Budget-cuts axe falls on Iowa DNR forestry

It’s been a significant week of change – and at the top – for the DNR in two states in and around the Great Lakes region.

On July 5, Ohio Outdoor News reported that Mike Miller had replaced Ray Petering as the chief of the Division of Wildlife. (For more on that story, see the July 21 issue of Ohio Outdoor News.)

Also that day, it was announced that the Iowa DNR had dissolved its Bureau of Forestry and cut several major positions, including bureau chief and state geologist, as a $1.2 million budget cut approved by lawmakers kicked in, the Des Moines Register reported.

According to that report, the IDNR also reassigned several foresters to other bureaus (remaining state foresters will now report to the parks bureau) and did away with the Trail Crew program, a federally backed effort supporting park improvements across the state.