Southwood Conservation Area

Southwood Conservation Area Bringing the Loess Hills to you!

While spring is far from over, here are many of the highlights from the spring burn season! From getting an early start ...
05/28/2026

While spring is far from over, here are many of the highlights from the spring burn season! From getting an early start back before spring officially had sprung, to the most recent burns during the collaborative training event, Coop Burn Week, in the central hills! The mentorship and experiences gained throughout this season will have a lasting impact that is hard to quantify ❤️‍🔥

Thank you to all our fire partners for all your hard work and dedication! It takes a village: ) Thank you to the Iowa DNR, INHF, MCCB, PCCB, HCCB, WCCB and the many more that seamlessly weave themselves throughout the prescribed fire operations on any given day!

A moth of EPIC proportions: ) Feast your eyes upon the Polyphemus moth! Due to the large eye-like spots on its wings, it...
05/21/2026

A moth of EPIC proportions: ) Feast your eyes upon the Polyphemus moth! Due to the large eye-like spots on its wings, it is named after the famous cyclopes from the ancient Greek epic poem, the Odyssey.

The adult females emit pheromones for males to trace back to them. This particular specimen is a male, denoted by the large feathery antennae. The male uses these specialized structures to detect extremely small amounts of the females scent up to a mile or more away! Seeing as adults only live for approximately one week and dont eat during this period, finding a mate truly is there only priority at this stage!

This beautiful moth was photographed at Southwood Conservation Area! See if you can find it among the leaves within the third photo! Don't forget, "nobody" is keeping an eye out for more moths like him; )

05/18/2026

Lighter fuels but no less dangerous!🔥 Native grasses burn hot and fast! Great fire effects on the day of this prescribed fire, suppressing brome and rejuvenating natives 👍

01/06/2026

"New year, new me!"
- Prairie Plants

A weather window of opportunity has allowed staff at Southwood Conservation Area to carry out several prescribed fires and blackline operations to start off the new year!

Weighing in at 2.5 lbs... standing at a height of 8 in. tall... the menace of the deep, the BRYOZOAN COLONY!!!Late this ...
12/23/2025

Weighing in at 2.5 lbs... standing at a height of 8 in. tall... the menace of the deep, the BRYOZOAN COLONY!!!

Late this summer, kids, partaking in the School of the Wild program at Southwood Conservation Area, found this jelly-like blob attached to a log in one of the ponds. Though looking like one organism, this ball like structure is actually comprised of millions of individual zooids! Acting in symbiosis with each other, the colony supports itself by filtering the nearby water for nutrients, such as algae. To paraphrase the goose and gander: whats good for the zooid is good for the bryozoa. Further more, this ecosystem service is good for humans as cleaner water is always a desirable outcome!

Thank you Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center for putting on the School of the Wild, and stirring up a passion for nature in the next generation! 👍

We have been weighed, we have been measured, and we have been found wanting... wanting for more prairie seed that is!A w...
12/17/2025

We have been weighed, we have been measured, and we have been found wanting... wanting for more prairie seed that is!

A weeks worth of seed cleaning has concluded here at Southwood Conservation Area! Native grasses and forbs, harvested from the local landscape, underwent a multi-step process of milling, screening, and sorting. In the end the cleaned seed is ready for planting using our seed drills or broadcasters. Click through the pictures to gain a more in depth description of the process!

Thank you to all those involved!

Fall evenings bring fall feelings! Our scenic overlook, here at Southwood Conservation Area, provides a landscape level ...
10/30/2025

Fall evenings bring fall feelings! Our scenic overlook, here at Southwood Conservation Area, provides a landscape level view of the local Loess Hills and the neighboring Little Sioux River Valley! Often times we forget the forest for the trees. Don't forget to zoom out every once and a while: )

Are you a stargazer? An amateur astronomer? A night sky statistician? A celestial captain? Okay, the last two are made u...
10/23/2025

Are you a stargazer? An amateur astronomer? A night sky statistician? A celestial captain? Okay, the last two are made up, BUT here at Southwood Conservation Area we have numerous areas perfect for night sky viewing! The long exposure photograph attached shows the clear night sky above the ponds located at our park one cool autumn night⭐️

"Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground." -Theodore Roosevelt

Welcome to the Migration Station! Aaaaaaallllll Aboard!!! Currently traveling south for the winter, Monarch Butterflies ...
09/25/2025

Welcome to the Migration Station! Aaaaaaallllll Aboard!!!

Currently traveling south for the winter, Monarch Butterflies require a lot of energy for their trip to overwintering sites in Southern California and Mexico (The distance can extend over 3000 miles!!!). Milkweed species provide sustenance for the Monarch caterpillar. While asters, goldenrods, and native thistles provide the bulk of the calories on this long journey for the adult Monarch butterfly!

The populations of the Monarch butterfly have become ever more threatened from habitat loss, climate change, and pesticide usage. To help combat this devastation, planting milkweed, asters and goldenrod and reducing pesticide usage in your yards and flower beds can do wonders!

09/11/2025

Sounds of a summer night here at Southwood! 🌙 Listen closely and see if you can hear the American Bullfrog in the chorus 🐸

Address

3399 330th Street
Smithland, IA
51056

Opening Hours

Monday 6am - 10:30pm
Tuesday 6am - 10:30pm
Wednesday 6am - 10:30pm
Thursday 6am - 10:30pm
Friday 6am - 10:30pm
Saturday 6am - 10:30pm
Sunday 6am - 10:30pm

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