INHF expands trout stream protection

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In a project that should delight both anglers and conservationists, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) has expanded public protection along Iowa's premiere stream for native brook trout. INHF is transferring ownership of 40 acres along South Pine Creek to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). This creek supports Iowa's highest population of naturally reproducing brook trout-more fondly known as brookies-the state's only native trout species.

INHF purchased the newest addition on contract from David Dinger in 1998, using funds donated by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Hawkeye Fly Fishing Association and INHF's Trout Stream Protection Revolving Fund. Once INHF completed the contract purchase this summer, IDNR agreed to pay INHF the remaining $5,000 project balance and take ownership. The newly acquired land is adjacent to sites the two organizations had protected earlier. Like them, it will be open for walk-in, catch-and-release trout fishing.

"Without the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, we wouldn't have any protection on this stream," said Bill Kalishek, IDNR Fisheries Biologist. "With this newest addition, the Foundation offered a great bargain to the DNR and to the people of Iowa."

Local landowners also deserve credit. "Brook trout are a fussy species that demand pristine, free-flowing water," said Mark Ackelson, INHF president. "They survived in South Pine Creek because it's surrounded by responsible landowners, like David Dinger, who used good farming practices and protected the stream's integrity."

Dinger also sold a conservation easement on 20 acres just off the creek. The easement restricts Dinger and future owners from adding buildings, feedlots and other potential threats to the stream's integrity-while allowing them to farm existing crop fields, conduct sustainable timber harvests and maintain private use and ownership.

When INHF and IDNR first began protecting South Pine Creek in 1994, it was Iowa's only source for naturally reproducing brook trout. IDNR fisheries staff later discovered that the trout were genetically distinct from those found anywhere else in the world. Over the years, they have bred South Pine's brookies and placed populations in select area streams to improve their survival prospects.

"Protecting the land was important," said Ackelson. "However, long-term management efforts by IDNR staff and from private groups like the Hawkeye Fly Fishing Association have further ensured the site's integrity-whether you look at it as a conservationist or an angler."

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