Tourism meeting – Amana, IA

1775 Mackenzie Drive, Cedar Rapids, IA 52411

(515) 963-9582

IACCB@mycountyparks.com

mymymymycountycountycountycountyparksparksparksparks.com

Volume LV July 21, 2013 Issue II

Iowa’s County Conservation System

IMPORTANT DATES:

* July 22-23 – CCPOA Exec.

Committee Retreat

* July 25 – District 1 Mtg.

Grundy County

* August 3 – Denny Sohl

retirement, Plymouth CCB

* August 7-9 –IAN Summer

Workshop – Warren Co.

* August 15 – County REAP

Grants due to DNR

* Sept. 19-20 – Roadside

Conference – Storm Lake

* October 7-9 – CCPOA

Annual Workshop at Camp

Dodge – Johnston

* October 23 – District 2

Mtg. - Bremer County

* November 5-8 – IACCB

Summit Series, Des Moines

* January 4, 2014 – REAP

Congress – State Capitol

* January 21-23, 2014 – The

2014 WINTERFEST Event

The IACCB Newsletter is

produced on a periodic basis, and

provided in digital format as a

membership benefit to IACCB

Members and stakeholders.

PLEASE forward or make copies of this communication for your Board Members.

* Sept. 26-28, 2013 - IACCB

Fall Conference in Okoboji

WILDLIFE HABITAT IMPROVEMENT AWARDS – Deadline AUGUST 16th

!

We are once again partnering with Iowa Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America to

recognize those county conservation boards that have excelled in wildlife habitat improvement

over the past 12 months (FY2013). DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION – August 16th!!

Nomination forms were emailed to all Directors earlier this month…..plenty of time yet to get

these two-page surveys filled out and turned in! ☺ Many of you have done some great work

over the past year – time to pat yourselves on the back! Forms have been distributed in both a

WORD and PDF format so that you can electronically fill them out and email them back in if you

wish. Six nice plaques are awarded by the IWLA …… 1st

, 2nd

and 3rd

places

in both above/below 20,000 in county population. If you need a

replacement emailed copy of the form – please send a note

along to IACCB@mycountyparks.com

IACCB FY2014 MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS – Due August 2nd

A reminder that your FY2014 IACCB Membership renewals are due no later than Friday, August

2nd

. Invoices were emailed to all counties on May 1st

, and to-date – 77 CCBs have taken

advantage of getting their renewals sent in. Should you need another invoice, please let me

know and I will get one to you promptly. Your IACCB has been proud to recognize a strong 99-

county membership roster the past two decades and looks forward to yet another very

successful year of expanded programming and quality services. If you have need any

clarifications, please contact us at: IACCB@mycountyparks.com

CALL FOR ARTICLES – IOWA BOARD MEMBER ☺☺☺☺

The summer edition of IACCB’s Board Member magazine is in

production for a scheduled release in August. We encourage any

of you with a great picture or a story to tell to submit them to

IACCB by the first week of August. Specifically – we would

especially like to have updates from our affiliate organizations –

CCDA, CCPOA, IAN, AFIRM, IACCBE, etc. The Board Member is

published 3 times a year – Spring, Summer & Winter – and

electronic copies are provided to all employees, board members,

Preferred Vendor and stakeholders at no cost. All current and

past issues of the digital Board Member are available online at:

http://mycountyparks.weebly.com/board-member.html

54th

ANNUAL IACCB FALL CONFERENCE – OKOBOJI, IA Registration deadline is September 6

th - LINK TO ALL CONFERENCE MATERIALS: http://mycountyparks.weebly.com/

IACCB 2013 CONFERENCE SURVEY HEADED YOUR WAY! ☺☺☺☺

An opportunity for you to provide important input, as well as potentially win some cool

prizes will be coming your way later this week. An electronic “IACCB Survey Monkey” will

CONFERENCE INFORMATION, SILENT AUCTION FORMS, ETC.: http://mycountyparks.weebly.com/

SEPT. 25-28, MIDWEST EEC CONFERENCE - Coralville

ICEC will be hosting the Midwest Environmental Education Conference (MEEC)

in September 25-28, 2013 at the Marriott Coralville Hotel Conference Center,

Coralville, Iowa. Registration is now open for the Midwest Environmental

Education Conference! Scholarships? Over 80 scholarships will be offered to

ICEC members! ICEC encourages pre-service educators, educators, naturalists

and early childhood educators to apply!

CONFERENCE LINK: http://meeconference.org/

TORNADO –SAFE STRUCTURES?

