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MITCHELL COUNTY PRESS-NEWS, Osage, IA, Wed., June 15 2011
MITCHELL COUNTY CONSERVATION EVENTS by Jim Cross, Press-News Reporter Summer is the time to explore the outdoors, and there's no better place to become one with nature than right here in Mitchell County. Along with the Nature Center, a variety of areas throughout the county provide modern camping, hunting, fishing, boating, and trails for hiking and biking. In addition, the Mitchell County Conservation Board strives to provide outdoor recreation and environmental education programs each summer to people of all ages and interests. The following are some of the activities available this summer: IOWATER Training, June 18 IOWATER, Iowa's statewide volunteer water quality monitoring program, will host an Introductory IOWATER workshop at the Mitchell County Conservation Nature Center located at 1879-3 Highway 9, Osage, IA on Saturday June 18, 2011 from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. During the workshop, classroom instruction will be combined with hands-on training as participants learn how to monitor and assess the quality of their local streams, rivers, and lakes. If they choose to do so, volunteers may submit their data to an online database via the IOWATER website, www.iowater.net. Anyone can view data submitted by volunteers, but only certified IOWATER volunteers can enter data. Workshop registration fees are $20 per person or $30 for a team and cover all program fees, meals, and testing equipment. The deadline for registration is June 10, 2011. For more information or to register, please contact MaryJo Burkgren at 641-832-7246 or e-mail at maryjo@osage.net. Father's Day Cookout, June 19 There will be food and activities for fathers, grandfathers, uncles and their families from 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. at the Nature Center. "We encourage all the guys to come out and have a great afternoon," said Burkgren. "We will be having archery, BB gun and shot gun shooting and fishing in the Cedar River." A meal will be served with a suggested donation of $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children 12 and under. "All the fathers, grandfathers and uncles will get to eat free," said Burkgren. "'X' Marks the Spot at the GPS Camp", June 21 Mitchell County Conservation and Mitchell County Extension are sponsoring this event in the 4-H building at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. It is open to students who have finished grades 4-6. "Kids attending the camp will have GPS fun," said Burkgren, "They will participate in a scavenger hunt and learn about geocaching." Everyone attending will learn how to navigate using a compass and GPS unit.
"They will then get to use their GPS skills as they go on a scavenger hunt to find 'hidden treasures,'" she added. There is a fee for participating in this event. For more information, contact the Mitchell County Extension Office at 641-732-5574. Cedar River Rendezvous and Outdoor Sports Days September 23-25 This three-day event will kick-off on Friday, September 23 as "Field Trip" Day from 9:00 to 3:00 p.m. with area schools coming to visit the Sac and Fox Native American Indian Tribe camp. The Indians will be performing native dances and storytelling. There will also be artisans and craftsmen displaying Native American arts and crafts and demonstrating their art techniques. Two song and dance performances will be held daily, one short program in the morning and a longer program in the afternoon. Traditional fry breadmaking display booth with open-fire cooking area will be in operation with both fry bread and Indian tacos available to purchase. Primitive camping will be available starting Friday night and continuing through the weekend. The Indians will be setting up their huts to sleep in for the weekend. Other campsites will include the Iowa Buck Skinners with their Teepees. Beginning at 7:00 a.m. and continue all day, on Saturday, Sept. 24, seminars will held covering a widerange of nature/outdoor topics including mink trapping, coyote and fox calling, snaring and 220 dryland setting, beaver trapping, dirt hole dryland trapping, coon trapping, muskrat trapping, skinning and fur preparation, fur grading, taxidermy, introduction to trapping and overpopulation, and introduction to early American history in Mitchell County. A special concert by "Flying Pig Fiddle and Banjo" will be held Saturday afternoon. The two members of this group have studied the role of fiddle and dance at the time of settlements. They will speak about that during their performance. During their performance, they will call an impromptu dance of the kind that was held in cabins and clearings on the frontier, to the delight of both children and adults. They accompany the fiddle and banjo with fiddlesticks, the limber jack and stoneware jug. The duet will also demonstrate how settlers made joyful musical use of tools of toil such as the pitchfork and washtub. They encourage audience participation. Other events taking place over the weekend will include a trap shooting tournament, BB gun shooting, .22 rifle shooting, long bow and arrow shooting, black powder shooting, coon hunting demonstration, canoe trips from Iron Springs to the Cedar River Campground. The Smolik Museum will be open, an old fashioned fishing with sticks, strings and night crawlers, and hand-fishing will be available for children six and under. Informational booths will be set up inside and outside the Nature Center including the DNR, North Iowa Fur Company, Taxidermist, Iowa Trappers Association, Maple syrup collecting and processing, antique to modern trap
display, and antique to modern gun display. On Sunday, Sept. 25, Colonel Frank Fox will be conducting an outdoor and recreational consignment auction. Individuals wishing to donate any outdoor recreational items are welcome to bring the items to the Nature Center the week before the event. One hundred percent of the proceeds will be returned to the Conservation Education Foundation. Tax deduction receipts can be given in return for a donation. Individuals are also able to bring items and donate a portion of the sale back to the Foundation. Anyone needing more information about any of the events including wanting to set up a booth, be a presenter or to donate something to the auction, can contact MaryJo Burkgren at 641-732-5204. Friday Night Trapshooting Every Friday night starting at 6:00 p.m. children ages 12-15 will have the chance to shoot at the Trap Range west of Osage, on Highway 9. "Those students who have completed a hunter safety course are welcome to come out to the range," said Burkgren. "They can bring their own gun or use one of ours." The Mitchell County Pioneer Chapter of Pheasants Forever will be providing shells. However, there is a cost of $3.00 per person per night with the money being used for maintenance of the Trap Range. About the Nature Center The Mitchell County Conservation Board opened the Nature Center in 1999, located two miles west of Osage, next to Cedars Valley Memories, at 18793 Highway 9. It is open Tuesday - Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sundays from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. or by appointment. The Center features educational displays of animals and other natural resources found in the county. Visitors can see displays of various types of wildlife. All of the mounts were animals which died from natural deaths, were found in the wild or, were legally harvested game animals. The Center also has several aquariums with reptiles, turtles, frogs, fish and other mammals as well as three large windows through which visitors can view songbirds at feeders. A pair of breeding trumpeter swans may also be viewed in the Center's captive breeding enclosure with the babies released back into the wild. In addition to the captive breeding enclosure for the trumpeter swans outside the Center, visitors will also find the Falk Wildlife Area and the nearby Cedar River Greenbelt Trail. A variety of educational programs are scheduled throughout the year. Call the Nature Center at 641-8327246 for more schedules and additional information. The Center is funded and maintained through memberships in the Mitchell County Environmental Education Foundation, the Mitchell County Conservation Fund and donations.
SUMMER IN MITCHELL COUNTY A guide to events and special attractions in Mitchell County
A unique Civil War re-enactment will be conducted in Osage on July 4. Look inside for more details on this and many other fun events this summer in Mitchell County.
Vol. 146 • No. 24 • June 15, 2011 • SECTION C