The Iowa Wildlife Action Plan — Now Available Online

In August, 2006 the “Iowa Wildlife Action Plan" (IWAP) received final approval from the U.S. Department of Interior and now is available in various formats for public use. This plan is the culmination of more than 10,000 hours of work by over 120 wildlife and fisheries specialists, educators, private conservation group representatives and citizen conservationists.

Iowa Wildlife Action Plan

Securing a Future for Fish and Wildlife: a Conservation Legacy for Iowans is the first attempt ever to enumerate most of the state’s wildlife and evaluate the status of each species. It also examines stresses on wild creatures or their habitats and lays out visions and strategies to conserve wildlife over the next 25 years. Originally called the Iowa Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan, the IWAP identifies 999 species of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, mussels (freshwater clams), land snails, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies. Nearly one-third of all species found in Iowa are of concern due to their decline across Iowa. Although plant species are not listed in this wildlife plan, plant communities are addressed as an important part of the habitats for most of Iowa’s wildlife.

Wildlife Action Plans are required of all states and U.S. territories receiving federal money through the State Wildlife Grants (SWG) program. All 50 states, five US territories, the District of Columbia and several Native American tribes receive these annual grants from Congress. Iowa DNR has been allocated more than $4.5 million from 2001-2006, with funds used to enhance its Wildlife Diversity Program through increased research, habitat protection, and management for “species of greatest conservation need”. Iowa must match the SWG income dollar-for-dollar with non-federal funds.

The finalized version Iowa Wildlife Action Plan is provided here in .pdf format. Because of plan’s large size, it has been separated into multiple files for faster downloading. The 16-page Executive Summary offers a very brief look at the condition of Iowa’s wildlife and habitats, plus visions for the future, without the extensive tables, maps and other data provided in the complete 366-page plan.

Copies on CD-ROM are available by telephone request at 515-432-2823, by email request to doug.harr@dnr.state.ia.us, or by writing: Iowa Wildlife Action Plan, c/o Boone Wildlife Research Station, 1436-255th Street, Boone, IA 50036. Printed copies are expected to be available early in 2007.

Note: These are large files and may require some time to download depending on your internet connection. The entire document is 366 pages.

	*.pdf	Size
Iowa Wildlife Action Plan - Executive Summary		569KB
Iowa Wildlife Action Plan - Status Chapters 1-3		3.8MB
Iowa Wildlife Action Plan - Status Chapters 4-5		5.1MB
Iowa Wildlife Action Plan - Action Chapters 6-10		6.8MB
Iowa Wildlife Action Plan - Appendices 1-14		313KB
Iowa Wildlife Action Plan - Appendices 15-21		4.3MB