Funding Rock for the Wet Weather Trail

Friends of Shimek has pledged to raise $2,000 in 2016 toward the maintenance of the Wet Weather Trails at Shimek.  Attendees at the FOS Annual Dinner to Honor Volunteers have already donated $540 to kick off this effort.  For those who missed the dinner, if you can help us, you can donate either through credit card at our GoFundMe site below or by mailing a check directly to Friends of Shimek, Lee County Bank, c/o Debbie Miller, Treasurer, 2501 Avenue L, Ft. Madison, IA 52627.

FOS has worked with the Shimek Forester and raised funds to upgrade and rock almost 6 miles of trail as a Wet Weather Trail system (WWT), 1.2 miles of it to be finished this spring.  These trails can be riden on horseback under much wetter conditions than the dirt trails without damaging the resource (That is, without causing gullies and ditches that destroy the forest.) The protection of the trails for future use is critical if we are to continue to be allowed to ride on these public trails. The WWT allows us to enjoy the trails more often, without damaging them.

However, to keep these trails rideable as a WWT, annual work is required. That means we must have the rock to replace that which has been worn or washed away each winter. The approximate cost of this is $2,000 per year--dollars that are NOT in the DNR budget as these trails are a convenience for us, not an essential forest budget item. The purpose of this fundraiser is to raise the $2,000 for 2016 to purchase rock that then will be applied to the damaged areas in the WWT by DNR staff and FOS Volunteers. With your help each year, you and other equestrians can continue to use these trails for many years.

FOS Annual Dinner to Honor Volunteers

'Twas cold and getting colder when 30 Friends of Shimek met in Mt. Pleasant at Little Mexico for an evening of food and conversation with friends---with awards presented and plans for 2016 discussed.

After a meal with all the Mexican food classics -- from fajitas to empanadas and even a few margaritas, President Ann Bennett called the meeting to order.  The program began with the announcement of the Board of Directors for 2016, and the presentation of a Certificate to Shimek Forester John Byrd "in appreciation of his five years of support, patience, and enthusiasm for equestrian projects."  Pictured with John Byrd are the Board Members of FOS (l-r): Ringo Covert (Special Projects), Debbie Miller (Ttreasurer), Lora Conrad (Secretary/Editor), Marsha Achenbach (Vice President/Trails),  Neal Hartman (at-Large Board Member) and Ann Bennett ( President.)

(Note: Photo by Art Duke)

John spoke to the group about the projects on which  FOS and DNR have been working together this year.  These included:

Extension of the Wet Weather Trail: The William M and Donna J. Hoaglin Foundation funded the FOS to expand the WWT by 2.2 miles, with DNR and FOS providing the labor and equipment and the Foundation providing the rock. With rains at record levels all year, this has been begun but not completed. All rock has been purchased but about one mile of the rocking has been completed. The project will be completed as soon as the ground is dry enough to haul the rock to the trail locations where it is needed without damaging the trail.

The Kiosk Project: This project is designed to replace the kiosks in all four Shimek campgrounds. Funding was provided by a grant from the Lee County Charitable foundation, and the Iowa Horse Council in August 2015 as well as funds from GOFundMe donations. An interpretive panel honoring Dr. Bohumil Shimek is also part of this project and is now under development. The project will be completed when the message boards and panel are installed in spring 2016.

 

He also reported that DNR plans to expand the day parking area in the upper campground, hopefully in 2016.  However, there is just no suitable location for day parking in the lower campground.

 

Southeast Iowa District Parks Supervisor Tom Basten also attended the dinner and addressed the group.  He was very complimentary of the FOS both for their effectiveness in volunteering and for their fund-raising.  He also reported that the open position of DNR Technician previously held by Cody Brothersen has been advertised.  He hopes to have the position filled by about March.  Now in this photo, you will, of course, note that Tom has a black eye---which was not a result of any action of FOS, but rather he tells a story of an elbow in the eye by a friend??? Oh well, better ask him.

 

 

During 2015, there were 47 FOS Volunteers who gave 848 hours of their time and were honored tonight.  Recognition for the largest number of reported volunteer hours in 2015 went to Bonnie Moothart, who donated over 65 hours to FOS.  Special recognition was also given to Cody Brothersen and his partner Chelsie Rohrs for their many hours of work on the campgrounds and recruiting about half a dozen of their family members to work beside them last spring.

