1775 Mackenzie Drive, Cedar Rapids, IA 52411

(515) 963-9582 IACCB@mycountyparks.com

mycountyparks.com

IACCB LEGISLATIVE BILL TRACKER: http://www.ialobby.com/billtracker/bills.cfm?ClientID=18&NoHeader=0

Volume LV                                        February 14, 2014                                         Issue XVIII 

 IMPORTANT DATES:  

* February 19 – District  3 

Mtg. – Sioux County              

* February 20 – District 1 

Mtg. – Hardin County 

* March 3 – CCPOA 

Workshop – Polk CCB 

* March 6 – CCPOA 

Workshop – Dickinson Co. 

* March 11 – Right‐of Way 

Workshop – Kirkwood 

* March 12 – County Day at 

the Capitol  

* March 13‐14 – Spring 

ISAC/CCDA – Des Moines       

* March 18 – REAP Day at 

the Capitol         

* March 18 – IACCBE 

Planning Meeting    

* March 19 – CCPOA 

Workshop – Tama Co.             

* April 5 – IACCB Spring 

Workshop – Ames                      

* April 7‐9 – IPRA 

Conference – Cedar Rapids 

* May 15 – REAP C.E.P. 

Grant deadline 

* September 25‐27, 2014 – 

IACCB Fall Conference in 

Sioux City / Woodbury Co. 

* Sept. 29 – October 1 – 

CCPOA Fall Workshop 

 

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.

Since 1959

Iowa’s County Conservation System 

HABITAT IMPROVEMENT AWARDS COMMITTEE Most of you are aware of the annual IACCB Habitat Improvement Awards that are sponsored by the Izaak Walton League (Iowa Chapter) each year. We would like to have a periodic review of the criteria that is utilized in the selection process, and therefore are looking for a handful of either Board Members or staff that would have interest in

serving on a committee to review both the application and scoring processes. If you have an interest in this committee – please contact: Tom.Hazelton@mycountyparks.com

REAP .22 CERTIFICATION DATABASE(S) We have finally been able to collate the data from 400 pages of the FY2014 REAP Certification Reports that you filed last fall. The Excel database files have been uploaded to the FILES portal under the parent file “REAP .22 CERTIFICATION”. As you know, these reports reflect your budgetary data from the previous fiscal year. The portal file also contains data from FY’s 2013, 2012 & 2011. Interesting statistics from the current FY2014 Report include:

Average conservation levy - .429 Total statewide CCB revenue generated - $20,632,775 Total statewide CCB property tax support - $53,941,919

Total statewide CCB expenditures - $74,574,695

RIGHTS-OF-WAY WORKSHOP – March 11th @ Kirkwood IACCB is proud to be one of several sponsors for this great workshop in Cedar Rapids. Because transportation and transmission corridors play a critical ecological role, they have assembled a team of presenters and content to address both possibilities and practices that we believe can more closely align infrastructure and the natural world. We hope you find the materials presented to be practical, informative and useful in your everyday activities. This workshop is provided FREE of charge. REGISTRATION: Lunch is provided for the daytime workshop, so please register before 4:30 PM on Friday March 7 at ISU Linn County Extension, 319-377-9839 or e-mail benesh1@iastate.edu Questions? Contact: Rob Roman, Linn County Secondary Road Department, (319) 892-6424, rob.roman@linncounty.org WORKSHOP DETAILS VIA LINK BELOW:

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/linn/news/rights-way-workshop-brings-nature-home

   WETLAND DELINEATION TRAINING CLASS – UNI – June 9-13, 2014 Wetland Delineation Training Class is being offered at the University of Northern Iowa’s Tallgrass Prairie Center June 9-13, 2014, in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Corps of Engineers and the USDA – Natural Resource Conservation Service will again team up to teach the Corps 1987 Wetland Delineation Manual with the Midwest Regional Supplement. This week-long class will teach the basics of what a wetland delineation is, vegetation, soils and hydrology indicators, how to fill out data sheets for a delineation submitted to the Corps, how to tackle difficult sites and much, much more. This class is ideal for those who deal with the Corps Regulatory Program or are tasked with the identification of wetland boundaries and delineation. This class has daily field trips and appropriate field attire is required. Cost will be approximately $250.00. For more information, please contact Albert Frohlich with the Rock Island District Corps of Engineers Regulatory Branch at 309-794-5859, or email at Albert.J.Frohlich@usace.army.mil

