College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Everett Casey Nature Reserve
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View of a rivers and green fields.

The Everett Casey Nature Reserve

Fawn at Casey 22

Where we hike, wade & howl

Browse our website to learn more about ongoing initiatives at the Casey Land, including beekeeping, prairie, forestry, education, and creative writing projects. The Everett Casey Nature Center and Reserve is 76 acres of Iowa wilderness straddling Bluff Creek in rural Boone County, Iowa. Everett Casey, a 1946 Iowa State Engineering graduate, donated the land to the University’s English Department and specifically earmarked it for projects stemming from graduate students in our Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing & Environment. We have partnered with graduate students in the Master of Fine Arts program in the College of Art & Design and have collaborated on educational and artistic endeavors involving the land.

This website is an archive of artifacts that document our work and our play there.

Rules for Visits to the Everett Casey Nature Center & Reserve

  1. We respect the character of this land.
  2. Visitors must carry out whatever they bring in.
  3. We respect Casey neighbors; no trespassing onto adjacent property.
  4. Department of English graduate students, staff, and faculty are welcome to bring guests 24/7. However, guests are not to visit unaccompanied with the exception of collaborative university and community partners.
  5. Fire is allowed in designated areas; extinguish fires before leaving.
  6. Animal friends are welcomed if monitored for safety.
  7. Visitors are advised to bring cell phones in case of emergency.
  8. Alcohol is permitted.
  9. All visitors from November to mid-January need to wear blaze orange: either a hat, a vest, or a jacket.
  10. No hunting or trapping on the property.
  11. Nothing is to be removed from Casey.