ICC will continue to work closely with landowners, non-profit groups, and public agencies to expand public access opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to experience and enjoy our coldwater streams.
For example, since 2017, ICC has worked with other NGO’s and public agencies to expand permanent, public fishing access easements on several streams that were closed to the public or only accessible through a “handshake agreement” between the landowner and the Iowa DNR. Today over 20 miles of coldwater stream with temporary handshake agreements still exist in northeast Iowa, and our work in the years ahead will continue to be focused on helping to convert more of them to permanent public access easements.
Projects
- North Bear Creek & Patterson Creek Habitat Improvement Projects-2024/2025
These recent habitat improvement projects on North Bear Creek and Patterson Creek would not have been possible without the support of landowners and the following public agencies and non-profit partners: … - Historic Oaks Wildlife Area-Burr Oak Creek in Mitchell County
In 2024, the Mitchell County Conservation Board (MCCB) began fundraising to acquire a unique parcel of privately owned land a few miles northeast of Osage. This 63 acre property includes … - Sunrise Over Bear: Protecting a Rare Iowa Stream
Bear Creek Project History and ICC Grant Support Imagine a deep and verdant valley where a beautiful coldwater stream flows within the hills of northeast Iowa and is surrounded by … - Rissman Farm Access
Yellow River, Allamakee County, IA In 2018 the Rissman family, who for many generations have lived and worked on their farm in Allamakee county, agreed to sell a Permanent Angler Access … - Bloody Run Creek in Clayton County
Bloody Run Creek has been recognized as one of Iowa’s Outstanding Waters for its rugged beauty, abundant natural resources, and well established population of wild brown trout. In 2019, a 165 acre parcel … - North Bear Creek in Winneshiek County
This well known and strategically located section of North Bear Creek was open to the public for many years through a “handshake agreement” between the owner, Helen Larson, and the … - Ten Mile Creek Project
In 2019, a private land owner agreed to sell a multi-parcel addition to Falcon Springs Wildlife Management Area located between Bluffton and Decorah. A thirty-two acre parcel included a section of … - Sindelar Wildlife Access at Casey Springs creates new opportunities for education, public access, and trout fishing in Winneshiek County
Anglers in Winneshiek County now have a new opportunity for trout fishing: Sindelar Wildlife Access. The 17-acre parcel near Decorah was sold to Winneshiek County Conservation by Jim and Wanda Sindelar and their family and contains a half-mile of Casey Springs trout stream.