Services offered to
Loess Hills landowners

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New grants allow Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation
to expand landowner services in western Iowa

This article was written and posted on INHF's website in June 1999.

Loess Hills landowners who want to protect their natural land, grazed hills, and prairies will soon receive more information and support services to help them do so.

Two new grants to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) will fund a new voluntary protection initiative, which includes one-on-one information for individual landowners, landowner workshops, and research to help identify and prioritize lands for protection. Limited funds are also available to purchase property or selected property rights from willing landowners who want the conservation and tax benefits of permanent land protection.

"Everyone talks about protecting land in the Loess Hills, but we want to make a real, personal effort to talk with landowners instead of about them," said Mark Ackelson, INHF President. "These grants allow us to introduce ourselves and our services directly to those who own high-quality and very scenic natural lands. If those landowners want to make sure their lands always remain natural, we’ll help them find a way to do that."

The Iowa West Foundation approved $48,650 for INHF’s Loess Hills Voluntary Protection Initiative. Another $177,250 in federal funds will be granted to INHF by the Iowa Department of Transportation to work with interested landowners along the Loess Hills Scenic Byway. Both grants require matching funds.

"Our grant is an outreach," explained Jerry Mathiesen, Associate Director of the Iowa West Foundation. "It’s funding to make citizens aware that voluntary conservation methods are available to protect the quality of life in the Loess Hills." The Iowa West Foundation is the non-profit charitable arm of Ameristar, Bluffs Run, and Harveys casinos in Council Bluffs.

The Loess Hills extend nearly 200 miles along Iowa’s western border, including parts of seven counties. More than 95% of the Loess Hills area is privately owned. This unique and beautiful landform draws a half million tourists each year, and the hills hold more large prairie tracts and more plant and animal species than anywhere else in Iowa. Yet unique Loess Hills resources are lost each year to development, erosion, and management choices which allow exotic species such as red cedar and leafy spurge to overtake the prairies. Only 3% of the native Loess Hills prairie now remains.

Though some funds will be available to purchase natural lands, that is not the sole focus of this program. "There are many lands that can and should be protected while remaining in private ownership," noted Ackelson. "For example, we’ve successfully helped many Iowa landowners put conservation easements on their private lands, and we’d like Loess Hills landowners to become familiar with such options."

Owning a piece of land means owning a bundle of rights which go with it—from agriculture to mining to housing development. Conservation easements allow landowners to release or retain any combination of those rights. According to INHF, the conservation easement usually doesn’t change the land’s use; instead, it perpetuates the owner’s current good stewardship. Meanwhile, the owner may obtain substantial tax benefits.

"Conservation easements are common in many other states, but they are relatively new to Iowa," Ackelson noted. "They offer good financial benefits and peace of mind to conservation-minded landowners."

Ackelson said the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation is eager to put more effort into western Iowa. "In the past, our small staff has been able to respond to opportunities and save key sites like Hitchcock Nature Area near Council Bluffs, Saw Mill Hollow in Harrison County, and additions to Southwood Conservation Area and Shagbark Hills in Woodbury County. Now, with a trained staff person devoted exclusively to the Loess Hills, we’ll be able to do so much more. We are also pleased to coordinate our work with other organizations as part of the Loess Hills Alliance."

"Many Iowans love the Loess Hills and would like to encourage more voluntary protection," Ackelson added. "We invite them to provide information, introductions, or financial gifts of any size to match these outstanding grants."

For more information about land protection in the Loess Hills, contact David Zahrt, INHF Loess Hills Land Conservation Specialist, at (712) 353-6772.

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

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