Greg Gelwicks

Iowa DNR Fisheries Research

Tom Wilton with the Environmental Protection Division of the DNR has completed 3 years of follow-up fish surveys on streams that have been affected by major fish kills (23 streams were sampled and the length of time between fish kills and follow-up sampling ranged from 5 to 60 months). Tom has also finalized a fish IBI for wadeable streams in Iowa and will be beginning work on and fish IBI for non-wadeable streams.

Iowa DNR fisheries personel continue to be heavily involved in multidisciplinary watershed projects partnering with local communities and landowners, USEPA, NRCS, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and other groups.

The Iowa DNR began a new private lands program just over two year ago with the goal of improving water quality, instream habitat, and wildlife habitat. As part of this initiative, the 3 DNR biologists, a 3 person prarie seed harvest crew, 10 Americorp members, and 10 Pheasants Forever employees have been hired to help NRCS promote enrollment of landowners in conservation programs, and assist in implementation of these programs. Most of these new hires are assigned to NRCS area offices and will help landowners tailor conservation programs to their lands, and target application of these programs to achieve broader water quality and habitat goals. More information on the program can be found at http://www.state.ia.us/government/dnr/organiza/fwb/wildlife/pages/privatelands.htm.

The Geological Survey Bureau and Environmental Protection Division of the DNR completed the second year of its Ambient Water Quality Monitoring Program. Information about the program can be found at http://wqm.igsb.uiowa.edu/.

The IOWATER program continues to expand. Volunteers are collecting baseline water quality data across the state. This information can be found at http://www.iowater.net.

There is work being done to help protect the Higginsi mussel which is listed as federally endangered. Breeding females were taken from the Mississippi River and glocidia were collected. Wild fish and hatchery fish were inoculated with the glocidia and released into the Iowa and Cedar Rivers. Fish species that were used include: largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, walleye, white bass and freshwater drum. Higginsi were historically found in both the Iowa and Cedar Rivers. This work is part of an effort to reestablish the Higginsi mussel in an environment that is free of zebra mussels.

We are continuing to inventory and evaluate interior river and stream habitat conditions and fish communities. A graduate student, Jeremiah Heitke, is in his second year working on the project. Jeremiah is a student of Clay Pierce at Iowa State University. He has been analyzing data collected on instream and riparian habitat conditions, and will be relating these conditions to underlying geology, soils, landuse, flow, channel morphology, and water quality data. He will also be looking at ways to simplify habitat inventory procedures. Iowa State is currently working on developing the Iowa River Information System (IRIS), a statewide GIS database that will integrate existing and future information related to rivers and streams in the state. This database will be accessible via the internet. Several river basins have been completed and a preliminary version of IRIS should be available for use within a year.

We also continue to evaluate seasonal habitat use of interior river gamefish. We are in our third year of radio-telemetry on the Turkey River. Our habitat surveys have found deep-water habitat to be more limited on the Turkey River than in our study area on the Wapsipinicon River. We will be trying to determine whether channel catfish, walleye, and smallmouth bass travel longer distances to find suitable overwintering habitat, or whether they utilize different winter habitat than fish in the Wapsipinicon River. Result so far show that all radio tagged channel catfish moved over 30 miles to the Mississippi River to overwinter and returned to the Turkey River in the spring.

A completion report has been finished on the evaluation of fingerling walleye stockings in interior rivers. This report is now available.

A study in southwest Iowa to assess the effects of modifying stream grade stabilization structures on upstream passage of channel catfish is almost completed. This is a cooperative project involving Iowa DNR Southwest Region Fisheries Management and Iowa State University working with NRCS, the Hungry Canyons Alliance, and Montgomery County. Results of this project will be used to develop guidelines for the permitting of grade control structures in streams with fish passage included as a consideration.

A study of walleye/sauger population parameters is being conducted in tailwaters of Lock and Dam 10 and 12 at Guttenberg and Bellevue. The study includes creel surveys and estimates of exploitation of these species. Catch rates of YOY walleye was the highest ever recorded (since sampling began in 1992) below Lock and Dam 10 and 12. Sauger catch rates were also at record levels below Lock and Dam 10 and were at their second highest level below Lock and Dam 12.

A walleye telemetry study is being conducted in Lower Pool 13 to document spawning habitat, seasonal movements, and habitat use.

Channel catfish population relative abundances and reproductive success are being evaluated in Pools 9, 11, 16, and 18.

Winter habitat selection of bluegill and black and white crappies is being determined by radio telemetry at the site of a HREP project. This study is designed to identify overwinter habitats and value of backwater restoration.