Iowa's trail system:
It's time to "gear up"

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by Lisa Hein

John Ledges/INHF

With stronger leadership and commitment, we truly have the potential to create and market a world-class trails system in Iowa.

Just 25 years ago, trails for biking and recreation were virtually unknown in Iowa. Then volunteers and private donors, working with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and other partners, fought to create the now-popular Heritage Trail and Cedar Valley Nature Trail. Soon more trails projects began to spring up throughout the state on abandoned railroad corridors. A decade later, Iowa ranked 5th in the nation in number and miles of rail-trail conversions. Communities began adding trails within city limits, too. Today Iowa boasts about 1,000 miles of multi-use nature trails.

But if Iowa wants to keep its status as a leading trails state, we need to "gear up."

Until now, Iowa's trails have been "locally grown." Volunteers, non-profits, communities, and county conservation boards built Iowa's trails-with matching construction funds from federal, state, and local government. For that reason, the planning, funding and promotion of Iowa trails has been fragmented.
John Ledges/INHF

However, we can't take Iowa's trail system to the next level on the backs of volunteers and local communities alone. We need statewide leadership, action, and political willpower. We need to connect scattered trails into a system, make our trails more user-friendly and market Iowa as a trails state.

With stronger leadership and commitment, we truly have the potential to create and market a world-class trails system in Iowa. Without that leadership and commitment, we're on the verge of being left in the dust as neighboring states seriously embrace trails within their civic and economic infrastructure.

Great possibilities
Iowa is at the crossroads of several proposed national trails, including the American Discovery Trail (linking America's east and west coasts) and the Mississippi River Trail (crossing the country from north to south).|

Iowa is also at the heart of the nation's greatest concentration of trails. More than 40 percent of the nation's rail-trails are clustered in just six Upper Midwestern states (Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin Illinois, Missouri and Michigan).

Major trails in Minnesota and Missouri are well-known destinations not because they are better than Iowa trails but because these trails-and the communities they serve-are marketed as a unified package for tourists and potential residents and businesses.

Some Iowa communities already understand the value of trails to Iowa. For example, community leaders in Cedar Falls-Waterloo credited their extensive trail and greenway system for helping attract John Deere and other businesses to their new Cedar Valley TechWorks. The Greater Des Moines Partnership has prioritized the establishment of "green infrastructure" -most importantly trails -as a key component of Project Destiny, designed as a roadmap for the Des Moines metro area's economic future.

Imminent opportunities
As more railroad corridors become inactive, there are short windows of opportunity to convert these corridors to trails. INHF has developed expertise in this process, and we routinely watch for corridor opportunities that could connect existing trails and strengthen Iowa's trail system. So far, Iowa has saved only 10% of our abandoned railroad corridors for future transportation, utility or trails. Without renewed commitment, more will be lost- including, in some cases, the only opportunity to establish or connect what could be world-class destination trails. (See "What's at Stake" )

Seizing those opportunities is more difficult now, as key state grant funds for new trails have dried up. Despite increasing community requests for trail funding, the state legislature recently slashed Iowa's $2.5 million Recreational Trails fund to zero-delaying previously approved projects. Though some funds were restored, the program is stuck in addressing its backlog rather than moving forward on new trail opportunities.

A better path
Fully capturing the value of Iowa's existing trails-let alone reaching the system's potential-requires statewide leadership, action and political willpower.

As noted in Iowa Trails 2000, a report prepared by the Iowa Department of Transportation with public input, Iowa's trail efforts must extend well beyond the physical trails themselves to issues like these:

Link the pieces: When building or improving roads, Iowans should regard accompanying trails, bike lanes and pedestrian facilities as key elements in our transportation infrastructure, as required by federal transportation legislation-rather than mere frills. Otherwise our trails network will remain fragmented and hard to access: like an interstate highway system with missing pieces and no entrance ramps.

Promote our assets: Iowa lags far behind neighboring states in realizing the economic benefits of our trails. Simple fixes include a one-stop source for Iowa trail information-online and otherwise. Like adjoining states, Iowa could designate and promote state trails as we do state parks. Thinking bigger, we could work with neighboring states to market the Upper Midwest Trail System nationally as a tourism destination.

Meanwhile, any Iowa trail user knows we need better signage directing people to trail access points-and from trails to local attractions and services.

Increase leadership and coordination: Developing a world-class trail system will require the coordinated support of multiple state and local agencies including the Iowa DOT, Iowa DNR, Tourism Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, regional planning agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, elected officials, business and community leaders -in addition to the already-committed volunteers and non-profits like INHF and Iowa Trails Council.

Increase trail funding: In addition to restoring previously cut funds, Iowa needs to consider other funding options, such as Vision Iowa, the Iowa Rail Finance Authority, special state appropriations and increasing the State Trails Fund.

Iowa's trail system is at a crossroads. Our trails link us with our past while embracing trends of the future-a future that rewards communities offering "quality of life" benefits to an increasingly mobile population. We can choose to merely survive or instead to grow, prosper and implement a world-class system that builds upon Iowa values.

Related links:
INHF's role in Iowa trails
What good are trails? (includes statistics)
What's at stake?

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