TH E WINNEBAGO C OUNTY C ONSERVATION BOARD
The Prairie Country Quarterly
A quarterly newsletter made possible by REAP funding
The Climate Change Challenge
Spri ng , 2 0 1 7
Every day, we hear startling facts about how quickly our planet’s climate is changing. Arctic ice is disappearing, glaciers are melting, and sea levels are rising; those are all quantifiable facts. Sometimes, though, those things can seem far removed from what we see everyday. But, scientists are seeing subtle changes, even around here, that will continue to become more evident as the years go by.
I N S I D E T HI S IS S UE :
For one thing, scientists have documented that many species of wildflowers have begun
blooming earlier than usual and some species of birds are changing their migration patterns, arriving earlier in the spring and leaving later in the fall. Lakes are also freezing later
in the fall and thawing earlier in the spring than they have historically done. All of these
seemingly minor changes, though, can have a profound effect on the health of our ecosystems.
Over many millennia, species have evolved together, depending upon each other for food
or shelter. Birds migrate depending upon when certain plants are available. Monarch butterflies follow milkweed emergence as they migrate north in the spring. Polar bear life cycles depend upon the seasonal availability of sea ice to find their food. If any of this timing
is thrown off, it can have detrimental effects on the health of many species. Scientists are
already seeing species whose life cycles are increasingly out of sync with their environment, causing changes in their overall health and reproductive capabilities.
In addition, cold-water fish species are declining as the cold water they need warms up.
Wildlife habitat is also disappearing along our coastlines as sea levels rise ever so gradually. This is affecting various species of shorebirds and turtles that need those coastal habitats
to nest. And, of course, our coral reefs (upon which countless fish and other organisms depend) are dying in many areas, as water temps increase past the point where the reefs can
survive.
Of course, our planet has gone through many warming and cooling cycles over its history,
but no other warming cycle has ever been this rapid, meaning that, unlike past cycles,
many species are not able to adapt quickly enough to it. This rapid change is occurring because of an unprecedented spike in atmospheric CO2, a gas that holds in the sun’s heat and
doesn’t let it escape back into space. Nothing has
occurred naturally to cause CO2 levels to rise as
they have; only our burning of energy-producing
fossil fuels over the last 150 years could have caused
this sudden atmospheric change.
But, the good news is that since we have caused
these high CO2 levels, we can also fix them. Eventually, converting over to cleaner sources of energy
(such as solar, wind, and geothermal) can solve this
problem. Through science we have discovered what
is happening. And through science, innovation, and
the willingness to confront this issue, we’ll be able
to tackle this, just as we have done with so many
other challenges throughout our history.
Upcoming Programs
2
Every Kid in a Park!
County Camping
3
Neotropical
Migrants
4
Outdoor “Dangers”
4
Kids’ Backpacks
Wild Geraniums
5
Education Center
5
Thank You!
6
How You
Can Help
To help curb CO2,
we can all:

Plant native trees
and shrubs to absorb
CO2 out of the air.

Recycle and buy
recycled products to
save energy.

Make sure your
house and household
items are energyefficient.

Buy cars that get
good gas mileage.
Walk or ride a bike
whenever possible!

Talk to your legislators about the need
for clean energy.
P age 2
Join us for These Fun Spring Programs!
Spring Stargazing—Friday, April 21st
Meet at the entrance to Thorpe Park at 9:00 PM for an informal tour of the
Spring nighttime sky! The program will last about 45 minutes. We will view
some of the brighter stars and constellations, learn how to identify them, and
learn some fascinating facts about them. Feel free to bring along a lawn chair
and a pair of binoculars, if you'd like! Free star charts will be handed out to take
home afterwards. (This program will have to be canceled if skies are cloudy.)
Arbor Day Tree Giveaway—Friday, April 28th
Once again, we will be hosting our annual tree giveaway to commemorate Arbor Day!
Just stop by the Thorpe Park office between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM to pick up your
free tree seedling. This year, we will be offering Bur Oak (16"-24"), Norway
Spruce (8"-17"), Buttonbush (12"-18"), and Serviceberry (12"-18") seedlings. Seedlings will be available on a first come-first served basis and quantities may be limited.
