UNION GROVE STATE PARK has been around for a long time. It was established in 1938 in this quiet northwest corner of Tama County. The lake surface has about 110 acres of coverage when full. The park offers a quiet and pleasant setting with nearby wooded areas. This is a sharp contrast to intensive agricultural land uses surrounding the site. Now another round of lake and watershed improvements are getting underway to help continue the legacy of this popular outdoor spot.

State park staff have known for a long time that a series of new improvements would be needed. Time had taken its toll in regard to silt accumulation. Then several years ago, a key parcel of land in the upper watershed became available. With the support of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, the land was purchased, and a plan set in motion to make long term improvements with long term water quality outcomes. So now the stage was set to begin serious planning for the lake, its water and ultimately the people who have and will continue to use the site.

Iowa State Parks Bureau staff was able to recommend and place Union Grove at the top of a list of lakes needed renovation. A total of $1.5 million has been allocated over a three-year period to finance this work. The renovation list includes draining the lake to remove carp and yellow bass, make repairs and replacement of gate valves to the spillway so as to avoid the re-invasion of carp trying to return upstream, shoreline stabilization, fisheries habitat structures, and the big one … silt removal. Silt will be dredged by a floating barge next year. Silt will be pumped into holding basins. An anticipated 3-4 feet of silt will be taken from the lake bottom. In time the lake will return to an active status as one of the best central Iowa recreation spots. In the meantime, the public’s understanding of the need for this crucial work is much appreciated.

Union Grove has picnicking and shelters for family gatherings and cookouts. Camping at the south hilltop area has 25 spots, nine with full hookups and 14 non-electric. Modern family-style shower facilities are available. Half of the campsites are first-come, first served. The other half can be reserved through the park reservation system. Trails are on site too, one near the campsite and the other near the north corner of the park. Good hiking opportunities make a stay here just one reason for being there.

Long-term maintenance of a lake requires long term cooperation by all the landowners in the watershed. Soil lost from the land slopes is not doing any good if it is not held in place for its crop growing potential. Keeping soil on the land, un-eroded, is a key element that requires the best application of practices designed to make that happen. So it is in everyone’s best interest to be good land stewards for farming purposes, and in so doing, will also be good stewards for improved water quality in the lake. That is how a win-win situation is achieved.

Be patient. Union Grove will return with a lake full of water, cleaner water, and provide decades of new recreation opportunities once all the work elements are completed.

q q q

GREEN CASTLE had a similar renovation plan for its 16-acre lake a few years ago. That lake water was lowered significantly to allow for rough fish elimination. With that big item taken care of, shoreline improvements were made, tons of silt were removed, and new jetties were built and lined with stone. During the winter of 2014-15, snow melt and rainfall refilled the lake to its normal level. Fish have been restocked and more species as approved by the DNR fisheries staff will be added at the right time.

Extensive potential RV camping is envisioned for Green Castle. But first the land had to be shaped into three broad terraces on a large hillside overlooking the lake. Top soil stockpiles have been replaced over the general new landscape this early summer. A temporary seeding of grasses has been made to stabilize the soil. Actual development of camping sites, phase one, is dependent upon financing. That part of the equation not at hand right now. Details of the long term plans for Green Castle can be obtained by stopping by the Conservation Center at the Grimes Farm. Visit with Director Mike Stegmann to learn more about Green Castle’s future.

q q q

CONSERVATION HISTORY LESSONS help to place in perspective how habitats for wild creatures finally got the recognition it deserved. Wild turkeys serve as an example of a species comeback with present day excellent results. It was a long, long road to overcome huge hurdles in the pathway for turkeys and many other wildlife species. So let us take a moment to recall what transpired long ago that still has relevance today.

