O’Brien County Conservation Board (OCCPA) members and staff have been very busy evaluating and preparing for improvements. At the January 11, 2023 meeting, Director Travis Scott requested approval from the board for a grant applications to O’Brien County Community Foundation. Approval for a grant from Wellmark and an ARPA funding request for Tjossem Park was also requested. The Tjossem Park project, located just south of Primghar and east of Silver Avenue on 400th Street is significant improvement to the park.
The proposed improvements to Tjossem Park are to shift from well water at the park to Osceola Rural Water and MidAmerican Electricity. Four additional pads will be built, playground equipment added and a new shower house built.
Osceola rural water has already begun installing the water lines from Silver Avenue to a meter pit at the west side of the Tjossem Park entrance. Osceola Rural Water is waiting for its contractor to bore under Silver Avenue (Highway 59) for the water line to connect with a water source. Officials from Rural Water anticipate this to be complete by June 1.
Scott anticipates the sewer and electric to also be completed by June 1. He explains that staff will pour the four new camping pads later this summer. Scott also said, “If everything goes as planned, the park will be back open the first week of June, 6 sites will be available at that time, staff will complete the 4 additional camping pads and then the full 10 sites will be available. I am hoping for mid July to have everything completed.”
A unique opportunity presented itself to OCCB President Tom Konz in early February. He was notified that a 160-acre parcel near the Little Sioux River and within the Waterman Complex will be at auction in August. The land there is the same size as Hannibal Waterman Prairie, a parcel owned by O’Brien County but limited to Fish and Wildlife regulations. The newly available parcel is also believed to be very similar in plant and animal life and patters to Hannibal Waterman. Land uses for the Hannibal Waterman parcel have been a source of conflict for citizens of O’Brien County with interests in public land use for reasons other than hunting. Currently, Wildlife Stamp Fund regulations limit the use of the land to almost only hunting.
The Hannibal parcel is referred to by local historian Fay Schall as, “The birthplace of O’Brien County.” The area is rich in local history and includes a pioneer cemetery of the first family of settlers in the county. She advocates for more historical education on the property.
The size of the parcel coming to auction and the kinds of plant and animal life there is important. The similarities between the two properties are important for the possibility of arranging land uses more efficiently. The Fish and Wildlife Habitat Stamp Fund (FWS) specialists are expected to visit the property southeast of Sutherland to determine if the two parcels are similar enough that the regulations can be removed from the Hannibal piece and transferred to the new piece. There is a lot more to go before that could happen.
If the parcels are similar enough, OCCB or O’Brien County would have to be able to pay the winning bid.
Director Scott submitted a proposal the committee. The response is encouraging for the possibility. In their written response they did state that hunting would have to remain. Both OCCB and Supervisors bristled at that part of the reply. Both boards believe that if the restrictions are transferred to a new property, FWS have no more say in managing the public land. Both bodies are seeking complete local control.
Further discussions with Kelsey Fleming, Wildlife Habitat Stamp Grant Coordinator, indicated that a committee would do a site visit on Tuesday May 9. That determination will provide enough information for OCCB to know if there is any reason to pursue the purchase of 160 acres in Waterman Complex.
The Hannibal property was purchased in part with Wildlife Habitat Stamp Funds in 1989. In 2020 OCCB board members and staff met with some horse enthusiasts to establish uses on Hannibal for riders. Suddenly, state officials communicated with OCCB staff that that land could not be used for horse riding or several other proposed activities. Although the regulations were never filed with a deed, nor are they part of any known record of the transaction, state officials have not eased their insistence that they maintain control of uses on Hannibal. The purchase of similar property may allow local control to return to a place rich in wildlife beauty and local history.