Harrison County Conservation Board, Iowa

10/30/2026

🔆🥾🍂Looking for some beautiful fall hiking this weekend? 🍂🥾🔆
Old Town Conservation Area, located just 3 miles southeast of Missouri Valley off of Lima Trail, offers great views of the fall colors and is also the perfect sunrise and sunset spot! There are about 8 miles of trails to explore through expansive prairies with Indiangrass and Big Bluestem and woodlands with venerable Oak trees. Get out this weekend and enjoy some of the remaining beautiful fall weather! 🦋🦅🐦🐢🐿️🌳🍂☀️

10/30/2026

2 days left to fill out the survey in order to be eligible to win! Thank you for all of the great responses so far!

Please take a moment to fill out this survey. This will help us provide programs and services that best fit YOUR interests! Those who participate can be entered to win a prize. Thank you for your input!
https://forms.gle/XJ3qwregW3LdcpfB8

10/29/2026

Seed harvest is TONIGHT from 5-6:30 at Old Town Conservation Area. See you there!!!

10/28/2026

⭐Did you know that treefrogs are able to produce a special fluid in their fingers and toes that helps them stick to trees and even climb up glass?!⭐
🐸🌿Our 2 Gray Treefrogs have been enjoying some new additions to their enclosure! They now have more places to jump, climb, and hide! Sometimes, this makes it hard to spot them! Can you find them in these two images? Visit Willow Lake Nature Center to see what these funny guys are up to!🌿🐸

10/27/2026

Fill out this survey by Sunday, November 1 in order to be entered to win a prize - there are still a few days left! Your input is very helpful to us, thank you!

Please take a moment to fill out this survey. This will help us provide programs and services that best fit YOUR interests! Those who participate can be entered to win a prize. Thank you for your input!
https://forms.gle/XJ3qwregW3LdcpfB8

10/26/2026

Join us in partnership with Golden Hills RC&D at Old Town Conservation Area in Missouri Valley THIS THURSDAY at 5:00pm - 6:30pm for seed harvest! We will meet at the east parking lot as shown in the image. Bring water and be prepared for some walking on rugged terrain! What a great opportunity to take in the outdoors, enjoy community, and harvest some seed! Hope to see you there!

10/23/2026

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who came out for the Annual Veterans Fishing Program at Willow Lake last night! What a great turnout!

A message from Brittany Freet, Harrison County Veterans Service Officer:
"It was an evening filled with fishing, laughter, good food, and—most importantly, camaraderie among Veterans, family, and friends.
A special THANK YOU to the Harrison County Conservation for supplying the fishing equipment, Food Land Woodbine for supplying the meat and Women for Veterans for providing the delicious meal. Your generosity and support helped make the evening extra special!
We are also grateful to everyone who volunteered, donated, and helped make this event such a success. We love seeing our Veterans and their families come together for an evening of fun and fellowship. Until next year—tight lines!"

10/23/2026

Have you ever seen a ssssnake eat a meal?

🐍This is our Milksnake. She is eating a mouse today! But, how can she swallow a mouse that is the same width as her?!

🐁Snakes have unfused jaws. Several parts together form the roof of their mouth, but can move independently, which allows the snake to swallow prey bigger than their head! There are also two parts that form the lower jaw, but they are not fused at the chin either. This allows the snake to "walk" their jaw over large prey. If you look closely in this video - you can see our Milksnake doing exactly that!

🐍Snakes have an opening on the bottom of their mouth called the glottis. This allows them to breathe even when their throat is blocked by food.

🐁Once the food is swallowed, snakes push it down through their body using a combination of muscle movements in the esophagus - similar to how other animals swallow, and by using a technique that is highly specialized in snakes - it may appear like the snake is just moving around, but in fact, they use back and forth body movements to push their food down. You can see our Milksnake doing just that in this video too!

Our snake eats about every two weeks. Stop by the nature center some time- maybe you'll be lucky and see it!

10/19/2026

Today is the last day to register for our Veterans Fishing Event!!

10/14/2026

Please take a moment to fill out this survey. This will help us provide programs and services that best fit YOUR interests! Those who participate can be entered to win a prize. Thank you for your input!
https://forms.gle/XJ3qwregW3LdcpfB8