Bruce Childs Wildlife Area
The tornado that devastated Parkersburg, Iowa on Sunday May 25th, 2008 rated an EF-5 by the National Weather Service, also did extensive damage to Bruce Childs Access. An EF-5 is, in reality, one of the strongest possible classification a tornado can receive. A tornado with this classification will exhibit winds of over 200 miles per hour. The tornado cut a path 43 miles long and between 3/4 of a mile to 1.2 miles wide.
Bruce Childs Access is comprised of 95 acres of flood plain woodlands. The access is adjacent to the Wapsipinicon River. The “Wapsi” provides excellent opportunities for a variety of outdoor activities such as canoeing, hunting, fishing and bird watching. Fisherman can find northern pike and walleyes in this stretch of the "Wapsi". The "Wapsi" Water Trail also winds its way through this area. Within the park white tailed deer and turkey have plenty of habitat and are very likely to be found within the park boundaries during hunting season. Hikers within the park will find the trails a bit more difficult to access due to the damage done by the tornado.
Bird watchers can encounter Sand Hill Cranes, wild turkey, osprey and a variety of waterfowl along the length of the river. Although the damage done by the tornado has made some access to the park more of a challenge, there is still a plenty of woodland territory to be explored by sportsman and hikers alike.
Park boundaries may not be clearly marked in all locations within the park so please be aware of park boundaries and respect private property.
Location
Bruce Childs Access is located 2.5 miles north and 2 miles east of Dunkerton. The access is off of Cedar Wapsi Road east of Dunkerton. The 95 acres of public hunting has been made somewhat more difficult to access due to the damage done by the tornado. Much of the parks previously existing tree species were decimated by the damage done due to the power of the 2008 tornado. Logging companies were brought in to help clear some of the downed trees but much of the damage done by the tornado is still evident within the park boundaries.
Operating Hours & Seasons
Contact Us:
Black Hawk County Conservation
1346 West Airline Hwy
Waterloo, IA 50703
Phone: (319) 433-PARK (7275) Fax: (319) 433-7276
conservation@blackhawkcounty.iowa.gov
Park hours; 6:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Closures
