DEPARTMENT PERFORMANCE
Natural Resources
Kayla Lyon, Director
Mission Statement:
Leading Iowans in caring for our natural resources.
Construction permits issued for animal agriculture
Controlling the white-tailed deer population
Pollution prevention saves business money
Hunter Safety
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Performance
Plan - How we measure our progress
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Strategic
Plan - How we plan for progress
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Performance
Report - How we report our progress
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Department Home Page
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Highlighted Measure:
Construction permits issued for
open and confinement feed lot
facilities.
Data Source: Department of Natural Resources
Animal Agriculture = all animals raised for food
Updated 01/04/2022 |
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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.
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 and certification programs to help producers understand requirements,
better manage their facilities for environmental protection,
and understand the benefits of protecting our water resources.
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Highlighted Measure:
Deer Population Status
Data Source: Department of Natural Resources
Updated 01/04/2022 |

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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
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Highlighted Measure:
Actual savings reported by participating
companies in the Pollution Prevention
Intern Program.
Data Source: Department of Natural Resources
NOTE: The Pollution Prevention (P2) Internship Program was postponed for 2020 due to COVID-19.
Updated 01/04/2022 |
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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.
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Highlighted Measure:
Total fatal and non-fatal hunter
incidents
Data Source: Department of Natural Resources
Updated 01/04/2022
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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 January 1, 1972, must pass a
safety course before being issued a hunting license. Conservation
officers and dedicated volunteer instructors provide instruction
to over 10,000 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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