Announces 2020 Waters to Watch

Boone River Watershed, Iowa Fishers & Farmers Partnership

Fishers & Farmers Partnership is excited to announce that its retrospective project, Oxbow Restoration in the Boone River Watershed, Iowa, was selected for the National Fish Habitat Partnership's list of 10 “Waters to Watch” for 2020. These voluntary, locally-driven projects represent some of the top conservation activities completed or in progress by  20 regionally-based Fish Habitat Partnerships  throughout the country. Projects are carried out under the goals and objectives of the 2012  National Fish Habitat Action Plan. These conservation projects conserve freshwater, estuarine, and marine habitats essential to many fish and wildlife species. These activities are fundamental to the overall success of the National Fish Habitat Partnership established in 2006. Restored oxbows provide fish and wildlife habitat, improve hydrology by reconnecting streams with their floodplains, decrease flooding impacts, and work as “filters” to improve water quality. The first oxbow in the Boone River Watershed was restored in 2011 with Iowa Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy, and Fishers & Farmers Partnership. Today over 30 oxbows have been completed with partners and several are in progress.

LEARN MORE: LOCAL OXBOW PROJECTS

Topeka shiner (Notropis topeka)

The Topeka shiner is a federally listed endangered minnow that lives in small to mid-sized prairie streams in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Topeka shiners use restored oxbows as primary spawning grounds and nursery areas. Topekas are omnivores and feed on chironomids, dipterans, ephemeropterans and zooplankton. They also feed on plant matter including algae.

Iowa Partners: Hamilton and Wright Soil & Water Conservation Districts, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa Geological Survey, Iowa Soybean Association, Iowa State University, Landowners, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Practical Farmers of Iowa, Sand County Foundation (WI), The Nature Conservancy , U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service R3 Ecological Services, Fisheries, and Private Lands, Wells Fargo.

Fishers & Farmers Partnership serves the Upper Mississippi River Basin, including Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. It is self-directed, led by a volunteer steering committee, and is funded by the National Fish Habitat Partnership , U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service , Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, the McKnight Foundation and many partners.

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