• Business & Economy
  • Politics & Government
    • Campaign Countdown
      • 2012 Reports
  • Sports
  • High School Sports
    • Football Friday Night
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • All Topics

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

  • Home
  • Audio Archives
  • Contact Us
  • Reporters
  • Affiliates
  • Affiliate Support
  • PostsComments
You are here: Home / Environment & Conservation / Iowa DNR has 127 lakes on its restoration list

Iowa DNR has 127 lakes on its restoration list

November 23, 2017 By O. Kay Henderson

Chuck Gipp

State tax dollars have helped finance “restoration” of 22 Iowa lakes, with another 21 lake improvement projects in progress.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources director Chuck Gipp is asking lawmakers to set aside another $9.6 million so the effort may continue. The state’s “lake restoration program” has moved beyond just simply removing sediment from the lake bottom — a process called dredging. Gipp says that’s just “recycling dirt.”

“We work with partners in order to improve the watershed approach, make sure the soil stays where it’s supposed to,” Gipp says, “and that’s on the land.”

The state’s natural lakes are “intensely used” for fishing and recreation, according to Gipp.

“I think 55-56 percent of the assessed valuation in Guthrie County is homes and businesses around Lake Panorama,” Gipp says. “You could say the same thing of Clear Lake and some of the others. That’s how important it is that we continue to work now to not only restore these lakes to where they were, but to prevent them from being recontaminated.”

A decade ago, 127 publicly owned lakes in Iowa were placed on a list as candidates for restoration efforts. Improving water quality and increasing public use of a lake are the two primary goals of the program. A recent Iowa State University study found at least six out of 10 Iowans visit an Iowa lake more than once a year.

 


Print pagePDF pageEmail page

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation, News, Politics & Government, Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With: Department of Natural Resources, Hunting & Fishing, Legislature

Featured Stories

Younkers stores in Iowa look to be closing

Governor approves new Iowa law on ‘food shaming’ and unpaid school lunch debt

Iowa Senate honors Wally Horn for 46-year legislative career

Clive massage therapist facing sexual assault charges

State offering a second license to manufacture medical marijuana

TwitterFacebook

Golfers tout economic impact on Iowa

Iowa NASCAR driver pays tribute to hockey team

Morris headlines women’s pole vault at Drake

Brady Ellingson joins Drake

Weather forces college baseball teams to adjust

More Sports

Tweets by @RadioIowa

eNews and Updates

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

RSS O.KayHenderson.com

  • Campaign surrogates: asset or liability? September 22, 2016
  • Proposed slate of 2016 RNC delegates from #IAGOP May 20, 2016
  • AUDIO: #IAGOP chairman talks about idea of ‘brokered’ convention March 18, 2016
  • @TerryBranstad statement on Obama nominating his cousin to SupCo March 16, 2016
  • ‘Substantial growth’ in voter registrations for both parties from #IACaucus March 15, 2016

Archives

Copyright © 2018 · Learfield News & Ag, LLC