Dan Cohen’s conservation legacy will endure

It’s hard to pinpoint the legacy of Dan Cohen, who will retire Dec. 31 after 38 years with the Buchanan County Conservation Department.

Cohen, who started as a naturalist in 1986 and served as director for the past 22 years, “has done so much so well,” said Loren Hamilton, a conservation board member for 20 years during Cohen’s tenure.

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Hamilton said Cohen’s accomplishments include acquisition and protection of numerous natural areas, an abiding commitment to environmental education, development of a flagship county park whose amenities rival those of top-of-the-line state parks and advocacy of environmental programs such as the state Resource Enhancement and Protection program and the as yet unfunded Natural Resources Trust Fund.

“Outdoors people and environmentalists — they know what he’s meant to Buchanan County and to Iowa,” said Conservation Board Chairman Ron Wolfe, who’s beginning his 10th year on the board.

Hamilton and Wolfe said Cohen worked collegially with board members, staff and county residents.

“He always listened to what everybody had to say and encouraged the board to make independent decisions,” Hamilton said.

“He gets along with everybody. Never raises his voice. Persuades with facts and logic. Gets things done,” Wolfe said.

Buchanan County Supervisors Chairman Clayton Ohrt said Cohen earned the supervisors’ trust and confidence with “his passion for the environment, for wildlife, for the county park system and for teaching youth to understand and appreciate nature.”

The supervisors demonstrated their trust and confidence by allocating $793,000 in federal American Rescue Plan funds toward a soon-to-be-completed $2.5 million upgrade to the county’s Fontana Park near Hazleton.

“Dan’s the complete package — knowledgeable naturalist, gifted communicator, skilled administrator, a people person,” said Cohen’s mentor and former boss Harry Graves, who directed the Buchanan Conservation Department from 1982 to 2000 and its Johnson County counterpart from 2000 until his 2013 retirement.

Graves and Cohen have been instrumental in acquiring and protecting Buchanan County natural areas, especially in the corridor of the county’s natural crown jewel, the Wapsipinicon River.

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Fifteen of the 41 properties managed by the Conservation Board are adjacent to the Wapsi, providing exceptional public access to the river Graves describes as “really special with gravel bottoms, forested limestone banks and natural flora and fauna.”

“Dan’s done a better job of acquiring land than I did,” Graves said.

Cohen said his main passions as director have been public land acquisitions and environmental education.

That latter passion was recognized Dec. 15 with his receipt of the 2023 Aldo Leopold Environmental Education Award, which cited his lifetime achievement in excellence and leadership. Buchanan County elementary students, who have long looked forward to his school visits, already had expressed their appreciation of the educator they called “Dan Dan the nature man.”

Cohen has spent much of the past few years planning and overseeing implementation of Fontana Park infrastructure improvements, which include a new 28-unit campground, a nature trail extension and a solar array to power the park.

Those time-consuming projects, he said, have left little time for hiking, paddling, photography and other nature-appreciation activities, but he plans to catch up in retirement.

As indicated by his new business card, Cohen also intends to expand his nature communications sideline, which includes writing, photography, advocacy and land and water reconnaissance — all skills at which he excels.

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Ben Bonar, who has served as conservation department deputy director for the past year, will succeed Cohen as director.