Emmet County Lakes Restoration Initiative.

06/30/2025

Does the hot weather have you looking for a swimming hole? The Estherville Aquatic Center has a nice slide and all, but West Swan Lake has clear water and ABUNDANT aquatic life. Bring your goggles because there is so much for the kids to see!

My boys enjoyed a dip at the ramp among scads of bait fish including the beautiful orange spotted sunfish that are spawning right near the dock. The lake is full and running over the boards at Jack Creek, and everywhere you look- crystal clear water and loads of amphibians and invertebrates EVERYWHERE. Our hope is that this lake is able to stay in the clear water state for many years into the future providing a space for a multitude of stakeholders to enjoy Iowa's beautiful shallow lakes right here in Emmet county functioning the way they should be. Enjoy and feel free to share your own photos!

04/21/2025

DNR to update West Swan Lake renovation project during April 30 public meeting

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be providing an update on the West Swan Lake restoration project during a public meeting at 5 p.m., April 30, at the Emmet County Nature Center, basement level.

The lake is in the process of refilling after being drawn down more than three feet to renovate the fishery last October. It has been stocked with 1,500 pre-spawn adult perch and 140,000 northern pike fry in early April, and pre-spawn adult bluegill and largemouth bass will be stocked in the coming weeks.

With the carp gone, emergent aquatic plants around the lake’s edge have germinated and will protect the shoreline from erosion and provide fish and wildlife habitat.

Waterfowl and other migratory birds have already increased on West Swan Lake, before the project was completed. The Iowa DNR will monitor the lake’s water quality, wildlife use, and fishery response through the next few years.

Send a message to learn more

04/15/2025

Have you been out by West Swan Lake lately? Just yesterday morning, Spirit Lake fisheries staff stocked 6 boxes of northern pike fry containing about 46,000 fish per box, totaling nearly 200,000 fish!

Lake levels are increasing, and the lake is filling up. We are VERY EXCITED about this stage of the project and thankful for the work IADNR has done to renovate this fishery. Thank you to all of the voices who have contributed to making this project happen! Share far and wide, and start looking forward to catching these fish in the years to come. The stocked Northern Pike typically reach 20 inches by the end of their first year of growth and 24 inches by year 2. In addition to the pike stocking, 1500 adult pre-spawned perch were stocked into the lake earlier this spring.

Keep an eye out for a press release regarding a public meeting that is tentatively scheduled to be held in late April or early May that will provide updates about the status of the project and future planning.

06/25/2024

⚠️ EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY 5 mph speed limit on all lakes in Emmet County ⚠️

06/24/2024

Two Iowa brothers, Drew and Aaron Howing, jumped into action over the weekend as devastating flooding left Spencer, IA, residents stranded and needing rescue...

06/24/2024

Spencer IA Disaster!!!
Several Volunteers from Estherville hauled their boats to Spencer in efforts to assist in water rescues throughout the entire South Half of Spencer on Saturday. People and pets were stranded on rooftops, apartment complexes and vehicles.
The current was extremely strong in spots and was very challenging and dangerous for rescuers. The water was very deep in spots completely submerging full sized vehicles underneath the surface of the water making it very challenging to navigate the city.
Hundreds of homes and businesses are destroyed.
It's hard to describe the magnitude of the situation in Spencer. Hopefully some of these pictures put the situation into perspective. Please keep your thoughts and prayers for the city of Spencer. Help or donate if you can, more info on this can be found by contacting the Spencer Chamber of Commerce.

We continue to pray everyone survived this catastrophe.

04/21/2024

https://youtu.be/Ki_OU0f7_f4?si=sBG9w6nB4jGl5PRt

Some unique footage of duck hunting, goose hunting, pheasant hunting, and quail hunting in Iowa in the post World War 2 days. Even some dogs helping out.Loca...

02/29/2024

Project Update:

West Swan Lake has been teeming with migratory bird life. One adjacent landowner said "There's millions of mallards out there- it's just cool to see" (of course there are not millions, but the point is that multiple species are taking advantage of the successional change of habitat at the lake). It is important to recognize that at all stages of these projects, multiple species benefit and take advantage of the resources made available due to the disturbance. The area has been a hot spot for viewing bald eagles for weeks now- these birds follow the waterfowl migration very closely to maintain a steady source of food. Though these wonderful things can be seen across the lake, the spring has also brought unexpected news that the invasive carp in West Swan Lake were not successfully removed during the winter drawdown and rotenone applications. Iowa Lakes Community College's Conservation Club assisted IADNR by conducting some drone flights to identify the results where live carp were seen alive in groups near the edges of open water. Though this news was devastating for everyone involved in the project, all we can do is keep moving forward to successfully complete this fish renovation project. Plans are already being drawn up to determine the best management practices to get this thing done as soon as possible.

Mike Hawkins, NW Iowa fisheries biologist said:
"DNR Wildlife staff did a great job of getting us ready last fall for a winter fishery renovation - to the point we actually thought rotenone wouldn't be necessary and the lake and wetlands would easily freeze to the bottom.

Then came the warmest winter we've had on record (the winter of 2023-24 officially beat the 1877-78 record a few days ago). The one cold snap we did get gave us a small window to attempt to execute a winter rotenone project. These winter applications are some of the most complex we do and the team was able to recon, plan, and execute a complex, multi-day, rotenone application in just under a week's time.

While we were applying the rotenone there were already signs that the project may be in jeopardy. As stated, these applications are complex. Incoming water must be treated, all the wetlands upstream had to be dosed, and the product has to be pumped under the ice at a precise concentration. As we executed the plan, temperatures were rising, melt water was increasing, tile water was increasing, and the product didn't seem to be moving horizontally in the water under the ice as quickly as expected. Other factors such as groundwater could also be a big factor in these types of applications. Regardless of the reason, some of the carp found refuge until the rotenone degraded.

We're formulating plans for another rotenone application during open water. We're considering commercial aerial application and/or use of our airboat. We've started letting some additional water out of the lake to reduce the volume and decrease the amount of rotenone that will be needed. There is a very limited supply of the product right now and it is not being manufactured at this time. We need to reduce water volumes to make this application possible. As soon as we get a solid plan and timeline together, we'll let you know.

From a larger perspective, how does this affect our overall timeline? If we can pull off a rotenone project soon, our timeline won't be impacted too much. We may need to delay some stockings, but we would still begin stocking this year. However, if we end up with a wet spring and too much water to treat, the rotenone project may need to be delayed until fall with restocking occurring in late fall or more likely next spring. This prolonged timeline was always out there as an option but one we were trying our best to avoid."

An update will be posted when we have been informed of a plan to move things forward. In the meantime, try to stop by West Swan Lake and see the wildlife using this space it really is a sight to see!

Also, please feel free to PM our group for unanswered questions or reach out to Rob Patterson (IADNR Wildlife) or Mike Hawkins (IADNR Fisheries) with any questions you may have.