A lengthy meeting for the Hamilton County Conservation Board held Wednesday morning for the last time in 2025. One of the highlights was the first Volunteer Recognition program for the conservation office. Those recognized for their volunteer and or monetary support this year were:
Chip and Jackie Abbott for their work at the Briggs Woods Golf Clubhouse
Stu Vogelbacher for his 50 years as a league manager at the Briggs Woods Golf Course.
Kevin and Becky Watson of Ellsworth for being the campground hosts at Little Wall Lake Park near Jewell from 2013 to 2025.
Dean Bowden of Webster City for helping with the construction of the shop at Briggs Woods Park.
The Hamilton County Conservation Board reviewed the season at the Briggs Woods Golf Course. There was a steady increase of golfers this year. It is estimated that there was $20,000 above the projected revenue for the course. There were 108 passholders for the course in 2025 with over 30 golf outings and tournaments this season. As for next season, the Hamilton County Conservation Board voted to keep the fees the same for next season at Briggs Woods Golf Course. Good news for golfers. The golf simulator for the Briggs Woods will be installed later this month and ready for usage sometime in January.
Scott Grim will retire on January 8th as a Natural Resource Coordinator for Hamilton County. The Hamilton County Conservation Board went on to accept the purchase agreement for the Metcalf property located north of Webster City for the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.
In other matters on Wednesday, the Hamilton County Conservation Board decided not to raise the fees at the county parks for the 2026 camping season. The cashless system for the parks will continue in 2026.Those campers using a credit card will not be paying the transaction fee for next season. Hamilton County will pay the transaction fee for the campers.
Dennis Bahr was named Conservation Board president for 2026. Brian Lammers will continue on as county conservation director.
The board finished their meeting honoring Nyle Cottington thanking him for his years of service on the conservation board. Cottington died on December 7th at Heartwood House in Ames at the age of 78.
The next meeting for the Hamilton County Conservation Board will be on Thursday, January 22nd at the conservation office in Briggs Woods Park