INHF 25th Anniversary Event #25
Wet and Wild Iowa:
A Wetlands Bus Tour

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Come tour the wetlands of Louisa County by bus and gain first-hand knowledge of these precious sites from their county, state and federal land managers.

Event details
Hop on the bus at Louisa County Heritage Center, and enjoy the ride and scenery as you travel through federal, state and county wetland projects. The sites include Horseshoe Bend National Wildlife Refuge, Millrace Flats Wildlife Area, Indian Slough Wildlife Area, Chinkapin Bluffs Recreation Area, and the Langwood Education Center. There will also be a drive-through tour of the Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge, where participants will get the chance to see migrating waterfowl. To find out more information about what makes these places so special, be sure to check out the "Story behind this place…" section below.

You'll have plenty of time to stretch your legs and walk around the sites a bit as the Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist, the National Resources Conservation Service district conservationist, the Fish and Wildlife Service refuge manager, LCCB staff members as well as INHF staff, talk about their sites. There may be opportunities for short hikes, but they will be very easy-going.

The event costs $10 and includes the bus ride, a morning snack and lunch at the Langwood Education Center. Seating is limited, and you must pre-register with the Louisa County Conservation Board.

The story behind this place
Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge/Horseshoe Bend
National Wildlife Refuge
Horseshoe Bend may be the largest, most complex project INHF ever coordinated, 2,606 acres total. The project areas lie in the non-functioning levee (formerly Louisa Levee District 8). The floods of 1993 severely damaged the levee district and much of the land's internal drainage. Sand bars two to three feet high and scour holes were left behind by the flood. Expensive reconstruction would have been needed to return the land to agricultural production.

After discussing their options with INHF staff, the levee district's 11 landowners voted to dissolve the levee district. They enrolled land in the Emergency Wetland Reserve Program, and ten of them sold or traded their land to create the refuge.

For 15 months INHF staff coordinated, funded and implemented the complicated land deals (27 in all!) with help from several project partners. Two national non-profit organizations--the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and The Conservation Fund--established a revolving fund to ensure that landowners would be paid as quickly as possible. Other partners included the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), and Pheasants Forever.

The project is nationally recognized as a model for alternative floodplain management. In fact, the $2 million deal actually cost taxpayers $1 million less than returning the land to crop production. Today, the area is set aside as a wildlife area, and it will help to hold future flood waters.

Millrace Flats Wildlife Area
In 1997 the INHF acquired this 1187-acre area after it had been enrolled in the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP). The WRP easement permanently restricts the land for wetland use, and the program paid for much of the land's value. INHF then sold the lands to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for public use. The area has now expanded to 1,456 acres of restorable floodplain wetland and is managed for wildlife such as duck, deer, pheasant and wild turkey. The site includes scattered areas of shallow water, timber and extensive grasslands.

Indian Slough Wildlife Area
Within 80 years, the 1,100-acre Indian Slough Wildlife Area has gone from a historic waterfowl production area to marginal farming ground and back to a top quality wetland resource.

INHF provided interim financing for this project, which is one of the largest ever undertaken by a county conservation board. Iowa Wildlife Habitat Stamp Funds were also used in this acquisition. The Foundation's assistance was needed to acquire 928 of the 1100 acres.

Today, the site is open to hunting and trapping with walk-in access only. Deer, wild turkey, Canada geese, ducks and a host of other wildlife thrive in this area.

Chinkapin Bluffs Recreation Area
Bordered by the Iowa River and the Hoover Nature Trail, the Chinkapin Bluffs Recreation Area is 398 acres of diverse wildlife habitat. Native grass plantings, crop fields, a bottomland forest along the Iowa River, a wetland and wet prairie area, and a forest with steep ravines allow for a wide variety of public and educational activities including hunting, fishing, hiking and nature study.

INHF fronted part of the land's cost, then assisted the LCCB in seeking grant funding to repurchase the land.

Langwood Education Center
The 132-acre area is used by the Conservation Board for adult and youth environmental education programming, but is also available to school, public, and private groups by reservation. The area's facilities include a lodge, dormitory, pond, trails, bird viewing blind and a high ropes challenge course.

INHF recently purchased 40 acres adjoining the Langwood Education Center that will be used to improve parking and access to the education center and for facility and habitat development.

Partner Information
The Louisa County Conservation Board owns or manages 14 areas, totaling over 2,000 acres. Areas include parks, wildlife areas, river accesses, a group reservation site and a small museum. The LCCB also has an award-winning environmental education program which reaches nearly every elementary student in Louisa County each year.
lccb@lccb.org

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is the government agency that leads Iowans in caring for their natural resources. It is responsible for maintaining state parks, forests and wildlife areas, protecting the environment, and managing energy, fish, wildlife and land and water resources in Iowa. The Odessa Wildlife Unit of the Iowa DNR is headquartered in Louisa County and manages 4 areas totaling 6,635 acres in the county.


The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides technical assistance and cost share to landowners for soil and water conservation practices.The Louisa County Soil and Water Conservation District works with the NRCS District Conservationist and provides local cost share. NRCS holds
Wetland Reserve easements on 5,000 acres in Louisa County and has helped with wetland enhancements on many of those areas.

The Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge, owned by the US Fish and Wildlife Service comprises over 8,373 acres and is divided into four separate divisions: Big Timber, Louisa, Keithsburg, and Horseshoe Bend. Three divisions--Big Timber, Louisa, and Keithsburg--are located in the floodplain of the Mississippi River, while Horseshoe Bend is in the Iowa River floodplain. All divisions are within the famous Mississippi Flyway, one of the nation's most important migration routes. In fact, the primary refuge management objective is to provide waterfowl and migratory birds with food, water, and protection during the spring and fall migration. Each refuge division has unique characteristics. The Louisa Division is the most intensively managed via water-level manipulation, controlled burning, grassland management, and tree planting activities. Big Timber is a forested backwater slough open to the Mississippi River. Keithsburg is a forested backwater slough protected by levee from the Mississippi. The newest division, Horseshoe Bend, is being restored to native vegetation, including bottomland hardwoods, wetlands, and native prairie.

Site Map
Map of site

Driving Directions to Louisa Heritage Center
Take Hwy 61 to the north end of Wapello. The Center is located on the west side of the highway. There is an old church and an old one-room school house in the parking lot.

Visitor Info
Louisa County Conservation Board
(319) 523-8381


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