Olmsted County Parks and Trails Newsletter - Spring 2026

by: Lonnie Hebl

One afternoon late last fall I was sitting at the front desk in the Oxbow Nature Center when a visitor stopped to chat. She didn’t inquire about the usual topics that frequently get asked when a person is stationed there. Usually, these questions have something to do with programs or animals living at Zollman Zoo. Something else was on her mind: dirt piles! Yep, those unsightly mounds of freshly excavated soil that litter the entire landscape at Oxbow Park. She wanted to know why there are so many piles in so many different places. I agreed with her and then explained, within reason, why there were so many piles scattered around the park. It helped me realize that she had a good point, and it hit me that I had not shared this info with very many others. Most importantly, I realized that it was beneficial for her to hear the explanation from me as well. A win for both of us. That led me to believe that there could possibly be others that had the same question. So, if you are one of those people that have or haven’t heard about all that is happening at Oxbow, I am going to take a second to share with you why these piles exist.

The piles on the north side of the Nature Center will be a future outdoor classroom and a large fire ring to accommodate gatherings on nice summer days and cool fall nights.

The large pile on the south side of the existing Caretakers House is the location for the new Caretakers House that will be completed by mid-July 2026. When we moved forward with this project, we had to connect to the septic and water lines, which produced, you guessed it, another dirt pile. These piles will be left until spring because they have frozen and can’t be graded until things thaw out. Once the new house is completed, the old house will be demolished. That will create a hole that a lot of the dirt from those piles can be used to fill in. Now we are getting somewhere.

The two mountainous piles that were on the north and south end of the Big Bluestem Prairie, across from the Deer and Elk enclosures, were placed there while the new Oxbow Park Campground was being constructed. These piles were made up of topsoil that had to be stripped off and then placed back once construction was complete. That happened in late November. The 44-site campground, which includes 4 camper cabins, will be a great addition to Oxbow. It is the last piece of infrastructure we felt was important to relocate out of the Zumbro River floodplain, helping make us good stewards of the land.

In closing, I know this has been a lot of dirt to shift through, but please know this when we get this work completed, you will be able to understand our efforts and appreciate the future dirt piles that will appear, and some are right around the corner……..more to come on that!  

by: Phil George

I graduated with A.A.S degree in Natural Resources Law Enforcement from Vermilion Community College and started a career in Law Enforcement in Southeast Arizona, worked in Benson Arizona as a police officer for two years, later returned to Rochester Minnesota, and worked for the Rochester Police Department for 15 years. The last 10 plus years of my career there, I was assigned to investigations.  I left there in 2006 to become a Conservation Officer for the state of Minnesota and spent 19 years there with the last five years assigned as the Regional Training Officer for Southeast Minnesota.

I retired from law enforcement in December 2024 and worked in a seasonal position for Olmsted County Parks and Trails in the summer and fall of 2025 at Oxbow Park.  The manager position at Chester Woods became available so I pursued this position because I was not ready to fully retire and love working in the natural resource environment that Chester Woods Park provides for its users.

I think one of the most important skills a successful professional can have is the ability to effectively communicate with the staff and public.  The county parks staff and public works have been very welcoming and patient with me while learning programs and processes of Olmsted County Parks and Trails.

My time away from work is spent with family, I also enjoy hunting and fishing.  These are some of my favorite past times.  I had a successful career in Law Enforcement and plan on extending my career at Olmsted County Parks and Trails for several more years. 

My advice to any new person starting out looking for a career in the Natural Resource field is to work hard, stay motivated, and be flexible with the opportunities that are presented to you.  The first full time job is always the hardest job to obtain.  Then you can start building that resume.  I am looking forward to working and living at Chester Woods Park and interacting with all the staff and visitors of this great park.

by: Celeste Lewis

In the Spring of 2024, Zach Puza with Olmsted County Building and Operations, approached the park with an idea of a “drive through” light show in Olmsted County.  He grew up in an area that had a large light show during the holiday season and there wasn’t anything like it currently in our area.  He proposed using the Chester Woods campground as the area that local businesses would sponsor and decorate a campsite, allowing them to advertise their business while also contributing to this fun event.

As talks progressed the E.L.F. (Employers of Olmsted Light Festival) event took shape.  The event would be open to the public at no charge, but monetary and food donations would be accepted to help local non-profits. 

Fast forward to December of 2025 and the event took place the first three weekends of the month. The E.L.F. committee had about 20 sponsors that participated and the campground was lit up with holiday lights, inflatables and décor!  This event had over 660 volunteer hours, including the planning, set-up, and running of the event. The event brought in over 7000 cars, with an estimated attendance of over 24,000 people. Food donations collected during the event were over 4800 pounds, and monetary donations of over $23,000.00.  The food donations were distributed to local area food shelves, and the monetary donations were split between Channel One and United Way.

