Owner protects Upper Iowa River shoreline

---

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation always jumps at the chance to protect shoreline along the Upper Iowa River, but our most recent project on the river is especially exciting because it protects both shores.

		INHF has provided many sites along the Upper Iowa River, which is the only waterway in Iowa to qualify for federal designations as a Wild and Scenic River.

Located along the river’s most-canoed section, about two miles downstream from Kendallville, the property is notable for its native oak and hickory woodlands, reconstructed prairie and limestone outcroppings. Its shared boundary with an Iowa DNR wildlife management area adds to the conservation value.

“The sight of a dozen bald eagles soaring on an updraft over the limestone bluffs along this river is something everyone should have a chance to witness, and we owe it to future generations to protect as much as we can,” said Heine.

Under the easement agreement, Coldwater relinquishes all future rights for development and other activities that would damage the resource, but may still use the land for conservation-minded agriculture. Thus, the project qualified for the National Resource Conservation Service’s Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP).

This federal program protects agricultural lands threatened by development by partially compensating landowners for the reduced real estate value of land with conservation restrictions. Coldwater donated 25 percent of the easement’s appraised value, while the program compensated it for another 50 percent. The DK Prediger Upper Iowa River Fund and INHF members provided additional funding.

This marks the second site that Heine has helped INHF protect. In 2001, Bill and his brother David Heine donated a 105-acre easement next to the Chimney Rocks along the Upper Iowa River. The Coldwater project also marks INHF’s fifth FRPP easement, a program which was first used in Iowa by INHF and The Nature Conservancy to preserve land in the Loess Hills.

“It’s not often you have the opportunity to protect both sides of the river like this, especially in an area with such great natural resources,” said Joe McGovern, Director of Land Stewardship at INHF. “The FRPP program has limitations that make it inappropriate for many easements, but it was a terrific option on this exceptional piece of land.”

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