Spring Walk—Saturday, May 6th
If you'd like to get out and enjoy the season, just meet at the Pilot Knob shelter house at
10:00 AM for a leisurely stroll to observe the birds, flowers, insects, and other signs of
Spring! The walk will last about an hour. (In case of rainy weather, the walk will be canceled. If the weather is nice, but the trails are muddy, people are just asked to wear old
shoes.)
Outdoor Skills Class (DNR)—Saturday, May 20th
Come spend a day learning about fire-starting, water purification, knottying, etc.! This is a free Iowa DNR class and it will be held at Pilot
Knob State Park from 7:30 AM until 6:00 PM. Registration is required
and will be limited to 12 participants. For more information, call Pilot
Knob at 641-581-4835.
If any of the our programs needs to be postponed or canceled, that announcement will run on
KIOW Radio (FM 107.3), on our web site, on our Facebook page, and on our Twitter feed.
International Migratory Bird Day—May 13th
International Migratory Bird Day is celebrated on the second Saturday of May each year. It is a day set aside
to recognize the many species of birds that migrate throughout North America, sometimes nesting in Canada
and wintering in the tropics. These birds often encounter extra challenges, requiring
more than one habitat to survive. This year’s theme is “Stopover Sites,” encouraging
people to identify and protect sites that are used by these birds as they migrate north and
south. One such place is the Union Slough National Wildlife Refuge in Kossuth County
and, to commemorate IMBD, their auto tour route will be open May 6th-14th. So, be
sure to get out and enjoy our migratory birds as they fly through north Iowa!
The P rairie C o un try Q uar terl y
P age 3
Every Kid in a Park!
Camping Close to Home
Do you have a 4th-grader? If not, do you know a 4thgrader? Well, if you answered yes to either of those
questions, you may want to know about a wonderful program that the federal government offers to 4th-graders.
It’s called “Every Kid in a Park” and it encourages kids
and their families to visit our national parks and monuments.
If you like to camp, but don’t like to travel far from
home, consider camping in one of your county
parks this summer! Iowa probably has the best system of county parks in the country, with our county
conservation boards providing over 10,500 county
campsites throughout the state. So, no matter where
you live, there’s a county campground nearby!
Through this program, every 4thgrader, and his or
her family, get
free admission to
all national parks
and monuments.
It’s the government’s way to
make sure that
young people are
able to visit these areas at least once during their childhood. They chose 4th-graders because research has
shown that “kids ages 9 to 11 are beginning to learn
about the world around them. They’re open to new ideas,
and they are likely to connect to nature and our history.”
They offer the pass to 4th-graders every year so, eventually, every kid can get a free pass to explore our country!
Here in Winnebago County, the WCCB manages
two campgrounds. Our largest campground is at
Thorpe Park, 5 miles west of Forest City. There, we
manage 13 sites with both electrical and water
hookups, as well as two primitive campsites. There
are also pit toilets available, as well. Thorpe Park
also has a reservable shelter house, as well as a cabin that is available to rent. Camping rates at Thorpe
Park are $12/night for the main sites and $8/night
for the two primitive sites.
And, participation in the “Every Kid in a Park” program
is easy! All you need to do is go to the program’s web
site (www.everykidinapark.gov) and download a pass for
your 4th-grader. The pass will then serve as an admission
ticket for the student and their family to any national
park or monument. (You can also learn more about the
program at their web site.) Then, be sure to plan out a
fun family vacation for this summer!
Our other campground is at Dahle Park, 4 miles
northwest of Lake Mills. At Dahle, we manage 8
sites, each one with electrical and water hookups.
Like Thorpe Park, Dahle Park also has a pit toilet.
In addition, it has a shelter house and is located in
the woods along the Winnebago River. Camping
rates at Dahle Park
are only $5/night.
Our county
campgrounds
open for the season on Friday,
April 28th! We
hope to see you
this year!
Thorpe Park Campground
Friends of Winnebago County Conservation Foundation, Inc.
Membership Form—Please fill out and return with payment to: WCCB, 34496 110th Avenue, Forest City, IA, 50436
Checks should be made payable to the “Friends of Winnebago County Conservation Foundation, Inc.”
