Projects

“This past year, we were lucky enough to receive some ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds that really helped with large projects — and that included beginning the construction of Green Castle campground — which started in the spring, and that project is almost wrapped up. We have a water tank that has to be installed,” said MCCB Director Emily Herring.

The project began more than 10 years ago but was in need of funding sources. Phase II, which will take place this year, will see the addition of 14 campsites. Once that is completed this summer, there will be 30 campsites at Green Castle.

“The Friends of Marshall County Conservation worked very hard to write grants and recruit donations for a playground at Green Castle,” she added. “Part of that is inclusive. It is installed but not functional yet.”

PHOTOS BY GARRY BRANDENBURG — Sand Lake, located on the east edge of Marshalltown, is water recreation source for folks living and working in Marshall County. The area now has 193 acres of land and water, with most of the water being ground water fill-in from excavated materials. The pits were created as the removal of sand and gravels were accomplished over past decades by the Martin-Marietta Company using a floating dredge.

It will open once the rubber matting is put in place in the spring.

“People that rent our shelter house will now have a playground and bathroom facility. It’s just a great addition to the area, and we’re pretty excited to offer that,” she said.

Amateur Astronomers of Central Iowa have started the fundraising process to redo the observatory within the next year or two.

Herring added that in October 2023, MCCB acquired an additional 90 acres of water at Sand Lake (the farthest west section), from the Howards. The area needs shoreline stabilization, which will start in the spring.

“We were able to work with Martin Marietta Materials to slope the sides of the lake and reshape the area to make it safer for the public to use,” she said. “We will wrap that up when we put riprap along the side of the south shore line to stabilize the bank and prevent erosion. And that was possible through a fish habitat grant, which is through the State of Iowa. So we’ll use that, along with some ARPA funds, to be able to stabilize the bank. That is something very important that we need to do.”

Also at Sand Lake, MCCB is working with the state’s fisheries department to stock it with trout twice this year, plus walleye, fry and blue catfish. Herring noted blue catfish would be a new species stocked at Sand Lake.

“They get pretty large, so people are excited about catching them,” she said.

Marshalltown Community College students have volunteered to fix fishing piers, build a ramp onto the shelter house at Sand Lake and more.

The spring of 2024 saw historic flooding in some areas of Marshall County. Linn Creek flooded at the highest rate seen in almost 20 years. The north trail is still closed due to a bridge being out.

“We are working with FEMA to try to get a culvert installed, so that way we don’t keep losing the bridge,” she said. “Timmons Grove also has a damaged bridge. The dam at Wehrmann Prairie washed out, so again we’re working with FEMA to make it functional.”

There is no timeline on these repair projects, but Herring wants the public to understand why some trails remain closed.

Increase in volunteerism

Herring said MCCB saw an increase in volunteers over the last few years.

“We have had over 244 volunteers that gave over 3,000 hours in fiscal year 2023 — and so that is equivalent to two full-time employees — which is something we cannot thank enough,” Herring said. “It’s something that we rely on heavily, and they are all over the place on what they do.”

Volunteers fill bird feeders, help with the Christmas bird count, plant trees, do repair work, and more.

Tyler Renze was hired as natural resource manager in summer 2023, which was a new position. He maintains the wildlife areas, plants trees and prairies, cuts out invasive species and more.

“We want to make sure we provide the best habitat for wildlife and the best areas for people to be out in nature,” she noted. “The climate around us is changing. We’re seeing oaks dying off at a very fast rate. We’re seeing bird and insect populations drop. It is our job to make sure that those animals have the habitat they need to be able to survive.”

Programming going strong

The Friends group helped purchase boots that strap over your own snow boots, and click into cross-country skis.

“Hopefully we’ll get some snow this year, and we’ll be able to offer the use and have programming on cross-country skiing again, which we haven’t done for several years,” Herring said.

Naturalist Emma Bruck plans programming and events. She said arts and crafts fill up quickly, plus activities aimed at youth.

The Trees to Table Pancake Feed will be from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. March 1 at the Grimes Farm and Conservation Center. Come enjoy a delicious breakfast and learn about the maple syruping process. Advanced tickets are on sale now for $6 and at the door for $7, and include three pancakes, two sausage links, locally harvested syrup and a drink.

Bruck will be offering a three-day program at Grimes Farm at 10 a.m. for kids on spring break. March 18 will focus on birding, March 19 will be a wildlife hike and March 20 a meet and greet with the shelter’s animal ambassadors.

“It will be like our story hour. It will be 30 to 40 minutes long and doesn’t require registration,” she said.

The summer art camp will be new this year, in partnership with East Marshall art teacher Hallie Crouse. It will run July 31 and August 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for ages 8-12. There is a fee of $35 with a deadline of July 18.

“Our summers get really busy,” Bruck said. “We have our summer camps that we do every summer for school-aged children. Last year, I started summer skills, which is for a little bit older kids, 10- to 15-age range. This year we’re doing fishing a day, archery a day and canoeing a day, just for two hours.”

The Live & Local summer concerts held at the Leonard Grimes Memorial Amphitheater at Grimes Farm are still being finalized. More than 1,000 people attended last year. Shade structures will be installed there soon, a project made possible thanks to the Matthew Perkins Memorial Fund.

Long-term goals

The MCCB meets the second Monday of every month at 5 p.m. at Grimes Farm. The board manages the budget and sets policy.

“I’m keeping them up to date on what’s going on, what we’re working on, and then they’re approving the funds,” Herring said. “One thing that we hope to get accomplished in the next couple of years is really developing a strong strategic plan on how we want to move forward, and a facility plan on what the future of Marshall County Conservation looks like. In the last couple of years, we’ve been so lucky to have those ARPA funds, and we’ve been able to complete projects that we haven’t had the funds for for decades to do. We want to have a very clear path forward on what we want to accomplish.”

Despite the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic, Herring said one positive thing is it got people out in nature.

“Our parks are being used a lot, so making sure parks are able to handle that usage is important. We don’t want to love our resources to death, so we’re making sure we’re balancing that with the care of the parks.”