O’Brien County Conservation has many small pieces of ground under its care. Among those include Covey Church area, Hill Family Lookout and a few pieces near Paullina and/or Mill Creed Park.
Three wildlife areas in O’Brien under the care of county conservation are Mill Creek Wildlife Area, Litka Wildlife Area and Weale Wildlife Area. The management plans for these last three wildlife areas were presented to the Conservation Board at a special meeting on January 4.
MILL CREEK AREA can be found at 420th Street and Polk Avenue, 6 miles northwest of Paullina in Dale Township. It is 12.76 acres and surrounded mostly by agricultural ground. It was acquired in 1989, open to the public with no use restrictions, amenities or development. It is bisected by Mill Creek with an unnamed drainage ditch entering near the southeast corner. Historical photos suggest a section of Mill Creek within the boundaries was channelized and straightened in the 19602.
Its management history is unknown, but from available aerial photographs it is believed to be a remnant tall grass prairie with a need to conduct a complete plant inventory.
The management plan has 2 components: Infrastructure and signage. Tasks called for are boundary signs at the corners were installed in the summer of 2022; field access and parking near the northeast corner; and larger property identification signage.
The second component, Natural Areas Management, calls for: routine prescribed burns on the entire property. Specifically, this plan calls for 3-years of late spring burns and late spring burns every 3-years after.
LITKA WILDLIFE AREA sits in the eastern part of O’Brien County, also on 420th Street in Grant Township. The 6.5 acres wildlife area was donated to O’Brien County Conservation Board (OCCB) in 1960. Waterman Creek meanders through the area which is described as a wet floodplain prairie with the upland portions as a tallgrass prairie.
Litka Wildlife Area has an unknown management history. It has a 250-foot access road off its southwest corner at 420th Street. An available site survey indicates a large portion is a remnant oak savanna and undisturbed soil. A full inventory search is underway.
The Natural Areas Management plan calls for
•routine prescribed burns on the entire property of dormant season burns at least every three years;
•mechanical removal of European Buckthorn and Asiatic bush honeysuckles;
•opening the savanna canopy by removing undesirable trees and;
•annual site visits and plant survey’s throughout growing season
Infrastructure and signage suggestions are for boundary signs to be installed on the corners of the property. This was completed in summer 2022.
•remove and rehabilitate park road;
•access and parking in southwest corner
•larger property identification sign at southwest corner
THE WEALE WILDLIFE AREA is a hidden gem to O’Brien County. It rests on a 7.38-acre management area located at 450th Street and Warbler Avenue, 4 miles northeast of Sutherland. It was donated to OCCB in 1989. This area has no special restrictions or improvements. An unnamed “ephemeral or intermittent” stream feeding Jordan Creek (a tributary of Waterman Creek) runs through the property north/south. The soil survey shows it as a “loess upland prairie, with wet upland prairie running through the center.”
It is undisturbed soil and believed to be remnant tallgrass prairie. A complete plant inventory is needed but native species found include lead plant, compass plant, green milkweed, porcupine grass and prairie rose.
Recommended management plans for Natural Areas include •routine prescribed burns on entire property in late spring for 3 years and every 3 years after;
•Mechanical removal of sweet clover and prairie parsnip
•Targeted herbicide applications on Canada thistle annually and
•Annual site visits and plant surveys throughout growing season.
Infrastructure and signage suggestions:
•Boundary signs were installed at the corners during the 2022 summer;
•field access and parking in the northeast corner and
•Larger property identification signage.
Each property recommendation comes with a proposed reevaluation as needed.
Each area is recommended to be continued for hunting.