EMERALD ASH BORER UPDATE – STATEWIDE QUARANTINE – Issued 2/3/2014 "The Iowa Emerald Ash Borer Team urges campers, travelers and home owners to purchase their firewood locally to avoid the spread of pests and diseases." Considering that there is a statewide quarantine, it is still an excellent idea to promote the “buy local & burn local” methodology to assist the best we can to contain the spread of EAB across the state and prolong the benefit of ash trees. “Even though Iowa has been quarantined statewide, Iowans are encouraged not to transport firewood across county or state lines, since moving firewood poses the greatest threat to quickly spreading EAB or possibly other pests even further”. The DNR’s EAB page has been updated and provides a bunch of great information via the following link:

http://www.iowadnr.gov/Environment/Forestry/ForestHealth/EmeraldAshBorer

Emerald Ash Borer: It is in Iowa. Now what? – Informational Meeting – 3/25/14 The Iowa Department of Natural Resources along with Iowa State Extension Outreach, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Cerro Gordo County Conservation Board will host an informational meeting concerning the presence of emerald ash borer (EAB), an exotic, destructive insect of ash trees, which is spreading in Iowa. This meeting will be held at the lime Creek Nature Center in Cerro Gordo County – hosted by the CGCCB, 3501 Lime Creek Rd., Mason City, IA 50401 – 6:30 – 8:00 PM. For Homeowners and other concerned citizens. Meetings are FREE and no registration is required. If you have questions, call ISU Extension and Outreach Cero Gordo County at 641-423-0844 or email xcerrogordo@iastate.edu

WINTER WEED COMMISSIONERS MEETING – March 5-7 – Ames, IA The winter meeting will have some very timely speakers and will cover a wide range of important topics. As many of you are aware, the Dark Cloud of Emerald Ash Borer is now in Iowa. We will discuss its distribution and implications to our jobs. Thanks to several natural resource managers across Iowa we were really rolling with trainings this past summer. From those meetings, Doug Sheeley and Scott Moats will bring to the classroom their struggles and successes of fighting invasive plants on lands they manage. Buzz words “Nutrient Strategy” and “Gulf Hypoxia” were all over in 2013. What exactly is a “nutrient strategy” and how do we implement one? MORE INFORMATION & REGISTRATION AVAILABLE VIA LINK BELOW:

http://iowaweedcommissioners.org/weed-comm-2014-conference/

2014 EQUESTRIAN SOFT TRAILS CONFERENCE – April 4th The Iowa Horse Council Trails Committee will be hosting an Equestrian Trails Conference Friday, April 4, 2014 in conjunction with the Iowa Horse Fair at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. This conference is meant for both trail managers and trail users, to explore together, the problems and challenges of maintaining and creating sustainable equestrian trails. Soft trail managers and users can come together to learn how to partner-up to keep our Iowa equestrian trails in good riding condition. MORE INFORMATION VIA LINK BELOW: http://iowahorsecouncil.org/equestrian-trails-conference/

 

   

CCPOA SPRING WORKSHOPS – Dickinson, Polk & Tama Counties The three regional spring workshops provided by local CCBs and sponsored by the CCPOA are coming up in March. The 4 hour MANDATORY MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS TRAINING as required by 2013 legislation will be provided at all three locations. If CCB peace officers have graduated from ILEA since 1/1/2011 – this 4-hour training is not required. They will now be on the “1hour/year or 4 hours every 4 years” in-service training requirement. These spring classes will be the only ones offered by the CCPOA. Beginning with the 2014 CCPOA Annual Fall Workshop, the mandated annual 1 hour in-service updates in this same subject will be added to each year’s agenda. Please review these workshop schedules and determine which one best fits your specific needs. As a reminder, the CCPOA will cover the $15/officer training cost for the mandatory training, but officers will still be obligated for any registration fees at the workshop sites. Current workshop schedule/ Link to flyers: http://iowaccpoa.weebly.com/spring-workshops.html

WESTERN REGIONAL – Dickinson County – Thursday, March 6th CENTRAL REGIONAL – Polk County – Monday, March 3rd

EASTERN REGIONAL – Tama County – Wednesday, March 19th

REAP SPRING C.E.P. GRANT APPLICATION SCHEDULE May 15, 2014 - CEP Grant Application Deadline May 30, 2014 - 9:30 am - CEP Board work session May 30, 2014 - 11:30 am - Networking Luncheon for Environmental Educators, with a Question and Answer Panel Discussion with the Board May 30, 2014 - 1 pm - CEP Review of Proposals Meeting* *All applicants for CEP standard grants are expected to attend the Review of Proposals Meeting.

LINK TO REAP CEP GRANT INFORMATION: http://www.iowadnr.gov/Environment/REAP/REAPFundingatWork/ConservationEducation.aspx  

REAP CEP GRANT MONITOR & ASSISTANT – RFI (From IDNR) The REAP CEP Board is seeking information from vendors who would be interested in serving as Resource Enhancement and Protection REAP Conservation Education Program CEP Monitor and Assistant. This Request for Information RFI process is designed to provide information for the Department’s preparation for the Request for Proposals RFP process. Interested parties may submit responses outlining their products and services to identify solutions related to the scope of work described in Section 3.0. MORE INFORMATION: Please visit: http://bidopportunities.iowa.gov/?pgname=viewrfp&rfp_id=9864 The closing date for the RFI is February 28, 2014.

