New features right behind the building help people to get up close and personal with one of Iowa’s significant waterways, the Des Moines River.

A pair of fishing jetties and a yet-to-be completed trail linking them were introduced during a Coffee and Conservation event Saturday morning.

“We’re excited to be able to share what’s going on here,” said Matt Cosgrove, the director of Webster County Conservation.

He said in about 2017, the Conservation Board and its staff began taking an in-depth look at its programs and facilities. A desire to build a new environmental education facility factored heavily into the discussions.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
-Messenger photo by Bill Shea The new handi-capped-accessible fishing jetty extends into the Des Moines River in downtown Fort Dodge.

Cosgrove said six locations were considered for a new facility before the current site on North First Street was selected. He said the location was picked in part because the Fort Dodge city government has focused on improving the area between the river and the City Square, which has been named the Central River District.

The first phase of the project was completed last summer, when the roughly $9 million education center that bears Cosgrove’s name debuted.

The area around the River’s Edge Discovery Center is now surrounded by fencing. Earth movers and big pieces of stone are lined up on the north side of the site. All of that, Cosgrove said, is related to the second phase of the project.

The fishing jetties are a component of that phase. They make it possible for people to get close to the water, according to Cosgrove.

“It’s comforting,” he said. “It’s relaxing. People just like to be around water.”

The handicapped-accessible jetty, located north of the Discovery Center building, is made of huge stones topped by a smooth concrete surface. That surface is intended to make it possible for anyone who uses a wheelchair, cane, walker or just has some trouble walking to get close to the river.

The other jetty, which is on the south end of the Discovery Center building, is also made of huge stones trucked in from Minnesota. It extends nearly to the center of the river but does not have a smooth surface on its top, so people must carefully step from boulder to boulder to go out onto it.

A paved trail, which is not completed yet, will connect the two jetties.

A plaza with stone steps leading down to the spot where Soldier Creek empties into the Des Moines River is also under construction.

Cosgrove said the big stone blocks that people see stacked on the property will be used in a natural playscape area to be created this year.

Construction of another major riverfront feature may also start this year.

An open air shelter is planned for a spot across from where Central Avenue ends at First Street. It will be a very large version of the picnic pavilions found in many parks. Cosgrove said it will be able to accommodate 200 people.

He said construction of the shelter will begin late this year and be completed next year.

Farther south on the river, an improved boat ramp is planned near the Kenyon Road Bridge. A small picnic pavilion, a bathroom building and parking lot will be built there.

Work on that project will not start until next summer because construction equipment used on the Kenyon Road Bridge replacement is parked in the area, Cosgrove said.

Cosgrove also revealed two projects being considered for the future. The creation of a greenbelt along Soldier Creek from the Des Moines River to Snell-Crawford Park is one of them.

Developing a way to provide pedestrian access to Duck Island in the Des Moines River is the other.

About 25 people attended the inaugural session of Coffee and Conservation. Cosgrove plans to make it a monthly event.