As Washington County Conservation welcomes residents from southeast Iowa to check out the newly paved portion of the Kewash Nature Trail, work is ongoing to wrap up phase two of the project.

During their regular meeting, Executive Director Zach Rozmus updated the conservation board on work that has yet to be done for phase two, “In order to call the actual project complete, we need to have a 70% vegetation rate. So it will be a little while before we can get to that. I’m just hoping we can get some grass to grow before this winter so that way we can call that project 100% complete.”

The 1.41-mile paved portion of the trail from Willow Pond to the Crooked Creek Bridge opened to the public in late October. Rozmus added that the two-foot shoulder on the trail requires year-round maintenance to help keep residents safe on the trail. While the conservation board wants to allow nature to thrive, they will take necessary precautions by trimming the grass and cutting plants and tree limbs that pose a tripping or falling hazard. Rozmus says weekly he performs stormwater inspection and that they’re continuing to work through the finances of the construction. The project was recently supported by a $100,000 grant from the Washington County Riverboat Foundation.