Land Addition Will Serve As a Buffer to Pine Lake State Park

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This article was written and posted on INHF's website in January 2003. 

A purchase of land will help buffer Pine Lake State Park, protect the Iowa River, and expand the Iowa River Greenbelt.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources recently purchased a 68-acre parcel of land located in the northeast corner of Eldora's city limits, which is adjacent to Pine Lake State Park and the Iowa River, from the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF), a non-profit conservation group that protects Iowa's land, water and wildlife.

The land is comprised of about 40 acres of crop ground and 20 acres of woodlands that include sandy bluffs and a deep ravine that extends to the Iowa River.

"The property features nice bluffland and timber, and it's an important area for protecting the water quality of the Iowa River," says Lisa Hein, INHF's Program and Planning Director.

The DNR purchased the property from INHF to provide a buffer for a portion of the west side of Pine Lake State Park. The property also fits into the city of Eldora's hiking trail project, which will connect Deer Park with the Hardin County Farm Museum. The property will be used for wildlife habitat and the crop ground will be planted with native prairie species. Although it may eventually host a hiking trail, for the most part the area will be maintained as prairie and woodland.

"Some of the land is pretty sensitive. There has been considerable erosion where tilling occurred on the property, and there is a critical ravine that also needs protection to curb soil erosion," says Don Primus, state park manager at Pine Lake State Park. He said he is also working on a reforestation plan for the property.

The woodlands on the property include walnut and sycamore trees, which provide habitat for wild game species including turkey, white tail deer, rabbits and warblers.

INHF originally purchased the land with the assistance of a grant from Iowa's Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program and a donation from Bob and Mary Gunderson of Eldora through the Gunderson Family Fund. The grant for the land addition was one of the last projects funded by REAP before 80 percent of the program's budget was cut in the special session of the 2002 Iowa legislature.

Past INHF projects in Hardin County include the Sands Spring Wildlife Area, the Sandstone Palisades, Wildcat Cave Access and conservation easements on the de Neui property.



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

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