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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2020
 The east side of Forney Lake Wildlife Area is a rugged mix of prairie and timber encompassing the west edge of the Loess Hills and adjoins Fremont County’s 90-acre Forney Lake tract. Hiking to the top of the bluff provides excellent views of the wetland below. Photo courtesy of the Iowa DNR.
Thurman, Iowa - Sitting 30 miles south of Council Bluffs is a been-here-forever, old school kind of place that has been attracting duck hunters from across southwest Iowa for more than 100 years. Forney Lake Wildlife Area, acquired by the State of Iowa from the Forney family in 1943, has become a 1,317-acre public land mix of natural wetlands and Loess Hills bluffs, bisected by Bluff Road, in northwest Fremont County.
On this early June morning at the gravel boat ramp on the south side of the wetland, the calm water surface comes alive from the entry splash of nervous bullfrogs. Looking to the northwest, a lone pelican is cruising through the middle of the marsh. The calls of sora rails hidden in the emergent vegetation can be heard.
Forney Lake’s 570-acre marsh is home to mink, muskrats, raccoons, beaver, yellow headed blackbirds, Wilson's phalarope, American avocets, a variety of ducks and geese and more. It frequently hosts 50,000 plus snow geese on their trip north in the spring. It’s visited by groups of white-faced ibis. A pair of bald eagles have established a nest overlooking Little Forney.
While deciding what to do at Forney Lake Wildlife Area can be a challenge, the decision to visit should be a no-brainer. From hiking to kayaking, wildlife watching, hunting and fishing, Forney Lake Wildlife Area can fill a weekend’s worth of activities.
“I’ve never seen anyone kayaking the marsh but it would be a pretty sweet kayaking place,” said Matt Dollison, wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The east side of the area is a rugged mix of prairie and timber encompassing the west edge of the Loess Hills and adjoins Fremont County’s 90-acre Forney Lake tract that supports populations of six-lined race runners, northern prairie skinks, graham’s crayfish snake, plains spadefoot toad, bobcats, deer and a few turkeys. Regal fritillary and wild indigo duskywing butterflies are here too.
Hiking to the top of the bluff provides excellent views of the wetland below. There’s a small pond fishable for anglers willing to carry in their gear. Hiking and exploring the hills can be done with little competition, outside of mushroom season. Just bring water and plenty of bug spray.
Flood of 2019
Sitting two miles east of the Missouri River, Forney Lake Wildlife Area has been impacted by flooding from the big river and evidence remains from the devastating flood of 2019.
Flood waters destroyed the diverse prairie around the fringe of the wetlands and seedlings round the big marsh, damaged the two pumps and pump houses on the main Forney Lake wetland, and deposited gas tanks, an anhydrous tank, docks, patios and even a power boat on the area. The US EPA removed more than 100 containers as part of the cleanup.
Waterfowl Refuge
The western part of Forney Lake wildlife Area is a 314-acre waterfowl refuge providing a place for ducks and geese to rest on their annual fall migration. The refuge is closed to all access from Sept. 1 until after the duck season closes, then is open to hunting non-waterfowl species and other recreational use.
Media Contact: Matt Dollison, Wildlife Biologist, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 712-350-0147.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is looking for volunteers interested in performing night time surveys for bats in Hamilton and Marshall counties.
The survey monitors bat occurrence in key areas of the state. It began in response to declining bat population from White Nose Syndrome, among other challenges.
This survey uses acoustic recording equipment mounted on top of a car to detect bats along specific driving routes. Data have been collected on some of these standardized survey routes for the last seven years. Some new routes are being added as well as some stationary sites where equipment is left out for several nights. Volunteers will be responsible for both conducting the driving survey and placing and retrieving stationary equipment.
Volunteers will need a vehicle and a partner to run the drive survey. Drive surveys need to be done twice within seven days during a two-week assigned window of time in July. The driving survey begins 30 minutes after sunset and takes roughly 2.5 hours.
The survey will require participants to be in a car together for at least five hours. Volunteers will participate in a training session prior to the survey where the survey coordinators will present the protocol they need to follow, in light of COVID 19. Stationary equipment should be put out prior to the first drive survey and left out until the second drive survey has been completed (a minimum of four nights).
The total time commitment, including training, the two surveys, placing and retrieving stationary equipment and picking up and dropping off equipment, is roughly 12 hours. More details can be found at www.iowadnr.gov/vwmp/ as well as a link to an electronic volunteer interest form that should be completed if you’d like to volunteer.
Media Contact: Stephanie Shepherd, Wildlife Diversity Biologist, Iowa Department of Natural Resource, 515-230-6599.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is working with state and local officials to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and has transitioned employees to work remotely. DNR offices are closed to the public during this time and only available by appointment.
In other efforts to further reduce the spread of Covid-19, the DNR is encouraging the use of the online services for purchasing licenses, submitting applications, payments and other daily tasks and interaction with DNR staff.
The FREE Go Outdoors Iowa app is available at the App store and Google Play. The Go Outdoors Iowa app allows users to purchase and view hunting and fishing licenses and submit harvest and quota reports, all from your cell phone.
Full list of DNR’s online services: https://www.iowadnr.gov/about-dnr/about-dnr/online-services-databases.
Up-to-date information on DNR services, facilities and events impacted by Covid-19: https://www.iowadnr.gov/About-DNR/Covid-19.
Technical information for regulated businesses in regards to Covid-19: https://www.iowadnr.gov/About-DNR/Social-Media-Press-Room/Disaster-Assistance#3057321-covid---19-outbreak.
Thank you for your patience and flexibility during this time. If you need to contact DNR staff you can reach them by email or phone or by calling (515) 725-8200.
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