Manikowski Prairie expanded through REAP grant

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This article was written and posted on INHF's website in July 2002. 

Several public and private partners joined forces to purchase a 134-acre addition that will nearly quadruple the size of Manikowski Prairie Preserve, a "jewel" in Clinton County.

Approximately half of the new addition contains remnants of Iowa prairie and rare plant species. Its limestone outcroppings made it unsuitable for farming. The other half is cropland that will be reconstructed into prairie by planting locally collected native species.

The new addition, which is adjacent to the state preserve's eastern border, will expand existing wildlife habitat and increase the environmental education and recreation opportunities in Clinton County. The land will be owned and managed by the Clinton County Conservation Board (CCCB).

The CCCB raised most of the funding through a state Resources Enhancement and Protection (REAP) grant. REAP was slashed in recent state budget cuts, but this project had been funded in the 2001 grant cycle.

INHF assisted the county in purchase negotiations and in raising funds from REAP and other private partners. Alliant Energy pledged $3,000 to INHF for acquisition and prairie restoration expenses. Wendling Quarries, which owns small tracts of prairie remnant adjacent to Manikowski Prairie and the addition, will donate prairie seed harvested from their property to supplement seed needed for restoration in former crop fields on the addition. Wendling Quarries also agreed to work with INHF and CCCB on other management issues, such as controlled burning.

"Manikowski Prairie is a real jewel in the county conservation board system," said Walt Wickham, CCCB deputy director. "It's a slice of Iowa's living past and we are proud to be able to work with the INHF to protect it. The additional land and restoration of the crop land will make Manikowski Prairie one of the largest prairies in Eastern Iowa."

A couple years ago independent botanist Tom Cady did an inventory of the area's plant species. Cady found a rare species of fern on both the addition and the existing preserve. These two sites are the only documented locations of this plant in Iowa. The property also contains several other varieties of plants and grasses that are listed as Special Concern species in Iowa.

"We're proud to help make this project a reality," said Perry Thostenson, INHF Land Conservation Specialist. "It's not every day that you get a chance to protect a tract of remnant Iowa prairie, and it took lots of folks to make it happen: the county conservation staff, private donors and state funding through REAP. And the addition's previous landowner was very cooperative about delaying his sale until all the pieces were in place. It's scary to realize that if we'd been even a few months slower and missed the REAP funding before that program fell to budget cuts, the opportunity to protect this remnant might have been lost forever."

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

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