Purchase protects
Iowa's Great Lakes

---

A 670-acre project near East Lake Okoboji will protect water quality in Iowa's Great Lakes, buffer a state park, create wildlife habitat and add recreational opportunities.

On July 1, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) bought 670 acres from the Mary Ryrie Jaquith Trust for nearly $1.2 million. The property lies on the northeast corner of Elinor Bedell State Park, which is located on East Lake Okoboji. Its northern border is Highway 9, and its southeast border is Highway M56. Though not open to the public until all funds are raised, the land will eventually be added to the state park.

"This project is expensive, but the Foundation was created to take financial risks to protect key areas--and this site is key," said Mark Ackelson, INHF president. "Because of the potential development value, we had to pay more than the agricultural value--a tough reality whether you buy land for farming or conservation."

Past INHF projects in Dickinson County include additions to
Gull Point State Park, Jemmerson Slough, Center Lake Wildlife Management Area, the Iowa Great Lakes Trail and others.
Nearly 4,000 acres drain through streams that cross this site before entering Elinor Bedell State Park and then East Lake Okoboji. This represents over six-percent of the entire Great Lakes watershed.

"At present, the stream corridor is eroded and livestock are impacting water quality," said Bruce Mountain, INHF's Land Projects Director. "This purchase will reduce water contamination--by preventing overgrazing and future development."

The property has an interesting history. The land had been deeded to the state of Iowa from the U.S. government in 1865 as part of a program to development agricultural colleges. In 1889, the state sold the property to James Ryrie, with proceeds helping finance the initial operations of Iowa's land grant college, now known as Iowa State University in Ames. Ryrie was a lawyer from Illinois who worked for the Union Pacific Railroad. As the railroad acquired land moving west, so did Ryrie. This property had been in the Ryrie family for more than 100 years.

Purchasing the land from Ryrie's daughter's trust requires funding from multiple sources. As interim owner, INHF intends to enroll 230 acres in the federal Wetland Reserve Program (WRP). Under WRP, the U.S. Department of Agriculture purchases a permanent conservation easement prohibiting future agriculture and development while providing funds to restore hydric soils to wetlands and return uplands to native grasses and prairie flowers.

INHF hopes to transfer 80 acres to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through their Prairie Pothole Joint Venture Fund. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which requested INHF's assistance, will use funds from the federal North American Waterfowl Conservation Act (NAWCA) for a portion of the project as well. Meanwhile, INHF must raise private funds from individuals and organizations--such as Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever--to match the public money.

INHF expects the fundraising process to take at least two years, and the land is not open to the public during that time. In the interim, INHF and the Iowa DNR are raising funds and developing a restoration plan to protect the area's water quality, wildlife habitat and future recreational uses. Once funds are raised, the DNR will manage the entire area, restoring wetlands and reconstructing native prairie and wildlife habitat. The site contains a couple dozen restorable pothole wetlands.

Mountain grins. "In addition to its water quality benefits, good restoration and management could turn this historically wet ground into a great wildlife area!"

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