of are the least harmful. The relative ~ial times. The E ast Fork is ering reduced the rock to a mass Estherville, mostly in the rough danger of most modern insecti about 100 f eel below the up- of clay and quartz grains. These and broken country along F our cides to birds, fish and animals is * :1 level. F our Mile is hurrying quartz grains were later rounded Mile Creek. But that is just part also cited. ~et down to that level, ·and all and reduced to sand size by stream of the last page in the hisrory of Because insecticides are far f rom tributaries are hurrying to get wear. They presently accumulated lhc ai·ea. Farther back in the specific in their action, even those rn to the level of Four Mile. as a deposit of sand, perhaps hun- story of ancient seas and of long carefully chosen may have some . dreds of feet thick, in an ancient perl'ods of eros·on, all hidden be- bad effects on wildlife. As an il mp and creep along the hill- 1 h sea. The grains then became ce- neath the soil and subsoil. lustration of the importance of !S ave hastened this process of mented together to form sand- liming, it is noted that bees suf ;ection. stone; a porous and permeable fer the least harm when insecti us R ock Rubble rock. Still later, perhaps after INSECTICIDES POSE THREAT cides are applied in the evening, a n:er 'he park's subsoil material is deep burial, t he quartz sand parti- TO WILDLIFE RESOURCES few days before the height of 1 for glacial d rift, mostly of t he cles of the sandstone took on An article in the current issue flowering, or after the blossoms Jil 0~ d called till. This is an unas- still more quartz unt1l the rock of the Audubon Magazine, pub have fallen. The interval between lJlOS f · ted mixture of clay, silt, sand, became a solid mass of quartz, lished by the National Audubon applications and the frequency of beYd p bles, cobbles and boulders. Be- lacking porosity. Society, tells about the damaging applications are important factors. an th! I I mostly clay, with a noticeable Gneiss, a banded rocl{, is promi- effects on wildlife of modern, high- Since insecticides carried by the If ~ tent of boulders, it is often nent in the park. There are two ly toxic insecticides. wind may damage adjacent areas, ~ ed boulder clay. Some sorted gneiss boulders in the foundation The article calls for a special Dr. Springer believes no spraying 13t e terial, deposited by the melt- on the north side of the lodge. appra1sal of proposed insect can should be done during windy er~ ter, is also present. At t he time Another rock which attracts the trol programs, with adequate em weather. ;--& ( this writing t here were excel- attention of the visitor is lime- phasis on the possible harm to Modern insecticides are so high 0und * .. * • * * * * * • birds, animals and fish. ly toxic that even a minute quan trotlll Dr. Paul F. Springer, author of tity may result in damage to wild y unfl the article, is a biologist with the life. The article cites many in U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. stances where severe damage was He recognizes the role of insecti inflicted by applications of less cides in controlling insects which than a half pound per acre. Two damage crops and livestock, and ounces of aldrin per acre caused annoy human beings, but he points the death of nestling redwing out that too often our wildlife re blackbirds on rangeland in Mon sources are impaired through over tana. An application of as little as sight, ignorance or carelessness in one tenth of a pound of dieldrin the preparation and carrying out and toxaphene per acre to control of insect control programs. mosquitoes, has caused the death The harmful effects of using the of fish powerful toxic substances devel Insecticide damage to wildlife oped by modern science- those may be by direct contact. The classes of insecticides known as organic phosphate known as TEPP chlorinated hydrocarbons and or is so powerful that it can be ab game phosphates-are emphasized sorbed through the horny material by research studies and case his covering the feet of birds. Another tories cited in the article. The cause of fatalities or damage is - author discusses important factors poisoning or destroying the food supply of certain birds and ani tS - wh1ch ought to be considered m XlleS appraising an insect control pro mals. gram. These include the kind of The article appeals for greater lSrgilll - frogs insecticide, the rate at which it caution in the use of insecticides and utilizallon of other insect con ;~s, or is applied and the animals apt to - - ·--·-"'>.:... ----JilT.niSiie.:ma",.; l'llOto. 