Hello Mike,

Byway Buzz

Iconic Lincoln Highway Bridge is Protected by Alternate Route


by Jeanie Hau, Byway Coordinator


It is official, the City of Tama, Iowa, home of the iconic Lincoln Highway Bridge, has announced that they are going forward with an alternate automotive route of 5th St, thereby avoiding the Lincoln Highway Bridge.

2 Minute Read
Iowa Valley audio tour

The Iowa Valley Scenic Byway Audio Tour App Now Available


by Jeanie Hau, Byway Coordinator


The long-running audio tour for the Iowa Valley Scenic Byway is now available on a web-based app.

1 Minute Read

Conservation Connection

Pollinator of the Month:

Mason Bees (Osmia spp.)

by Katelyn Rinicker, Pollinator Conservation Specialist


Mason bees are tiny, measuring only 0.3 to 0.6 inches long. In Spring, males emerge from their nests and wait for females to appear. After mating the males die and the females fly off to find a safe nest spot to raise their young. They will nest in holes in trees made by woodpeckers, abandoned nests of wood-boring beetles or that scrap wood you forgot to pick up. Females create individual brood cells in the nests by sectioning the hole. They supply them with pollen and nectar then lay eggs in each cell. Then they seal the cell with mud and start on the next section. When the eggs hatch, they feed on pollen, and mature while overwintering in their brood cell, and finally exit the chamber as adults in the spring. Mason bees are often kept to help pollinate gardens and farm crops because the females are reluctant to sting and will nest in man-made bee houses. These bees are very calm and docile and need to be protected! Remember to leave cut stems for these little friends in the fall.

Resolutions to Help Pollinators

by Katelyn Rinicker,

Pollinator Conservation Specialist


A new year means new resolutions! My personal resolutions are to build garden boxes out of reclaimed bricks and seed native plants in my backyard. There are many other things you can do to support pollinators this year like planting natives, creating nesting sites, reducing pesticide use, and creating a water source for them!

3 Minute Read
water glass with nitrate test strips

How to Miss the Point Entirely

by Dan Haug, Water Quality Specialist


This letter is a satire of DNR’s latest response to the EPA’s partial disapproval of Iowa's 2024 list of impaired waters. This dispute between federal and state agencies may have no impact on water quality but matters for transparency and accountability.

4 Minute Read

Story County Water Quality Update

by Dan Haug, Water Quality Specialist


 Oh the weather outside is frightful

But the streams are still nitrate-full

Underneath the ice and the snow

Don't let it flow to the Gulf of Mexico ♪

View the latest data

Watersheds and Wildlife Events

Webinar: Conserving Iowa's Pollinators

January 22, 11:30AM-1PM


Presented by Sarah Nizzi, Xerces Society, on the current status of pollinators and habitat options for a variety of sites. Register here.

Byway Events

Lincoln Highway Tour

June 18- June 25


The LHA proudly announces our next big Lincoln Highway tour - the 2025 Middle Third Tour of the 1928 Lincoln Highway alignment, departing from Joliet (Chicago area) Illinois on Wednesday morning, June 18, 2025, and traveling 1000+ miles over 8 days, arriving in Cheyenne, Wyoming on Wednesday, June 25. Daily itinerary here.

Events on the Iowa Valley Scenic Byway


Winterfest in the Amanas Jan 25; Open fire chili, Freezer Run, Snowman Relay race, Winterfest Games

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