America was a very new nation three centuries ago. Exploration and exploitation were top priorities. “Go west young man” was a tantalizing carrot on a stick. Some found fortunes, many did not. But in the process of settlements moving west across the Mississippi and then the Missouri rivers, landscapes felt the prodding and transformations of people desperate to survive. Railroads helped bring settlers west and bring goods and products returning to the east. Settlers had to eat, either what they could grow on the land or hunt from the wildlife they encountered. Wild turkeys being a big bird, provided lots of meat. So did deer, bear, elk, bison and waterfowl so thick they darkened the skies during migration peaks. The thought at that time was that wildlife abundance was an ongoing never ending supply for the taking.

It did not take too long for hunters to recognize that there were limits to what the land could produce. What they did not know precisely was how the landscape’s habitats of prairie, forest or wetlands had a carrying capacity, a level at which annual surpluses of huntable game could be removed safely without damage to the overall population. That understanding was still a long time coming. However, the idea that limits to wildlife consumption were needed was growing.

A group of men had a gift of understanding and foresight. Included in the name list were Teddy Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, George Bird Grinnell and several others. They formed the Boone & Crockett Club to be proactive in their stance for enduring conservation policies. Their work eventually lead to the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. Following those tenets, the return of wildlife from vacated habitats was about to begin. It is good that it did.

Significant events in history help tell the tale, stepping stones if you want to think of it that way, to conservation success stories. In 1900, Iowan John Lacey drafted federal legislation, the Lacey Act, that made it a federal offense to transport illegally killed animals across state lines. Follow that during 1900-09, Teddy Roosevelt set in motion the protection of 230 million acres of American lands and waters, the basis for many national parks, monuments and wildlife sanctuaries. In 1911, additional forest lands east of the Mississippi became national forests. The year 1914 saw the passenger pigeon disappear despite attempts to reverse its population downfall. Long-term habitat changes and over taking of the birds was too much to reverse.

The year 1916 was the time of the signing of the Migratory Bird Treaty with Canada and Mexico. This provided protection for birds, their eggs from collectors and unregulated hunting. Also Leopold made his noteworthy addition in 1933 with his published “Game Management” book that served as a textbook for a growing science based methodology for wild game management. It is still relevant today.

1937 saw enactment of the Pittman-Robertson Act, a federal excise tax of 10 percent on arms and ammunition. These funds are dedicated to wildlife uses only, and returned to the states to match with local license fee incomes. Later the law was enlarged to include archery equipment. The fisheries side of the equation also got the Dingle-Johnson Act to place fees on fishing tackle related items. Now there was at least a base funding stream to make things happen for conservation and wildlife conservation programs.

Aldo Leopold’s insights were instrumental in bringing college level courses into being at Universities across the nation. Science-based studies and science based research programs in the field found answers to questions about the land and its carrying capacity for wildlife. Science-based programs helped to find balances between competing land use interests. At least the light of truth was being shown on what had previously been policy based on emotion, mis-information, folklore or political expediency.

An outgrowth of all the above led to the publishing of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. It has seven basic pillars:

1) In North America, natural resources on public lands are managed by government agencies to ensure we always have wildlife and wild places to enjoy;

2) It is illegal to sell meat of any wild animal;

3) Every citizen of the United States and/or Canada has the right to help create laws to conserve and manage wild animals and their habitats;

4) Every citizen has an opportunity, under the law, to hunt and fish;

5) In North America, we can legally kill certain species of wildlife under strict guidelines for food and fur, self defense and property protection;

6) Wildlife and fish freely migrate across boundaries between states, provinces and countries, and;

7) Science helps make good decisions so we are all better stewards of our wildlife heritage.

Hunting is a huge positive factor in conservation success stories of the past. It will continue to the main driving force long into the future. Conducted within the guidelines of the law, fair chase and following strict codes of high ethical conduct and the useful dispensation of wild game meat, hunting garners strong support from the majority of our citizens. It can only stay that way with voluntary compliance and a good dose of conservation law enforcement, education and understanding by all the stakeholders.

q q q

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”

– John Wooden,

basketball coach

—

Garry Brandenburg is a graduate of Iowa State University with BS degree in Fish & Wildlife Biology. He is the retired director of the Marshall County Conservation Board. Contact him at P.O. Box 96, Albion, Iowa 50005