Et cetera : Lions host Rodenberg to discuss Middle Cedar Watershed Project

At our September 18 meeting the program was presented by Randy Scheel, Benton County Conservation Board Member and Adam Robenberg, Middle Cedar Watershed Project Coordinator. They told us about a recent land acquisition northwest of Vinton, one mile south of Mount Auburn and adjacent to the sod farm on the Mount Auburn blacktop. The project consists of restoring160 acres and is a joint effort of Benton County Conservation and the Iowa Watershed Approach. This land will be accessible to the public for a variety of uses including; bird watching, hiking, enjoyment of the unique plant species that are found there, hunting, educational opportunities etc.

More than half the land is proposed to become pollinator habitat, native prarie, and forest reconstruction. The rest will become wetlands which will protect an existing “fen”. A fen is a type of wetland where the water table is at or near the ground surface which results in plants that are uniquely able to exist in wet conditions and boggy peat soil. The four plant species that are of special interest in the area include the bog willow, sage willow, swamp thistle, and tall cottongrass.

If you'd like more information about this project or others that they oversee, please contact Benton County Conservation. They manage 22 park lands totaling over 1700 acres, over 40 miles of trails, 225 campsites , a growing nature center, and offers high-quality educational programming in and out of the schools for over 20,000 educational contacts annually.