The Meeting
You’re invited to join the Floyd County Conservation Board & staff for a public meeting to discuss a timber sale for Riverbend Wildlife Area. If you are interested in the Riverbend Wildlife Area forestry plan or the timber harvest plans, please attend this informational meeting. The meeting will take place at 6:30 pm on April 29th at the Charles City Public Library, Zastrow Meeting Room. The forestry management plan can be reviewed before the meeting on a link at www.floydcoia.org/190/Conservation.
The Property
Riverbend Wildlife Area is an 18-acre property located on Riverside Ave, in Charles City. The area is owned and managed by Floyd County Conservation (FCC). The area was donated in November 1966 from the Ellis family. Riverbend Wildlife Area is a great recreational area for hiking, bird watching, and gathering wild edibles.
Management History
Over the years, FCC has used many techniques to manage Riverbend Wildlife Area to enhance the property for public use, while promoting it for wildlife. The Iowa DNR Forestry Division has recently visited the property and developed a new forestry plan. This is the first forestry management plan for this site. Tree species targeted for the timber sale include, but are not limited to: Ash, Black Walnut, Basswood, & Hackberry.
The Problem
Riverbend Wildlife Area has many mature trees that need to be harvested to ensure the future health and quality of the timber. The improved forest management plan will create more diversity making better habitat for many species. Without good forestry management techniques some of the trees will likely fall soon creating hazard and maintenance problems. The trees will be harvested to create revenue for future improvements on the property.
The Timber Sale
The next step in this process will be the timber sale. Trees have been marked with blue paint and calculated as to how many board feet the tree will provide. The information will be tabulated and sent out to the logging operations in the region for a competitive bid. Revenue generated from the timber sale will go back into the wildlife area by purchasing trees to be planted, trail work, and sign upgrades.
