Northeast Polk County natural areas tour with 1000 Friends of Iowa and
Central Iowa Sierra Group

Date: Sunday, March 6th from 1:00-3:00

Where: Meet at Polk City Town Square at 12:45 and we'll caravan to several
natural areas in the path of the proposed Northeast Polk County Beltway.

These areas include Moeckley Prairie, Polk City Wildlife Refuge, Errington
Marsh, and other wetlands.

Contact:  Please RSVP to Jane Clark at [log in to unmask] or 223-5047 if you
intend to come.

Attire:  Dress appropriately for the weather. We will be walking through
natural areas, which may get clothes and shoes dirty. Boots are preferable.

The Northeast Polk County Beltway is a proposal being pursued by the Polk
County Board of Supervisors and several cities. Although the precise route
for the beltway is yet to be determined, it would begin at I-80 near Altoona
and continue north until the southwestern edge of Elkhart, where it would
turn west and end up at Polk City's mile-long bridge.

Several natural areas could be impacted by the beltway.

*Errington Marsh is a 305-acre grassland/wetland complex south of Elkhart.
Most of the land is owned by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and
some of it is owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. One-third of this
land is considered marsh and two thirds of it is considered uplands. Three
of the wetlands are original wetlands and the others were restored. We will
be touring parts of the marsh on foot.

*Moeckley prairie is 40 acres of native prairie northeast of Polk City. It
is owned by the Moeckley family.

Several wetlands northeast of Polk City are owned by private landowners.
Many of them are in the federal Wetland Reserve Program.

Polk City Wildlife Refuge is a 551-acre wildlife refuge near Polk City and
Saylorville Lake. It contains wetlands, prairie, woodlands, and waterfowl
production areas. It is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Iowa
DNR manages the land. Birds that migrate through or nest in the refuge
include many species of ducks, several species of herons, shorebirds,
warblers and sparrows. We will be touring parts of the wildlife refuge on
foot.

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