Dewey's Pasture Complex
to expand

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This article was written and posted on INHF's website in November 2002. 

With a recent addition to Dewey's Pasture Complex, area wildlife will soon have another permanently protected natural area to call home.

On Oct. 30, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) purchased 155 acres of land south of Round Lake from the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF), a non-profit conservation group that protects Iowa's land, water and wildlife. Round Lake is part of the Dewey Pasture Complex, which also includes Trumbull Lake and Barringer Slough. The entire complex, including Sovereign Lake, now contains over 6,000 acres in Clay and Palo Alto Counties.

The site, formerly known as the McCluney property, is located eight miles east of Spencer and a quarter-mile south of Round Lake. It will provide an ideal nesting ground for waterfowl and will also offer hunting opportunities for the local community. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) plans to manage the property by restoring the wetlands and seeding the uplands with native grasses and forbs. After the restoration is completed in 2004, the site will be open to the public for hunting, wildlife observation and bird watching.

"This addition will provide a much-needed breeding area for waterfowl," said Neil Heiser of the IDNR. "It will also provide secondary benefits to resident wildlife species, including shore birds, prairie-grassland nesting birds, pheasants and deer."

Bruce Mountain, land projects director for INHF, said the addition will provide an additional ecosystem component for Round Lake, which previously did not contain upland habitat that is essential for nesting.
"This prairie pothole site will provide an ideal location for waterfowl to nest," Mountain said. "Without sufficient upland areas, nesting birds are forced to nest directly along the water, where they are more susceptible to predators such as skunks, opossums, raccoons, foxes and coyotes."

INHF purchased the property from its prior owner last March and served as the interim owner until the USFWS acquired funding to purchase the land. USFWS used Federal Duck Stamp Dollars to purchase the property from INHF. Past INHF projects in Clay County include the Schmerse Wildlife Area, Vera and Gilbert James Wildlife Area, Kirchner Prairie and others.

For more information, e-mail Cathy Engstrom, Director of Communications, or call (515) 288-1846.

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