Erin Van Waus is the newly appointed land stewardship director for INHF. Erin first started working for the INHF as a land stewardship intern in 2007. For the past three years, Erin has held land stewardship assistant and associate positions at INHF.

In her new role as the land stewardship director, Erin oversees the conservation easement program and the management of INHF properties. Erin works to monitor, enforce and draft new conservations easements in addition to handling prescribed prairie fires and supervising the INHF land stewardship interns. She plans to build upon the success of land stewardship program and she hopes to expand private land protection through conservation easements.

Erin is a native of Remsen, Iowa in Plymouth County. While growing up, she enjoyed the natural beauty of Stone State Park, Loess Hills, Little Sioux River Valley and the Iowa Great Lakes and Lake Okoboji. Erin attended the University of Northern Iowa and studied Biology with a concentration in Ecology and Systematics. She graduated with her undergraduate degree in 2007 and received a Professional Science Masters in Ecosystem Management from UNI in 2008. After graduating Erin utilized her appreciation for conservation while working for the Dickinson Country Nature Center. She also worked for the Iowa Learning Farms and Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, before joining the INHF staff.

When she isn’t working, she enjoys spending time with her 11-month-old son, Damen, and husband, Heath. Erin also enjoys hunting, fishing and spending time with her family and friends.

Erin Van Waus, INHF Land Stewardship Director.

The INHF staff is pleased to welcome Ryan Schmidt to our team. Ryan recently started working as one of INHF’s new land stewardship assistants.

In the summer of 2012, Ryan was one of the INHF land stewardship interns, and in his new role Ryan will supervise this year’s land stewardship interns. He will also help oversee prescribed prairie fires, remove invasive species, assist in guaranteeing permanent land protection on conservation easements, and partake in native prairie seed harvesting and planting.

Ryan is a 2012 graduate from Central College where he majored in Environmental Studies. After graduating Ryan worked for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources at the Brushy Creek State Recreation Area Prairie Resource Center. He helped in the production of native prairie seed for the Iowa DNR.

As a land stewardship assistant, Ryan hopes to “meet new people, build relationships with people in conservation and establish partnerships.”

Ryan is a native of Keswick, Iowa, and in his free time he enjoys hunting and fishing on his family’s property. He also likes bird watching and playing and watching sports. The Chicago Cubs and the Miami Dolphins are two of his favorite teams.

Ryan Schmidt, INHF Land Stewardship Assistant.

Melanie Louis is a newly hired land stewardship assistant at the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.

In her new role, she will assist with conservation easement monitoring, prescribed prairie burns and land restoration. Melanie will also supervise the INHF land stewardship interns and spend a portion of her summer camping out with and teaching them.

Melanie is very familiar with conservation in Iowa. She is a native of Davenport, Iowa, and was an INHF land stewardship intern in 2011. Melanie graduated from Central College in Pella, Iowa, in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in Biology. Prior to returning to the INHF staff, she spent her first summer out of college working at Taproot Nature Experience. Taproot is an outdoor camp that educates and involves children in conservation in the Iowa City area. Last fall Melanie worked at Indiangrass Hills, a prairie and savanna restoration project, in Pilot Township in Iowa County, Iowa. Indiangrass Hills is one of INHF’s conservation easements, and Melanie helped manage the land alongside two of its owners Mary Brown and Judy Felder.

Some of Melanie’s hobbies include running, reading and playing outside. She also enjoys eating, especially peanut butter and ice cream.

Melanie Louis, INHF Land Stewardship Assistant.

Joe McGovern to become Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation’s third president

DES MOINES: On May 1^st, Joe McGovern becomes the third president of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. Joe’s passion for Iowa and her natural spaces is contagious and inspiring. He also represents the culture of integrity, honesty and hard work our Foundation is built upon. In his fourteen years with INHF, he helped build the land stewardship program from the ground up, working with private landowners and our partners on permanently protecting and restoring Iowa’s water, land and wildlife, as well as managing our annual field intern crew. Before his time with us, he worked with Story County Conservation Board after graduation from Iowa State University.

Mark Ackelson, current president, is not going far.  Joe has invited Mark to serve as President Emeritus. By stepping into his new role on May 1^st, Mark will continue to further the mission of the organization.  As Joe said, “The best days of INHF and Iowa are ahead of us, because of the great work Mark has done and the strong team we have.”

