The project area for this agreement lies in seven prairie pothole joint venture priority complexes in iowa

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), under a $162,534 cooperative agreement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), will enhance wetland habitats on ten Waterfowl Production Areas in priority prairie pothole complexes in Iowa from July 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025. FWS and IDNR will oversee restoration projects including repairing and enhancing wetland basins, seeding a newly acquired area from cropland to prairie, and developing long-range management plans. The work supports the National Wildlife Refuge System Enhancements program (CFDA 15.654), which provides assistance to identify, conserve, manage, and enhance natural, historical, and cultural resources and infrastructure in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Restoring these wetland complexes will aid waterfowl and migratory bird production in alignment with approved conservation plans for the Iowa Wetland Management Districts.

Within this area both the US fish wildlife service USFWS and the iowa department of natural resources DNR own and manage property with the goal of producing excellent waterfowl and migratory bird production habitat.iowa DNR, acting on behalf of USFWS, will perform the responsibilities of repairing and enhancing wetland basins on ten waterfowl production areas in the prairie pothole joint venture priority complexes, and seeding a newly acquired WPA from cropland to a diverse prairie seeding. The service and department will be responsible for oversite, plan development, review, and inspection of the restoration projects, along with the development of long range management plans for the restored wetland complexes. The wpas being repaired and or enhanced are part of the iowa wetland management districts comprehensive conservation plan and are managed according to the goals and objectives of this service approved plan.