Shimek State Forest is an Iowa state forest maintained by the

Iowa Department of Natural Resources The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR or IA DNR) is a department/agency of the U.S. state of Iowa formed in 1986, charged with maintaining state parks and forests, protecting the environment of Iowa, and managing energy, fish, wild ...

. Its five units are strung along the Des Moines River a few miles above its confluence with the Upper Mississippi River in

Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

and Van Buren Counties in the southeast corner of Iowa. Its 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 (), Lick Creek (), Donnellson () and Croton () units are near

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia *Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States * Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California * Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia ...

, where the Iowa Bureau of Forestry administrative office is located. The Keosauqua () unit is upriver, opposite Keosauqua and adjoins

Lacey-Keosauqua State Park Lacey-Keosauqua State Park is located southwest of Keosauqua, Iowa, United States. The park is located along the Des Moines River in Van Buren County. First dedicated in 1921, it is the largest state park in size in Iowa. In 1990, three areas we ...

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 Bohumil Shimek (June 25, 1861 – January 30, 1937) was an American naturalist, conservationist, and a professor at the University of Iowa. The Shimek State Forest in Iowa is named after him. Life Family and early life Shimek was born on a farm ne ...

, a Czech-American naturalist, conservationist, and university professor at the State University of Iowa.

Sources

Iowa State Forests

, Retrieved July 27, 2007
Shimek State Forest

, Retrieved July 27, 2007 {{IA Parks Iowa state forests Protected areas of Lee County, Iowa Protected areas of Van Buren County, Iowa Civilian Conservation Corps in Iowa Czech-American culture in Iowa