Agreement protects bluffs, history
by Cathy Engstrom

---

More than two miles of bluffline along the Mississippi River is now preserved through a land protection agreement between INHF and Raleigh and JoEllyn "Joey" Buckmaster.


Pre-historic cultures thought this place was sacred-and left archeological traces of their presence. Early white explorers, like Major Long, noted its landmark bluff in their journals and drawings. Current owners Raleigh and JoEllyn "Joey" Buckmaster say they "always recognized this place as something special" and knew it deserved special treatment.

That's why the couple has spent a quarter century restoring their land's most distinctive and fragile areas-and has now extended that protection by donating a conservation easement. This easement, a voluntary land protection agreement between the Buckmasters and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, keeps the land in private ownership while restricting uses like construction or grazing that could damage its natural resources.

The Buckmasters own 800 acres in Iowa's northeast corner, just south of Lansing. Their easement permanently protects a 170-acre strip with more than two miles of bluffline overlooking the Mississippi River. The protected property contains woodlands, prairie, oak savanna, archeological remnants and wildlife habitat. But the eye-catcher is Capoli (CAP oh lie), a dramatically angled bluff that rises 420 feet above the river.

"INHF has protected many beautiful and diverse sites in the Mississippi River blufflands, and this one ranks among the crown jewels," says Darrel Mills, INHF's Blufflands Coordinator. "Moreover, it's the best match I've ever seen between a property and its owners. The diversity and quality of the landscape is surpassed only by the varied interests and capabilities of Raleigh and Joey."

Evolving ownership goals

Raleigh's father, the late Bob Buckmaster, acquired the property in 1958. Bob, an ardent outdoorsman who helped found INHF in 1979, advised his children to "live where you want to live and the rest will follow." Raleigh listened and spent every possible moment on the site. Joey was equally impressed, and they were married in the valley beneath Capoli. They purchased the property from Raleigh's parents in 1974.

The couple agrees that they've gone through distinct "cycles" during their three decades of ownership. Soon after purchasing the land, they fenced off the most fragile areas, developed a rotational grazing system and raised Limosine cattle-all while Raleigh established his veterinary practice, their three sons were born and the couple built a home from native materials on the site.

The second cycle began in 1986 when they switched from raising cattle to raising Fallow deer. It was a family business; Raleigh and the boys handled most of the outdoor chores while Joey marketed the specialty meat. After 16 years in the business, including national leadership positions in the industry, the family sold its last deer-and entered Cycle Three.

Evolving conservation goals

"Removing those deer fences created a psychological change we hadn't predicted," recalls Raleigh. Though they'd always protected the site's natural areas, the Buckmasters became more focused on restoration and hired Applied Ecological Services (AES) to develop a master plan. Referring to maps and management plans produced by AES, Raleigh notes that the property is a living laboratory of landscapes with various usage histories and stages of restoration.

"When you say you're preserving something, much of that is in the eye of the beholder," notes Raleigh. "I define preservation in part as minimizing human impact-not exclusion, but minimalization. People affect the environment in ways we can't measure yet. So, when in doubt, leave it alone. Responsible land ownership is like the Hippocratic Oath: First, do no harm."

The Buckmasters-using family labor plus support from AES, INHF staff, neighbors and friends-have concentrated their efforts on "liberating" the prairie remnants depicted in the earliest drawings of Capoli. Thanks to years of removing invasive cedars and conducting controlled burns, an increasingly diverse prairie covers Capoli's dry, southwestern slopes. Meanwhile, they've removed a man-made dike to restore the valley's natural drainage and cleared brush from a century-old apple orchard to preserve its heirloom varieties.

Planning ahead

With that level of investment-financial, emotional and time-the Buckmasters spent a long time considering their permanent protection options. "I'm a believer in personal property rights-a big believer-but this easement protects things we were protecting anyway," says Raleigh. "We included only part of our land in the conservation easement so that our kids or other future owners would have room for choices. However, we have protected the most sensitive areas because-regarding ecological integrity-we hope that long-term consequences will be immune from short-term decision-making."

"This bluffland prairie was created when the glaciers melted," Raleigh continues. "Some of that DNA from 10,000 years ago is still here. The events of our lives-no matter how important-seem insignificant in comparison."

Cathy Engstrom is INHF's Communications Director.

For more information, e-mail Cathy Engstrom, Director of Communications, or call (515) 288-1846.