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DNR News > Iowa Outdoors
IOWA OUTDOORS
July 22, 2008
Clear Lake Dredge Project is Up and Running
CLEAR LAKE - The long awaited, much anticipated, $9 million Clear Lake dredging project has begun. "Weather-wise, it's been a tough spring and summer for dredge assembly workers. People have been anxious, but the project is now up and running," says DNR District Fisheries Biologist, Scott Grummer. During the next week, dredge operators plan to test equipment and piping by dredging near the mobilization site at the Ventura Grade. Following that, dredging operations will move further into the lake and proceed in full force. "Although the Lynn Lorenzen Access will remain closed during the dredge project, all other boat ramps including those at McIntosh Woods State Park will remain open," says Grummer. "This could result in some congestion at McIntosh Woods, but we hope that people will exercise patience. "Another change is that, beginning this week, the DNR will begin enforcing a 10 mph speed restriction on the Little Lake, which is everything west of the McIntosh Woods sand bar," said Grummer. "The new speed restriction is for public safety. With piping and dredge equipment in the water, people just need to slow down. This way, all of Clear Lake can remain open to boating, fishing, and swimming. No part of the lake will be closed." The Clear Lake dredge project is scheduled to remove 2.3 million cubic yards of sediment from the Little Lake and will increase water depth from its current 5 1/2 to 6 feet to more than 20 feet. The sediment will be pumped through a 2 ½ mile pipeline to a containment site located two miles south of the Ventura Marsh. Dredge water will then be piped to Ventura Marsh and will eventually flow back into Clear Lake. The project is scheduled for completion during the 2009 open water season. Annual Survey of Upland Game Begins August 1 The Iowa Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) annual survey of upland game populations will soon be under way with state wildlife biologists and conservation officers driving more than 200, 30-mile routes statewide from August 1-15. The August Roadside Survey, as it is called, is the DNR's main tool for determining whether the fall pheasant populations will be up or down from the previous year, says Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife research biologist for the DNR. Routes start at sunrise on mornings with heavy dew and are run primarily on gravel roads because of their lower traffic volume. A heavy dew causes hen pheasants to move their broods to the gravel roadsides to dry off before feeding, allowing them to be counted easily. Routes are run over the same roads each year so that the information is comparable with previous years. According to Bogenschutz, this survey is the best indicator of what hunters will find when they take to the field this fall. "Historically, when the roadside counts are compared to the small game harvest figures, they parallel each other nicely," said Bogenschutz. However, since the survey depends on heavy dew for consistent results, hot dry weather in August can affect the results. "The birds do not come to the roads as consistently in dry years, which makes the counts more variable," he said. Final results of the survey will be compiled in late August and will be posted on the DNR's website in early September. Small game hunters interested in this year's counts can log on to the DNR's webpage http://www.iowadnr.gov/wildlife/app/roadside/ and receive an e-mail notification when the roadside results have been posted. Minnesota and Wisconsin Osprey Relocation Going Well Twenty, 42-day-old ospreys were placed at five sites around Iowa on July 14 - 17. The young ospreys are developed enough to tear apart their favorite food, fish, by themselves. They will be attaining flight status about 53 days of age and allowed to fly freely from their "hack" or release site. Where the birds learn to fly and fish on their own becomes their home where survivors return to nest at four or five years of age. Volunteers and wildlife professionals at five sites have geared up to fill the niche the osprey adults were providing their young with fish and security. In conjunction with feeding the birds, the young ospreys are monitored daily to ensure they will be flight ready. There have been 187 ospreys released at nine sites since 1997. Ospreys have successfully nested in Iowa since 2003 with 28 young produced from 14 successful nestings. In 2008, there were nine reported nesting attempts. Five nests have produced 16 young. Active nests occur at Macbride Raptor Project (three nests) that spearheaded osprey releases in 1997, Jester Park in Polk County, Cedar Falls, Don Williams Lake in Boone County, Wickiup Hill and Duane Arnold Energy plant in Linn County, Lake Rathbun, and Sioux City. Three osprey young were relocated from Jester Park nest before it was swamped by flood waters in June. Those young were delivered to Kay Neumann with Saving Our Avian Resources and they will be released from White Rock Conservancy site. All Iowa Ospreys have a purple band with number and letter on right leg and silver USFWS band on left leg. The wild-produced Ospreys from Iowa have a green USFWS band. Volunteers are welcomed to contact coordinators at each "hack" or release site to assist in these efforts to bring ospreys to Iowa. Financial support is especially appreciated at each site as no tax dollars or DNR Wildlife Diversity funds are budgeted for this project. Contacts for each respective site are: Clear Lake, 641-357-5267; Marion Co./Elk Rock State