DNR will convert Banner area in Indianola to park

Sat November 22 2003
Posted Nov 21, 2003
2,620

The undeveloped land will get a makeover, including bike trails and central Iowa's only trout fishery. By PERRY BEEMAN Des Moines Register Staff Writer 11/22/2003

The state will spend $1.3 million to turn a haven for meth cookers, prostitutes and trash-dumpers into a patrolled state park north of Indianola. Banner Wildlife Area will trade trash and crime for recreational trails, a snack bar, a supervised shooting range, and central Iowa's only trout fishing. Bicyclists on the Indianola-to-Carlisle trail that runs through the area won't have to worry that they'll be hit by target shooters; a 6-foot-high berm will separate the shooting range from the trail a hundred feet or so away. "The idea is to reclaim this and get rid of these rogue activities," said Angela Corio, an Iowa Department of Natural Resources employee who helped design the improvements at the undeveloped area east of U.S. Highways 65/69. "We've had a lot of dumping. There were always meth labs and appliances in there. There was some prostitution in the past." The problem is not unique to Banner. Meth and gun-shooting problems led Webster County officials to consider closing the campgrounds at Carlson Recreation Area near Dayton earlier this year. The renovated Banner Wildlife Area, also known as Banner Pits, should be a hit, Corio said. "People want to get in there so badly, they hoist their canoes and boats over a fence." With 16,000 cars whizzing by on the U.S. highways each day, the state decided the wildlife area provided a chance to offer a strong recreational draw in the Des Moines area, Corio said. Improvements will include three miles of mountain-bike trails, a rare commodity in central Iowa. A string of ponds in the former coal mine offer fishing and picnicking spots, and woodlands offer scenery that no one has been able to get to. A new road will circle the area, and an 8-foot-wide recreational trail tacked onto the side. The park-to-be is about midway on the 24-mile trail between Carlisle and Indianola. The park, which likely will be renamed Middle River State Park, could open by late next summer. Rangers will patrol the area. Jeff Vonk, director of the Department of Natural Resources, insisted on stocking trout in the lakes to jazz up the fishing prospects. State biologists say the fish population in the ponds is poor, but includes largemouth bass up to 7 pounds, plus bluegill, black crappie, redear sunfish, channel catfish, carp, buffalo, and gizzard shad. The trout will die as the waters warm in the summer, and will be restocked. The state also plans to stock catfish, and possibly bass. Biologists may remove the gizzard shad, which tend to take over. If the place catches fun-seekers' attention, the state may later add a lodge, shelters, modern restrooms and a beach. There is a talk of a trail between the park and Des Moines. Warren County Sheriff Jim Lee said his deputies typically are dispatched to the wildlife area a couple of dozen times a year. Most of the calls involved target-shooters firing weapons outside the unsupervised gun range, and thefts from vehicles. "Over the years, there has been a lots of people drinking there, and swimming and drowning," said Lee. "It was a popular place to drop off stolen cars. They'd just dump them into one of the pits." Indianola target-shooter Wayne Petersen stopped going to the state-owned Banner Wildlife Area, which the Department of Natural Resources bought in 1954, years ago. He couldn't take the sight of scofflaws trashing the spot. "It was beautiful" after the old coal mines in the area were cleaned up, Petersen said. "Then a certain class of people abused it. People threw stuff everywhere." He decided to shoot at the local Izaak Walton League and other controlled-access ranges. Now, Petersen, a retired state trooper, said he plans to return when the new park opens late next year. "I compliment the DNR on fixing that place up and having it properly supervised," he said.