CARROLL CCB NEWS We are deeply saddened to report that John Danner’s wife, Sarah passed away on February 10th after a three year battle with cancer. She was 32 years old leaves behind John and two children, Emma (5) and Caleb (3). John is a Park Ranger for the Carroll CCB – cards and condolences may be sent to: John Danner – 22813 Swan Lake Drive – Carroll, Iowa 51401 – or notes may be placed online at the funeral home website as follows: MORE INFORMATION: http://www.sharpfuneral.com/obituaries/Sarah-Danner/#!/Obituary

KEEP IOWA BEAUTIFUL CONFERENCE – May 7th – Webster City Keep Iowa Beautiful (KIB) will be hosting their annual spring conference at the Webster

City Community Theatre from 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM on Wednesday, May 7th. Featured speaker will be Jim Dittoe, author of the book “90 Days To A Winning Community”. Other sessions include: Art in Rural Communities; Tree Planning, Planting & Care; Hometown

Pride; Rivers & Water Trails; EE Service Projects & more! A bonus opportunity is a Service Project happening along the biking/walking trail that

follows the Boone River through Webster City. For more information / registration:

KIB WEBSITE: http://www.keepiowabeautiful.com/

 

   

WINTER 2014 WILDLIFE DIVERSITY NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE The Winter 2014 edition of “Wildlife Diversity News” has been posted along with the Iowa Outdoors news releases and the IACCB Newsletters at this location: http://mycountyparks.weebly.com/ To lean more about this DNR program or to retrieve/view archived editions of the Wildlife Diversity New – please visit the following section of the IDNR website: http://www.iowadnr.gov/Environment/WildlifeStewardship/NonGameWildlife.aspx  

2014 MODEL YEAR VEHICLE CONTRACT CATALOG from Iowa D.A.S. The listing of vehicles and dealerships that participated in the “STATE BID” process for the 2014 model year is available via the link below. If you are considering purchasing vehicles from the catalog, please contact the dealer directly with questions and further information on placing your order. Dealer contact information is provided on page 4 of the catalog. LINK TO CATALOG: http://www.das.gse.iowa.gov/procurement/2014_vehicle_catalog.pdf (Kudos to Marc Miller, Scott CCB for passing this information along to all of us!) 

58th ANNUAL ISU SHADE TREE SHORT COURSE – February 25-27 The Shade Tree Short Course will be held at the Iowa State Center (Stephens Auditorium and Scheman Building) on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, Iowa. The well-crafted website for this conference is full of many details, course descriptions and all the details you need to know at the following website: CONFERENCE WEBSITE: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/registration/events/conferences/shadetree/index.html

FYI - 2015 DATES: February 24-26 

FYI - CODE OF IOWA - COUNTY CONSERVATION - SEC 350.6 Moneys -- contracts -- bonds. “Upon request of the county conservation board, the board of supervisors shall establish a reserve for county conservation land acquisition and capital improvement projects. The board of supervisors may periodically credit an amount of money to the reserve. Moneys credited to the reserve shall remain in the reserve until expended for the projects upon warrants requisitioned by the county conservation board”.

FYI - CODE OF IOWA – IOWA REAP FUND - 455A.19 Allocation of fund proceeds “Funds allocated to the counties under subparagraphs (1), (2), and (3) may be used for land easements or acquisitions, capital improvements, stabilization and protection of resources, repair and upgrading of facilities, environmental education, and equipment. However, expenditures are not allowed for single or multipurpose athletic fields, baseball or softball diamonds, tennis courts, golf courses, swimming pools, and other group or organized sport facilities. Funds may be used for county projects located within the boundaries of a city”.

