Over the past five years, the ICC Board of Directors have collaborated with landowners, public and private organizations, and like-minded individuals on numerous stream habitat improvement projects. These projects have focused on reshaping eroding stream banks and creating a stronger connection between the streams and their floodplains. During this work, natural structures using local rock and wood were strategically placed in the stream and along the reshaped banks to enhance habitat for a diversity of species and to help direct the flow of the stream away from the stream banks. Native grasses and plants were then seeded to further reduce erosion and strengthen the restructured stream banks.

During the coming years, ICC will use what we have learned from these projects to guide how we invest our human and financial resources to grow our partnerships, monitor and maintain past project sites, and begin new habitat restoration initiatives.

Projects

  • Casey Springs Restoration Project
    Phase 1, May/June 2023 Casey Springs is a coldwater stream that flows through the Sindelar Wildlife Access Area in Winneshiek County.  This spring creek has wild Brown Trout and a …
  • Bloody Run Creek-Water Sampling
    In October of 2021, ICC awarded a grant of $2,000 to the “Save Bloody Run Committee”.  ICC joined numerous conservation partners to help this grass roots group of volunteers purchase …
  • 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 …
  • Little Paint Creek
    Yellow River State Forest, IA Before and after photos of Little Paint Creek in the Yellow River Forest in Allamakee County from the winterof 2021 and 2022 tell the story …
  • The North and South Bear Creeks Watershed Endowment Funds
    Warren Shuros grew up on a farm on North Bear Creek a few miles from Highlandville in Winneshiek County.  Whenever he could find time, he would hunt and fish throughout the …
  • Streambank Restoration at Decorah Fish Hatchery
    It all started with an idea to improve fish habitat and angler access along Trout Run, a popular fishery just south of Decorah.  It quickly developed into a partnership between the Iowa DNR, Trees Forever, Alliant Energy, Iowa’s Coldwater Conservancy (ICC), Friends of the Decorah Fish Hatchery, and the Iowa Driftless Chapter of Trout Unlimited.  In 2016, Trout Run was the third most popular trout stream in the state