Webster County places Conservation Board 2024–25 annual report on file after presentation on trails, education and grants

Matt Cosgrove, Webster County’s conservation director, presented the Conservation Board’s 2024–2025 annual report and the board voted to place the document on file.

Cosgrove said the conservation board manages a little over 2,200 acres on 24 properties and that the department updated a five‑year strategic plan that guided the report. He identified four core strategies in the plan — diverse recreation, environmental education and land stewardship, land and facility management, and organizational excellence — and highlighted related projects including the trail-to‑Badger project in Gowrie and the Dayton community center and trail project.

“School of the Wild…we immerse them into our wildlife areas and Camp Winoke,” Cosgrove said, describing a weeklong environmental education program for fifth‑ and sixth‑graders. He also highlighted the River’s Edge Discovery Center and a monthly “Coffee and Conservation” program intended to raise public awareness of county natural resources.

Cosgrove told the board the conservation staff expanded a volunteer program, tracking volunteers who now assist at the Discovery Center and throughout the county’s parks and wildlife areas. He reported the department secured “a little over $1,800,000 in additional grants and additional fundraising” that helped support quality‑of‑life projects.

On finances, Cosgrove said the report shows roughly $1,400,000 in operating expenditures and that the county’s quality‑of‑life capital improvement fund stood at just under $5,000,000. He said total revenues from facilities and recreation (campgrounds, yurts and tiny houses) were presented in the report and that campsite/park revenue was reported at about $272,000.

Cosgrove also summarized ongoing projects, including the Meyer Marsh water‑quality improvement work and the county’s role as fiscal agent on linked trail and community center projects. He said the city of Dayton agreed to pay the remaining balance for the Dayton Community Center, allowing the county to record the final pay application as closed.

The board thanked Cosgrove and his staff for maintaining programs and pivoting during and after the COVID‑19 pandemic to capture revenue and expand services. After discussion the board voted to place the Conservation Board 2024–2025 annual report on file.

The board took no additional action beyond placing the report on file; any outstanding project reimbursements will be pursued as described by Cosgrove.