Sep 30, 2018
Black Hills Bighorn Recovery Inches Forward National Wildlife Federation Aids in Securing Safe Habitat CUSTER, SD —- I saw my first wild bighorn in the summer of 1959. Feeding near a roadway in the Black Hills of western South Dakota, the animal was a spectacular full curl ram. Perfect in every detail, the ram was far more majestic in real life than any...
Sep 23, 2018
Iowa’s prairie wetlands are one of our richest natural treasures. Wetlands benefit everyone. They store runoff and reduce downstream flooding. Wetlands help stabilize water tables and recharge underground aquifers. Serving as efficient natural filters, aquatic plant life consumes excess nutrients and purifies water by absorbing harmful chemical...
Sep 18, 2018
Blue-winged teal are as fun to eat as they are to hunt. Likewise, for fall mushrooms. Fortunately for us, both Iowa delicacies are currently in season. Iowa’s teal season runs until September 16th. Migrating teal have been plentiful and hunters are bringing home plenty of birds. Fall mushrooms love wet weather, and local woodlands are harboring bumper...
Sep 18, 2018
The 2014 reinstatement of the Iowa teal season is the best single change of waterfowl regulations in the past half century. For thousands of Iowans who participated in the September 1st teal season opener, the credibility of that statement was more than obvious. Although much of the state was blanketed by heavily overcast skies, fog, and precipitation that...
Sep 18, 2018
Iowa’s fifth annual, Teal-Only Duck Hunting Season is underway. The early hunt began September 1 and runs through September 16. Shooting hours are from sunrise to sunset each day. Only teal are legal game during the special season; the daily bag limit is six blue-winged or green-winged teal. The 16-day hunt is timed to coincide with peak migrations of...
Born in North Central Iowa, Lowell Washburn has enjoyed a lifelong interest in the out of doors. He began photographing wild birds at age 10, and outdoor photography soon became his passion and eventually a career. Washburn is best known for images that portray migratory waterfowl and other wetland wildlife in their natural habitats. His best photographs are often obtained after spending hours floating amid natural marshlands, half submerged within the dark confines of a floating muskrat house blind.
Upon completing military service as a sergeant with the Fourth Infantry Division in the central highlands of South Vietnam, Washburn returned to Iowa in 1970. His wildlife photos began appearing in Iowa newspapers in 1971 and he began authoring outdoor news columns in 1978. Today, his photos and writing have appeared in over 50 national and international magazines including Outdoor Life, International Wildlife, Field&Stream, Ducks Unlimited, Pointing Dog Journal, the NAFA Journal, and others.
After working as a naturalist for Iowa’s county conservation board system, Washburn was recruited by the Department of Natural Resources in 1984. His primary duties included statewide communication with Iowa newspaper, television, and radio news agencies with a primary goal of increasing the level of public awareness and appreciation for Iowa's natural resources. During his tenure he also served as staff member for the Iowa Conservationist Magazine and for the DNR’s Iowa Outdoors Magazine. Washburn retired from the DNR in 2010.
In addition to wildlife photography, his ongoing outdoor passions include falconry, traditional bow hunting, waterfowling, spending time with hunting dogs of all types, and herpetology.