Patrick’s Driftless Flyathlon Fundraiser

The Driftless Flyathlon is part of a series of races that started in Colorado through the non-profit Running Rivers. The race, however, is a fundraiser for water conservation projects in the state of Iowa. 

Over the past 8 years, we have fundraised over $121,000 and helped to fund significant projects at Yellow River State Forest and Northeast Iowa . 

We're proud to announce our latest project we're sponsoring is the Spring Branch Creek Project, a 192-acre property in Delaware County adjacent to the Manchester Fish Hatchery. The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation reached out in May to ask if we'd be interested in helping out in the fundraising effort. Some details: 

•  More than 4000 feet of Spring Branch Creek runs through the property and provides premier fishing opportunities for wild and stocked trout. This project area buffers the “Middle” and “Lower” spring sources that supply about 1000 gallons per minute of fresh water to the hatchery where trout are produced for stocking across Iowa. 
• Iowa DNR Fisheries Biologists have found that Spring Branch has one of the best populations of wild Brown Trout in Iowa with exceptional numbers of large trout. The stream also has native Brook Trout and Slimy Sculpin, a Species of Greatest Conservation Need. 
• Protection of this upland and floodplain will help improve the quality of water flowing through the hatchery and maintain existing fishing access on the 3/4 mile stretch that flows through the property. 

The Driftless Flyathlon donated $25,000 toward this project in late May of 2026! If you go to the project website, you can see that it is 62% funded already!

We have made significant impact on Little Paint Creek in Yellow River State Forest, improving connection to the flood plain and restoring the eroded banks. We donated $21,000 to similar restoration efforts on Paint Creek, that was completed in August 2024. We have pledged another $21,000 to a second phase on the Paint Creek too.