About Friends of Shimek / Resources

 2020
Purposes and Current Plans for Friends of Shimek:

The purpose of the Friends of Shimek State Forest Equestrian Trails (FOS) is to support the DNR staff in developing and maintaining the Shimek campgrounds and equestrian trails consistent with good forestry practices and the protection of our state's natural resources.  There are four public campgrounds.  Two smaller campgrounds have access to hiking trails and fishing lakes (Donnellson and Farmington Units).  Two equestrian campgrounds with over 25 miles of trails are in Shimek's Lick Creek Unit. 

FOS was formed by interested southeastern Iowa residents in cooperation with the Shimek Forester in 2011. FOS is a federal 501 c(3) non-profit corporation. There are eight members of the Board of Directors, all volunteer, listed below, with Forester John Byrd as the Board Advisor.  There are 120 contacts on the list of potential volunteers with 40 to 50 people volunteering as much as 1000 hours in a year in helping with trail and campsite maintenance and raising funds to support projects. Facebook is used to communicate quickly with about 1200 people who follow the FOS page.  FOS collaborates with the Great River Classical Horsemanship Association with members from across southeastern Iowa and into Illinois, the Iowa Horse Council, and the Department of Natural Resources Shimek State Forest staff to develop and protect Iowa's public equestrian trails and facilities.

The equestrian trails and campgrounds at Shimek serve several thousand riders each year. There are three new horse shelters to provide housing for horses while camping.  This is the largest area facility with public equestrian trails where use of the trails or the horse shelters does not have a fee. (There is a small fee for camping.) These facilities contribute to the quality of life and recreational opportunities for our community. For those riders/campers from outside the area, Shimek is one of only three state forests with equestrian trails in Iowa and as such it is a major attraction.

The twenty-five plus miles of equestrian trails at Shimek are the first priority of the FOS. Despite his severely limited budget, Forester John Byrd began a major trail improvement initiative after several flood years damaged the trails so severely. This included developing a Wet Weather Trail (WWT) system with rocked and lime chip trails that can be ridden in wetter weather.  This is to reduce the need to close trails to avoid damage. In 2013, 3.1 miles of trail were rocked using a William M. and Donna J. Hoaglin Foundation grant for the rock and volunteer labor to haul and spread the rocks.  The Foundation awarded an additional $10,000 to enable DNR and FOS to rock an additional 2.2 miles of trails in 2015. 
In 2013 through 2015, the major campground improvement was the replacement of all three decayed horse shelters in the Lick Creek unit with three new shelters.  This was made possible by grants from LCCF, DNR funds, FOS funds, and both DNR and FOS volunteer labor.

         In 2015, after vandalism in the campgrounds, a project  designed to replace the kiosks in all four Shimek campgrounds was initiated. Funding was provided by a grant from the Lee County Charitable Foundation (LCCF) , and the Iowa Horse Council in August 2015 as well as funds from GOFundMe donations. An interpretive panel honoring Dr. Bohumil Shimek was part of this project and it is now displayed at the Shimek Forest Office. Message board kiosks were installed in spring 2016 at all four Shimek Campgrounds.
       During 2016, with a grant from LCCF and labor from the FOS and the DNR staff, the equestrian tie rails were re-rocked and many of them replaced, upgrading the facilities at both campgrounds. 
     In 2017 FOS helped raise funds and the DNR staff constructed two new day rider parking areas in the Lick Creek Unit.  Thanks to a grant from the LCCF of $5,000 and the very successful Meal and Auction fundraiser which yielded over $9,000, these two day equestrian trailer parking areas were completed in 2018.  Mounting blocks were added by FOS to the Lick Creek Campgrounds and one parking area. 
      In 2018 FOS obtained a grant from the LCCF for the addition of about .6 mile of new trail as part of the WWT system so that riders do not need to ride along the highway right of way.  The DNR staff finished this addition in spring of 2019.  This is a much safer riding trail for riders and horses.  The WWT is now over six miles of trails out of the 25 miles of trails at Shimek.   
         In 2019 FOS was awarded two grant to correct weather related problems then to re-rock the entire WWT.  These grants were made by LCCF and the William M and Donna J Hoaglin Foundation, with match from FOS.   Each year, rocks are ground into the trail or washed away after rains and must be replaced.  Many individual donations made to FOS are used to support this to improve the campgrounds and trails. This is an expense that is NOT in the DNR budget but is a service for equestrian riders, to enable us to ride in wetter weather.  FOS held another fundraiser in Nov. 2019 which raised over $4,000 to apply toward this and other upcoming projects.  
      In 2020, the re-rocking will be completed.  New planned projects include solar lighting at the kiosk/registration area, and expansion of the horse stalls so that there is one stall per reserveable campsite. 

      If you ride/hike or camp  at Shimek or have family members who do, can you  help with a donation? Send a check to Lee Co. Bank &Trust, Attn: Debbie Miller, FOS Treasurer, 2501 Avenue L, Fort Madison, IA 52627.
 Thank you.
 FOS Board Members

Ringo Covert, President
Marsha Achenbach, Vice-President
Lora Conrad, Secretary/Grants Officer
Debbie Miller, Treasurer
Neal Hartman, Board Member-at-Large
Jo Watson, Volunteer Hours Coordinator, Board Member-at-Large
Bonnie Moothart, Fund-Raiser
Kathy Weber, Editor
John Byrd, Shimek Forester and Board Advisor

Resources for Friends Groups

Friends of Shimek (FOS) State Forest

Resources for Forming and Developing Friends Groups

The following link will give you guided access to a complete repository of documents regarding how FOS was formed and how we operate.    (Note: These documents are in Dropbox--You DO NOT have to open an account to see.  Ignore the signup/signin page and click on the page behind it and you will see our document list and can access them.)

Friends Resources

Note:  The documents are all in pdf format and each will take a short amount of time to download.

This material was used by Ann Bennett (President at that time), Marsha Achenbach and Lora Conrad serving as panelists on Friends Groups on Friday April 4, 2014 at the Soft Trails Conference sponsored by the Iowa Horse Council in Des Moines, IA.

After reviewing this information, if you need further assistance, contact FOShimek@gmail.com

 NOTICE This Blog represents the Friends of Shimek State Forest  and not the Department of Natural Resources.  Please notify FOS of any problems with the material posted here through comments here or via e-mail to FOShimek@gmail.com