Kevin J. Gahn Memorial Recreation Area
The 56 acre Kevin J. Gahn Memorial Recreation Area rests directly behind Des Moines County Conservation’s main office. Having previously been part of the county home facility, it was transferred to the department for management in 1993 and named in honor of Kevin Gahn, a board member tragically killed in an auto accident the year before. The site features open fields, woodlands, and a one-acre pond. The property is maintained as a natural resource area with limited public access.
From 1995 to 2011, a four-acre area surrounding the pond was used as a captive trumpeter swan enclosure, part of DMCC’s participation in the Iowa DNR’s statewide trumpeter swan reintroduction efforts. When the state's swan restoration goals were met in 2010, DMCC discontinued its swan program, leaving the property sitting idle.
Today, the property continues to be managed as a natural resource area and is not open to the public. It is used by the department occasionally for mentored hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation programs. Under a cooperative agreement with the Conservation Board, the Mississippi Valley Hunting Retriever Club uses this site as a training and competition area.
Location
The Gahn Recreation Area is conveniently located on the outskirts of West Burlington, just behind Des Moines County Conservation's main office on Washington Road To get there take Mt. Pleasant St. west to Washington Road Turn north on Washington Road, then north on 137th St. (the road to the landfill) just past DMCC’s main office. The entrance to the property will be on the right, about halfway to the landfill.