Name
Address
City
Phone Number
State
E-mail Address (optional)
Donor Level—Please Check One
Student ($5)
Small Business ($100)
Individual ($10)
Corporate Business ($250)
Family ($25)
Thank you and welcome to the Foundation!
Zip
P age 4
Neotropical Migrants
Everyone knows that many of our north Iowa birds fly south for the winter. They do this, not because it gets
too cold here, but because it can be nearly impossible for many of our birds to find food during our harsh winter months. But, what a lot of people don’t know is just how far many of our birds go!
Many of our birds only migrate as far south as they need to go to find food.
So, some species, like robins and bluebirds, may only fly as far south as southern Iowa or northern Missouri, if they fly south at all. Others, especially our
ducks and geese, will fly further, into Oklahoma, Texas, and other Gulf Coast
states. But some species will continue on, making an annual journey to the
tropics. These birds are called neotropical migrants and they spend the winter
all the way down in Central and South America!
You might think these birds are rare, or that you’ve never seen such a bird before. But, our neotropical migrants include some of our most beloved birds, including hummingbirds, orioles, rose-breasted grosbeaks, indigo buntings, tanagers, and many species of warblers. Neotropical migrants include some of most colorful birds,
an adaptation that helps them see each other in the dense tropical foliage.
Of course, many people wonder why these birds would even return to north Iowa. After all, most of us would
love to live in the tropics year round! Well, although they travel there to find food (insects, berries, nectar, etc.)
in the winter, they come back here to raise their young. That’s because, although food is abundant in the tropics, it could become scarce if every pair of birds also needs to feed several broods of chicks, just as the native
birds do. So, they spread out and return here, once there is abundant food again, so that they can raise their
young without the competition of the native tropical birds.
So, this May, as our neotropical birds return, enjoy their beauty! And also enjoy the fact that those birds made a
very long trip back to visit, and maybe even nest in, your yard!
Just How Dangerous is the Outdoors?
It’s been well-documented that spending time outdoors is important. People, especially children, that spend
time outdoors tend to be healthier, both physically and psychologically. But, many people are afraid to go outside and many children are being raised to fear nature. So, just how dangerous is it to be outdoors?
Of course, there are dangers in nature. Storms can hit, and it is true that lightning is one of nature’s biggest dangers. There are also rocks, logs, holes, and other obstacles that can cause a sprained ankle or a skinned knee.
And, if you’re allergic to bee stings, you may have an added risk by being outdoors. But, generally speaking, you are more likely to get hurt actually driving to
and from a natural area.
For instance, did you know only 20 out of 137 species of snakes in the US are
venomous? And, even if you are bitten by a reclusive, venomous snake, only
about half the time does the snake even release its venom. So, out of over 7,000
snake bites reported each year, only about 15 are fatal. (By the way, here in Winnebago County, we have no venomous snakes.)
Likewise, your chances of being bitten by and contracting rabies from a bat are next to zero. In a Colorado
study of 233 cases of bat bites, not one person contracted rabies. Also, there have only been 12 recorded deaths
from Mountain Lions in either the US or Canada over the last 100 years and, although there are about a dozen
shark attacks reported in the US each year, only one or two people die from those attacks.
So, yes, there are dangers outdoors. But, we need to make sure we put them in perspective. Don’t let such fears
cause you to miss out on making some wonderful outdoor memories this summer!
The P rairie C o un try Q uar terl y
Young Naturalist
Backpacks Available
P age 5
The Wild Geranium
One of the most important things we can do for our
young people is to get them outdoors and help them
enjoy all that nature has to offer. Studies show that
when kids spend time outdoors, they have lower rates
of depression, ADHD, and obesity. They also tend to be
more creative and grow up with a greater appreciation
of our natural world.
To help you get your kids or grandkids outdoors, we
offer “Young Naturalist Backpacks.” These are educational backpacks that you can borrow for up to two
weeks to help that young person in your life enjoy their
time outdoors. They are perfect for vacations, camping
trips, or just spending time around the neighborhood!
Each backpack is based on a theme and has things such
as nets, tweezers, magnifying glasses, books, scavenger
hunts, journals, coloring books, and outdoor activities.
