Select DCCB locations: Hanging Rock Kuehn Conservation Area Voas Nature Area
Dallas County Conservation Board’s
Bookmark this page - program options will change!
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•The clickable items on each page will take you to special links or slides to help guide your exploration.
•If you have questions or concerns, feel free to contact us by calling the office at 515-465-3577 or emailing naturalists@dallascountyiowa.gov
Whether you explore one of our conservation areas, your backyard, or a park near or far, be sure to bring water, snacks and a sense of adventure!
Public Programming
Visit our most recent newsletter for a list of upcoming public programs and descriptions. Sign up for our Weekly E-News for timely updates and new additions to the calendar.
Outdoor nature programs celebrate the seasons year-round, designed with families in mind. From year-to-year we provide many of the same programs, as well as new programs. Some examples of programs typically done each year are: Canoe Floats, Monarch Tagging, Night Hikes and Star Gazing.
Registration is required for some public programs. Registering enables DCCB naturalists to email you with updates or changes to programs, and it provides an estimated headcount ahead of the program.
Kuehn’s Ochante
A first step volunteer opportunity
Kuehn Conservation Area has been identified as one of the seven natural wonders of Iowa. We invite you to join a volunteer group that will be dedicated to the preservation, protection and restoration of this much-loved area.
Stargazing: Sky Patterns and Positions
People have monitored, recorded and used the daily and seasonal trek of the sun, moon, stars, and planets across Earth’s sky to create clocks and calendars, predict eclipses and comets and even affect the course of history!
Make an analemmatic sundial
Hear the star story -
The Blood of the Bear
What stars are you seeing in the sky tonight? Check out this personal planetarium you can customize for any date, time or place on Earth!
Interested in a guided tour of the winter night sky? Sign up on Eventbrite to be notified when we are hosting winter stargazing programs.
When it snows, we ski!
We can’t predict when there will be snow, but we do have skis! So when there is 4+ inches of snow cover at Voas (and it isn’t bitterly cold or icy) and a staff member is available, we open the building as our ski chalet, allowing you to completely gear up inside and literally ski out the door! Times and dates obviously vary; keep tabs on our Facebook Page!
Meet Strix
DCCB’s avian naturalist
Strix is a Barred Owl who was found snared on a barbed wire fence. Although she received excellent medical treatment and rehabilitation services, she would not survive in the wild.
During our owl programs, you can come face to face with Strix as you learn about:
The evening programs will conclude with an Owl Prowl hike with the opportunity to practice your newly learned owl calls in hopes of getting a response for a local wild owl.
DCCB hosts public programs with Strix in winter and spring. Sign up on Eventbrite to be notified.
Owls
Owls are fascinating birds of prey that offer lots to explore and learn.
Warning - owls catch, kill and eat small animals!
Project Snowstorm
Snowy Owl Irruption
Normally residents of the Arctic tundra, some years Snowy Owls appear on area farms in search of food. The flat, empty fields closely resemble their home habitat but they are often at a loss for what to eat….their usual lemming prey just can’t be found!
With many false reports of sightings due to the unfortunate abundance of white plastic shopping bags, we will verify any sightings then send the information to those who click here to register.
If you decide to go for a look, be sure to take along binoculars if possible as they are often quite far from the road.
Trumpeter Swan Viewing
Trumpeter swans, the largest Iowa waterfowl, can often be seen during winter months on area lakes and ponds - but they come and go! Register here to be on our contact list for when we spy a significant number that can be easily viewed in the area. We will also notify you of other unusual or interesting bird sightings around the county.
Photo by Marlen Kemmet
Kuehn Conservation Area is nearly 1000 acres of prairie (native and restored), forest, and South Raccoon River habitat five miles north of Earlham at 32828 Houston Trail.
Voas Nature Area is 705 acres of restored prairie and wetlands located 1.5 miles west of Minburn at 19286 Lexington Rd.
Hanging Rock is over 450 acres of forest, restored prairie and Middle Raccoon River habitat on the southwest corner of Redfield at 916 Redfield St.
Birdwatching
Watch birds at a feeder, on a walk or even in the art you enjoy. Watching birds is interesting, fun AND really good for your mental health.