GENERAL I.A.C.C.B. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS

1. 2014 USER FEE SURVEY – I hope to embark on a “Survey Monkey”-type user survey this spring that is far less cumbersome and bulky than our previous efforts. While we attempted in the past to have this survey be “all-inclusive” – I prefer to focus on those areas of most interest to you. If you have a specific realm of CCB fee structure you would like to have included – please let me know in the next couple weeks. 2. GENERAL TRAINING - MyCountyParks.com – IACCB would like to offer some general introductory training on the administration of the MCP.com website (not the Portal). I need to know where the interest in this training is located in order to schedule and plan accordingly. This will be open to any CCB staff person. Please email Name/CCB to: IACCB@mycountyparks.com so that we can ascertain need/interest. 3. ONLINE RESERVATIONS – I have heard that there may be several CCBs that could have an interest in making the move towards online reservations in the future. I would like to host an informational meeting in conjunction with another scheduled event (ISAC, Fall Conference, etc.) Please let me know if your CCB has an interest so that we can perhaps get something scheduled – thanks! IACCB@mycountyparks.com 4. RESPONDING TO “BEST PRACTICES” EMAILS – It is exciting to already have the strong interest in the BEST PRACTICES module of the new Portal system! To maximize the future value of this system – just a reminder to please respond to the inquiry by entering your comments/attachments through the BEST PRACTICES portal. This will automatically archive the information for future reference by others – thanks! 5. FINALIZE YOUR EMAIL LISTINGS IN PORTAL “CONTACTS” by February 21st! IACCB will begin the process of migrating to a new email communications process in late February. As previously mentioned, we will be harvesting the email addresses that you have entered into your portion of the CONTACTS module in the Portal. If you have not yet done so – please confirm that what is listed is who and where you want electronic communications from IACCB to go. This will be the front end of an anticipated longer process to shift gears to a new and better updated system! Patience my friends

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 http://www.mycountyparks.com/Jobs/Default.aspx  1. Lee CCB – Administrative Assistant 

2. MITCHELL – Office Manager 

3. FRANKLIN – Seasonal Park Aide 

4. DALLAS  ‐ Seasonal Maintenance Worker 

5. JOHNSON – Naturalist Intern 

6. POLK – Officer Clerk 

7. JOHNSON – Seasonal Park Worker (6 mo.) 

8. JOHNSON – Season Park Worker (3‐4 mo.) 

9. CARROLL – Naturalist Internship 

10. CARROLL – Park Ranger Internship 

11. CLAY – Seasonal Conservation  Aide 

12. CHICKASAW – Conservation Aide 

13. WEBSTER – OHV Trail Technician 

14. BUTLER – Naturalist Intern 

15. WOODBURY – Outdoor Skills Intern 

16. BUTLER – Conservation Aide 

17. POTTAWATTAMIE – Nat. Areas Mgmt. Intern 

18. POTTAWATTAMIE – Park Ranger Intern 

19. WOODBURY – Habitat Stewardship Intern 

20. DICKINSON – Nature Center Cons. Aide 

21. MARSHALL – Temp. Conservation Aide 

22. STORY – Vegetation Mgmt. Aide/IRVM 

23. STORY – Summer Naturalist 

24. STORY – Campground Attendant 

25. STORY – Park Ranger Aide 

26. STORY – Natural Resource Aide 

27. STORY – Park Aide 

28. BLACK HAWK – Seas. Park Maintenance 

29. HANCOCK – Conservation Aide 

30. JACKSON – Youth Corps Assistant 

31. POLK – Outreach Technician 

32. HAMILTON – Park Internship 

33. HAMILTON – Campground Hosts 

34. OSCEOLA – Seas. Conservation Technician 

35. PLYMOUTH – Seasonal Park Aide 

36. PLYMOUTH – Seasonal Conservation Aide 

37. PLYMOUTH – Seasonal Naturalist 

38. CERRO GORDO – Conservation Education Intern 

39. SIOUX – Seasonal Park Technician 

40. SIOUX – Summer Naturalist Intern 

41. HARRISON – Museum/ Welcome Center Intern 

42. HARRISON – Park Ranger Intern 

43. HARRISON – Naturalist/Park Ranger 

Full Time Employment 

Seasonal/Part‐Time 

Located at the bottom of each and every page of the MyCountyParks.com website.  

44.BUCHANAN– Naturalist Intern 

45. WOODBURY –Summer Naturalists & Habitat Mgmt. 

Interns 

46. POLK – Stable Laborer 

47. POLK – Campground Aides 

48. MUSCATINE – Summer Conservation Worker 

49. POLK – Assistant Naturalist 

50. CERRO GORDO – Wildlife/Parks Management 

Internship 

51. CERRO GORDO – Park Management Internship 

52. CERRO GORDO – Park Attendant Internship 

53. BUCHANAN – Seasonal Park Internship 

54. CERRO GORDO – Vegetation Management Intern 

55. JACKSON – Seasonal Conservation worker 

56. IOWA – Campground Host/Attendant 

57. DICKINSON‐ Conservation Aide 

58. BUENA VISTA – Campground Hosts 

59. WOODBURY – Summer Ranger 

60. WOODBURY – Park Maintenance Worker 

61. LOUISA – Conservation Aide & Naturalist Intern 

62. WINNEBAGO – Natural Resource Technician 

63. WORTH – Naturalist Intern 

64. LINN CO. ROADS – Roadside Workers (IRVM) 

65. IOWA LAKESIDE LAB – Science Writing & P.R. 

66. IOWA LAKESIDE LAB – Summer E.E. Position 

67. IDNR AMERICORPS – Summer Trail Crew 

68. S&WCD District Summer Interns