Park, 641-891-8226, White Rock Conservancy, 712-683-5555, Spirit Lake 712-330-1080, and new site this Dubuque at 563-556-6745. For more information, contact Pat Schlarbaum at 515-432-2823 or 712-330-0526. Website connections will be up and running when birds arrive have been established at http://www.iowadnr.gov/parks/state_park_list/elk_rock.html for your viewing pleasure of the Elk Rock DNR Director Continues Public Forum Schedule Wednesday in Des Moines Des Moines – Richard Leopold, director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, is holding public forums around Iowa through September, with the next session at Walnut Woods State Park on Wednesday, July 23rd at 6:00 p.m. “I’m looking forward to sharing some of the important initiatives underway within the department, but more importantly, I really want to hear from Iowa’s citizens. One thing I am particularly proud of is the rapport that the DNR has with the public. This is a relationship we value highly within the DNR,” said Leopold. The public forum begins at 6 p.m. with Director Leopold outlining the department’s top 10 priorities, work being done to develop environmental indicators for the state, providing an update on sustainable funding for natural resources and discussion of local issues. Another hour-and-a-half will be devoted to answering questions from the public. The first forum was held in Milford at Gull Point State Park on July 16th in which 70 people attended. Other public forums scheduled for Director Leopold are as follows: Wednesday, July 23
Thursday, July 31
Thursday, August 7
Thursday, August 21
Wednesday, August 27
Thursday, September 4
For more information, contact Tammie Krausman at 515-402-8763. State Preserves Board to Meet July 24 at Hartman Reserve Nature Center CEDAR FALLS - The State Preserves Advisory Board will meet at 7 p.m., July 24, at the Hartman Reserve Nature Center, 657 Reserve Drive, in Cedar Falls. The meeting is open to the public. Preserve board members will meet be attending the State Preserve Managers Management Seminar Thursday afternoon and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration details, seminar agenda and field trip schedule are available online at www.iowadnr.gov/spab/index.html. Members of the State Preserves Advisory Board are Deborah Lewis, Carl Kurtz, Gail Brown, Armando Rosales, Cynthia Peterson and Richard Leopold, Director of the DNR. A more detailed agenda is available on the Iowa DNR's website www.iowadnr.gov under State Parks / Preserves, then click on Preserves Advisory Board link. The following is the meeting agenda.
For more information, contact Daryl Howell at 515-281-8524. Dutch Elm Disease in High Levels This Year Dutch elm disease was introduced to North America in the 1930s and began killing millions of native elm trees. Dutch elm disease has been identified in all Iowa counties, and it's estimated that more than 95 percent of the urban elm trees have succumb to this disease. Unfortunately, Dutch elm disease became famous after devastating our native elm populations. The fungus is native to Asia and was introduced to Europe shortly after World War I. From Europe, it traveled to North America in crates made from infected elm logs. The disease quickly infected elms across the United States since our native elms did not have natural resistance to the introduce pathogen. It is during this time of year that we are reminded that the disease is still out there; as numerous elms are currently dying in the landscape. This year, Dutch elm disease has been very prevalent in the urban landscapes and woodlands. Wilted, bright yellow leaves draw attention to elm trees that are infected and begin to die. Typically, the topmost leaves start to yellow and eventually turn brown and fall of the tree. Over the next several days, the branches begin to die until the entire tree is killed. This process can take a few weeks or can stretch out over a period of several months. The fungus Ophiostoma novo-ulmi, which causes Dutch elm disease, finds its way into elm trees two different ways. Elm bark beetles inadvertently carry the fungus on their backs and infect healthy trees when they feed and breed just under the bark. These beetles can move the fungus from diseases to healthy trees over a distance of several miles. Another way the fungus can infect a healthy tree is through the root system. The roots of elms located within 50 feet each other can root graft together allowing the fungus to travel through the roots systems. Trees that are infected this way usually die quickly. Once inside a tree, the fungus does its damage by growing inside the water-conducting vessels. This blocks the flow of water to the top of the tree and results in the typical wilting pattern. Although chemical treatments to prevent Dutch elm disease work, they have been reserved for the rare specimen tree due to the high cost of semi annual treatments. There may still be a glimmer of hope for those that want to have native elms as part of their landscape. Researchers have been selecting and developing elms that are tolerant of the disease. Some of these elms are hybrids with Asian varieties, and some are true native American elm that have shown resistance. However, the elms that sprout up in yards and woodlands are extremely unlikely to be resistant and should be managed or removed before they grow into larger shade trees that are expensive to cut down.
Iowa Fishing Report: For current information on fishing conditions for your lake or area, contact the office in that district. Phone numbers are listed with each district report. |
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