Easement protects West Lake Okoboji

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This article first appeared in INHF's Fall 2005 magazine.

INHF and Dickinson Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) recently partnered to protect seven acres located within a quarter mile of West Okoboji Lake.

Cletus Ortmeier enrolled 65 acres of his property in the Wetland Reserve Program, but these seven interior acres did not qualify for the program. To prevent this exclusion from nixing the larger easement, INHF and Dickinson SWCD stepped in to acquire this unique “easement within an easement.”

The smaller site will be restored to a wetland basin and surrounding uplands, providing an important link between Garlock Slough and the WRP restoration. Together they will help filter water flowing into West Okoboji Lake.

“This project is a bit more convoluted than most, but if that’s what it takes to protect water quality in the lakes, then that’s what we’ll do,” said Mark Ackelson, INHF president.

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