iowa

REAP Funding Benefits All Iowans

REAP Funding Benefits All Iowans By Steve Weisman A program that doesn’t get enough credit for the benefits that come from it is the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program. Since its beginning in 1989, REAP has helped fund the protection of Iowa’s beautiful and important resources. Each year REAP funds these areas: Clean water […]

Camouflaged Conservation – Podcast

Top 4 Bowhunting Mistakes: Whitetails 365

Top 4 Bowhunting Mistakes: Whitetails 365 As in all things in life, if you want to get better at something, a good plan is to repeat the things that work for you, and stop doing or change things that aren’t working. It sounds like pretty easy common sense, but it can be very hard to […]

Born to Duck Hunt

Born to Duck Hunt To say a diehard duck hunter is a breed of its own is, well, definitely not an understatement. After all, who else would be excited about waking at 3 am in the morning, facing below freezing temperatures, battling strong northwest winds than one of those crazy diehard duck hunters hoping that […]

Exploring Iowa’s Pheasant Heritage

Exploring Iowa’s Pheasant Heritage I venture to guess that Iowa residents of Black Hawk, Grundy, Butler and Bremer counties in 1901 and 1902 had to wonder, “What is this mysterious bird that seemingly appeared on the Iowa prairie almost overnight?” It’s large chicken-like size, beautiful plumage and distinct white stripe encircling the male’s neck made […]

Summertime Slabs

Summertime Slabs Ah, summertime… that time of year when we’re all looking for a place to cool down. The average day in August typically reaches highs in the mid-’80s, and lows will dip down to the mid-’60s. We have had, as you all know, days and even weeks that will reach up into the mid-’90s […]

Why Prescribed Burns are Essential

Why Prescribed Burns are Essential Each spring we can see clouds of smoke billowing up from both state wildlife areas and on private tracts of grassland all across northwest Iowa. Oftentimes I will hear people questioning or complaining about the fire eating up the spent grasses from the previous year or even several years. For […]

Common Wing Shooting Mistakes

Common Wing Shooting Mistakes Wing Shooting is a fantastic outdoor sport that many of us grew up having the privilege to partake in. For some, myself included, pheasant hunting was what led me to love the sport of hunting, apply hunter’s safety and respect wildlife. Pheasants are definitely a popular choice for wing shooters, although […]

Cane Pole Crappies

Cane Pole Crappies One of the sought-after fish on our Iowa lakes are slab crappies. When the month of May comes and the temperatures move into the upper 50s, crappies begin to move shallow into their spawning areas. Optimum spawning temperatures are between 68-72 degrees. Kevan Paul, who owns Kevan Pauls Guide Service and guides […]

A DIY Preseason Game Plan for Gundogs

A DIY Preseason Game Plan for Gundogs In my football playing days the preseason was one of the most intense times of the year. Although the coach’s calendar would say the preseason officially started sometime in early August, in reality it began months earlier during the summer weight lifting and conditioning program. We would spend […]