5 be adversely affected. trol measures where practicable. the stone found at ion of the Fort Deflan ~:e lodge, visit ors ~:a n see several oflll NcrnpareiZ, OounciZ Bluff8, I owa. est ~ gnelu bo11lders, ro~:k s that arc prominent In t he park. Selection of the insecticide Page 76 IOWA CONSERVA TI ONIST WARDEN'S WOES Rough Fish . . . I've always figured that a gam (Continued ft·om Jl"IC*' 73) warden had a pretty easy life 15,000 pounds of fish by seine. Of All he has to do all day is fish an these, 900 were stunted, "race hunt, always locating the othe horsey" catfish that totaled only fellow's good fishm' spots, an 70 pounds. The resl was rough fish occasionally ask fellow hunter Then began lhe treatment •vith and fishermen if they have I rotenone, an organic compound censes. deadly to fish but harmless to high That's what I thought. And er ammals This chemical, so po still think it's a nice way to mak tent for short periods soon loses a living But the other day a gan: its effects It was first apphed warden friend of mine told such with a powet sprayer above the tale of woe about his duties tha Murray Bridge about 5 1 z miles up I darn near had to get out th stream from the Rutland Dam. It cryin' towel. was swept downstream by lhe slow Il seems that game ward(·• current and was reinforced wher- sometimes work at night, too ever needed ' oan guess that's the best time to g mile below the bl idge Spray planes guided by marker boats, spread regular Janes of shad · kll ng rote none .on About a Storm L<~ ke 'Plane appears to be flying in t o Jim Sherman's camera, and It almost d1d . fishermen who use illegal pra is the "Rock Hole", a limestone- tices. ) And on this night the war rimmed pool about ·100 yards long \\ att>r Clear<; Carp will wm this struggle but den had quite a t1me for him:-.el that was once a fine fishing area. With the area above Rutland thor progress will at least be Taking off in his motor boat, h It took the mitial joll of rotenone neutralized, the men began the real stalled and until they regain the motored up to the lake north about two hours to reach this pool job wiping out rough fish in the upper hand there should be some the Tilinois Central railroad track and for hundreds of yards, up- impoundment between the Rutland good game fishing ThiS may be for where he e1ther stopped to talk · stream and down, nverbank ob- and Humboldt dams. This is to be three years; It may be for ten. or check on some fishermen. Wlu servers watched carp break water the main, restocked study area That's one of the thmgs the biolo he got ready to leave, he couldr as the dying fish tried to gulp air This project was still underway gists want to learn get his motor started. After par Farm dogs had a field day wading at press time, but Harrison phoned It may be possible to treat long tially O\'erhauling the motor, into the shallows to catch ftoun- that "vast numbers of rough fish reaches of Iowa nvers, eliminating started and then stopped again dering carp. are bemg knocked deader than a all fish in entire townships, coun But that was just the beginning O'Farrell's crew s taked their big hammer, and that the numbers of ties or watersheds, and restocking Taking a manly hold on th nets across the river channel and fish per acre and the species com game fish as the crews work down oars, he rowed up the river quit used a truck to remove the dead position was about the same as stream. Such management is some distance and spotted som fish to nearby farms. They needed above Rutland." cheaper and more effective than figures who