Board to pass on Conservation Board purchase

The Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors have decided to not enter into an agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation to acquire wetland area that is located along U.S. Highway 63, about 1.3 miles north of New Hampton.Chickasaw County Conservation Director Brian Moore has been working on this project since 2012 and thought the 130.7 acres would be a good addition to the county.Moore said one day he was driving by the area and thought what a perfect spot it would be to turn into a public recreation area.“Otherwise it’s just sitting there,” said Moore.He then gave the DOT a call and they put a proposal together to give it to the county. Moore said the county doesn’t have to do anything with the land if they don’t want but it is an opportunity and could some day be a cooperative project.“We can put trails out there, use it as public recreation and have it as a wildlife and wetland area,” said Moore. “Otherwise, it just sits there.”Moore thought this was too good of an opportunity to let it go but most of the board thought otherwise.“This will cost a lot of money and I just don’t see the pluses,” said Supervisor Dan Carolan.Moore went on to explain that by having this land, the county could eventually add trails on to the land from New Hampton.“It is a long range goal,” said Moore.For the complete story see the 3/17/2017 New Hampton Tribune.