The Oxbow Restoration Project within the Boone River Watershed (BRW) includes White Fox Creek, Eagle Creek, Buck Creek and Lyons Creek (Hamilton and Wright Counties). The BRW is a Mississippi River Basin Initiative (MRBI) watershed and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has designated the lower 26 miles as a “Protected Water Area.” The Boone River is a tributary of the Des Moines River in north-central Iowa. Current and past land use practices in the Boone River Watershed have affected both stream hydrology and hydraulics. As a result, these affects have degraded and fragmented oxbow habitat and have caused impairments to water quality. Fishers & Farmers partners are working together with landowners to restore oxbow habitat critical to all fish species and especially to the federally listed endangered species.
The Oxbow Restoration Project within the Boone River Watershed (BRW) includes White Fox Creek, Eagle Creek, Buck Creek and Lyons Creek (Hamilton and Wright Counties). The BRW is a Mississippi River Basin Initiative (MRBI) watershed and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has designated the lower 26 miles as a “Protected Water Area.” The Boone River is a tributary of the Des Moines River in north-central Iowa.
Current and past land use practices in the Boone River Watershed have affected both stream hydrology and hydraulics. As a result, these affects have degraded and fragmented oxbow habitat and have caused impairments to water quality. Fishers & Farmers partners are working together with landowners to restore oxbow habitat critical to all fish species and especially to the federally listed endangered species.
2012 outcomes: In the spring (2012), the perimeter of restored White Fox Creek oxbow will be planted with native grasses. Fishers & Farmers has proposed this project for NFHP funding in 2012 for the restoration of additional oxbows.
Partners: Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IA DNR) Hamilton and Wright Soil and Water Conservation Districts Iowa Soybean Association Iowa State University Landowners The Nature Conservancy (TNC) US Fish and Wildlife Service Ecological Services (US FWS)