Vincent Bluff Update, Council Bluffs

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This article first appeared in INHF's Fall 2008 magazine.

Anita O'Gara/INHF

New preserve in Council Bluffs
Vincent Bluff Nature Preserve, a 2000 INHF project site, was recently granted Iowa DNR Preserve status. The 31-acre Vincent Bluff Preserve is located atop a ridge of the Loess Hills on the southern edge of Council Bluffs. The city owns and manages the site as a natural park. The bluff contains high-quality prairie remnants and provides wildlife habitat. A fine example of the area’s original natural scenery, the bluff is visible from Interstate 80, Interstate 29, the Loess Hills Scenic Byway, the Western Historic Trails Center and the Wabash Trace Nature Trail.

Other key partners in protecting Vincent Bluff Preserve include the City of Council Bluffs and the Loess Hills Preservation Society, a regional conservation group. “Preserve status is awarded by the Iowa DNR through a highly competitive and selective process; many applications do not succeed,” said Terry Oswald, an LHPS board member. “It’s been a long process that required hard work by more people than I can name.”
Watch for an outdoor celebration event in 2009!

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