looked very much a that truck. From the 400 yards of On the second day in the Hum seimng, and ts harmless to water if they were setting trot lines. H ::j river, almost 4,000 pounds of carp, boldl Impoundment, O'Farrell supplies. Harrison treated one mile fned to gel to the fishermen from of the river for about $11, a frac rt kB quillback and redhorse were re- trucked out 10 tons of buffalo fish several different ways, but each Prod moved. A few green sunfish, some In this area, only about 100 catfish tion of seining cost even if effec time had to turn back to t ry .n tive nver seming were possible. ba' catfish, and one walleye showed up. weighing from 5 to 15 pounds were other way ~ r But of nearly two tons of fish kllled, as well as a number of Which it isn't After ptckmg up half-a-doze As far as we know, this was the Ckb killed, less than 10 pounds were smaller catfish The same ratio blisters from rowing, he finall first such chemtcal fish manage the game fish. seemed to persist: less than 200 reached the fishermen . .. but tht ment ever attempted on a midwest ' YI In a larger downs tream pool the pounds of game fish for every 1,000 were fishmg legally then. And Q ern nver, and tt IS unique m I owa. hat next day, ove1 12,000 potmds of ' pounds of rough fish. searching along the shore ( m th fish were killed with the first slug Wilhin 2t hours after the first Aerial \Va,r company of the fishermen) h of rotenone, including three wall- kills in lhc Humboldt impound The chemical treatment of Storm abe couldn't find the illegal lines nnot eyes, one northern, one small- ment, muddiness in the river at Lake had a diffet·enL motive: to With much disgust, he finall) selectively kill young gizzard shad >ra I mouth and a numbet of lhin cal- most ceased and the stream cleared gave up lhe hunt and began th1 fish. overnight. "On Wednesday, we tn the lake in an allempl to deter te 1;1 long row back to town. When hr q y The third day over 30,000 pounds couldn't see six inches mto the mine the effecltveness of such con finally made it back to town and of fish were scooped out above the carp-roiled water," Harrison re trol and its effects on game fish. any had his motor and fishing gear al kJ Rutland Dam after the wave of ported "One day later we could In mid-June, biologist Jim May 1 loaded in the car. the final blO" chemJCal struck them. In the 2 z see bottom in four feet of water." hew closely observed the spawning fell the car wouldn't start days, O'Farrell's rough fish crew Local fishermen saw this too, and dates and patterns of gizzard shad And lo close the story, he finalh r, hauled away over 75,000 pounds of liked it. in southern Iowa He carried on 1 Ambushing Carp had to call his good wife to get ou l-: rough fish and were forced to electnc shockmg and chemical sur River impoundments arc ideal of bed and come get him. ken abandon tons of fish in the river veys of the shad and succeeded in habitat for carp which root in the Now if that ISn't a tear-jerkin l•h shallows. laking ripe spawn from females silty bottoms and make life miser story, I never heard one. But cheer Harrison estimated that in this and later finding shad fry in the able for sight-feeding game species. up, Jim, things are bound to look 5%-mile blitzkrieg, about 250,000 same areas. The carp also multiply in vast num up. I ndependence Consen•afn'e pounds of fish were seined or killed These findings provided new in bers, causing crowding that many with rotenone, and that no -more formation about Iowa gizzard shad. species cannot tolerate. L illie can than 1,500 pou11d.s of thi.s total were The shad are sensitive to chemical THE BROOK be done about river conditions that game fish, includmg catfish! treatment, and biologists think it T om Pease .. encourage carp while tons of Iowa • • • • may be possible to btl them hard "I come from haunts of coot and hcrn. topsoil continue to roll into the during spawning penod:; and other A las, a fatal sally! streams, but the Iowa biologists For through what heaps of junk I chu~ (Continued on pa&'c 79) As I go through the valley! believe that short-term benefits • * _. "By dtrty dumps I hurry down may be realized if carp can be con- .