President's Corner
25 years down,
many more to go!

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by Mark C. Ackelson

Happy New Year! Welcome to the Silver Anniversary year of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. Led by our "25 events" campaign we'll be recognizing and celebrating 25 years of accomplishments throughout 2004. We are proud of our past-and grateful to the many dedicated supporters, board members, volunteers and staff who laid the strong foundation for our current organization.

But even as we celebrate this milestone anniversary, we can't afford to spend so much time looking back that we don't look forward. This year we are undertaking an organizational evaluation to determine how we can be even more effective. We know, however, that our cornerstone goals of protecting what we have, restoring what we have lost and leading with new ideas and opportunities will continue to guide our work.

In the next few months, we'll launch several new major projects and expand our conservation education and land stewardship partnerships. We'll work for new program and funding initiatives to reduce Iowa's impaired waters, expand important conservation/recreation complexes and create economic opportunities through community investments in quality-of-life trails and parks projects.

As this issue goes to press, we're completing our endowment campaign. Our next issue will detail the multiple ways that you supported the campaign-and how this support will address future program and financial needs.

We look forward to this year of celebration and to seeing you at our 25 partnership events. Your support continues to make our work relevant and possible. Thanks for being such an important part of our history-and future.

Your conservation partner,
Mark C. Ackelson
President

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