 

 

Randy Dillon was named the Bennett Volunteer of the Year for five years of lending his financial expertise to FOS to "provide financial reconciliation, reports, and advice." Randy was very complimentary of the accurate records kept by Treasurer Debbie Miller.  Randy was presented with a certificate from FOS and a beautiful elm bowl,  made and donated by Bob Achenbach.

 

 

President Ann Bennett passed the bowl around for all to see---and to kick off the 2016 fund raising campaign for FOS to provide $2,000 to purchase rock  for WWT maintenace.  The heavy rains and winter weather each year mean that repairs must be made regularly to the WWT to assure that it continues to be usable in wet weather.  A total of $540 was collected at the dinner!  To donate to this campaign by credit card, go to   https://www.gofundme.com/foswwt




 

Invitation to FOS Dinner on Jan. 9, 2016

2nd Annual Raffle and Potluck - Oct. 24, 2015

  Friends of Shimek 2nd Annual Raffle and Potluck Held on Oct. 24, 2015 
After a rainy Friday--and some more Friday night--Saturday got lighter and nicer as the day progressed.

  By the time riders had returned to their campsites to warm up, the sun was out and the evening was looking great for the raffle and  potluck and an evening around the firepits.  Debbie with Marilyn and  Donnie Harris' help had set up the items to be raffled for all to see...and Debbie was busy selling tickets to anyone that stopped by.  Kristine Sink was baking up a huge batch of tasty bacon wrapped  goodies for the potluck that drew people from some distance away with the enticing aroma  and other good smells were coming from the dishes being brought to the table.

      

         
     


 As the drawing began--one more person wanted to buy tickets--which led to a round of applause.  Then Emcee Ringo Covert asked Bonnie Moothart to to assist with the drawing of names from the ticket stub canister while FOS Treasurer Debbie Miller held the winning tickets.

The winners were:
Quilt made by Bonnie Moothart and Yellow Flower made by Dennis Hunter : Jeanne Kew of California
Large Custom Firepit by Dennis Hunter: Chelsea Voss
Triangle Fire Stand by Dennis Hunter: Kristine Sink
Blue Flower by Dennis Hunter: Ken Hartman (Also known as Neal and Lala's father)
Red Flower by Dennis Hunter : Ryan Atkinson
   
Friends of Shimek: $935. raised for trails and campground maintenance at Shimek!!!!.

Thanks to----
Dennis Hunter for the generous donation of prizes including the firepit, the triangle fire stand and flowers;
Bonnie Moothart for the beautiful quilt won by a lady who will treasure it greatly;
Debbie Miller for handling all the logistics and, oh, yes, for carefully handling the money and prizes;
Ann Bennett for the largest number of sold tickets and the distribution of tickets;
Ringo Covert for serving as Emcee and Bonnie for helping him with the drawing;
and to Marsha Achenbach, Neal Hartman and Donnie and Marilyn Harris for helping with what needed doing on site;
and to all of you, the Friends of Shimek,  that sold and bought tickets and helped FOS raise $935.

Plan now for next year.  Got a great raffle prize you can donate?  Reply to FOShimek@gmail.com and a Board Member will be in touch with you.

The lovely end to the day--a glowing sunset over the Lower Campground:

For more photos--see  2nd FOS Raffle Photos

Wet Weather Trail Addition Now Being Rocked

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The many loads of road rock to be put on the 2.2 mile expansion of the Wet Weather Trail have been piled at the end of the road into the Lick Creek Unit. Many Thanks to the William J and Donna M Hoaglin Foundation for the $10,000 funding for the rock.

Forester John Byrd was hard at work this week loading rock into a dump truck and then spreading the rock on the trail that has been prepared for the rock.

  This photo shows a trail section that has just been rocked. (The view down the trail is from the back of Friesian Jupiter while Lora was riding with Marsha on Gussie.) Much more to go to finish the 2.2 miles but Thanks very much to John and Crew for the work already done. The work on the WWT could not be done until the trails dried out so now is the time. 

Know how to operate a dump truck, a skid steer?  Call John and offer to help. 1-319-878-3811

FOS Workday Sept 26, 2015 Follow-up

Lots Done!

