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Forneys

9K views 43 replies 21 participants last post by  UIUhunter4 
#1 ·
DNR used to keep water in it so it would hold geese. In the last few years it has basically became a weed patch with a little water in the refuge area. Could be a reason we don't see as many geese on the river bottom as we did in years past.
 
#4 ·
Forney's is a weed patch plan and simple. Pumping it anymore is a waste of money. What they need to do is work with the Corp of Engineers to dredge it out and seal the base. The only problem is the IDNR does not care to put any money into do that currently.
 
#5 ·
Boy do I wish you guys could have heard YOUR Fish & Wildlife Trust Fund Report along with your other Federal revenues report. Everyone seems to think that we lost just 2 million in federal duck stamp revenues. LMAO

FOLKS CANT EVEN BEGIN TO FATHOM HOW MUCH CONSERVATION HABITAT REVENUES HAVE BEEN TAKEN FROM US. OH HOW THE NEGATIVE IMPLICATION RIPPLE INTO A WAVE OF SHIT.
 
#10 ·
IF it would have been maintained it would hold a LOT of birds. It has been let go too long to be of use. In the 70's and early 80's it held a ton of birds that moved between Riverton and even back and forth to Squaw creek. You don't see the amount of birds on the bottom now that you did back then and it is due to the lack of water.
 
#11 ·
I used to hunt that area back when i first started hunting and it held a decent amount of birds from time to time but man you could really get after them on travel days and crappy weather days but just as you said nothing was done to maintain the property over the years and now even on the so called good hunting days there is nothing around...... i really wish Iowa could adopt the same waterfowl managment system that missouri has they really seem to cater to the public waterfowl hunter....... Just my 2 cents
 
#12 ·
Amen GH! I'm not sure what political factions are keeping it from being enhanced and possibly a well run controlled area. The private clubs messed up the Riverton situation. I'm not sure who is involved at the upper DNR level that keeps it a mudhole. You should see what the DNR is doing to Hendrickson's Marsh in central Iowa and no one can tell me why or who at the top authorized the destruction of all the woodlands. And they are not all Ash trees either. They are chopping a bunch down at Big Creek lake too and I'm guessing this is all over. Maybe it is a deer control measure. Your license money is funding the destruction.
 
#16 ·
sometimes cutting trees down is something that needs to be done. Maybe old trees and they are getting some cash in hand for the cutting. Maybe the area had no trees at all back in the day and they have been let go. Tress take up a lot of water to. I forget there is a biological model when it comes to biodiversity , habitat and critters. I read it when I was reading the status of our National Forest public lands and Management crisis.
 
#17 ·
We need the trees and we need the brush. IT IS CALLED H A B I T A T ! And while they(DNR) are at it, they are putting more and more land into cropping that has zero benefit to wildlife. Again I say Do Nothing Right. I've watched this in Iowa for 60 plus years. WE ARE OWED AN EXPLANATION. I doubt if the park fee would do anything good for wildlife. It would only stir up a big political fight led by the Democrates again to worry the public that they are being put upon. We need a Legislative investigation of the DNR management and goals. Sickening. The fact that state government was able to use the DNR budget to fund "HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS" shows there is no control. That's your hunting and fishing fee money they spent as "hush money payments". If you don't know what H M Payments are then you are part of the problem. READ READ READ to protect yourself and what you support.
 
#18 ·
Park users fee I believe could help habitat.
If they had incoming money to maintain the camping area's etc they might stop robbing Peter to pay Paul!
Howard we have NO idea how or where our license money goes.
Maybe it's best we don't!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We might all get upset and that would mean we might have to use our health issuance or our Your mama care!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hate politicians that don't help the majority!
Dean
 
#21 ·
Remembered when I was younger the amount of snow geese at DeSoto was unreal 200,000 or more at one time.... they even shut down eppely airport once cause they left town all at once one year.... now you see maybe a handful during the fall...... I did notice that the new operator at DeSoto is doing a real nice job at providing some breeding areas during the spring for them......
 
#22 ·
I did notice that the new operator at DeSoto is doing a real nice job at providing some breeding areas during the spring for them......
That would be Tom Cox I believe.
 
#26 ·
I have a theory x2. 1 the river itself is connected to that hole and if the river channel is deeper than it was 15 to 20 years ago so goes the water. Everything drains to the river and when they cut the water off early fall, the sub surface water table drops like a brick. Thus pumping is about as worthless as lighting 15k dollars on fires to roast a marshmallow.

Since the 2011 flood, I believe the subsurface water pressure opened back up some sand seems beneath the surface and it will take a long while before they seal back. Kind of like what they do when fracking.

However on a positive Note I will begin a legislative gauntlet this fall where just like the NAWCA & IHAP bill / programs I wrote some 7 years ago again I will write another to focuss on River & River bottom habitat restoration acquisition, enhancement and protection for the Iowa Sportsmen. The other half will be a cost share program on CREP projects with in a watershed adjacent to said Rivers, streams or creeks. Much like IHAP if the producers seeks financial support those acres will be open to the public for the extent of the CREP contract. ICAP ( Iowa CREP Access Program ) both will put thousands of acres back onto our river bottom landscape and greatly improve all recreational sportsmens opportunities. Just a reminder through the program our dollars are strait up matched 4 to 1 to maximize our potential on the landscape to it's fullest.

Mark my words boys, its going to happen and again by my ability to draft special earmarks that protect your dollars so that is goes directly to the purpose and cannot be touched by any other sources for any other BS.

