View trumpeter swan, fish at open house

The Kevin Gahn Wildlife refuge in West Burlington will be holding a three-hour open house at the refuge on Saturday, Sept. 17, from 9 a.m. to noon. This is the last time the refuge will be open to the public this year.

The public will be able to view the female trumpeter swan that calls the refuge home during the open house. Trumpeter swans are among the largest and rarest of North American waterfowl.

During the open house, visitors are also welcome to fish the 3-acre pond which holds some of the biggest crappie in the County. Those interested in fishing will need to follow all Iowa fishing regulations. Des Moines County Conservation?s Naturalist, Elizabeth Kling will be on hand to welcome visitors and answer questions.

In 1995 Des Moines County Conservation began its trumpeter swan reintroduction program. This has involved hosting a mating pair of trumpeters and releasing their young into the wild when they are six months to a year old. Trumpeter swans went extinct in Iowa in 1883 due to a combination of loss of habitat when wetlands were drained and unregulated hunting. Thanks to conservation efforts such as that of Des Moines County Conservation?s trumpeter swan reintroduction program and the Iowa DNR?s swan reintroduction program, trumpeters are back in Iowa.

The entrance to Gahn Refuge is on Landfill Road, between Washington Road and the Des Moines County Landfill, in West Burlington.

For questions on the open house, please contact Starr?s Cave Nature Center at 319-753-5808.

In the event of inclement weather, the event will be cancelled.