Supervisors approve management agreement between county conservation and DNR for McKain’s River Access

The Washington County Supervisors approved a management agreement between Washington County Conservation and the Iowa DNR for the McKain's River Access area in Brighton.

Washington County Conservation Director Zach Rozmus explained the agreement was put in place years ago in conjunction with the state. Because the previous contract expired, the renewal was brought to the attention of the supervisors on Tuesday, April 30.

Rozmus explained McKain's access is north of Lake Darling and south of Dublin, along the Skunk River. He said there were no changes to the contract which states Washington County Conservation is responsible for maintenance while the DNR retains the right to have access because they own the property.

'The DNR agreement essentially outlines that they have access to it if they want to do a study or to access the river at that point,” he said. 'They still own the property, but what we do for maintenance purposes is just clean off the boat ramp. ... On occasion, like this year for example, we might have to put gravel down on the boat drive and that's something that the county has assumed the cost for in the past.”

This access point also has a latrine on site that Conservation is responsible for cleaning as well. The 10 acres of land is mostly timber and river but some mowing is required by Conservation.

The renewal was approved by a vote of 4-0. Supervisor Stan Stoops was absent from Tuesday's meeting.