Author: rjones@iaagwater.org
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Iowa 2026 pheasant numbers expected to be high thanks in part to conservation
Posted onCategories: Prairie
Iowa’s pheasant population is forecast to be similar to 2025, when the state’s pheasant population reached a 20-year high, according to Iowa DNR. On-farm conservation efforts like prairie strips, native prairie buffers, and CRP enrollments help to create strong habitat for the birds. That forecast is based on a model using 50 years of weather…
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Urban and rural conservation commitments move Iowa forward together
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DES MOINES, Iowa (July 13, 2026) — Clean water depends on both urban and rural communities working together, which is why IAWA supports improvement on the landscape in both farms and cityscapes. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) recently announced four new urban water quality projects in Cedar Falls, Des Moines, Riverside,…
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Local water quality leader invited to shape USDA practice standards
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WASHINGTON D.C. (July 14, 2026) – Susan Kozak, Division Director at the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), recently traveled to Washington D.C. to advise USDA’s practice standards for conservation. Kozak is the Division Director for IDALS and also serves as the Vice President of the National Association of State Conservation Agencies. She…
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How cross-watershed collaboration across state lines can spark change and quicken progress
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COON VALLEY, Wisc. (July 14, 2026) — Watershed groups in Iowa and Wisconsin are building a cross-state network to trade flood-mitigation and water-quality strategies, an effort now documented in a new University of Iowa video, “Currents of Collaboration.” Click here to watch on Youtube. Produced by IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering with Northeast Iowa RC&D, the Coon…
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IAWA’s Rebekah Jones wins Creative Conservationist Award
Posted onCategories: IAWA News
DES MOINES, Iowa (July 1, 2026) — The Great Outdoors Foundation honored IAWA’s own Rebekah Jones with one of two Creative Conservationist Awards at Athene Watershed26. The recognition is for individuals and organizations that are driving meaningful conservation outcomes through innovative thinking, strong partnerships, and dedicated stewardship. Rebekah is the Communications Director for the Iowa…
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Data centers and water: economic growth or environmental threat?
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Data centers aren’t new, but they’ve been getting an increasing amount of attention as tech companies work to meet the demands of an increasingly online society. In this article, IAWA breaks down the pros and cons of data center investments and corrects common misinformation. By Dan Looker Key Takeaways Water availability: Location matters. Some utilities…
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Great Outdoors Foundation drives change and momentum with inaugural conference
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Athene Watershed26 focused on incubating innovative solutions, powerful funding mechanisms, and voices for change to improve Iowa’s water quality. By Dan Looker Des Moines, Iowa, and its suburbs sprawl outward from the confluence of two river systems, the Des Moines and Raccoon. In the week before the nation’s 250th Independence celebration and 183 years after…
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Cover crops get big boost in 22 Iowa counties
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DES MOINES, Iowa – Farmers in 22 counties upstream of the Des Moines area will have access to more cover crop cost share from a newly announced initiative called the “Greater Des Moines Watershed Program.” The initiative has goals to accelerate and scale up the use of conservation practices to improve water quality, and falls under…
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Understanding Iowa’s Landforms
Posted onCategories: Uncategorized
Overview While many outsiders think of Iowa as a “flyover state” with the same landscape as far as the eye can see, us Iowans know that Iowa is unique from corner to corner. Iowa’s landscape was largely shaped by glaciers. Those ancient sheets left behind different soils, aquifers, rock formations, and more. Geologists today now…
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Farmer Demand far exceeds NRCS funding in Iowa; Is new funding on the horizon?
By Rebekah Jones STATEWIDE, Iowa – March 28, 2026 – Only about one in five Iowa NRCS applications received conservation funding in 2025, according to NRCS data for three of the most popular farmer programs. Those programs pay for conservation practices like cover crops, prairie, and grazing infrastructure. Why it matters Demand grows, funding shrinks…