Lands within the district contain wetlands suitable for breeding, uplands suitable for nesting, and water suitable for raising broods. In many cases, the WPAs and state Wildlife Management Areas (WMA's) are part of large complexes, consisting of thousands of acres of breeding, nesting, and brood-rearing habitat on Federal, State, and private lands.

The Iowa Wetland Management District is located at the southernmost portion of the Prairie Pothole Region, an area known for its duck production. The uplands and wetlands of the district provide the first suitable breeding habitat available to waterfowl on their migration north.

Waterfowl are not the only wildlife benefiting from the district habitats. Large, contiguous tracts of grassland habitat are critical to many other grassland-dependent migratory birds such as the bobolink, grasshopper sparrow, and dickcissel. District lands also support a variety of other wildlife, including ring-necked pheasants, white-tailed deer and badgers.