The Cass County Board of Supervisors agreed to take under advisement until their next meeting, a request from the Schildberg Recreation Area Committee & Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department, for $40,000 to help secure a $360,000 Vision Iowa CAT (Community Attraction and Tourism) grant for improvements to the campground, three- stall restroom, shelter/shower house at the Schildberg Recreation Area.

Atlantic Parks and Rec Dept. Director Roger Herring, following-up on his presentation to the City Council two weeks, ago, explained to the Board if the Vision Iowa funds are approved sometime this summer after the application is filed next month, there would also be improvements made to the Pellet Wildlife Refuge Park. That includes a parking area, walking trails and stations where you can watch birds and other wildlife.

Atlantic Parks & Rec Director Roger Herring addresses the Cass Co. Board of Supervisors.

The Pellet Refuge is located just to the west of the dog park on the west side of Lake #2 at the Schildberg Rec Area. Cass County Conservation Director Micah Lee said the Conservation Board said people who had been using the area as a “mudding” area for pickups and ATV’s, created the unintentional ground work for a trail that could be used for the otherwise “underutilized area.” He said it would require some grading and addition of a cinder surface similar to the trail around the AMU well field east of Olive Street near KJAN, and making it slightly elevated, before other features could be added.

One of the features could be interpretive signage, or stations that utilize a smart phone app to identify birds, trees and native flora. Lee said another option is a possible “Fat Tire Biking” trail. Those types of bicycles are more suited to the serious off-road biking enthusiasts, and allow the bikes to more easily float over almost any terrain, as opposed to the skinny tires used by paved trail and road bike enthusiasts. The Conservation Board will discuss plans for the Pellet Wildlife Refuge area during their meeting Thursday.

The Vision Iowa CAT grant requires a 50-percent match, or, $180,000. The City of Atlantic has already committed $100,000 in support of the grant application. In-kind services are expected to meet the 25-percent requirement for the application, and Trees Forever is providing $2,000 worth of trees to be planted in the area. Those aspects and additional funds raised in donations and by local organizations, as well as $40,000 from the Board of Supervisors and other grant sources, are expected to comprise the total 50-percent match required.