This website shows maps of all of the birds that nest in Iowa.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology can help you with everything bird-related, from identification to curtailing window strikes.
See what these artists “see” when they draw birds. Charley Harper Sue Coccia Paul Goble
Dallas County Conservation Board has several bird projects that use volunteer help. You don’t need to be an expert. The commitments range from a one day event to weekly seasonal nest checks. Contact us if you are interested.
March-April American kestrel
June-August Eastern bluebird
March-August Osprey
September-October Chimney swift
December Christmas Bird Count
Some things you can do to help birds.
* Plant native trees and vegetation. They harbor insects baby birds need to survive.
* Keep your cat inside.
* Pick up fishing line or build and install fishing line boxes where people fish.
* Stop using lead bullets and sinkers. Lead kills birds when they swallow it.
* Feed birds, carry binoculars.
* Build nest boxes for bluebirds, kestrels, wood ducks, screech owls, & flickers.
* Buy a habitat stamp.
* Purchase bird friendly coffee.
* Volunteer for a conservation organization.
Walk Through Time
Human cultures thrived in North America long before Europeans migrated and established colonies. Over 13,000 years of pre-historic (not written down) life, death, invention, adaptation, movement and more lives on through the stories, memories, artifacts and activities that native nations both left behind and continue to develop, participate in and share.
School groups that visit Kuehn Conservation Area for a Walk Through Time field learning day are likely to see true artifacts, visit reconstructed shelters, participate in: a ceremonial smudging, learning to use an atlatl, trying to bow drill a fire, hiking the Maria Pearson Spirit Mounds Trail and more!
** http://www.iptv.org/iowapathways Scroll down two-thirds of the way. Click on “People”. On left menu bar, click on “Woodland Culture.” ** Bones of Contention Click on “Preview” for a very short clip that provides a very brief background on sacred mounds. ** We Are Still Here! (middle grade picture book)
Porcupine Singers Lakhota Flag Song
A River of Unrivaled Advantages (more for adults)
Monarch Butterflies
Since 1994, DCCB naturalists have led area students and members of the public in taking part in MonarchWatch, a community science project that tags and tracks the numbers and routes of the fall monarch butterfly migration. CLICK HERE to be notified when DCCB hosts public monarch tagging programs.
Check out this great story about a monarch tagged at Kuehn Conservation Area on Sept. 23, 2020 being photographed in Mexico on Nov. 1
Survival
Watch how to make a survival shelter then try making one of your own! Future opportunities to register for a program will be placed here.
Whether you a going for a hike in the summer or a long car trip on a snowy day, are you prepared to survive the unexpected?
Read this story. Circle the mistakes they made.
Humpty and Dumpty were camping with their parents when they decided to go for a hike. It was early and their parents were still in bed so they left without waking them. The sky was clear so they wore shorts and T-shirts. They planned on being back soon so they didn’t take anything with them. They didn’t have a map but figured they could easily find their way back. They walked for 30 minutes.
Humpty heard something in the woods and they both smelled something awful. Suddenly Bigfoot stepped out on to the trail. Humpty screamed and ran. Dumpty stopped and stared. Bigfoot came closer; the smell was so strong that Dumpty fainted. Bigfoot was sorry he had scared the children. He carefully carried Dumpty back to the campsite. When Dumpty awoke she saw the families’ tent.
Humpty ran and ran, his heart pounding. His side began to ache and cramp. He had to stop. He was afraid to go back the way he came so he made a plan to make a wide loop back to the campsite. Humpty decided to follow the sun and started walking. He had walked for hours when the sky became cloudy. He was sure that he had run mostly uphill and figured that if he went downhill he would find a road that would lead back. He kept walking. Humpty was hungry and thirsty. He ate some berries. It started to rain. He sat on a rock and cried. Night came. Wet, cold and hungry, Humpty fell asleep. Dumpty was fine but Humpty was never seen again.
The quality of the water in Iowa’s streams, rivers and lakes is a big issue that should concern everyone.
There are a few simple tests you can do when you visit a creek or stream in a park or near your home.
Find and identify 10 Dallas County critters then look for signs of them outside!