This important change comes after careful planning. Over the past three years, leaders within our board and staff planned for transition. We examined what makes the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation uniquely effective for Iowa conservation, and strategically strengthened the organization.  Four months ago, the Board of Directors quietly began searching for the next person to lead and support the INHF team as president.  After interviewing many qualified and skilled candidates from all over the country, the board found that INHF had the best leader within the organization. 

There is much work left to be done and that’s why the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation exists – to protect and restore Iowa’s water, land and wildlife.  The efforts today will be benefit not only the current generation but also “those who follow.”  

Find out more info here: www.inhf.org/presidenttransition.cfm

We’re excited to announce that Mark Ackelson, President of Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, has been selected to receive the A. Arthur Davis Distinguished Community Leadership Award by the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute (GDMLI).

The A. Arthur Davis Community Leadership Award is given to a community leader who has the qualities  of GDMLI’s founder, A. Arthur Davis:

• Demonstrates a positive regard for the dignity and worth of others.
• Acts as an agent for change and taking the lead when appropriate.
• Displays an ability to positively influence people, activities and factors.
• Demonstrates leadership as well as membership in community, state, national, or International organizations.
• Exhibits commitment to career progression and is a leader in his/her chosen field.

Mark, along with six other community leaders, will be recognized at the GDMLI’s annual Distinguished Leadership Awards Banquet on April 11th. If you would like to attend the banquet, you can register here.

We are thrilled to announce that INHF Communications Director Hannah Inman has been named one of the Des Moines Business Record‘s Forty Under 40.

The forty selected leaders are recognized for their impressive career achievements and unparalleled community involvement all before reaching the age of 40.

Pick up a copy of the March 1 issue of the Business Record to read profiles of each of this year’s honorees and discover how each of them are helping make Iowa a better place to live.

Hannah and the other 2013 recipients will be honored at an event on Tuesday, March 12 at the Sheraton West Des Moines.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation would like to congratulate Land Projects Director Heather Jobst for receiving the Iowa Department of Natural Resource's 2012 Partnership Award.

This award is given to an individual whose work with the DNR has "resulted in significant accomplishments and advancements of DNR goals and objectives." These partnerships not only benefit the DNR but the partner and their organization as well.

Doug Janke, who works on special projects with the Iowa DNR Special, nominated Jobst for the award because of her role as a positive and productive partner.

"Whatever the cooperative effort may be – acquisition, easement, shared expenses for outside services – she is always willing to work with us and she is very successful,” Janke said.

Most recently, Janke notes that Jobst helped to acquire a critical tract of land in Cerro Gordo County that required expert handling of paperwork in a very small timeframe.

“It’s great to work with such positive, productive partners,” he said.

The INHF staff is pleased to welcome Mary Runkel to our conservation team. Mary recently started working as INHF’s new volunteer coordinator, and we’re very excited to have her!

A 2010 graduate from Iowa State University, Mary studied English and environmental studies. She spent last year working with AmeriCorps (Vista) as well as Youth and Shelter Services in Ames, where she helped recruit and train volunteers to act as mentors for young people. A nature lover after our own hearts, she started a staff “green team” while working in Ames and has helped out as a volunteer at the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge.

When she isn’t working at INHF, Mary says, “I try to have fun, see and learn new things. Sometimes use my invisibility cloak to sneak into movies. I LOVE riding my bike, running or walking outside, doing cartwheels, reading, traveling, making music with my brothers, hanging out with the people I love. Also, I eat peanut butter frequently as well as drink a lot of coffee."

Look forward to working with Mary during all of your future INHF volunteering endeavors!

Application deadline is February 12, 2013. To learn more about the statewide land stewardship internship and how to apply, click here. 

As young professionals we know the question is not if we should care for our land and water but, instead, how. Supporting Polk County's Water and Land Legacy Bond gives us a way to care for our water and land while defining our generation.

“This bond is a great opportunity for young professionals to get involved in protecting our local natural resources and to keep Des Moines ranked as one of the best cities in the nation to live and work,” says Susan Hatten, a member of the Young Professionals Connection and Senior Business Development Executive at Sigler.

Stop by Sbrocco on Wednesday, Oct. 17 between 5 and 8 p.m. to talk conservation with Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, enjoy food and drinks, and learn how you can make a difference for generations to come.

Local leaders and film producer Scott Siepker – you probably recognize him for his YouTube stardom in the video “Iowa Nice” – will speak about why conservation is crucial to our state.

