Paddlers of all abilities can look forward to a new canoe and kayak launch at the Village Creek boat landing in Lansing next year. A project planned by the Allamakee County Conservation Board (ACCB) will accomplish three goals: moving existing fishing docks into deeper water, adding a roller-assisted kayak launch and creating another courtesy dock for motorized boats. The docks and launch will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Staff at the ACCB’s Driftless Education Center are excited about using the launch with the children who visit on school field trips, said Jarrod Olson, ACCB assistant director. The ramp will also be available to the public and a variety of boaters should find it handy. “We’re at the bottom end of the Blue Heron Canoe Trail,” Olson said, “so we thought it would be advantageous for that. We’re seeing more and more kayak fishing tournaments, so they come in with some pretty fancy kayaks, and we hope it’ll help them also.”
The new configuration will extend from the sidewalk on the south side of the landing, perpendicular to the shore. The kayak launch platform will sit between the fishing docks. Because the launch will sit lower than the docks, it will be connected by ADA-compliant ramps. The launch platform will include two benches and slide-out steps to help wheelchair users get into their boat. Paddlers will be able to grasp railings along the launch to push their boat on the rollers into the water. To come out, they will aim their boat into the end of the launch, which will extend into the water, and then pull themselves up.
The Friends of Pool 9 has kicked off fundraising by committing $7,500 to the estimated $37,000 project. Friends president Alex Galema of Lansing said the project meshes well with the group’s mission. “It’s kind of neat because we have an agreement with the Fish and Wildlife Service to be a friends group on the (Upper Mississippi Fish and Wildlife) Refuge, but we also fund education and recreational opportunities,” he said. The new launch will provide additional access to the river, especially for paddlers who need assistance, he said.
Olson said the ACCB will also request grants from its own Allamakee County Conservation Foundation from the Allamakee County Community Foundation this spring. The last bit of funding may need to come from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, whose grant cycle ends in September. That would push installation of the new docks and kayak launch in 2023.
“We’re just at the beginning stages of fundraising,” Olson said. “Good projects speak for themselves, so I think we’ll have a good shot.”
