Resource Category: Natural Resources

We support farmers, landowners and local partners working together to protect soil and reduce nutrient runoff to streams of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

Iowa has a diverse variety of aquatic environments ranging from deep natural lakes to shallow prairie marshes. With such vast ecosystems comes an array of wildlife that both thrive on these waterways and help protect them.

By incorporating prairie strips of native grasses and plants into strategic locations in fields, it offers a place for wildlife to live where they otherwise would not. Under the vegetation, deep and multilayer root systems help preserve ground water and soil stability which benefits the surrounding land.

Iowa's Wildlife Action Plan is a multiphase, several year long project designed to protect and continue nature conservation. This includes a specific portion relevant to aquatic habitat and species, and how we can preserve the water they thrive in.

Wetlands are a transitional landscape between dryland and waterways, and are important in maintaining the two. Wetlands are known to improve water quality, increase flood storage, provide wildlife habitat, and create recreational activities.