News

Operations Foreman Retires
After Almost 3 Decades of Service

“Always look up and lean forward, always try to work best with what resources you have, even in times of limited resources and funding, and finally, enjoy the people you work with, as you won’t find any better anywhere.” This is the advice Des Moines County Conservation (DMCC) Operations Foreman, Mark Lieurance, has to offer the person who will acquire his duties once he retires in December. Throughout his 29 years of working for the County, Lieurance has been witness to many changes in the conservation department and many of his accomplishments can be seen by those who enjoy recreating at any of the County’s 18 public parks. In 1980 Lieurance began his career with DMCC as a park ranger patrolling the south parks along the Skunk River. Later he was promoted to his current position as operations foreman. Prairie and tree plantings are among the accomplishments he is proud of. Trees he planted his first year as an employee are now almost 30 years old and as tall as 40 feet, to which he admits, “Kind of makes me feel a little ancient looking at those big trees and forests.”

Other accomplishments he is proud of include the stone water fountain and limestone rock walls at Starr’s Cave Park & Preserve. Lieurance has enjoyed the variety of his duties. He noted that before there was a chance of getting bored with a certain task, it was time to move on to another one. Throughout his tenure, he found most of his tasks and projects enjoyable with the exception of cleaning outhouses, which according to Lieurance, “has to be near the bottom of the list.,” and understandably so.

As for regrets, his only one is that there will still be some projects on his to-do list that he will not be able to complete. Flooding over the last few years has thrown a lot of bumps in the road. Overall, Lieurance claims he has had 29 great years of work that flew by. He will miss his DMCC co-workers and hopes everyone will keep in touch. Post-retirement will find Lieurance, as stated his own words, “over at my horse ranch trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear and training some very fine horses for trail.” He also will be making a trip to Arizona with his wife Cheryl, who retired in August, to rope some cattle and see some sights they missed when they were living in the state attending college.

All the staff at DMCC wishes Mark the best in his retirement and will miss not having him around! From the Hawk Eye

Eagle Scouts Sievers and Sheagren
Complete Projects at DMCC Parks

Recently two eagle scout projects have been completed at Starr’s Cave Park & Preserve and the 300 meter shooting range at Big Hollow Recreation Area. At Starr’s Cave Park, Conner Sheagren of Troop 40 constructed a compost bin that will be used as an educational tool to show how leaves and other materials compost over time. At the shooting range, Cody Sievers of Troop 53, built four cement benches. Over the years, local eagle scouts have completed a variety of projects in Des Moines County Parks.

benches

Des Moines Count Conservation Fills Park Ranger-Technician
& Operations Supervisor Vacancies

This past January, Danny Henderson was hired on as the new DMCC Park Ranger-Technician, a position which became vacant after former Park Ranger-Technician Paul Kay was selected as the new Operations Supervisor. The Operations Supervisor position became vacant after Mark Lieurance retired in early December after 29 years as the Operations Supervisor.

Prior to joining the DMCC team, Henderson was the Assistant Naturalist with Lee County Conservation Board in Montrose, Iowa. He has also worked for the DNR at Geode State Park and as a Water Patrol Officer on the Mississippi River. Henderson’s educational background includes a B.S. in Conservation Management with a minor in Biology from Up-per Iowa University. His hobbies include hunting, fishing, recreational sports, and enjoying time spent with his dog "Tucker."

After graduating from Iowa State University with a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology and Criminal Justice, Kay worked for the Department of Conservation in Missouri as a Conservation Agent and later in Iowa as a Conservation Officer. He started off with DMCC as a Park Ranger-Technician in September 2009 and became the Operations Supervisor this past January. Kay grew up on a farm in southwest Iowa and currently enjoys working on his own small farm in addition to hunting, fishing, and trapping. Other hobbies include playing guitar and bass at his church as well as composing songs. From time to time he performs locally around Burlington.

Trails Talk
By Mike Norris,
Assistant Director
Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission

In Fall 2005, a public meeting was held to hear proposals from prospective trail consultants for the then-named Des Moines County Trail. At that time, the trail was nothing more than a collection of ideas in regional planning documents. Resources from Vision Iowa and Des Moines County provided the catalyst to start the project.

Further public meetings were held to deter-mine a final proposed route corridor. Landowners who lived in or near the corridor were notified and an informational effort took place. This was the foundation of what is to be the region’s longest recreation trail. Due to the continued efforts of local volunteers, regional planners, engineering consultants, and the consistent vision by county supervisors, the Flint River Trail is close to construction.

The Flint River Trail is supported by the following committees, mostly made up of volunteers. The committees advise and support the Supervisors and Conservation Department on trail matters: Advisory Committee, Communications Committee, Rules Committee, Amenities Committee and Volunteer Committee

Nearly three years of engineering, surveying, and landowner negotiations netted a 7 mile off-road trail route from Big Hollow to Flint Bottom Road, or Phases II and III. This massive effort resulted in 22 easements from 19 different property owners, all voluntarily negoti-ated.