Thanks to all the support from the local community, sponsors, volunteers, and staff that made this event such a huge success!  We look forward to watching this event grow in the coming years.  And congratulations to ELCOR Construction for their site winning the 1st annual ELF award voted on by the public!

by: Amber Weihert

Since Fall of 2025, Oxbow Park and Zollman Zoo staff has been working on coordinating and organizing hosting the “We Are Water MN” travelling exhibit.  The exhibit will be at Oxbow Park and Zollman Zoo from February 25, 2026, through April 20, 2026.

We Are Water MN began in 2016 using a variety of grant and state funds and is now funded through the Pollution Control Agency’s Watershed Restoration and Protections Strategies (WRAPS) program through the Clean Water Fund. The program is a partnership of the Minnesota Humanities Center, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Minnesota Historical Society, University of MN Extension, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, and the Minnesota Departments of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources. It is hosted by local organizations that participate in 6-12 months of support and planning before the travelling exhibit arrives.

This community engagement program exists to tell Minnesota water stories by bringing together personal narratives, historical materials, and scientific information to strengthen Minnesotans’ relationships with and responsibilities to water. During our hosting, there will be at least 12 different weekend events aimed at aligning with the seven goals of “We Are Water MN” while also meeting Oxbows’ goal of spreading awareness of why water is important to animals and why we should care.

Our kickoff weekend will be held February 28, 2026, and March 1, 2026.   These dates will host two exciting events. The first is “Wow Metal Mobile Lab” from the Minneapolis area where guests will be able to melt pewter into molds to create keychains, magnets, necklaces, and other fun trinkets. While on March 1, we are in discussions to have the “Minnesota Master Gardeners” at Oxbow to have a public presentation and have a free raffle drawing of a rainwater barrel.

Throughout the rest of the hosting, there will be a variety of events related to water and animals which will be posted on our social media pages. Our hope is by bringing in different organizations and experiences.  Guests will be inspired to protect our water and animals that need it to survive. And on April 19, the National Eagle Center will be on site conducting three programs with live bald eagles to help say goodbye to the “We Are Water MN” travelling exhibit on April 20.

Friends of Oxbow hosted ZooDazzle December 5 and 6, 2025, with the lights only event December 12 and 13, 2025. A huge thank you to Oxbow staff for their help. Our incredible volunteers served a total of 874 hours to prepare for this event. Approximately 3,290 people attended the first weekend’s event! Follow us on Facebook to learn when we will sell merchandise this spring: www.facebook.com/friendsofoxbow/

Thank you for continuing to support Friends of Oxbow and our mission to support Oxbow Park! Become a member today for $25.  https://www.4giving.com/donation/E857

What could be more fun than sitting on a folding chair out in the middle of a frozen appropriately sized body of water, exposed to the elements waiting for a fish to take the bait? I personally can think of a lot of things, but for 1000’s of fisherman statewide (and where it is cold enough, nationwide) who wait all year for the it to get cold enough for the local body of water to freeze, this is the highlight of winter. In Olmsted County they are lucky enough to have two such bodies of water in a county park where ice fishing is easily accessible.

In the state of Minnesota, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) regulates all bodies of water. If someone is looking for the DNR regulations for what is commonly called Chester Woods Lake, they will have a hard time finding it in the DNR database. Our lake is officially known as Bear Creek Reservoir.

In 1994 when the reservoir was done filling the DNR stocked it with catfish, crappies, panfish and small mouth bass. The reservoir has not been stocked since then. Sometimes during the 1990’s northern pike was surreptitiously introduced and is the only predator fish in the lake. These populations have been self-perpetuating over the interim years. Any of these fish can be caught year-round.

Be it an individual’s first time on the ice or they are an experience ice fisherman, there are a few things to remember to make it an enjoyable experience. Olmsted County Parks is not responsible for checking ice conditions and ice fishing is done at one’s own risk. A comprehensive “Ice Thickness Guidelines” can be found on the DNR website under “Ice Safety”. Note that at Chester Woods Park no vehicles are allowed on the ice on the lake, so you needn’t go past the “on foot” recommendations.

There are three access points to the ice, the boat ramp, which is ADA accessible, the trail over by the amphitheater and the beach entry. There are other less used access points depending on your individual fitness and sometime determination. “Shacks” are permitted on the ice but unless a DNR permit has been issued they must be removed each night. Permits are only issued to those spending the night either in one of the cabins or remote campsites. No shack can be left on the ice without the owner in attendance. When traveling on the ice, always have a survival plan in the event of breaking through the ice. Always let another person know your plans, have safety gear available and an escape plan well thought out ahead of time.

Remember play it safe, heed any signs stating, “Thin ice” or “Danger, ice not safe”. When in doubt always turn around and come back another day. The DNR website is an excellent resource for all things ice fishing. Also remember when looking up rules and regulations etc. about the lake at Chester Woods Park, its official name is Bear Creek Reservoir.