Grand Opening for new Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center is scheduled for August 12

The Allamakee County Conservation Board (ACCB) and Allamakee County Conservation Foundation will celebrate the completion of the new 10,000-square-foot Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center on the south edge of Lansing Saturday, August 12. The Grand Opening event will take place during the annual Fish Days celebration in Lansing and will involve an open house viewing of the new facility for the public scheduled to take place from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the new facility location of 1944 Columbus Road, Lansing.

Attendees can tour the property and learn about the interpretive and dimensional displays housed at the center, covering topics such as geology, limnology (rivers/streams), archeology, wildlife studies, river town industries and economies, American Indian cultures and more. The Center will provide meeting and office space for public use, classrooms and group learning areas, multiple observation decks and more.

According to the ACCB, this new facility not only provides educational and recreational opportunities to regional residents, but it is also expected to positively influence the county’s economy by providing a new tourism attraction in the Iowa Great River Road Corridor. According to the Great River Road Economic Impact Study, Allamakee County tourism contributes nearly $40 million annually to the local economy.

When glaciers carved paths through the Upper Mississippi River Valley 12,500 years ago, their paths skirted Allamakee County, preserving the existing topography and protecting many animal and plant species lost to the glaciers outside this Driftless Area region. The focus of the new Center is to share with and educate the public about the history of the area and the reason behind its unique topography.