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LEADERSHIP AGENDA

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

DEPARTMENT PERFORMANCE

DEPARTMENT PERFORMANCE

Natural Resources

Chuck Gipp, Director

Mission Statement:
Leading Iowans in caring for our natural resources.

Construction permits issued for animal agriculture
Controlling the white-tailed deer population
Iowa water quality index for streams
Pollution prevention saves business money
Hunter Safety

•  Performance Plan - How we measure our progress


•  Strategic Plan - How we plan for progress


•  Performance Report - How we report our progress


• Department Home Page - Learn more about this department

Why this is important:
Our rivers and streams can be impacted by animal agriculture. When animals are kept in small areas where feed and manure are concentrated, animal byproducts can also become concentrated, becoming pollutants if they are not stored and managed properly. When excess nutrients and organic matter reach our waters, they can cause low levels of dissolved oxygen, algal blooms and, in extreme cases, fish kills. Twenty-eight percent of fish kills are attributed to runoff from open feedlots, management problems with manure storage at confined animal facilities, and runoff from manure-treated fields.


What we're doing about this:
Iowa regulates animal feeding operations to reduce risk to and prevent contamination of our surface and groundwater resources. Open feedlots and confinement facilities must be designed to minimize the risk that concentrated manure will reach nearby rivers and streams. If properly built and maintained, these facilities should enable producers to use their animal manure more effectively as a nutrient source. The DNR reviews construction plans for larger facilities, and inspects open feedlots and confinements to ensure that facilities meet state requirements. The DNR also offers educational programs to help producers understand requirements, better manage their facilities for environmental protection, and understand the benefits of protecting our water resources.

Why this is important:
The white-tailed deer herd in Iowa has remained relatively stable since 2013. However, without careful management, Iowa's herd could increase reapidly. Hunting is the primary control measure used to manage a healthy herd in Iowa that minimizes the negative impacts of deer, such as agricultural damage or deer-vhicle collisions, while sustaining the opportunity to view and hunt this important Iowa wildlife species.


What we're doing about this:
Deer management in Iowa may be characterized as trying to maintain a balance between the public's demand for hunting and viewing opportunities with a need to keep deer numbers compatible with agricultural interests, highway safety, and habitat limitations. The current management objective, as recommended in The Deer Study Advisory Committee Report (2009), is a stable deer population at the approximate level that occurred in the mid to late 1990s. This time period was chosen because the acceptance of deer numbers was favorable among many of the stakeholder groups at that time. At that level the population would be capable of supporting a harvest of between 100,000 and 120,000 deer annually under the new reporting system.

The Deer Study Advisory Committee Report completed in 2009 can be found at http://www.iowadnr.gov/Portals/idnr/uploads/Hunting/deerstudyreport.pdf

Why this is important:
Good water quality is necessary for business, industrial and domestic uses, and an integral part of many quality-of-life pursuits that are so important to helping Iowa grow and flourish. The water quality index combines eight physical, chemical and biological parameters and creates one number indicative of overall water quality conditions. The water quality index is affected by year-to-year weather patterns as well as statewide land use practices.

What we're doing about this:
The Iowa Water Quality Index helps demonstrate the need to continue to improve Iowa's stream water quality across the state. Working in cooperation with individuals and organizations across the state, the DNR is establishing priorities, directing limited resources, and improving the effectiveness of current state programs for the restoration and protection of Iowa's rivers and streams. These targeted watershed restoration and protection efforts demonstrate the improvements we could be making in various parts of the state.

Why this is important:
Reducing the use of natural resources and protection of the environment from risks are national and local goals. Business can advance these goals and improve corporate profits through increased efficiency. Such an incentive to business should serve to promote a stronger Iowa economy and improve the quality of life.


What we're doing about this:
DNR forms partnerships with Iowa businesses and recruits students from Iowa colleges and universities to serve as summer interns at companies. The interns, many of whom are highly trained in engineering, identify processes in the companies that can benefit from increased efficiencies and help their companies implement them. Savings are especially notable in energy conservation, reduction of solid waste generated, water conservation, reduction of air emissions, and the reduction of hazardous and special wastes. A side benefit is that many of these students remain to work in Iowa and remain committed to furthering pollution prevention goals. Much of the savings this year required extensive capital investments. Savings from these will accrue in future years as company investments are made. Also, some of the environmental benefits this year involved risk reduction, and such benefits are not readily converted to dollars.

Why this is important:
Hunting is one of many outdoor recreation activities that has a significant economic impact on Iowa. Hunting has some risks and these risks must be minimized to protect all hunters.


What we're doing about this:
Hunter safety education is the primary strategy for minimizing hunting accidents. Everyone born since 1967 must pass a safety course before being issued a hunting license. Conservation officers and dedicated volunteer instructors provide instruction to over 12,000 folks annually. Protective, visible clothing is another strategy, and we require or recommend that hunters wear blaze orange clothing. The education and clothing programs work. Hunting related incidents have dropped since the 1960s with about 100 accidents and 15 fatalities to the much lower levels reported in recent years.

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