When storms struck the Wabash Trace Nature Trail in southwest Iowa, a team of local youth battled floodwaters and downed trees to keep the trail open for business.

The Heritage Conservation Corps crew worked hard this summer to keep the trail clear amidst frequent windstorms and flooding, in addition to the regular maintenance. They chopped up fallen trees, repaired sections of surface washed out by floods, and trimmed the vegetation that grew out of control from all the rain.

Each year, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, Southwest Iowa Nature Trails (SWINT) and the Page County Conservation Board hire a crew of local students to maintain Wabash Trace, a 63-mile trail on a former railroad corridor. This year’s crew included Lee Wertz of Riverton, Nolan Campbell and Laura Fry of Council Bluffs, and Matt Miller and crew leader Terence Hancock of Malvern. INHF (a nonprofit land conservation group) and SWINT partnered in building the trail.

SWINT board member Ron Willeman said the crew’s help is critical each year in keeping the trail usable and enjoyable, and this summer’s wild weather made the 2008 crew even more important.

“They were very instrumental in maintaining the trail, especially in removing trees, filling minor washouts and trimming the regular growth,” Willeman said.

When floodwaters washed away parts of the trail’s surface, the crew filled in the gaps with crushed limestone.

Contractors will have to fix a few larger washouts with heavy equipment. Trail managers are in the process of evaluating the damage to apply for FEMA aid. Willeman estimated that the damage could cost up to $100,000.

Thanks to the crew’s work smoothing out most of the holes, along with assistance from SWINT volunteers and the Mills and Page county conservation boards, the entire Wabash Trace is currently open and usable. Some surfaces might be rough or thin, though, so bikers and skaters should be extra cautious.

When they weren’t repairing the trail itself, crew members spent much of their time trimming overhanging trees with chainsaws. They received training on the tools at the beginning of the summer.

Crew member Laura Fry was satisfied with the trail’s condition when they were finished. “Compared to the beginning of the summer, it was awesome,” she said. “It was so much clearer. At the beginning there was stuff hanging down that would have hit you in the face if it hadn’t been cut.”

Wabash Trace connects the cities of Council Bluffs, Mineola, Silver City, Malvern, Imogene, Shenandoah, Coin and Blanchard. Contributions from crews over the years have helped SWINT maintain it as a first-class trail in southwest Iowa.

“There’s no way we could keep the tree growth under control with trying to do it just with volunteer help,” Willeman said. “They did a nice job of opening it up.”

The crew is funded by a grant from the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Urban Youth Corps program. In addition to trail work, the crew attended SWINT and county conservation board meetings and received training in larger trail issues, conservation topics and job-seeking skills.

For more information, e-mail Cathy Engstrom, Director of Communications, or call (515) 288-1846.