--- ------~- Where refuse lies m ridges 4 And folks bring garbage out from town l! trolled. To heave it off the bridges. ~ Although the impoundment be "Mid wreck-, of motor cars I flow The bus. the truck, the flivver. tween Rutland and Humboldt is Oh, M en may come and men may go. now barren of fish life, the area will But 1 go on forever I be slocl -~ ing success below that expected t a from the average figures. 11 Sight counts w ere beg un in mid VETERAN CONSERVATION ~asy OFFICER DIES ifisb J uly, and continued t hrough Au he ( gust. Brood counts cannot be tak en tots, until the chicks are five lo six hum weeks old, since hens usually keep have the very young chicks under cover. More than 3,000 broods of young pheasants were recorded by officers ;. ALl and rural mail carriers. All hens to ItJ were counted, with or without y agt chicks. The ratio of young f01 each ld 5U adult hen was used to show the I ties relative hatching success. out Ma ny Normal Broods All surveys agreed that lhe 1956 war& balch was a normal one for Iowa. ·., too Although the high rate of repro ne tl duction of 1955 was not reached ,.al ~ this year, the 1956 hatch was much the g better than for the poor year of r hiJnj 1951. r boa' Last spring this average produc Jim Shennan Pbot.o. norU tion, coupled with the increased J . Z. Ste ve ns, 1899-1956 ad tnl brood stock, spells a fall population One of I owa's veteran con to talk this year about the same as in servation officers, J ack Z. Stev en. ~ 1955, which was well above the ens, 57, died Septem ber 24 at e cou! previous five-year average. Uter Clear Lake, following a 7-month In other words, the success of illness. motor last sprmg's hatch was normal, but Stricken by a heart attack in ped atl .. , the high carryover of 1955 brood begin= - Jim Sh 19~ hopped lightly over three fences in A flight of mallards swooped ordet to get into a cornfield. down over this resort \\'ednesday. 3 Open season for bow and arrow 1Three times they tried to land. hunting of deer begins in a month Three times they failed. Finally from now, on October 13. Possibly they gave up in disgust and - + - --+----+--- f 1-- +---t- - I - t---+- 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 5B 59 60 the visible presence of deer close wheeled off to a nearby lake. AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR APRIL AND MAY at hand may bring out more would Their first landing target: An be Hiawathas.-Record, Treynor, outdoor ice skating rink.- Evening A- ompa rison of a verage pheasant broods and a verage spring t empera t ures for the past six years. The 1956 figures a nd fi eld reports Indicat e a good season a head. Iowa. Tribune, Des Moines, Iowa. Page 78 IOWA CONSERVATIONIST I with young can be a terror. There comeback was made under protec. is an old huntmg story that 'coons tion, or because the raccoon had ou c~ may lead pursuing hounds into ceased being an important game HEL deep water and kill them by climb- animal and people had forgotten ing on their head!'i md drowning how to hunt them. Perhaps there Sportst 8 them If this is fiction, it's at least \Vere important changes m the en· etan a universal, and beheved by thoas- vii·onment that made the comeback '.Bterfo ands of hunters. It could happen. possible Whatever the reason 0 A raccoon is a strong swimmer, a Br'cr Coon s bac.k and thousand pera~ powerful animal, and is well armed. of Iowa hunters are glad of it :the AJ Big adult males in .Iowa have been I 'Coon Nights ?Jillio reported to we1gh almost .40 Raccoons are invariably huntd P?Unds. One out-of-~tate report m- with trailing hounds. The objec nd··~~ d1cated a wcJght of 49 pounds. but is to tree the 'coon before he car. was not verifie,d. Anyw~y ?'ou look den up. This may take some do ~":~n at Jt, a boar coon weJghmg oveJ· ing, for old 'coons become expet 30 pounds can handle a lot of dog. at tangling- trails, crossmg and r••· y each Most of our Iowa raccoons, how- cro:':smg streams, and taking . a~paigt e\ er, weigh from 10 to 20 pounds, trees. e w 0 and are at th.eir hea v1est when they The dampish, not-cold nights of Y wa. go mto the \\.'mter. Raccoons do not late fall are best for this sort of "' enlJ hibernate in the true s~nse. but thing, n .ghts when 'coon SC£" 1t b en m_ay sleep for days at a time when hang~ strong and pungent for the faterfo1 w1?ter really cracks down and the dogs A broad, strong band of i ed f1 gomg gets tough. Unhke h1bern~t- smell for the dogs to run by .ll:lber mg wo~dchu.cks and ground sqmr- Those are the ntghts! Those .e~lllle rels wmtermg raccoons do not apple cider nights of late fall with annual show a drop of body temperature fur moving along the nver and ar r :n ~ and pulse rate; they are not tnt<' old moon buned in the low cloud~ 5 per ce sleepers, but .are snoozers, and if The kind of nights when hunt· irds lh& disturbed dunng tht.u wmter nap, ers follow then hounds thro J..:h hehunU they can aw<~ken Instantly and be tangled lowlands of soft maple a 1 •ly, t ready for acllon box elder in a November P arade 1 lut ~ I Ra<'coon ::H ) '>ter) There'll be lanterns S\\.'ing;n. tiall] Until recent years, there weren't under the hill, and the boys cussmg It lila) , • Jtm Sherman Photo. If you re luc:ky, and the 'c:oon 1sn't, the dogs may hold him " treed " until you get there many raccoons in Iowa. In Gal- the catbriers and grapevines tha' 3~t for -if you don' t break a leg on the wa y. land's Iowa Emigmnt, published in keep them from their dogs. Then e ~ bears, 'coons are ommverous, and 1840, it was stated: ''Raccoons are up the river away and ahead, th bese adl Little Brother . . . will eat almost anything. They love in great abundance in every dis- full-vorced hounds will be chopping C·ray st (Continued from page 74) trict of the state, and more espe- at the trail, with the young dogs howtha eggs, and there IS one record of a berries and young com Like bears. cially along the watercourses. They all a ntsy and boneheaded, and th 'coon climbing sixty feet to a red they are plantigrade, and walk ~\:dell "Onstitute the pork of the Indians." older dogs wtth their scars and :Jr bod tailed hawk's nest, eating the eggs, .fiat-ftooted. And, like many bears, That was in 18·10. F or many patient ways And farthest alon~ 'The~ and then curling up in the nest and they often choose to die facing years after that, Iowa raccoons leading the parade-will be Old e ate:; ( falling asleep! The observer didn't their enemies. were almost unknown. Zip Coon himself, growling and tees. ~ say what happened when Ma Hawk Rough Customer came home. A big male raccoon has plenty of Then, in the 1920's, something chHTlllfJ under his breath because t and they are now a common mam~ The immature seeds of American 1 bag, mal. The present status of the lotus, common along the Misst~ • raccoon has only been reached in sipp1, are sa1d to be delicious eitht the past 30 years, and what de- raw or cooked. They taste mucb pressed the 'coon population before like chestnuts, and were a favorih that is not known Perhaps the food of the Indian. '· '· I - >I ILL& _AC>IdiS Utilotf CI.AR!lt LUCAS MONROE IV..u>EU.C JUT!WI H!NQY DU ~ fiEIIONl I>ACi£ T"'II.Q~ DECAlUll WA'INt ~ost! DAVIS ~AN DURO~ \ I Ltt rs are not rare. A big boar 'c:oon c:an absorb I em:; vPC:r " NOV 10,,956 1hRU DEC 3,,956 ~an ~ut young dog down to size, a c:=.:J OPEN FROM !IIOV 0,1956 THRJ r-.OV 22,956 - IOWA CONSERVATIONIST Page 79 2. Inability to judge distances. tUCK HUNTERS CAN Shooters with this handicap g~ HELP WATERFOWL attempt to knock down every gott 3portsmen throughout the nation duck that flies over. In many tt .he I ;e an opportunity to bring cases, birds are hit but sel tebl. .. mt an immediate increase in the dom fall. This type of shoot •ea, ' terfowl population if they will ing frightens away all ducks c 1perate in an effort to reduce that might normally use an l!SatJ ious crippling losses, according area and spoils the bunting it the Atlantic Waterfowl Council. for all gunners. 