Important Bird Area and a Bird Conservation Area in the Croton Shimek Stae Forest Unit

The Iowa Ornithologists' Union (IOU) developed a birding guide to the Croton Unit at Shimek. The Croton Unit is designated as an Important Bird Area and a Bird Conservation Area because of the many and often unique or unusual birds for Iowa that are found in it. There are no campsites in Croton and there are no horse trails there but it is one of the best birding sites in Iowa.
http://www.iowabirds.org/Places/SiteGuide.aspx?site=26

 

iowabirds.org

Birding Croton Unit, Shimek State Forest

Birding Croton Unit, Shimek State Forest by Bob Cecil Back to List The Croton Unit of Shimek State Forest includes some 1,700 acres in three tracts in Lee County.

 

Check out the links for more detailed information.

 

DNR Camping Kick Off Weekend May 3 - 5

 

 

 

 

 

Forester John Byrd's Corner:

 

We made it through winter finally and the forest and prairies are coming alive once again. This also means that camping and riding season will be in full effect before long. I know there has been some riding and camping already. Currently only the Wet Weather Trails are open to riding and the other trails are drying nicely. The Shimek crew has been busy with many other duties right now and we have not been able to get on the trails. The current plan for opening the trails is to have most of them ready for the weekend of May 3-5, which happens to be Camping Kickoff weekend. Our course trail status is always weather dependent so check the status before coming to ride. The purpose of leaving the trails closed at this point is to prevent dozens of ride arounds (which can cause damage and more maintenance) and keep riders safety a priority. Please help us keep the management of the trails a high priority by staying off the dirt trails until they are ready. With the proper management we can keep the trail system healthy for many years.
Thank you for the support.
John Byrd, Area Forester

JOHN BYRD | Area Forester, Shimek State Forest

Iowa Department of Natural Resources

P 319-878-3811 |  33653 RTE J56, Farmington, Ia 52626

www.iowadnr.gov  

Are the Trails at Shimek Open, Closed or Wet Weather Trails only? See http://friendsofshimek.blogspot.com/p/photos.html

DNR campgrounds and trails status site:   https://www.iowadnr.gov/Places-to-Go/State-Parks/Alerts-and-Closures?fbclid=IwAR16cjzgUWtohB8EImdojse6Q9B_4ae7IxujC3bR7G3sBlQoDY53u1eCLHM

Planned new section of the Wet Weather Trail under construction

The Lee County Charitable Fund awarded Friends of Shimek a grant of $5,500 in 2018 to be used in a joint project with the DNR Shimek staff to add a section of 2,000 feet of Wet Weather Trail that will join two existing sections of the Wet Weather Trail (WWT) on the equestrian trails in the Lick Creek Unit. This is needed because currently equestrians ride on the Iowa Highway 2 right of way to make this connection. This could potentially be highly dangerous to both a rider and horse and/or for drivers on the road. In addition, this section as currently ridden is not Shimek Forest property and thus can not be maintained by DNR Shimek staff—instead it is DOT property. The new WWT section will provide an entirely new section of trail located safely back in the woods on Shimek Forest property to solve this problem.

Attached is a map showing where this new trail section is under construction.

 

 

  So far, the trail has been mapped and most state approvals have been obtained.  Currently, the Archaeology Review is pending. Until it is approved by the state, the project can not be finished. Requests have been made repeatedly for the past eleven months by Forester Byrd but to no avail at this time. We remain hopeful that the final approval will be accomplished soon. DNR staff have cut the trees as shown in the photos below.



DNR staff cut the trees in the path of the new section of Wet Weather Trail that is under construction.



The red line shows the path that the new trail section will follow, with tree stumps showing.  These will be removed once the Arch Study approval is obtained.

When the final Archaeology Office approval is obtained, the DNR crew will extract the stumps, install two culverts and spread rock purchased with the LCCF grant and with FOS funds.

Some time will be needed for the ground and rock to settle before it is used as a wet weather trail, but it should be usable under dry conditions in early summer. Once a final schedule is determined, an announcement to riders will be made. In the meantime, when you see the trail with stumps cut, know that FOS and the DNR Shimek crew are anxiously awaiting the state Archaeology Office approval that will allow them to finish the project.