Fifteen FOS Volunteers gathered in the lower campground turn around area on a really lovely Saturday morning. A perfect day to ride---or in this case, work. Work done in both campgrounds included cleaning firepits, picking up trash, smoothing the rough piles of gravel near the new water hydrants, collecting and sorting cans and bottles for recycle and IA deposit return, and removal of the old kiosks. In addition, the gate supports were installed under the gates on the upper campground stalls. They were very much needed as one gate had already gotten badly twisted. Several people worked over near Croton, checking that mowing was done there and lopping back hanging branches and vines. A good morning's work that concluded with a picnic lunch and Southern cake brownies. 

Bob Achenbach and Art Duke begin taking down the old kiosks.  They were assisted by Don Harris. 

Cleaning firepits--please people--these are not trash pits!
 Linda Fiordelise, Kathy White, and Jo Watson worked on cleaning up the campgrounds.

 



Marilyn Harris and Judy Duke begin sorting and bagging the recyclable, deposit paid cans and bottles
.

Bob Bender, Neal Hartman, Art Duke and Bob Achenbach
 working on the gate supports for the stalls.



Sandy Harrison tackled smoothing the already packed rock and chips around the water hydrants.

The new gate supports hard at work trying to prevent bending gates
 from horses leaning, buckets hanging and kids climbing.
 

Lunch all---Bonnie and Doug Moothart and Marsha Achenbach
worked over on the Croton side clearing trails,

FOS Raffle and Cookout -Buy Tickets Now

FOS Work Day Aug 25th Followup

A total of seventeen wonderful Volunteers and Forester John Byrd met at the Lick Creek Upper Campground on a beautiful crisp, sunny morning to attack the overgrown trails, cleanup the campgrounds, fill gravel potholes, and prep cans and bottles to recycle.  Volunteers were: Marsha and Bob Achenbach, Linda and Bill Fiordelise, Neal Hartman, Bob Bender, Marilyn Harris, Don Harris, Bonnie and Doug Moothart, Judy and Art Duke, Pam Larson, Wayne Long, Jo Watson, Pam Ball and Lora Conrad.

John Byrd made assignments as Volunteers gathered.

John explains to Bill and Linda Fiordelise where to put rock in potholes with the dump truck.  They were assisted by Art Duke.

Pam Larsen and Jo Watson set off to clean out firepits and stalls at both campgrounds.

Judy Duke and Pam Larson tackle sorting and bagging cans and bottles at both campgrounds for recycling.

John asked Wayne Long and Marilyn Harris to walk trails with a saw on a weedeater engine and loppers, trimming back limbs and multi-flora.

Neal Hartman and Bob Bender rode out on some rougher trails and cut off downed trees.  Bonnie Moothart and Doug Moothart rode out on the WWT and mowed back the sides of the trails and removed trash.  Both teams went back out after lunch for more trail work.

Marsha Achenbach (pictured) and Lora Conrad took DR brush mowers out along some of the narrower trails . Overgrowth was so bad that a trip down a trail and back with two mowers was needed to clear it for riding.

Pam Ball and Jo Watson used stencils provided by Bonnie Moothart to paint "Please Clean Your Stalls" on the boards inside the stalls--at both campgrounds.  After cleaning some stalls left dirty by some messy campers, they decided this was much needed.

John Byrd and Bob Achenbach went out
on some rougher trails with chain saws to clear downed trees.  They happened along the trail being hand mowed right when the chain was pulled off the DR, so also repaired the DR so mowing could resume.






For more photos-- See FOS Work Day Photos and slideshow - 17 images

Friends of Shimek Update --News and Aug 25th Work Day Plans

Friends of Shimek Update 2015-9

From Forester John Byrd......

It has been an interesting spring and summer this year at Shimek.  Looking back, a dry summer would have been  a welcome site, given the amount of work we need to get done.  Some hope is on the horizon with the rains becoming less frequent and trails starting to dry out.  Hopefully, we will actually be able to hold the August 25th Work Day discussed below.  I'll see you there as we tackle the overgrowth and downed trees on the trails.