1'11llions of ducks are being 3. P oor marksmanship-the kind sted annually through crippling, of gunning demonstrated by the fellow who doesn't bother ~ l reduction of th1s loss is pos e "' le in only one way- by the to practice during the off ne I 1ters themselves. Participation season. This gunner tries to exp: each hunter in a self-imposed regain his shooting eye by Lnd c npaign to kill cleanly and to firing at every bird that comes ing • over each bird downed is the into sight. y way the job can be done. 4. The inability of some shooters •hi: ;ort "o emphasize the senousness of to recognize the limitations of f -; crippling loss, the Atlantic their guns and ammurution. Although modern shotgun tterfowl Council cites figures ob io~ shells have excellent perform md • ned from recent studies by a • nber of state fish and game ance, too many shooters try • )artments. These show that to kill ducks past the point mual crippling losses range at which they can properly Biologist Tom Moe n w a tche ~ rot en~ n e being s prayed into the Des Mo ines. Th e fi sh kill swing with the bird and shoot cost, a bout Sll per m1le of nver, may offer cheap, tota l war on rough fi sh. 1 m 8 to 53 per cent, and average • • * * • * per cent on a national basis for 5. Many downed birds are lost could not even hazard a guess on ds that are downed m sight of because the hunters do not Rough Fish ... the total poundage of dead young • hunter but go unretrieved." Ob use a suitable retrieving dog, (Continued from page 7G) vulnerable limes. The life span of shad. JlrO usly, the unobserved birds which or because the birds are pie dropped in places where there a gizzard shad is about three years, The biologists noted many dead · hit but succumb later add sub young channel cat after the spray rad ntially to the total. is no opportunity to recover and if young shad could be killed pn. them. in a lake for three consecutive ing, and the next day they found t may well be that one bird is about 2,000 dead adult walleyes. ru~ The heaviest crippling losses seasons during spawning periods, a I t for each two that are taken "The heavy wind made flying dif e.s U occur early in the season in powerful check would be exer ted. ne by the hunter. A clue to In early September, biologists ficult," Rose said, "and caused some .Th! ·se additional losses is found in marshes when the vegetation is .ad. Earl Rose and Tommy Moen spray lanes to overlap and concen ray studies in the west which most dense. The use of waterfowl trate the rotenone in deeper water. aopp decoys tends to reduce crippling treated a 28-acre portion of Storm )W that 25 to 35 per cent of the Lake with dilute rotenone, killing This killed some game fish." But Jg d_ e ducks examined carried shot in losses if the hunter positions him lJ)d thousands of young gizzard shad immense poundages of shad were •ir body tissues. self so that all of the decoys are also killed, and Rose, Moen, and lrS within gun range and then shoots but no game fish. It was decided to Storm Lake fishermen were pleased tal 'The problem of crippling losses only at those birds that come in or project this on a full scale, and ates directly to gunning prac with the results. be treat the entire lake. es. That is why the solution over the spread. Some losses oc cur in open waters when the birds Two commercial crop-dusting The day after the treatment, a 1ts with the gunners," the Wat planes were hired to spray Storm sample haul with a small otter owl Council advises. are not hit solidly. The Waterfowl Council suggests Lake with a minute dilution of trawl revealed 80 dead shad and t\.ccording to the Council, prac rotenone. (In his blitz of the Des several that were dying. In the es which cause this crippling that observance of the following code would assist waterfowl shoot Moines River, Harrison used a con same net were small crappies, wall s are: centration many times more pow eyes and catfish, all in good health. Trigger-happy shooting; that ers in voluntarily undertaking a united campaign to reduce the erful.) Deeper samplings yielded countless business of letting fly at any Promising Kill young-of-the-year shad from a lake thing that