Conservationists hope to reintroduce fish-eating birds of prey to the Clear Lake area, perhaps as soon this summer. Todd VonEhwegen, a naturalist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says the proposed osprey project needs more public support before it can move forward. The project would introduce five young osprey to the Clear Lake area where they would be fed for a short time and they would have the fish in the lake as a food supply when they can fly on their own. VonEhwegen says the osprey may have soared over Iowa many decades ago.There is no official documentation of osprey living in Iowa, but they are believed to have nested here before Iowa became a state. VonEhwegen says they will take precautionary steps to make sure these new birds stay wild. VonEhwegen says they are trying to raise 25-hundred dollars to bring the birds to the area. For more information, call the Lime Creek Nature Center in Mason City at 641-423-5309.
