National Wildlife Refuges

Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge
712-388-4800

Desoto National Wildlife Refuge
712-388-4800

Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge
563-873-3423

Iowa Wetland Management District
515-928-2523

McGregor District, Upper Miss National Wildlife and Fish Refuge
563-873-3423

Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
515-994-3400

Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge
319-523-6982

Union Slough National Wildlife Refuge
515-928-2523

Other Information

Travel Information
Midwest Natural Resources Group (MNRG)

State Facts

• The Service has approximately 55 permanent employees in Iowa

• The Fiscal Year 2008 Resource Management budget for Service activities in Iowa totaled approximately $5.5 million

• Seven national wildlife refuges and one wetland management district in Iowa total more than 110,000 acres

• In 2008, nearly 2 million people visited national wildlife refuges in Iowa to hunt, fish, participate in interpretive programs, and view wildlife
  
  
• Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge, one of the first Missouri River restoration refuges after the 1993 historic floods, focuses on tallgrass prairie restoration and Missouri River floodplain wetlands restoration
  
  

Federal Assistance to State Fish and Wildlife Programs

In 2006 Iowa received:

• $7 million for sport fish restoration

• $4 million for wildlife restoration and hunter education

Law Enforcement

Des Moines Law Enforcement Office
515-961-5094

Ecological Services

Rock Island Field Office
(located in IL but serves IA issues)
309-793-5800

Other Programs

Federal Aid
Iowa River Corridor
Large Rivers Fisheries Coordination Office
Migratory Bird Conservation
North American Waterfowl Management Plan
Private Lands Office
Realty

DeSoto's Sunken Treasure

Located in Missouri Valley, Iowa, DeSoto NWR is home to a premier archaeological collection of 200,000 artifacts excavated from the buried hull of the steamboat Bertrand, which sank on the Missouri River in 1865. The wreck was discovered on the refuge in 1968. The extensive Steamboat Bertrand museum collection of artifacts, which had to be evacuated prior to the flood of 2011, is currently being conserved in an off-site location and will not be on display until further notice. A small representative selection of Bertrand artifacts and historical exhibits detailing the steamboat era on the Missouri River is available in the visitor center.