Steve Edwards (Marion CCB) is seeking information

from CCBS that have built or constructed tornado

safe facilities within their campgrounds or

recreation areas. Any information you can share

would be most welcomed by Steve via email to:

sedwards@co.marion.ia.us (With a “cc:” to IACCB

of course ☺ - IACCB@mycountyparks.com )

Mitchell CCB Nature Center Linn CCB Shower Facility

PREVIEW – RECREATION ATLAS OF IOWA

Most information that you all provided last year to develop the outdoor recreation guide

has now been integrated into the updated online Recreation Atlas of Iowa, developed by

the Iowa DNR. They are interested in receiving your comments about the application

before it is widely distributed and the old one shut down. All of the activities are also made

available to the H2O initiative being promoted by the DNR. CONTACT: casey.kohrt@dnr.iowa.gov

WEBSITE PREVEIW: http://programs.iowadnr.gov/maps/recreationatlas/

arrive in your inboxes to develop information for an important feature of our Okoboji conference! This survey will be widely

distributed, and we encourage ALL employees and board members to participate. Please respond at your earliest convenience!

Elsewise, it is full-speed-ahead on all the final preparations for this 54th

annual IACCB event – the #1 gathering for

board member & staff networking and education! The Conference Planning Committee (Clay, Dickinson, O’Brien &

Palo Alto CCBs) is pulling all the details together, and promises you a great experience in the Iowa Great Lakes region.

DON’T MISS YOUR CHANCE to participate in the above survey, as well as planning ahead to partake of the raffles,

live/silent auctions, the tours & the networking – all historic “bests” about our annual conference! Stay tuned for the survey,

and we look forward to seeing you in Okoboji in short nine weeks!

CURRENTLY LISTED AT: http://www.mycountyparks.com/Info/Employment.aspx 1. Clarke CCB – Director

2. Cerro Gordo CCB - Director

3. Whiterock Conservancy – Director of Development & Communications

4. Lee – Maintenance Assistant

5. Polk - Seasonal Conservation Laborer

6. Jones – Camp Host at Central Park

Located at the bottom of each and every page of the MMMMyyyyCCCCoooouuuunnnnttttyyyyPPPPaaaarrrrkkkkssss....ccccoooommmm website.

Full Time Employment

Seasonal/Part-Time

RETIREMENT OPEN HOUSE for Denny Sohl, Director – Plymouth Co. Conservation

Saturday, August 3 from 1-3 p.m. - The Center for Outdoor Learning - Hillview County Park, Plymouth Co.

The Board and Staff of the Plymouth County Conservation Board invite you to join them to honor their

retiring long-time Director, Dennis Sohl – recognizing his 34+ years of service! No gifts required, just bring

your memories (true or not) - Roast, laughs and tributes at 2 PM. Light refreshments will be served.

(Circa 1988)

IACCB BOARD OF DIRECTORS – District IV Board Member Needed

Gene Olsen, Jr. (Decatur CCB) will complete his second 3-year term on the IACCB

Board of Directors in September, and we are still in search of a conservation board

member that would be interested in representing District 4 on this important committee.

Ballots need to go out in early August, so if you might be interested – please get in touch

with IACCB as soon as possible! Contact Tom Hazelton at: IACCB@mycountyparks.com

Elected IACCB Board Members serve a 3-year term (Sept. – Sept.), and are expected to attend 5-6 board meetings each year –

including those associated with the annual fall and spring IACCB conferences. Members are reimbursed for mileage, noon

meals at day meetings, and one night lodging at the annual fall conference. Please be in touch soon!

WELCOME! TO NEW PREFERRED VENDOR

We are pleased to welcome the return of the Conservation Corps of Iowa as a Preferred Vendor

Member to the Association. They provide trained and outfitted crews travelling throughout Iowa

completing natural resource projects: TSI, invasive species removal, trail building, prescribed

burning, etc. The contact person is Chris Severson, Program Manager at the following email

address: chris.severson@conservationcorps.org A link to their website and more information on

all of Preferred Vendors may be found at: http://mycountyparks.weebly.com/preferred-vendor.html

27th

ANNUAL ROADSIDE CONFERENCE – Sept. 19-20, King’s Pointe @ Storm Lake

Iowa’s 27th

Annual Roadside Conference – “A Watershed Year” will be held at the King’s Point Resort in

Storm Lake on September 19-20, 2013. More information and registration procedures are available on the

Iowa Living Roadway Trust Fund (ILRTF) website: http://www.iowalivingroadway.com/Calendar.aspx If

you are interested in work with native vegetation in the roadway, or are a practitioner interested in the

latest trends, products & equipment on the market for IRVM – this would be a good event to attend. In

conjunction with this conference, A.F.I.R.M. (Association for Integrated Roadside Managers) will also be

having their meeting on the 18th

. Contact Rebecca Kauten for more information – (319) 273-3856.

EMERALD ASH BORER CONFIRMED IN DES MOINES COUNTY – 7/16/2013

DES MOINES – Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has been positively identified in a residential tree in the city of

Burlington in Des Moines County, making this the second location where the invasive beetle has been found

in Iowa. It initially had been found on Henderson Island in the Mississippi River in Allamakee County in 2010.

IDALS provides a website with additional information: http://www.iowatreepests.com/