Once completed, it will actually be crossing some rather calm water and help make a trail all the way around the lake, a reality.

“It will be part of the trail system,” Webster County Conservation Director Matt Cosgrove said. “We got a grant to pave the trails; the bridge is the first step.”

He expects the paving done by 2021.

“The bridge will be done this year,” he said.

-Messenger photo by H
Steve Dietz, with Custom Manufacturing Inc., of Clinton, Wisconsin, welds a piece of steel onto the new 180-foot bridge across Badger Lake in John F. Kennedy Memorial Park.

The bridge project is one of the more visible reminders that when spring arrives, the staff of Webster County Conservation gets busy.

The yurt project is complete. Several of the huts are now ready for campers. He said campers can begin making reservations April 1.

He’s also working on a project to offer a “Stay and Play” package. This would be a package offered in concert with the city of Fort Dodge that would provide golf time, trail time and camping for one fee.

On the other end of Badger Lake, work will be done this summer to clean the sediment out of the silt pond.

“We received a grant to clean that out,” Cosgrove said.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Members of a crew from Custom Manufacturing Inc., of Clinton, Wisconsin, work on leveling one of the pilings for a new 180-foot bridge being built across Badger Lake in John F. Kennedy Memorial Park.

The fact that it’s nearly full indicates it’s working, he said. The area slows the flow of water into the lake and lets the sediment carried in settle out. It helps keep the lake clearer.

There is also work scheduled for the Henderson Access in Kalo along the Des Moines River. The site gives river users access to the river about halfway between Fort Dodge and Dolliver Memorial Park.

“We got a $30,000 grant for the Henderson Access,” he said. “It will be used for a boat ramp and parking.”

He said that the staff is also using their time to stage projects that are coming up. This includes planning, bid letting and grant writing.

Then there’s the annual projects. Getting the campgrounds ready, sprucing up, sweeping the winter’s debris from the trails and the many other tasks that need to be done to ready Webster County’s many areas.

“The early spring will be a big help,” he said.

The staff naturalists, Karen Hanson and Erin Ford, are also busy planning the spring, summer and fall programs.

He said that both will be presenting a lot of programs at the Camp WaNoKi site. There will also be day camps and evening programs.

There’s also a few joint Webster/Boone/Hamilton Counties projects in the works.

“We’re partnering with Boone and Hamilton Counties to build a website that that includes information on all three,” he said. “It’s part of the Boone Forks initiative.”

Each of the three counties will also be hosting river cleanup projects.

Webster County Conservation is also in the process of filling an open position for a park ranger.

It’s a busy time of year.

“Hopefully we can get it all done before spring springs,” Cosgrove said.