County conservation departments active in winter despite frigid temps

Although the ground is frozen and covered in snow, conservation departments around southeast Iowa are still hard at work ensuring the environment is well maintained.

Due to smaller counties, each conservation department The Union's coverage area has a smaller staff. However, each one said the same thing: 'I'm a little bit different from most directors.”

John Pullis, Executive Director of Henry County Conservation described his role as the 'go between” for the conservation board and staff. With just shy of 1,000 acres to maintain, Pullis said an all hands on deck mentality is required.

'Because we're such a small staff I work out in the field as far as any park maintenance or working with land owners on habitat projects. So I do a lot out in the field besides my director duties,” he said.

Working in the field, he said, can range from scooping and blading snow to heavy construction projects. Last winter Pullis and two other staff members worked to build three new cabins that were unveiled to the public in July 2019.

Last year, Henry County received a disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) due to flooding. Now, a lot of his work this winter is spent finding contractors to complete the necessary work once the weather warms up and construction can begin.

'The winters of course are always hard on things so there will be a lot of maintenance and repair that needs to be done. A lot of this spring is going to be repairing our campgrounds from the flooding we had last year,” he said, adding the hiking trails also took a hit because of the flooding.

Shawn Morrissey, Director of Jefferson County Conservation, said the winter is mainly the 'offseason” and allows for staff to catch up on habitat work on public areas.

'Our campgrounds are kind of a seasonable thing (as are) some of our picnic areas, but we have park users ... pretty much year-round,” he said.

Like Pullis, Morrissey said staff do a lot with snow removal but also clearing paths from fallen trees and general maintenance work in the public hunting areas and trails.

'There's always a lot to do depending on the weather and just like a farmer, if it's totally terrible, we'll do work on equipment in the shop,” he said.

For Henry County residents, that machinery can be used around the parks but also can be rented out to landowners for assistance with habitat maintenance.

Pullis said the department owns tree planters and specialized drills that allow landowners to plant native grasses that are available to the public.

'We spend a lot of our time working with those landowners with not only the planning of it but also the implementation of it,” Pullis said.

In Jefferson County, Morrissey said there is about 1,400 acres to maintain with 400 of that being public hunting ground in the southern part of the county. Staff do a lot with timber stand improvements (TSI), the removal of trees that are less desirable which allows for the growth of trees that are good for wildlife to thrive, he said. However, that work is weather dependent.

'In weather like this when it's around 30 degrees, we can get out a few hours a day and do that kind of stuff,” he said.

Zach Rozmus, Executive Director for Washington County Conservation, said his department also takes on a variety of roles. Personally, he is currently working on squaring away the budget for the next fiscal year.

Employees are also ensuring the playground equipment is safe and ready for visitors in the spring, he said. Pruning and trimming trees is done as the weather allows.

When not working outside, Pullis said the two naturalists on staff in Henry County are always busy working in the schools.

Cari Nicely and Danika Cox visit every school in the county, he said. When the weather warms up, many classes visit the nature center for hands-on experiences.

'90% of the time they are in the classroom somewhere,” he said.

The pair teaches the science portion of the class with all standards meeting the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). According to previous reporting, Nicely alone averaged 80 programs a month in 2018.

'Both Cari and Danika tailor our environmental education program to meet those requirements so the kids are getting those required mandates,” he said.

Back at the nature center, the naturalists are also in charge of choosing programs to present to the public. Pullis said they choose a theme and find speakers that can speak to the topics. Networking with other naturalists throughout the state comes into play when choosing these programs, he said.

'Cari and Danika do a great job of networking with the other naturalists to find hot-button topics but then also topics that draw a good crowd. It may not be exactly the same program that some other naturalist put on, because they tailor theirs,” he said.

Rozmus said the programming at the Washington County Conservation Education Center in Marr Park is 'getting a face-lift” as the responsibilities shift to the new naturalists on staff. Programming is done both at the park and in the school districts.

'One of the things our county is blessed with is we have five high schools within proximity to our nature center,” he said.

Another unique feature in Washington County is the use of park rangers. Cody Smith and Brett Johnson are certified law enforcement officials through the police academy and act as the rangers for the park. Rozmus is also certified. Currently, rangers are working on removing hunting stands from properties now that the hunting season has come to a close.

Other duties employees take on during the winter include updating signage and doing invasive control on native species and shrubs. Rozmus said this is easiest to do when the ground is frozen.

With more than 2,300 acres across 17 parks to take care of, Rozmus said there can be a lot of variance between how parks are run but all have the same goal in mind in regard to conservation of the land. Looking into the future, Rozmus said he would like to expand the departments footprint in the county to reach more areas and to ensure citizens recognize employees of the department as people who can be turned to for information.

'The biggest thing is I want conservation (employees) to walk in the door and people to be able to recognize who we are,” he said.