Some eastern Iowa areas might be too flood-damaged for hunting

No one from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources wants to see vehicles or people get stuck in muddy areas. That’s why the DNR is trying to get the word out about areas that were recently flooded and are still too saturated for vehicles.

Jasper County residents heading to hunt in public wildlife marshes, lakes, sloughs, river bottoms or flats in eastern Iowa are encouraged to scout these areas first. While flood waters have mostly receded, there might be some roads that still have enough standing water to create danger — along with plenty of land that is muddy or marsh-like.

Tim Thompson, an Iowa DNR wildlife biologist based in eastern Iowa, said the start of duck season typically brings many hunters to areas along the Cedar, Iowa and Mississippi rivers and the associated lakes and reservoirs. However, unlike the floods of 2008 or other years, when the soil had months to dry out before fall hunting seasons began, this year’s September floods have nearly created quicksand in some places.

Since duck season began Oct. 15 for areas north of U.S. 30 and Oct. 22 for areas to the south of it, Thompson has tried to stay current on which areas still have soft ground. That’s not easy — especially since many hunters like to set up well before dawn.

“I’ll be out there, in the dark, because many seasons allow hunting half an hour before sunrise,” Thompson said. “The rivers are back within their banks, but there is still a lot of soft ground everywhere, and the flooding left debris in many spots. Those kinds of things are tough to see in the dark.”

This weekend marks the beginning of pheasant and bobwhite quail seasons. There are an estimated 60,000 pheasant hunters in the state. Other seasons are already in progress, and more hunting and some trapping seasons start Nov. 5.

Thompson said there are several roads, drives and access points in the general vicinity of Coralville Lake that are still underwater, including places near Coralville Dam. He said the boat ramp at Sandy Beach, along the north shore of Coralville Lake, is still under six feet of water.

“There are also loops where you might be able to get in one way, but then the road is underwater on the other half,” Thompson said.

There are also muddy or flooded areas further west, near Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area.

“Some of it, we don’t even know how bad it is, because with soft ground, none of us have been back to those spots since before the flooding,” he said.

The list of 2016-17 Iowa hunting seasons can be found here: tinyurl.com/j9ryjxg.

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com