Posted: June 1, 2008
Provided by the IDNR

MORAVIA – There they were, unwanted stowaways clinging to the 1995 Silverton 362 36-foot cabin cruiser that was nearing the completion of its 940 mile journey from Lake Ponchartrain, La., to Lake Rathbun, on May 29. The boat had zebra mussels attached to the hull and was ready to be launched into Lake Rathbun but was stopped by its new owner after reading some information on the exotic invasive species placed in locations around the lake by the Iowa DNR and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The owner found what he thought were zebra mussels near the transom around the rudder and trim tabs. He stopped the boat from being launched and had a marina employee call the local DNR office. There were an estimated 30 to 40 mussels attached to the boat.


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Posted: May 22, 2008

MEDIA CONTACT: Mark Flammang, DNR fisheries, at (cell) 641-895-2327.

DRAKESVILLE - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will move ahead with a major lake renovation at 250-acre Lake Wapello, which will include draining the entire lake. The DNR had been working to draw down the water level to fix a pipe that ruptured in the dam since April, but consistent spring rains hindered the effort and the lake is still not down to the leak.

"We made the decision to empty the lake to take care of a number of problems and to do a large scale lake restoration," said Mark Flammang, area fisheries biologist for the DNR.

Flammang said the fishery was in a state of decline since gizzard shad were introduced into the system and that decline would only continue. Flammang was collecting game fish in Lake Wapello on Thursday that will be released in other area public lakes, before the lake is emptied.

"We manage our lakes to have a balance of fish species that will do well in these systems, and when someone introduces a species like gizzard shad they completely offset the lake balance. Gizzard shad will eventually overtake other desirable species and will dominate the lake," Flammang said. "I'm sure their intentions were good, but leave the stocking to us."

Eliminating gizzard shad is one goal, and while the lake is low, Flammang said workers will begin deepening the shoreline, protecting it with riprap, installing sediment ponds to improve the water quality, installing in-lake fish structure to concentrate fish for boat anglers and shore anglers, and add fishing jetties.

"We were eventually going to have to lower the lake to eliminate the gizzard shad in a few years, so with the leak in the dam, we moved up the time table and will be fixing the leak and restoring the lake," he said. "Lake Wapello has been a tremendous fishery for much of its 75 years and after the work is done it should be better than ever. This will be a big shot in the arm for the lake. It is still an excellent lake, and will continue to be in the future."

The goal is to have the project completed by the fall. The non-water related park features and campground will remain open during the construction. The bait shop and restaurant will not be in operation this year, but the restaurant will remain available for renting out as a lodge through the park office.

Posted: May 20, 2008

DES MOINES - The first holiday of the camping season begins Friday and campgrounds across the state will be filling to capacity with campers eager to get back to nature with family and friends. All reservable campsites with electricity in Iowa state parks have been snapped up for months leaving campers without a reservation to make plans to arrive early if they want electricity at their campsite.


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