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Fossil and Prairie Center readies season with new hires, exhibits and maple-syrup output
Summary
Director Tyron Steere briefed the Floyd County Conservation Board on spring programs, two summer interns hired to start in May, equipment purchases and maple-syrup production; the center will open Saturdays beginning May 1 and daily after Memorial Day.
Director Tyron Steere updated the Floyd County Conservation Board on staffing, programs and operations at the Fossil and Prairie Center, saying the center is preparing for the busy spring field-trip season and public events.
Steere reported that Naturalist Heidi Reams has been active in classroom outreach and public programs including Creative Eggs, Women in the Woods with Wine, Wildflower Wearables and Learn to Turkey Hunt. Two summer interns, Carter Burkhardt and Clay Price, have been hired and will begin work in May; Steere said five applicants have been received so far for the Natural Resource Manager position.
On operations, Steere said staff completed hunter-education instruction with 25 students taking the full one-day course and another 10 attending the field-day portion. The board was told a John Deere 1025R tractor/mower has been purchased; the mower deck is expected to arrive at the end of April.
Maple-syrup production figures were reported: about 170 trees were tapped producing roughly 4,790 gallons of sap and yielding an estimated 120.5 gallons of syrup, which staff packaged across half-pints, pints, quarts and one-gallon containers.
Steere also described recent field work: two prairie burns and one timber burn have been completed; staff have been mulching fence lines, maintaining equipment and preparing exhibits. He noted studies planned at Slough Creek and Knapp I, that the Wentlands property has been surveyed and a deed transfer is pending, and that staff are updating exhibits on the center's lower level.
The board was told the center's public schedule will change for the season: beginning May 1 the facility will be open Saturdays only, with daily hours beginning on Memorial Day. Steere said a budget amendment is planned for May to address intern funding, a touchscreen exhibit and to ensure revenue is recorded to the correct accounts.
The board did not take formal votes tied to these program updates beyond routine motions recorded elsewhere in the minutes. The next board meeting is scheduled for May 5, 2026, at the Fossil and Prairie Center.