The only thing that has kept the IDNR in the game of Habitat Enhancement, Restoration and protection and increased public holdings is the 2 very programs I mentioned. The only reason is the fact that the % of revenues generated by the Law can only be used to do the above stated and can't be touched with a 10 ft poll in any budget crisis. Which we are presently in based on projections to 2016. We are already cutting other programs and the portion of revenues not protected by the said ear mark that is spent on capital projects will soon be on the block to make up for budget shortfalls in administrative areas none the less.

The only thing that will keep on putting habitat on the ground is the 2 programs I mentioned and by itself falls way short of our expectations when it comes to increasing opportunities and improving our resource-s status.

Enough of that shit already. Will talk about that in late Sep or early Oct.
 
#28 ·
I have a theory x2. 1 the river itself is connected to that hole and if the river channel is deeper than it was 15 to 20 years ago so goes the water. Everything drains to the river and when they cut the water off early fall, the sub surface water table drops like a brick. Thus pumping is about as worthless as lighting 15k dollars on fires to roast a marshmallow.

Since the 2011 flood, I believe the subsurface water pressure opened back up some sand seems beneath the surface and it will take a long while before they seal back. Kind of like what they do when fracking.

However on a positive Note I will begin a legislative gauntlet this fall where just like the NAWCA & IHAP bill / programs I wrote some 7 years ago again I will write another to focuss on River & River bottom habitat restoration acquisition, enhancement and protection for the Iowa Sportsmen. The other half will be a cost share program on CREP projects with in a watershed adjacent to said Rivers, streams or creeks. Much like IHAP if the producers seeks financial support those acres will be open to the public for the extent of the CREP contract. ICAP ( Iowa CREP Access Program ) both will put thousands of acres back onto our river bottom landscape and greatly improve all recreational sportsmens opportunities. Just a reminder through the program our dollars are strait up matched 4 to 1 to maximize our potential on the landscape to it's fullest.

Mark my words boys, its going to happen and again by my ability to draft special earmarks that protect your dollars so that is goes directly to the purpose and cannot be touched by any other sources for any other BS.

The only thing that has kept the IDNR in the game of Habitat Enhancement, Restoration and protection and increased public holdings is the 2 very programs I mentioned. The only reason is the fact that the % of revenues generated by the Law can only be used to do the above stated and can't be touched with a 10 ft poll in any budget crisis. Which we are presently in based on projections to 2016. We are already cutting other programs and the portion of revenues not protected by the said ear mark that is spent on capital projects will soon be on the block to make up for budget shortfalls in administrative areas none the less.

The only thing that will keep on putting habitat on the ground is the 2 programs I mentioned and by itself falls way short of our expectations when it comes to increasing opportunities and improving our resource-s status.

Enough of that shit already. Will talk about that in late Sep or early Oct.
Yeah, I could see that for the river bottom areas. The only problem with that theory is that there are 30 ponds all around it that have considerable amounts of water right now. Every one of them were flooded yet they consistently hold water or have regained the water they lost from the drought. Any subsurface "sand seams" would be shared by every patch of water from the Missouri up to the Loess Hills.

I would like to see the river bottoms restored. Although, you also know that I would like it to be dammed up just south of Council Bluffs and make some great fishing structure out of a lot of meth houses. ;)

Focus on season dates for now though!! :D
 
#29 ·
Anyone know what the DNR is doing to the newly acquired Coopers Creek area southwest from Riverton. With water that use to be a great place. Of course that is when it was private. Amazing that the private community can do things that govt. can't. (or won't). I thought that govt. was supposed to work for the people. It's a slap in the face what Mo. does for waterfowl hunters and Iowa can't. Possibly the Farm Bureau has a lot to do with that. Where and how does that outfitter on the north side of Forney's get and keep water for his hunting operation but the DNR can't? Same can be said for the many private hunting clubs around there. We are being played as suckers.
 
#30 ·
The water table at Forneys has been changed due to the amount of quarrying on the east side of the road up there. There are some ponds that weren't there years ago that hold alot of water. Years ago it used to be a big pond in there before the state owned it and as things changed it dried up and was even farmed at one time before being flooded. Cooper creek was designed as a settling basin to catch silt and has worked to perfection. The original basin was on the south side of the dirt road and filled in completely. A new basin was constructed that was 40 acres and filled in in five years, its where all the grass is now on the east side. They then added the basin area to the west and then the north. Installing wells and pumping it would be a waste of time and money as there is no way to keep it from silting in.
 
#31 ·
SURE THERE IS. FIND OUT WHERE THE SILT IS COMING FROM AND START ADDING A RHOUSAND DOLLAR FINE TO EVERY VIOLATION AND INCREASE THAT DBL, EVERY TIME YOU GET A REPEAT.

Dont tell drainage districts, they seem to think thier drainage systems are a benefit to public waters and thus a TAX is paid by you the hunter on those wetlands and shallow lakes and that tax goes to them to do more of the same shit that negatively effects Iowa wetlands and shallow lakes. Figure that one out.

Dont think its true? ASK THE IDNR if they are forced to pay a drainage assessment tax on public waters. lol
 
#32 ·
So you want to fine every land owner in about 500 square miles of loess hill ground that drains into the single ditch that empties into cooper creek? A lot of that land is pasture and timber ground. that much drainage into 240 acres is bound to fill up quickly.
 
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