Prairie Rose State Park welcomes new Park Manager Beth Collins

 HARLAN — Beth Collins has been named the new park manager at Prairie Rose State Park and is looking forward to meeting the park’s visitors.
 Collins graduated from Iowa Lakes Community College with an Associate’s degree in Environmental Studies, then transferred to Northwest Missouri State University where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation.
 Her carreer with the Iowa DNR began as a seasonal water patrol officer at Lake Okoboji and Spirit Lake, then she decided to switch to parks for the next recreational season. Collins was a seasonal employee at the Gull Point Complex in Okoboji for many years. “I went a different direction for a few years, and learned some valuable skills before returning to state parks,” she said. She was the natural resource technician at Lake Anita for the past three years before being named the park manager at Prairie Rose.
 Collins enjoys the variety the park manager position brings, including the multitude of tasks and interactions throughout the season. “It is my responsibility to manage the park, for use by the people who visit and for its natural resources. These include maintaining the facilities and managing the park grounds for native species as well as the removal of invasives,” she said.
 She has been married to her husband Hunter for nine years, and they have a five-year-old son, Colt. They currently live in Atlantic.
 Collins said she is excited to learn about the park and the surrounding area.