The six different themes include Nature Discovery, Insects, Ponds and
Streams, Birding,
Nature Art, and
Young Explorer (for
younger, preschoolaged children). So, if
you’d like to check
out a backpack, just
contact us. We’ll be
glad to help you out!
Education Center Plans
Move Forward
The WCCB and the Friends of Winnebago County
Conservation Foundation are moving ahead with their
plans to construct an environmental education center in
Winnebago County. Although minor changes will no
doubt be made, the final plans are being drawn up so
that accurate cost estimates can be calculated.
We have already received some nice donations and will
be looking forward to more as time goes on! Look for
our booth at the Winnebago County Fair this summer
to learn more about this project. We will also be holding several public meetings later
this year to answer any questions people may have. We’ll
continue to keep you posted on
our progress!
As you walk through the spring woods, you’ll see
many different wildflowers. These flowers are
among the first flowers to bloom, taking advantage
of the sunlight before the trees leaf out and shade
the forest floor. And, one of the most common
spring species here in north Iowa is the Wild Geranium.
The simple, purple Wild Geranium is only very
distantly related to the common houseplant that we
are more familiar with. But, it was used quite extensively by Native Americans. A tea made from
the roots was often used to treat toothaches, and a
concoction made from the plant was sometimes
used for hemorrhoids and burns. And, both Native
Americans and pioneers used Wild Geranium tea
to relieve diarrhea.
In addition, the Wild Geranium plant has a very
high tannin content. That means that early settlers
often used the leaves and roots to “tan,” or preserve, their animal hides. So, as you stroll through
the woods this spring, look for the delicate purple
Wild Geraniums and think back to how important
such simple flowers were at one time to our early
ancestors!
-—Apache blessing—May the sun bring you new energy by day,
May the moon softly restore you by night,
May the rain wash away your worries,
May the breeze blow new strength into your being,
May you walk gently through the world,
And know its beauty all the days of your life.
Presorted Standard
U.S. Postage
PAID
Forest City, IA 50436
PERMIT #50
Winnebago County Conservation Board
Thorpe Park
34496 110th Avenue
Forest City, IA 50436
Phone: (641) 565-3390
Web Site: www.winnebagoccb.com
Address Service Requested
Your Winnebago
County Conservation Board
Director
Robert Schwartz
([email protected])
Naturalist
Lisa Ralls
([email protected])
Natural Resource Manager
Rick Lillie
([email protected])
Board Members
John Carlson, Lake Mills
Rick Hofbauer, Buffalo Center
Mike Korth, Forest City
Tim Missal, Forest City
Nancy Helm, Forest City
Thank You!
To Sally Agre of Forest City for her generous donation
to our Friends of Winnebago County Conservation Foundation
in memory of her sister Marilyn Agre Sours
To Susan Schoning of Omaha, NE,
for her generous donation to our Foundation
To Mark Bonner of LeMars
for voluntarily cleaning up Florence and Dahle Parks
Enjoy a relaxing stay at the
Lake Catherine Cabin!
“The Prairie Country Quarterly” is published,
free of charge, four times a year. Anyone wishing
to be on our mailing list need only send their
name and address to our office listed below. The
public is also invited to attend our board meetings which are held at our Thorpe Park office the
second Monday of each month,
beginning at 8:00 A.M.
New 2017 Rates:
$73.50/night on Fri. and Sat.
and
$57.75/night during the week
The Winnebago County Conservation Board
Thorpe Park
34496 110th Avenue
Forest City, IA 50436
Phone: (641)565-3390
Web Site: www.winnebagoccb.com
The WCCB, in the provision of services and
facilities to the public, does not discriminate
against anyone on the basis of race, color, sex,
creed, national origin, or handicap. If anyone
believes that he or she has been subjected to such
discrimination, he or she may file a complaint
with the WCCB at the address above, or with the
Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of
the Interior, Washington, D.C., 20240.
Don’t Forget to Check Out Our Website!
We want to remind everyone of our web site! It contains
WCCB news, a listing of all of our parks and wildlife areas,
a listing of upcoming programs, and a lot of other
information. You can even read this newsletter there or
download a cabin reservation form. So, check us out at
www.winnebagoccb.com!
You can also “like” us on our Facebook page, sign up
for our Twitter feed, or check us out on Pinterest!