Four years of persistent and persuasive grant writing have yielded over $1.6 million in grant awards (including a recent $450,000 award from Iowa Department on Transportation to Burlington and Des Moines County). Local match was provided through consistent commitments from the Des Moines County Supervisors.

On April 18, 2010, bids will be let for the 7-mile project that encompasses Phases II and III. Construc-tion is projected to start in June or July and be complete by the end of the year. By Spring 2011, users will be able to make a 14 mile round trip on the route between Big Hollow and Flint Bottom Road.

Progress is fine, but the trail isn’t complete yet. Work will continue on Phase I, between City limits and Highway 61. This is the most challenging section of the entire 20 mile trail route due to the terrain created by the Flint River and its limestone bluffs but nonetheless, potentially the most rewarding scenically.

For more information: SEIRPC Assistant Director Mike Norris can be reached by phone (319) 753-5107 or e-mail, mnorris@seirpc.com

Impact of Sportsman and
Women on Society
By Chris Lee
Natural Resource Manager
Des Moines County Conservation

It’s no secret that sportsmen and women are the nation’s original conservationists. But what impact do they have in today’s society? With the hunting seasons coming into full swing, I thought it would be interesting to note just how much America’s sportsmen and women contribute to the nation. According to a report released last year, America's 34 million hunters and anglers have an immense impact on the economy, conservation, and politics.

Below are some examples of how America's hunters and anglers drive the economy, from big business to rural towns, during economic booms and recessions, as well as how they are conservation leaders:

• Spending by sportsmen and women generates $76 billion annually. The revenues generated by hunters and anglers annually are more than Microsoft, Google, eBay, and Yahoo combined (76 billion compared to 73.6 billion). The money spent on hunting and fishing alone, if defined as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), would make our nation 57 out of 181 countries in the world.

• Sportsmen and women generate $25 billion a year in federal, state, and local taxes.

• Hunters and anglers support 1.6 million jobs.

• Hunters and anglers are the original “green movement,” spending more than $1 billion on licenses, stamps, tags, and permits annually, all of which fund conservation programs run by state fish and wildlife agencies. More than $700 million is spent annually in Federal Duck Stamp purchasing, all of which goes into the National Wildlife Refuge System. That money has purchased more than 5 million acres of land which, coincidentally, represents the best public outdoor recreation and wildlife watching opportunities in the country. Locally, habitat stamp funds have been used by Des Moines County Conservation on multiple land purchases that otherwise would likely have not been possible without that funding.

• It is estimated there are 40 million sportsmen and women of voting age in the U.S. This is nearly a third of the entire vote. Additionally, nearly 8 out of 10 hunters say they always vote in presidential elections and that outdoor questions (including the Second Amendment issue, the right to keep and bear arms) are of special interest. While hunting and fishing are generally thought of as just outdoor traditions, they comprise an outdoor nation, both in terms of economic impact and in turning out the vote on Election Day.

• Hunters spend nearly a half billion dollars annually on their hunting dogs. They also spend more on lodging than the annual revenues of Quality Inn, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Econo Lodge, Rodeway, and Sleep Inn combined ($619 million compared to $482 million). As hunting season sets in over the next few months, consider that time in the field a truly grassroots “stimulus package” for the nation, and of course…good luck in your outdoor endeavors!

Information from this article was obtained from the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

DMCC Natural Resources Manager Chris Lee can be can be reached at (319) 572-1564 or e-mail, leec@co.des-moines.ia.us.

Volunteering with
Des Moines County

If you have some spare time or are looking for an organization to donate some volunteer hours, we have some volunteer opportunities available with Des Moines County Conservation. Duties include trail work, repairs at the nature center, preparation for environmental education programs, office work, etc.

We appreciate our volunteers and are grateful for all the help they provide us! If you are interested in volunteering, contact Amanda at the Nature Center at (319) 753-5808 or e-mail starrscave@co.des-moines.ia.us

Des Moines County Conservation
Ice Fishing Clinic a Hit

A total of 26 warmly dressed kids accompanied by parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents learned the sport of ice fishing at Des Moines County Conservation’s first ever Ice Fishing Clinic held at Big Hollow Recreation area near Mediapolis Saturday, January 16.

The event began at the Big Hollow maintenance shop where participants eagerly listened to a brief ice fishing "how to" by DMCC staff Park Ranger Pat Rogge and Operations Supervisor Paul Kay which included topics such as how to be safe on the ice and what equipment the sport requires. After the lesson, kids assembled homemade ice fishing poles to fish with and to take home afterwards. The poles were made with simple inexpensive items that can be readily found at local hardware stores.

Equipped with their homemade fishing poles baited with wax worms affixed to jigs (readily donated by Rose’s Bait and Tackle in West Burlington), participants caravanned to the small pond located near the Area E shelter house to try their luck at ice fishing.

Within minutes of drop-ping line into the freshly augured holes in the ice, fish were biting. Before the clinic ended at noon, every child had caught at least one fish. There were no complaints of the cold weather and many kids begged their parents to let them fish past the clinic’s end. The day surely

ice fishing

DES MOINES COUNTY CONSERVATION HONORS ITS VOLUNTEERS