The wet weather trail (WWT) was recently closed so some of the bad spots could be fixed.  After 2 weeks of being closed and spreading over 100 tons of rock on it, the WWT is about 70% repaired and is open for riding.  One thing a wet year provides is a worst case scenario.  The staff now knows what to expect and where the weak spots are on the WWT.  This is especially important when construction of the new WWT gets underway.  Construction of the additional WWT should begin this fall, but before we can start putting rock down we must get the trails shaped so they are easier to maintain.  Most of the rock for the additional WWT is being funded by a grant from the William M. and Donna J. Hoaglin Foundation, Inc.  Please look for updates in the future on the progress and called work days for spreading rock, if you would be willing to help.  Of course this is all weather dependent.

 

 I would like to thank everyone for staying off the trails when they have been closed.  I know it is frustrating but, it makes maintenance much easier and less costly when there are not major wet spots everywhere.  Thank you for being patient while the WWT was closed.  I have learned that the WWT is not an all-weather trail and may have to close from time to time, when we have such weather extremes. 
             

 I look forward to a safe and enjoyable fall riding season.

 

John Byrd, Area Forester

john.byrd@dnr.iowa.gov
319-878-3811 *******************************************************************************************************************

Group Work Day Scheduled for August 25th.                                       

Clearing the trails.

We are optimistic that with the shift to drier weather, we will be able to hold our first trail maintenance workday this year!  So please try to come help with trail work--lots of catch-up to do.

 Meet at the Lick Creek Unit Upper Campground, day parking area at 8:00 AM on August 25th.  Marsha Achenbach is the FOS Work Day Coordinator.  She and John Byrd will assign trail sections for volunteers to work.  Work to be done: Clearing downed trees and mowing back brush on trails. Reinstalling six of the You Are Here Signs that were taken down last fall. ATV teams will be sent out to clear downed trees from trails, pick up cans, and clear back overhanging limbs with loppers.  Mowing teams will be sent out to mow on and beside trails. The heavy duty walk behind mowers or weedeaters or small tractors/brushhogs will be needed as trails are badly overgrown.  Please contact John  if you can bring an ATV, chainsaws, mowers or other equipment suitable for attacking the trail clearing needed.  All crew members out on trails are requested  to wear their FOS Vests or use one of the loaner vest provided by FOS.

One crew will be needed to fill potholes on the road with rock from the dump truck--John will provide the dump truck and rock.  In the campground, the Horse Shelter at the Upper Campground needs the support posts installed under the gates.  Cody will bring the materials and tools to do this. Fire pits need cleaning out in the campgrounds.

 Plan to BrownBag your lunch; water provided.  Contact John Byrd at John.Byrd@dnr.iowa.gov or phone number 319-878-3811  or send a message to FOShimek@gmail.com if you are planning to attend. 

Working after lunch will be up to the individual workers and weather conditions.

Bring Iowa deposit cans/bottles from home to redeem/recycle.  The ones you bring plus those left in the recycle baskets at the campgrounds or picked up off the trails will be sorted and packaged for redemption. Ann Bennett is in charge of recycling.

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Lala and friends out for a ride.

Reminder--October 24th  Friends of Shimek's 2nd Annual Potluck and Raffle.

Plan to come ride with friends and stay for the Potluck and Raffle.  More details will follow on prizes and ticket sales but NOW IS THE TIME TO RESERVE YOUR CAMPING SPOT!  LOWER CAMPGROUND. There are only 24 sites at the lower campground! 

 

 

Debbie Miller, FOS Coordinator for the event, has already reserved her space--Site #46--same location as last year.

 

To reserve your space---

 Go to
 http://iowastateparks.reserveamerica.com/

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Friends of Shimek Group Work Day Scheduled for July 11th.is Cancelled

Cancellation Notice
After heavy rains this past weekend and another .7 inches of rain on July 8th at Shimek--there is no way that the trails will be dry enough to go out on with ATV's and mowers to work without damaging the trails and increasing the risk to volunteers.   As a result Forester John Byrd and FOS have cancelled the Saturday July 11th work day. 

If it ever gets dry, we will have some extra called work days as we will have so very much trail maintenance and gravel work to do. 

DNR Technician Cody Brothersen has the campgrounds in good shape and when the funds arrive for the grant we have been awarded by the Lee County Charitable Fund, we will call for help to build the new kiosks.