Tickets for the event are available online via Tikly.

Learn more about what you can do as a young professional to help conservation in Iowa at the INHF website.

Laura Johnson is the newly hired Communications Specialist at Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. She will be assisting with the INHF quarterly magazine, producing e-newsletters, helping with media relations, updating the website, and supervising INHF communications and design interns.

Growing up surrounded by nature with plenty of space to run and play, Laura spent the first nineteen years of her life on her family’s farm near Manson, Iowa. She’s excited to work for a foundation that wants to provide such natural areas for future generations. Having always enjoyed exploring important issues and showcasing inspiring people through journalism, Laura is looking forward to continuing to do so through INHF’s communication outlets.

Laura attended Drake University where she triple majored in Magazine Journalism, English, and History and minored in Marketing. During her four years in college, she completed a variety of communications-related internships, including being a news correspondent for the daily newspaper The Messenger, doing social media marketing at Meredith for Parents magazine, writing articles and crafting slideshows at Living the Country Life magazine as an editorial apprentice, and interning through the American Society of Magazine Editors at Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine in New York City last summer. She graduated in May 2012.

In her free time, Laura enjoys biking, running, and playing volleyball; testing out new recipes; playing the piano; reading and writing; and spending time with friends and family.

Laura Johnson, INHF Communications Specialist.

The annual President’s Award honors a statewide organization that has contributed greatly to the goals of its state park system.

NASPD Awards Committee Chair Tim Wood noted INHF’s 30-plus year commitment to conservation in Iowa as a “rare and laudable dedication of purpose,” citing the expansion of Stone State Park near Sioux City as a prime example of the foundation’s influential work. INHF has helped increase the size of the park by more than 40 percent over the last five years, with the help of other dedicated organizations.

The 2012 President’s Award will be presented during the NASPD annual conference, to be held from Sept. 4 through 7 in Lexington, Kentucky.

The Lawrence and Eula Hagie Heritage Award is given annually to recognize Iowans who have devoted themselves to protecting and improving the quality of Iowa’s natural environment.

The Gundersons have been committed to conservation efforts across Iowa for more than 20 years, with much of their work benefitting Hardin County and its surrounding communities. From helping found the Iowa River Greenbelt Resource Trust to the continuing reforestation of Pine Lake State Park, Mary Lou and Bob have made preserving Iowa’s natural beauty their lives’ passion.

The award is the largest cash conservation award given in Iowa, and an award reception will be held in the Gundersons’ honor on Tuesday, August 7 at the Eldora City Hall.

For more information about the award reception, visit the INHF event calendar.

The addition protects over a quarter-mile of the Little Sioux, which is one of five rivers in the state designated as a Protected Water Area. These waterways are some of Iowa’s highest quality and most scenic natural areas. The purchase of this addition will help protect water quality and stream habitats.

The 100-acre addition, is located north of Gillett Grove about eight miles southeast of Spencer, includes oak savanna, wetlands and oxbows, and woodland. The existing area consists of a nearly 2,000-acre complex located along the Little Sioux River Corridor that stretches roughly seven miles.

Over the next two to three years, the DNR will work to restore sections of the property, including the oak savanna and wetlands.

“I think the biggest draw was that there was potential oak savanna, one of the most endangered ecosystems,” INHF Land Projects Director Heather Jobst said.

Oak savanna has become increasingly rare in Iowa, covering only a tiny percentage of its natural range. This type of ecosystem is characterized by open-grown oak trees and a mixed ground cover of grass, wildflowers and underbrush.   

“To be able to recapture any oak savanna and be able to manage it is a big deal,” said Bryan Hellyer, area wildlife manager at the Iowa DNR.

 “Another neat thing about the land is that it has 13 acres of temporary or seasonal wetlands and about 5 acres of permanent water,” Hellyer said.

This property was acquired by INHF. Partners for this land project include INHF and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Funds also come from the Iowa DNR’s Habitat Stamp program.

In 2010, the Iowa DNR worked in conjunction with The Nature Conservancy and Ducks Unlimited to obtain a North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant to help preserve the addition.

Past INHF projects in Clay County include an addition to Oneota Little Sioux Area, Dewey’s Pasture Complex and Kirchner Prairie.

