Webster County
Conservation
Board

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is operated by the State of Iowa and is a separate agency than the Webster County Conservation Board.  Two State Parks lie within Webster County. These two parks are operated by the DNR.  The DNR has a comprehensive website and will probably answer most of your questions regarding parks, environmental protection, wildlife biology, fisheries, and law enforcement including everything from animal poaching to hunting and policing of boaters and fishermen.

The conservation board maintains areas totaling over 1000 acres that are managed as wildlife habitat areas with little if any development on site. These relatively small areas provide much needed shelter, food sources, and nesting cover for a variety of wildlife indigenous to Webster County. These areas act as oasis in the surrounding sea of row crops and treeless landscape so prevalent in most of the Midwest. The areas are left as undisturbed as possible with only additional tree and shrub plantings and food plot establishments as ongoing developments.  To find out more about an individual area click on the links below or click here to go to the Natural Areas page.

John F. Kennedy Memorial Park

Becker Wildlife Area

Bob Hay Memorial Conservation Area

Carlson Recreation Area

Deer Creek Area

The Diggings

Holiday Creek Area

Lake Ole Park

Lindquist Wildlife Sanctuary

Liska-Stanek Prairie

Miller Marsh

Lost Acres Wildlife Area

Lundgren Church Nature Park

Meier Memorial Marsh

Moorland Pond

Prairie Pond Wildlife Area

Rossow Prairie

Skillet Creek Indian Mounds

Whispering Wings Marsh

Webster County was one of the first few counties in the state of Iowa to start in Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management Program, (IRVM). The primary goal of the program is to use an integrated approach in controlling weds, stabilizing soil, and reducing runoff, thus improving the quality of water entering our streams and rivers.

Visit our IRVM page for more extensive information on our IRVM program or take a quick look at our IRVM brochure in pdf format.

We also offer A Landowner’s Guide to Roadside Management.

Habitat Preservation

One of the primary goals of the Webster County Conservation Board is preservation.  Preserving diverse plant and animal communities is the key to keeping the numbers and varieties of them in balance.  To counter the effects of the tremendous amount of habitat loss that has occurred in the last 100 years, the conservation staff is committed to land acquisition, landowner conservation programs, re-establishment of these precious areas, and management of them through good conservation practices.

The tall grass prairie, once covering 85% of the state, is now a rarity with less that one-tenth of 1% remaining.  Only about 28% of Iowa’s original forest covers remain.  And of Iowa’s wetlands, approximately 95% were destroyed in a hundred-year period.  It’s obvious that early settlement had a severe impact on Iowa’s landscape.

Why all the fuss?  These natural ecosystems play important roles not only for plants and animal, but also for the human sector.  The prairie is responsible for the fertile soil that became the basis of our economy, and people have depended on prairie plants and wildlife for food, medicines, and materials.  Wetlands cleanse the water, reduce erosion and flooding, and maintain populations of fish, ducks, and other wildlife.  The benefits reaped from woodlands include hunting, hiking, fishing, wildlife watching, and lumber and firewood harvesting.  These natural communities are rich, diverse, and a part of our heritage.  Let’s do our part in preserving them.

Technical assistance in habitat development, establishing windbreaks, shelterbelts, tree planting, and landscaping for wildlife is available through the staff for anyone who is interested. If you would like more information, contact us at Kennedy Park at 576-4258 or e-mail us at conservation@webstercountyia.org .

Hunting and trapping is allowed throughout designated seasons on the following sites:  Bob Hay Area, Liska-Stanek Prairie, Lost Acres Wildlife Area, Holiday Creek, and Carlson Recreation Area.  Good fishing is available the year round throughout Webster County.

Are you interested in joining others in supporting Webster County Conservation? If so, view our Friends page to learn more and then fill out an application for membership!

The Webster County Conservation Board in the provisions of services and facilities to the public does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of race, color, sex, creed, national origin, age, or handicap.  If anyone believes he or she has been subject to such discrimination, he or she may file a complaint alleging discrimination with either the Webster County Conservation Board or the Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S. Depts. Of Interior, Washington, D.C. 20240.