Bird Dog & Retriever News
April / May 2023 issue page 12
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Iowa DNR to begin annual spring burning, Black Hawk Wildlife Unit
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be conducting prescribed burns this spring on wildlife areas managed by the Iowa DNR’s Black Hawk Wildlife Unit, and by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in Sac, Calhoun, Crawford, Cherokee, Buena Vista, and Pocahontas counties.
Areas scheduled for burns are Black Hawk Marsh Complex, Burrows Pond Complex, Tomahawk Marsh, Whitehorse Complex, Sac City Wetland Complex, and Kiowa Marsh Complex in Sac County; South Twin Lake and Towhead in Calhoun County; Schrader in Crawford County; Steele Prairie State Preserve, and Nester Stiles State Preserve in Cherokee County; Pheasant Hills in Buena Vista County; and Leo Shimon Marsh, Sunken Grove Complex, Kalsow Prairie State Preserve, Lizard Lake and Stoddard in Pocahontas County.
Prescribed burns are used to improve wildlife habitat, control invasive plant species, restore and maintain native plant communities and reduce wildfire potential and vary in size from a few acres to several hundred acres. Areas are typically burned every one to five years.
Ground nesting birds such as pheasants, mallards, bobolinks, dickscissels and others benefit from habitat improved with periodic prescribed fire. Prescribed burns typically begin mid to late morning and are completed by late afternoon or early evening between late March and early May. Burns will be conducted on a day that meets the objectives and weather conditions defined in the burn plan.
Contact wildlife technicians Jeff Feisel, at 712-330-8414, or Keith Ringler, at 712-330-5685, with any questions or concerns.
Annual Prairie Chicken Day Set for April 1, in Kellerton
Kellerton, Iowa - The first rhythmic and haunting cooing begins as the night sky fades and sunrise begins. The short grass prairie booming grounds prepares for a display found nowhere else in Iowa.
This is prairie chicken country and April 1 will be Prairie Chicken Day at the Kellerton Wildlife Management Area, in Ringgold County. Activities originate from the viewing platform on 300th Avenue, southwest of Kellerton.
The bird’s annual ritual begins as early as mid-March and lasts through April. Male prairie chickens meet at the booming grounds every morning to display, spar and fight with other males trying to catch the eye of the females watching nearby.
“They will be out there until 8 in the morning or so, when they begin to slow down,” said Stephanie Shepherd, wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Diversity Program.
Prairie chickens will display each morning regardless of the weather. The area has an elevated viewing platform to help see all the action.
“Some mornings you can hear them and some you can’t. They are out there every day, but are less active if it’s raining or really cloudy,” Shepherd said. While there will be some spotting scopes available to use, attendees are encouraged to bring their own or a set of binoculars.
The prairie chicken population at Kellerton has benefited from a collaboration between the states of Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska, and the Nature Conservancy, Blank Park Zoo and the Ringgold County Conservation Board. The collaboration extended to area producers who help to manage 30 percent of the grasslands through grazing.
Some of the partners captured and relocated prairie chickens from Nebraska to the Kellerton area and the Dunn Ranch in northern Missouri to increase bird numbers and introduce new genetics to the population. While others worked to reestablish the rolling grasslands in the area.
“There has been a lot of collaboration to improve the landscape across the state line to recreate 160,000 acres of rolling hills of grass with few trees,” Shepherd said. “This partnership benefits not only the prairie chicken, but other grassland species as well.”
This year, in addition to prairie-chicken viewing, the Iowa Ornithologist’s Union will lead a birding field trip, starting at 8 a.m. All birding experience levels are welcome and the plan will be to bird around Kellerton, Ringgold and Mount Ayr wildlife areas. Target birds include northern bobwhite, red-shouldered hawk, loggerhead shrike and northern mockingbird. Participants can meet field trip leaders at the prairie chicken viewing platform area at 8 a.m. and can direct any questions to Dennis Thompson at cndthomps@gmail.com.
DNR releases Iowa Drought Plan
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has finalized a drought plan for use by local, county, state agencies and governments in the event of droughts in the state.
The Iowa Drought Plan was developed in partnership with the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. The plan aims to provide the state with an approach to prepare for, identify, respond to and recover from a drought.
“Just as we must be prepared for floods, tornadoes, and winter storms, we also must be prepared for the impacts of drought in Iowa,” said John Benson, director of the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. “The Iowa Drought Plan, the result of a collaboration between state agencies and a broad range of stakeholders throughout Iowa, is the blueprint we will use to ensure the state is able to address the challenges of drought preparedness, response and recovery.”
Droughts pose serious challenges to Iowa and many of its industries including agriculture and manufacturing, threatening the health of its residents and the state’s environment and economy. The Iowa Drought Plan will provide statewide drought condition evaluations and will give stakeholders and the public information on risk assessment and mitigation measures.
“This plan should provide a way to better communicate drought conditions to Iowans and allow for a consistent response across our state by multiple agencies,” said DNR Hydrology Resources Coordinator Tim Hall.
The plan designates five drought regions for the state, since different areas of the state vary in drought vulnerability due to groundwater resources and rainfall totals. Each region’s condition will be evaluated using four drought categories: Normal, drought watch, drought warning or drought emergency. Drought levels will be determined based on precipitation, the Standardized Precipitation Index, which is based on accumulated rainfall over time, the U.S. Drought Monitor and a standardized streamflow index, which compares current streamflow to the historical record.
“After three years of widespread drought conditions across the state, we have fortunately started to see improvements due to a more active weather pattern,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. “Because Iowa did not have a plan before the start of our current drought, the Iowa Drought Plan was developed to be forward-looking and aimed at improving and standardizing our response across agencies in state government. Iowa farmers and agricultural stakeholders were asked to provide feedback at several in-person and virtual meetings last year and we believe the Iowa Drought Plan encompasses their valuable input.”
The DNR, Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship make up the Drought Coordinating Team responsible for coordinating messaging on drought levels and conditions. The team will update the plan every five years.
More information and the full plan can be found online at IowaDNR.gov.
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