Shimek State Forest

Geobox Protected Area
name = Shimek State Forest
native_name =
other_name =
other_name1 =
category_local = Iowa State Park
category_iucn =


image_caption =
etymology_type = Named for
etymology = Dr. Bohumil Shimek
country = United States
state = Iowa
region_type = Counties
region = Van Buren and Lee
district_type =
district =
city =
location =
lat_d = 40
lat_m = 38
lat_s = 2
lat_NS = N
long_d = 91
long_m = 40
long_s = 52
long_EW = W
elevation_imperial = 700
elevation_round = 1
area_unit = acre
area_imperial = 9148
area_round = 1
area1_imperial =
area1_type =
length_imperial =
length_orientation =
width_imperial =
width_orientation =
biome =
biome_share =
biome1 =
biome1_share =
geology =
geology1 =
plant =
plant1 =
animal =
animal1 =
established_type =
established = 1930s
management_body = Iowa Department of Natural Resources
management_location =
management_lat_d =
management_lat_m =
management_lat_s =
management_lat_NS =
management_long_d =
management_long_m =
management_long_s =
management_long_EW =
management_elevation =
visitation =
visitation_year =
free_type = Nearest city
free = Farmington, Iowa
free1_type =
free1 =


map_caption = Location of Shimek State Forest
map_locator = Iowa
map_first =
website = [http://www.iowadnr.com/forestry/shimek.html Shimek State Forest]

Shimek State Forest is an Iowa state forest maintained by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Its five units are strung along the Des Moines River a few miles above its confluence with the Upper Mississippi River in Lee and Van Buren Counties in the southeast corner of Iowa. Its convert|9148|acre|km2|0 contain one of the largest remaining contiguous forests in the state with large stands of mixed oak-hickory forest with about 1,000 acres (4 km²) of planted pine.

The Farmington (convert|2207|acre|km2|0), Lick Creek (convert|2866|acre|km2|0), Donnellson (convert|1330|acre|km2|0) and Croton (convert|1827|acre|km2|0) units are near Farmington, where the Iowa Bureau of Forestry administrative office is located. The Keosauqua (convert|918|acre|km2|1) unit is upriver, opposite Keosauqua and adjoins Lacey-Keosauqua State Park and wildlife management areas. The Croton unit is near the site of the Battle of Athens, the most northerly battle of the Civil War, and the only one fought (in part) in Iowa.

The forest has extensive recreational facilities. Campgrounds, fishing, hunting, hiking trails, horseback riding trails and equine facilities are offered.

Its earliest development was by the Civilian Conservation Corps on exhausted, abandoned farmland. In 1950 it was named for Dr. Bohumil Shimek, a naturalist, conservationist, and university professor at the State University of Iowa.

ources

* [http://www.iowadnr.com/forestry/forests.html Iowa State Forests] , Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Retrieved July 27, 2007
* [http://www.iowadnr.com/forestry/shimek.html Shimek State Forest] , Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Retrieved July 27, 2007