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by Mike Krapfl

Editor’s note:
This article describes INHF’s work with another non-profit group, the Four Mounds Foundation in Dubuque. Recently, the two foundations signed the "Frank Bertsch Memorial Conservation Easement," which preserves the Four Mounds site as a farm, an environmental education center, and an exquisite example of Mississippi blufflands.
 This easement seamlessly combines several of INHF’s goals: partnering with other environmental organizations, preserving a beautiful piece of Iowa’s natural heritage, and relating that lovely piece of land to larger protection efforts along the whole Mississippi Bluffs ecosystem.
 This project also puts a new twist on INHF’s slogan: "For those who follow." Not only will this land be preserved for future generations, but it is being used today to help at-risk teens learn about nature, hard work, and self-esteem. The partnership between the two foundations provides "those who follow" with a valuable legacy—and some valuable lessons.

Jamie ran after preschoolers visiting the farm. Not wanting a forgetful tot to be without a jack-o-lantern for Halloween, the 13-year-old delivered a little round pumpkin. The preschooler was pleased. So was Jamie.
 "I like to do more than I can," said the skinny student from a Dubuque school for troubled teens. "I like to be helpful."
 John Gronen, Jim Jelinske and the rest of the staff of Dubuque’s Four Mounds Foundation like to hear things like that. That’s what their Youth Empowerment Service (Y.E.S.) is all about. It puts teens to work in gardens, in workshops and in livestock pens. Those chores help young people struggling with the law, with their families or with addiction. The young people learn a work ethic, become responsible and build self-esteem.
 Many of those lessons are learned on a 40-acre farm just north of Dubuque, not far from blufftop views of the Mississippi River. That’s where Jamie and his schoolmates worked to harvest hundreds of pumpkins. The crop would be sold at bargain prices to elementary students in some of Dubuque’s neediest neighborhoods.
 Meanwhile, a new conservation easement, written with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation’s help, will make sure the Bertsch Educational Farm (a part of Four Mounds Foundation), stays a farm and that another part of Iowa’s scenic Mississippi blufflands will be preserved for these kids and for future generations.

The land
Gronen drove a big 4x4 up the hill to the eastern edge of the farm. The president of Four Mounds Foundation likes to get things done, whether it’s buying a farm or leading a tour. Tires spun over the rain-slick, grass-grown path. But the truck made the turn. And there, down the slope, was Four Mounds’ farm.
 At the bottom of the hill there’s a little pond. There’s an old barn and a small farmhouse beyond that. To the left of the house is an apple orchard; to the right, acres of gardens, including the big pumpkin patch. Peru Road and its connections to nearby factories, trailer parks and sprawl is beyond the western property line.

 The Four Mounds Foundation, as Gronen explains to visitors, is a non-profit environmental education organization. It operates the Burden estate, called Four Mounds and bequeathed to the city of Dubuque in 1982 by Gronen’s grandmother. The foundation wants to make sure the blufftop property is preserved, open to the public and useful. There’s the 1908 "Grey Mansion," operated as an inn and conference center. There’s a rope course where students and executives challenge their fears and learn about problem-solving. There are wood shops, chicken coops and pig pens where 250 struggling young people have learned to feel good about an afternoon’s work.

 And there’s the farm, located just down the road from the estate. "We’re really thinking this through," Gronen said as he looked over the 40 acres that will continue to grow pumpkins and, everybody hopes, better young people. "We’re looking down the road 25 years. We’re asking, ‘How will this look when all is said and done? Where is the most appropriate place for buildings? Where should the gardens be?’ And we’re looking at the next 100 years. Preserving this land could be the most important thing we do—by far."

The big picture
Darrel Mills unrolled a big map showing the sweep of the Mississippi River as it runs past Dubuque. Property lines run straight over the land. The bluffline runs crooked as the river. Here, said Mills, pointing to a spot just back from the bluff, is Four Mounds’ farm.
 Mills knows the place. He’s a land conservation specialist for INHF. His job is to work with the people who own the Mississippi bluff country. He tells them how they can protect those bluffs with conservation easements. Don’t want your timber cut down for condos with a river view? An easement can make sure that won’t happen. Mills’ work is part of an INHF effort, called the Mississippi Blufflands Alliance, to help willing landowners protect more of Iowa’s Mississippi bluffs before they disappear under subdivisions and sprawl.
 Working together, Mills and the Four Mounds board and staff wrote a conservation easement to protect the farm. That protection doesn’t mean the property will remain forever as-is. The Four Mounds people wanted some flexibility to build, say, green houses, classrooms or student living quarters on the property. The document allows that. But, for the most part, the farmland will remain green and open. It will remain a farm.
 Saving one 40-acre farm on the edge of America’s farm state. What’s the big deal? The city of Dubuque has hired earth movers to convert far bigger chunks of farmland into industrial parks. Well, there’s a bigger picture here."This is much greater than Four Mounds," Gronen said over coffee one morning.

 He pulled out some maps and explained. There’s a bluffline, scenic and scarcely developed, running from Four Mounds to Dubuque’s Eagle Point park. That’s about a mile of river bluffs. "What a terrific resource," Gronen said. The hope is that Four Mounds will be an example and a spark.

 Pat O’Neill, a Four Mounds board member and a Dubuque businessman, echoes this broader view. "I hope this can cause a chain reaction and encourage others to preserve their property—especially along the bluffline."

A celebration
Wine and hors d’oeuvres filled glasses and plates. Some 60 friends of Four Mounds wandered the halls of the 21-room mansion. At the appointed hour, the crowd moved outside to the blufftop. Everybody enjoyed a river view and watched the Four Mounds Foundation and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation agree to protect a farm with the "Frank Bertsch Memorial Conservation Easement."
 Bertsch was chairman of the executive committee of Dubuque’s Flexsteel Industries, Inc., when he died in October 1977. He was also a force on the boards of directors for Four Mounds, INHF, and many other organizations. It was Gronen and Bertsch’s shared vision, and some of Bertsch’s money, that helped Four Mounds buy the farm in 1991.
 There were, of course, speeches and good words before signatures made the easement official. "We take our setting for granted—that’s one of the things dad always said," said Jeff Bertsch of Dubuque as he remembered his father’s love of preservation.
 "Frank was not only a man of commitment and vision but that rare person who could figure out a way to achieve the vision," said Mark Ackelson, INHF president. "This was reflected in his personal life, in his business, and in all his other endeavors."
 Jim Jelinski, who directs Four Mounds’ youth empowerment program, added, "If we teach these kids the values that Frank lived, we’ll be successful."

Another celebration
The sun, still warm and high in early fall, didn’t stop the pumpkin patch crew. They had piled their heavy harvest on the ground. The last chore of the day would be lifts, "ooof," and heaves, "hooo," onto a trailer. But Derek, Bill, Rick and Jamie figured out a better way. Lining up, they formed a pumpkin brigade and passed each load down the line.
 "Teamwork, guys!" shouted Bill, mimicking his supervisors.
Meanwhile, those supervisors watched the orange pile grow higher. "This gives these kids an opportunity to grow," said Jelinske. "What they accomplished today was a great feat." This farm, Jelinske added, is teaching kids lessons that will last a lifetime.
 Thanks to some thinking ahead, plus a conservation easement, the Bertsch Educational Farm should be there for future lifetimes as well, producing pumpkins and muddy, sweaty lessons.

Mike Krapfl writes for the Telegraph Herald in Dubuque

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