I have heard a fair amount of grumbling from sporting dog enthusiasts complaining of having little or no public land open for training and exercising their dogs. Yet, almost on par with those, are land manager’s complaints of problems keeping public lands maintained, clean, and safe for people to enjoy.

If this sounds like your part of the country, I’d like to offer up a working model we use here in our part of Eastern Iowa. We’ve formed a group of local sporting dog clubs who work with our public land manager to identify projects and share in upkeep, particularly on designated dog training areas.

Working With State Officials

These designated dog training areas were agreed on back in the early 90’s as part of Lost Grove Lake Wildlife Management Area, a project that totaled nearly 1,700 acres, including a 400-acre lake. When it began taking shape, it was agreed that two parcels would be set aside and designated as dog training areas. One is a 115-acre area within the Lost Grove area, near Eldridge Iowa, now groomed primarily for upland bird dog training. The other parcel is part of a separate WMA located around 20 miles to the east near Princeton, Iowa. It includes a 30-acre area with small ponds and water channels ideal for training duck dogs, as well as hunt test and retriever field trial dogs.

Moving forward, we realized having these grounds was one thing, but deciding who takes care of them is something else. As we all know, ideal upland training requires edge strips, pockets, and corners for training bird placement. While water training areas ideally have points, islands, etc.—and with the ponds come willows and other vegetation to deal with.

Taking Initiative

After realizing our DNR had all it could handle dealing with thousands of acres of state land, we couldn’t expect them to deal with our little parcels. For several years, visits with DNR land managers were more of “Would it be ok if we cut some of those willows around the pond, and maybe mow a little patch in that field?” 
It wasn’t until Curt Kemmerer, wildlife biologist, was moved here as Iowa Public Land Manager when the working relationship of trust really began taking shape. We first met to decide how our dog club might fit in to help. When our club had a request, we would talk it through at the club level, then a designated person from our club would present the idea to Curt. At first, these discussions were specific to a project, but over the years, and as trust developed, the discussion included more general guidelines to a piece of property. Over time, we were allowed permission to rent equipment for cleaning of training ponds and improving wetlands.

To name just a few projects, our club has removed a fair amount of unwanted brush, provided chemicals to treat ponds, removed old fence rows, graveled drives and parking areas, and paid for hauling around 40 one-ton limestone rocks for a parking area perimeter. One project early in our working together was to put a watershed pond at the upland dog training area. Then, retiring Iowa Conservation Officer Ed Kocal felt the pond would not only serve to buffer and filter runoff, but it would also be great for a cooling swim for working dogs during the summer. So, Ed took the ball on fundraising, along with the assist of DNR funds, the help of local individuals, sportsmen organizations, dog clubs, and a contribution from Nestle Purina Pet Care.

The ‘Dog Pond’ was soon open to anyone with an Iowa Hunting License. A great place for serious competition training as well as for the family pet to enjoy a cool swim. It is a great example of how sportsmen and state officials working together benefits us all.

The more we worked together, the more we realized the advantages. Curt saw advantages from volunteer workers for some of his projects, and dog training clubs in turn gained a good deal of area specifically designed for aspects of advanced training. While folks with their pets also found some beautiful new areas for walks with their dogs, and places to retrieve tennis balls from clear, clean water.

Curt has commented on how the clubs and his team enjoy a trusted working relationship, developed over the long haul, through passion and commitment: “The DNR is proud of these areas. The proof is in the pudding when we see constant use of the sites all year long.”

As sportsmen, we can benefit from reaching out our hand more often. Working hard and honestly with the State and public overtime can benefit all of us for years to come.