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Wilson Island State Recreation Area

Protected areas of Harrison County, IowaState parks of IowaUse mdy dates from August 2023

Wilson Island State Recreation Area is a 544-acre (220 ha) state recreation area in Harrison County, Iowa, United States, near the city of Missouri Valley. The park, which is named for Iowa governor George A. Wilson, encompasses a forested area along the Missouri River. The recreation area includes a boat ramp and fishing sites along the river. Fish living in the river include catfish, paddlefish, and walleye. The park is also open to hunting outside of developed areas, with deer and bird hunting being the most popular. Morel mushrooms grow in the recreation area, attracting foragers during the spring months. The park also has six miles (9.7 km) of multi-use trails and a modern campground.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Wilson Island State Recreation Area (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Wilson Island State Recreation Area
Riparian Lane,

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N 41.483333333333 ° E -96.006666666667 °
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Riparian Lane 32644
51555
Iowa, United States
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Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge
Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge

Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge, created in 1992, is a National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) located along the banks of the Missouri River in the U.S. state of Nebraska. The 4,040-acre (1,630 ha) refuge preserves an area that had been cultivated and neglected before the early 1990s. Channelization projects along the Missouri River to improve flood control and navigation resulted in the closing off a side branch of the river, known since the early 19th century as Boyer Chute. Between 1820 and 1937 the Missouri River had migrated 3 mi (4.8 km) eastward and the area of the chute had originally been on the east bank of the river; today, the chute is west of the main channel of the Missouri. In 1937, the Army Corps of Engineers began to rechannel portions of the Missouri River, cutting off the chute to flowing water. Overgrowth and cultivation took over the lands now preserved in the refuge. Restoration of the area commenced in 1993; this included planting 9,100 native plants and trees and restoring the inflow to the chute from the main channel of the Missouri River. Today, the refuge is home to dozens of mammal species, including white-tailed deer, beavers, opossum, raccoon, bobcat, fox and coyote. Bald eagle, heron, duck, belted kingfisher and hawks are known to inhabit the refuge. Restoration projects also improved sport fishing opportunities by providing better breeding habitat. The refuge is along one of the primary bird migration routes in North America; the population of migratory birds increases substantially during spring and fall months. Several miles of nature trails provide access through portions of the refuge and a concrete pedestrian bridge crosses over the chute to an island. During low water flow levels along the Missouri River in the late fall and winter months, the chute may have little or no water in it. Hunting is allowed in season with a permit and there are several fishing piers. Dogs are allowed, but must be on a leash no longer than 6 feet. The refuge sustained extensive damage during the 2011 Missouri River floods. As of spring 2012, the refuge roads remained closed and no date had been determined for when they would be reopened. 300,000 dollars has been requested to remove six flood damaged structures in an effort to get the refuge reopened. Planners indicated that structures may not be rebuilt since there is no method to protect them from future flooding events. Boyer NWR is located 15 mi (24 km) north of Omaha, Nebraska; most visitors follow U.S. Highway 75 to Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, and then follow the signs east for 3 miles (4.8 km) to the refuge. Built in the 1820s, Fort Atkinson, the first U.S. Army post west of the Missouri River, is 2.5 mi (4.0 km) west of the refuge.

Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station
Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station

The Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station is a shut-down nuclear power plant located on 660 acres (2.7 km2) between Fort Calhoun, and Blair, Nebraska adjacent to the Missouri River between mile markers 645.6 and 646.0. The utility has an easement for another 580 acres (2.3 km2) which is maintained in a natural state. The power plant is owned by the Omaha Public Power District of Omaha, Nebraska. When operational, the plant accounted for 25 percent of OPPD's net generation capabilities.The plant's single Combustion Engineering pressurized water reactor generated 484 megawatts of electricity. This was the smallest rated capacity among all operating commercial power reactors in North America, and as a single-unit plant, this also qualified it as the smallest rated capacity nuclear power plant. OPPD's two Nebraska City coal-fired plants at 682 (opened 2009) and 649 (opened 1979) MW are both significantly larger.Fort Calhoun houses spent fuel rods in a 40-foot (12 m) deep spent fuel pool next to the reactor, and when the pool had nearly reached capacity in 2006, OPPD began to store spent fuel rods above ground in dry cask storage as well. In total, the Ft. Calhoun reactor has 600,000 to 800,000 pounds (270,000 to 360,000 kg) of high level nuclear waste. The storage was not designed to house spent fuel permanently, but when plans for Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository were terminated, OPPD stated that they are "prepared to safely store material on-site as long as necessary".The plant underwent refurbishment in 2006 by having its steam generators, pressurizer, reactor vessel head, low pressure turbines and main transformer replaced. In 2003, the plant had its operating license renewed for an additional twenty years. With the renewal, the license for Fort Calhoun was extended from August 9, 2013, to August 9, 2033.The 2011 Missouri River floods surrounded the plant with flood water. The nuclear reactor had been shut down and defueled in April 2011 for scheduled refueling. A fire caused electricity to shut off in the spent fuel pools resulting in 90 minutes without cooling qualifying as a "red event", signifying a high-level threat to Fort Calhoun operations. The flood and resulting fire was called "one of the most serious safety incidents in recent years" and resulted in a three-year cold shut-down of the plant.In August 2012 OPPD signed a deal for Exelon Nuclear Partners to manage the plant although OPPD would maintain ownership. In February 2017, OPPD ended the service contract with Exelon by paying a $5 million fee, but will also be subject to "wind-down" fees.The plant was shut down on October 24, 2016.