Downtown Des Moines project will cut 150 trees

About 150 trees are being removed near downtown Des Moines' Scott Avenue dam for a project that begins next week, Hannah Inman, CEO of Iowa Confluence Water Trails (ICON), tells Axios.

Catch up fast: ICON is a broad $125 million plan to improve recreation along more than 150 miles of rivers and creeks in Central Iowa.

• Dam modifications, including the tree removal, are intended to allow boaters to safely pass.

Zoom in: The Scott Avenue project also includes a new fish passage and about 1,500 feet of riverbank that will be graded to provide recreation and fishing access.

State of play: The trees are located on three acres along the DSM River, just south of the dam.

• They must be removed by the end of March to avoid impacts to a federally protected bat species that may inhabit the trees starting in the spring.
• The overall project is expected to be completed in 2025.

🦅 The intrigue: The area, just south of Principal Park, is a common spot for eagles.

• There are no nests within the clearing limits, Inman says.