Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation: Shaw Conservation Easements

This article first appeared in INHF's Fall 2007 magazine.

Joe McGovern/INHF

Vernon Shaw walks along the headwaters of Ensign Creek. The site is permanently protected by a conservation easement that Vernon and his daughters donated to INHF this fall.

A father and his daughters have donated two expansive conservation easements, one as a tribute to a life-long friend, cousin and avid conservationist.

After previous owner and friend Carl Nus died in 1998, his widow sold one of the properties to Vernon Shaw and daughters, Christie and Shelley. The land, part of the Nus family for over a century, is a treasure trove of natural gifts and family memories. The Shaws intend to keep it in its natural state—one of Carl’s wishes—through a voluntary protection agreement with INHF.

“It’s always been a special place for us,” Vernon said. “Carl would be really happy to know it’s being left in its natural state. It’s what he intended.”

This conservation easement protects 120 acres in Clayton County. The property’s most prominent feature—and the prime reason for its protection—is a natural spring that provides the source of a trout stream called Ensign Creek. This coldwater creek supports the natural reproduction of native trout.

The site’s rugged bluffs feature a series of five or more large upland sinkholes and two large seep areas at the base of the slope. The family has placed about 34 acres in upland CRP. The balance of the farm contains both upland and lowland woods.

Vernon Shaw donated a second conservation easement on a Fayette County property that he owns alone. This 63-acre site adjoins Brush Creek Canyon State Park. It contains upland maple woodlands and a spring that’s one of the sources of Brush Creek. The rocky outcrops of its untouched bluff areas contain a known bobcat den.

The Shaws donated both conservation easements to INHF in September. Though the family retains private ownership and use, the easements permanently protect the land from mining, developing, clear-cutting, over-grazing and other activities that could diminish the area’s natural resources and scenery. The easement restrictions apply to Shaw, his daughters and all future owners.

As an additional tribute to Carl, Vernon constructed a monument close to the spring, his favorite place on the property. It’s inscribed with four names: Vern and his late wife, Karen; and Carl and his wife, Carol: a physical homage on a piece of land that has known a forever friendship.

Family protects land, honors friend