passes even though number of ducks and geese thal are hit but not retrieved each year: Unlike the river treatment, there bed literally covered with dead there isn't a good chance of weed fish. No game fish were found 1. Learn to use your gun and was no way to accurately deter bagging the bird. mine the extent of the Storm Lake in these bottom samples. llleri: • • )ii.si • • • • • • * * kill. Long shoals of dead shad Final results of the two ex washed in on the north shore of periments will not be known for IS eiO the lake, and on some beach areas months, but early finding are en ;e !ll they were heaped in broad wind couraging. New tactics and weap fa'fO' rows for hundreds of yards. Thou ons are being used in the war sands sank to the bottom. Rose against Iowa's rough fish, and made an early estimate of 300,000 while we cannot win, we may at pounds of dead adult shad, and least stop losing. ammunition; know their capa and June 30, 1956, in soil conser bilities and their limitations. vation districts. 2. Shoot only at birds that a re Iowans also planted 221 acres to within reasonably close range. trees in the same period. This 3. Use a retrieving dog when at brought the state's total to 24,946 all possible. acres planted by Iowa farmers. 4. Be a sportsman in the true Other soil conservation activities sense of the word. Outdoor in Iowa dm mg the year and the N ews Bulletm. cumulative total through last June 30: Pasture planting, 16,253 acres FARMERS BUILT 2,181 PONDS and 239,595 acres; terracing, 2,926 Iowa farmers built 2,181 ponds miles and 25,421 miles; contour in the year ended last June 30, farming, 162,123 acres and 2,600,- bringing the state total of farm 406 acres; and wildlife area im ponds to 14,209, Soil Conservation provements, 6, 783 and 21,845 acres. Service records show. The agency said there are 56,- The agency said a record number 649 soil conservation district co ui~t one·fourth of du~k s shot. are lost by the hunter-a waste that a qoc>d r••hi•• v of 78,800 farm ponds were bu!lt in operators in Iowa covering 10,317,- reduce. for all b~rd hunt1ng, a good dog a dds joy to the game bag. the nation between June 30, 1955 214 acres. Times, Che.,-okee, Iowa. Page ao IOWA CONSERV ATIONI ST Colyn and Brow'tl's Slough are nition. For such approved project NEW DUCK HUNTING AREA LOOKING GOOD proJects of the F ederal Aid Pro the government furnishes 75 p The new Colyn Game Area south ground. gram, and were constructed under cent of the cost from these taxe of Chariton, described in last F eb- Another good rain might fill the P ittman-H.obertson Act from with the remainmg 25 per cer ruary's Co:-. SER\ ATIO'\ I ST, is look- both pools to capac1ty They have funds furnished by federal excise paid by the State Conservatio mg good for this fall a huge combined water::>hed ( 11,000 taxes on sporting arms and ammu- CommiRsion. The two small lakes on the area acres) and game managers have • • * * • • • were parlly filled by late s ummer qtupped that a heavy need m ore water, but when you new policy, decoys may not be left t and Jim Sherm•n Ph look at the stat e in general it does overnight lo "stake claim" lo a Colyn Area's south pool, sho w n here w ith 90 acres of w a t e r, w ill be held as a wattr Jog. 1' appear to be a promising hunting patticular shooting location. fo w l re fuge. The bigge r north pool will be open to public hunting I the r L J F I~ HI TORY C H ART OF MAM~IALS I N 10\\ \ t Iowa t rea,! R an go No. or l Brooding Number In Lru.ers Season & Gcsl.alion of bgum1 Name Iowa A nnually HabiU Period Young Habitat Food Lenq ~h W eigh~ 1 • .. II ~d ~ '> ort lwn• ( •} n lrr .;u. r Febm. I') b.!< -. S ~ - lt • tl ( MJI\ ous 2~:lft .!U l-, lb, iJ ' Cani~ 1at r, 11 )ton gntuous I Ill J Southen• \\ omkhu•·k 1 )!OIIURilOlUUS 'l"t·rrt ~ l na 1. llcrbil vrou,; '[arnlotu uaor•a'\ nluna\ ' Fo:-.son.tl added I a Strir><'tl {) muud Stllllnd C:t·U<·ral 1 ~larch I 0 ()() days 7 -1 I 'rt·rrp-st ri.l L lltrbil OTUIIS n,s the ! 'it~IJu, t . twll'<~lltliflt·,tlu' 'l :-.·or: 1. 'I OIIOgO IIIOUS 1-'o.,soriul --+-:: :: '"f l'ranldiu c:runml S