Friends of Shimek Update November 10. 2017
Message from Shimek Forester John Byrd:
Hello Friends,
Fall colors are fading,
daylight is shortening, and equestrian riding is slowing which means
that winter is coming fast. With all these changes it means
that we have the opportunity to look back on the past few months and
see what was accomplished. Many of you have shown
overwhelming support for Shimek State Forest, both trails and
campgrounds, by attending workdays, donating funds, helping raise
funds, and promoting pride in the Forest.
This spring we opened the
second section of the Wet Weather Trail which the Shimek DNR Crew had
worked on for over a year. It was made possible by the support of the
William M and Donna J. Hoaglin Foundation, Inc. Over the summer, the
Shimek DNR crew replaced several hitching rails and a manure bunker
and did trail work (water diversions, smoothing, clearing, widening,
mowing ) on several stretches of trail that hadn't received
management in a few years.
Shimek DNR, Friends of
Shimek, and Lee County Charitable Fund (LCCF) have undertaken a joint
project to establish two new parking lots in Lick Creek to better
accommodate horse trailer rigs. One will be an expansion of the
current parking lot in the Upper Campground. The other is on
the left down the hill to the Lower Campground. Lack of parking
for day riders, especially on weekends, has been an ongoing issue
with the rise in popularity of Shimek's trail system. This should
help tremendously. These parking lots are not cheap to
construct! Thanks to a grant from the LCCF and the FANTASTIC
fundraising of the Friends of Shimek, we are going to make this
venture successful. Thank you to everyone who supported the
Benefit Meal and Auctions this past weekend but especially the
Volunteers who put countless hours into making it a success. Event
Coordinators Bonnie Moothart and Ann Bennett were not only behind the
success of the fundraiser—but “on it” all year!
It is very important as we
look to next year that we remain diligent on trail management.
We also plan some slight additions/improvements to the trail
system as well. The Shimek DNR Crew has several re-routes
planned to make riding and access for trail management easier.
Please stay tuned for further information on those changes.
I want to thank everyone
who rides at Shimek that goes that extra mile of picking up trash,
moving a small downed tree, or reporting to DNR a problem on the
trails. I have learned over the years that there are hundreds
of riders that do these things because they take pride in how the
trails look and never mention it to anyone. Thank you to
everyone for a successful season of riding. I will spend the
rest of my winter in the woods on forest management, knowing trails,
campgrounds, and facilities are ready for next year.
Very appreciative,
John Byrd, Forester
FOS Benefit Meal and Auctions
The FOS Benefit Meal and Auctions was held Saturday November 4th at the River Valley Lodge. Thanks to many many hours by Event Coordinator Bonnie Moothart and FOS President Ann Bennett with a lot of back up from Doug Moothart, the FOS Board, hard working volunteers and all the many many donors, attendees, and bidders --WE DID IT! OVER $9,000 RAISED (gross income). This money will be used to match or fund projects planned by Forester John Byrd to improve the Forest trails and campgrounds as he discussed above. A sampling of the photos from the event can be seen at the link below.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/xXuq1435n4ewPnD63
Take a look a them--if you were there, you may be in one or more!
Anyone that missed the benefit and would like to help FOS -- please send a check to Debbie Miller, FOS Treasurer, c/o Lee County Bank, 2501 Avenue L, Ft. Madison, IA 52627. Your help is much appreciated.
