Dallas County Conservation Board

06/01/2026

📚 Looking for a cool place to escape the rising temperatures and learn something new?

Stop by the Forest Park Museum library and explore the fascinating history of Dallas County! Our new museum intern, Emery, has been diving into local stories, historic records, and unique publications that bring the past to life.

From pioneer history to hidden community stories, there’s plenty waiting to be discovered on our shelves. Come cool off, browse the library, and take a step back in time this summer! 🏛️📖

Forest Park Summer Hours:
M-F: 8am - 4:30pm
Sun: 1-4pm

Image description: A person holds a blue hardcover book titled “Hastie’s History of Dallas County” while sitting in front of wooden bookshelves filled with historic books and records inside the Forest Park Museum library. The scene highlights the museum’s local history collection and research space.

05/29/2026

📣 Meet Our New Museum Intern — Emery!

Emery is joining us this season at the Forest Park Museum and is excited to help visitors explore the stories, artifacts, and history that make our area unique. Be sure to say hello during your next visit!

Want a blast from the past? Come stop by Forest Park Museum and check out our covered wagon exhibit, along with many other prehistoric and historic artifact displays. There’s something for all ages to discover!

We’re excited to have Emery on board and can’t wait to share more local history with you this summer!

Summer Hours:
M-F: 8am - 4:30pm
Sun- 1 pm - 4 pm



Image description: A historic covered wagon exhibit inside Forest Park Museum. A young museum intern wearing a wide-brimmed hat stands beside the wagon, pointing toward it with an excited expression. The wagon has a white canvas cover and wooden wheels, displayed indoors among other historic artifacts.

05/28/2026

Calling all snake enthusiasts! 🐍

Iowa is home to around 28 native species of snakes - a lot of which call Dallas County home! Our naturalists have snake boards at Voas Nature Area and we'd like to invite you to help us check them tomorrow, May 29th, and to learn more about snakes!

While we can't guarantee there will be anyone slithering under the boards, there's a chance participants could be eye to eye with a milk snake like the snake pictured below!

Interested in learning more?
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1984777438748?aff=oddtdtcreator

05/26/2026

ANSWER: DCCB naturalists served 2,749 students in April & May 2026!

05/25/2026

Our naturalists have had a busy spring educating the youth of Dallas County! This spring field trip season has been filled with wildflowers, kayaking, survival skills, snakes, bug-hunting, nature scavenger hunts, dirt under fingernails, volunteer projects, running through prairies, and plenty of "ooooh"s and "awwwww"s.

Now that we've reached the unofficial start of summer, anybody want to take a guess at how many school-aged students DCCB naturalists served in the months of April and May 2026? Answer will be dropped in the comments tomorrow!

05/23/2026

Here at Forest Park Museum, we have an extensive collection of beautiful art pieces by local artists featured in Hastie Hall! Come stop by to see some of the classics, as well as a couple new pieces on display by Ruth Goldsberry from Minburn.

Forest Park Perry Iowa

05/22/2026

05/18/2026

Teams from all over Iowa, Midwest and a few from states further afield participated in the 2026 Market to Market Relay! There were186 race day teams with approximately 1,400 runners.

Mark your calendars for next year! May 8, 2027

05/12/2026

If you see a large group of paddlers headed down the North Raccoon River this week, give us a wave! Adel DeSoto Minburn Community School District’s eighth graders are celebrating the end of the school year by learning to paddle and explore one of central Iowa's wildest places, the Raccoon River Watershed 🚣‍♀️

Some of Iowa's wildest and most unaltered natural areas are found along the rivers.
Pictured below is a naturalist posing with students and a soft shell turtle that was found buried in the rocky sandbar.

05/06/2026

We are hiring a part-time Outreach Coordinator!
This position is responsible for clerical and customer service duties; marketing, promoting, and providing public information for the department. Applications are due by 11:59 pm on May 17, 2026. Find salary and job description and application at:
https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/dallascountyia/jobs/5328795/outreach-coordinator?pagetype=jobOpportunitiesJobs