Dallas County Conservation Director Mike Wallace was the special guest at Monday’s meeting at the Hotel Pattee of the Perry Lions Club.
Wallace reported that the connector bike trail from Perry to Woodward is scheduled to be completed on Aug. 16. Work began March 1 on the final two-mile segment of the trail east of Bouton, including paving and building one bridge.
The stretch of the Raccoon River Valley Trail from Linden to Redfield will be resurfaced and new decks put on the bridges, Wallace said, and the bike bridge over the Raccoon River east of Adel will be resurfaced and made wider. The bridge’s width will be increased from 10 to 12 feet in order to allow maintenance equipment and emergency vehicles to travel on the trail.
Wallace said the Raccoon River Valley Trail had 150,000 users in 2023. At the beginning of 2024, the $10 dollar annual user fee was dropped.
In other county conservation news, Wallace said Forest Park Museum has a new “mew” for the live barred owl that is used for school programs. The mew looks like a small building enclosed with special fencing. It was especially designed for the captive owl and built according to Iowa Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specifications.
Wallace also showed the Perry Lions drawings of a bird blind that will be built at the Voas Nature Center near Minburn this summer. He said grant funding is expected to cover the cost of the building. There is a bird blind at the Kuehn Nature Center that is used by many school groups.
Perry Lions Club President Trisha Smith welcomed Wallace, whose presentation was preceded by a supper of chicken breast, mashed potatoes, green beans and a dinner roll. The dessert was a slice of chocolate cheesecake with a dollop of whipped cream on top.
Ten Lions were in attendance.
Ray Harden is the secretary of the Perry Lions Club.
