Habitat & Conservation  |  08/04/2021

Build a Wildlife Area Week Highlight: Iowa’s Welch Lake WPA Addition


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With the support of people like you and programs like Build a Wildlife Area, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have created over 204,000 acres of permanently protected and publicly accessible upland wildlife habitat. Now, through the ambitious goals of our Call of the Uplands® campaign, we aim to increase this total by nearly 40%.


This week we’re celebrating our past successes, sharing more about our ambitious goals and rallying to raise support for the Build a Wildlife Area program.

Welcome to Build a Wildlife Area Week!

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Welch Lake WPA Addition is 140.56 acres in the prairie pothole region of northwest Iowa. It includes 10 acres of remnant prairie and 17 acres of wetlands. The remaining acres will be converted from cropland to diverse native prairie.

The project is immediately adjacent to the existing 743-acre Welch Lake WPA, and the 263 acre Welch Lake WMA, and only a half mile from the Diamond Lake WMA and Diamond Lake WPA. The property is part of the West Okoboji Lake Watershed and Welch Lake Resource Management Area. It is part of the Caylor Prairie Bird Conservation Area.

Once acquired, the Welch Lake WPA Addition will be owned and managed by the USFWS out of their Iowa Wetland Management District and in partnership with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

By donating to our Build a Wildlife Area, you will ensure our organization is able to secure more properties like the recent Welch Lake Waterfowl Production Area Addition in Dickinson County, Iowa.