(Missouri Valley) Wilson Island State Recreation area will remain closed through 2020 while the Iowa Department of Natural Resources works with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to outline the cleanup and repair plan for the popular public area north of Council Bluffs.
Wilson Island was closed in March 2019, when Missouri River flood waters covered the area, then stayed for more than nine months. Once the waters receded, state park officials found the area covered under a blanket of silt ranging from inches deep in some locations to more than eight feet in others and the equivalent of hundreds of dump truck loads of debris that had washed in to the park. There was some damage to the electrical system, but most infrastructure survived the flood.
While Wilson Island is closed, the DNR has been reviewing the layout of the 550-acre area that sits on the inside curve of the Missouri River, for opportunities to further reduce the impacts of flooding from Big Muddy. State park officials are considering different clean up and redevelopment plans based on what FEMA provides as its costs estimates and guidance.
