Family-Outdoors

For the next six summers, fisheries staff from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will be mapping Iowa lakes using some sophisticated equipment that will provide more accurate maps for anglers and information for the lake restoration program. Visitors to Iowa lakes may see the operation in progress. A DNR fisheries boat loaded with two lap top computers, a flat screen, a suitcase that contains the brains of the program, and equipment hanging off the side running about five miles per hour crisscrossing the lake. The software will record lake depth plus information on what type of material is on the lake bed (sand, gravel, muck) and, if aquatic vegetation is present, the height and density of that vegetation. It will also collect information for lake restoration projects. Lewis Bruce, fisheries technician working on the project, said they plan to map 115 of the significantly publicly owned lakes in Iowa. He said they can set up the software so when the information is collected...