A dramatic view of the Loess Hills from a future conservation area near Sioux City. The land was partially donated by Lieber Land Holdings, LLC, of Lawton. Photo by Kevin Pape, Read "Public wants Stone State Park addition to become state preserve" Sioux City Journal, April 2012.   Read "Forum set for Loess Hills land use ideas" Le Mars Daily Sentinel, April 2012

At the meeting, there was strong support for possible designation of the site as a state preserve, due to its significant cultural and natural resources. Other possible designations for the new area could include wildlife area, state park, or state recreation area. 

Scenic prairie & other features

The land is located in southern Plymouth County along the Loess Hills Scenic Byway, a nationally significant scenic area identified by the National Park Service. It features high quality native prairie remnants, with plants such as skeleton weed and penstemon, and offers views of the Big Sioux River. The land has a stocked pond and excellent habitat for waterfowl, grassland birds and other wildlife. The property also has significant archaelogical resources.

“This will be an excellent addition to our public land because of its location and special resources,” said Stone State Park Ranger Kevin Pape with the Iowa DNR.

The State Preserves Advisory Board  is considering the area's suitability as a state preserve.

Help from prior owners

The site has been permanently protected with the help of Lieber Land Holdings, LLC, owned by Rodney and Jody Lieber of Lawton. The Liebers were recognized at the recent 2012 Gifts to Iowa’s Future Day for their significant bargain sale of the land to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, which helped make the project possible.

“We are very pleased to have been able to work with Mr. Lieber to protect this beautiful area with its abundant natural and cultural resources,” says Tim Sproul, INHF Loess Hills Land Conservation Specialist.

Other sources of support include the Iowa DNR, a Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) Open Spaces grant, and an Iowa Department of Transportation Statewide Transportation grant to protect the viewshed of Iowa’s two scenic byways.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation is a statewide nonprofit conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect and restore Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Past INHF projects in the northern Loess Hills include additions to Stone State Park and Five Ridge Prairie.

See Gift to Iowa’s Future Day short articles and pictures that highlight landowners' gifts of land or land value for conservation in 2011.  

Helen Gunderson, second from right, with her framed certificate from Iowa Governor Terry Branstad (second from left), Lt Governor Kim Reynolds (far right) and Iowa DNR Director Roger Lande (far left).
Photo by Clay Smith, Iowa DNR. 

In the annual “Gifts to Iowa’s Future” ceremony at the Iowa Capitol this week, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and other officials recognized 33 families and businesses whose conservation gifts on 6,000 acres represented more than $7 million in land or land value in 2011.       

Gifts to Iowa's Future

About two-thirds of this year’s honorees worked with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation to tailor their donations. INHF is a statewide nonprofit whose mission is to protect and restore Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. For more information about landowners’ conservation options, visit http://www.inhf.org and click on Landowners at the top of the page

Click here to see the complete list of landowners and read short profiles about their gifts.

In 2008, the Iowa legislature designated the first Monday in April as Gift to Iowa’s Future Recognition Day to celebrate and honor individuals, corporations and organizations that permanently protect land for parks, trails, natural areas, fish and wildlife habitat, and other benefits.

Contacts:
Ann Robinson or Lisa Hein, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, 515-288-1846

Shullaw, a graduate of the University of Iowa, says her interest in conservation is inspired by Iowa’s natural beauty. “Growing up in Burlington, I learned to love the outdoors at an early age, particularly our rivers, lakes, and streams,” Shullaw said. “Iowa’s natural beauty has always sustained me, and I want to help ensure that the state’s natural resources are preserved for future generations.”

She has spent most of her career in higher education development communications, and now owns her own communications consulting firm based in Iowa City. Shullaw also spent 22 years working for the University of Iowa Foundation.

“We are so honored to have Susan join our board of directors,” INHF president Mark Ackelson said. “Susan brings real passion and commitment to our work to protect and restore Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. She has had interest in our issues for many years and brings important perspective and skills to INHF that will help ensure our continued success.”

INHF is a statewide nonprofit conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect nearly 130,000 acres of Iowa’s wild places.
 

"A nocturnal bridge crossing is an absolute must for any visit," writes Rails to Trails magazine editor-in-chief Karl Wirsing. " ... Critters shuffle in the brush around you, and your footsteps thud through the dead quiet. After a few eerie minutes, you spot the two gateway towers, lights casting up their faces. Deck lights, as on an airplane runway, guide you out onto the [High Trestle] bridge, which seems suspended in space ... It's a surreal passage."

Take a look at Rails to Trails's digital magazine and turn to page 27-28 to read the full story.

Click here for more information and trip-planning guides on the High Trestle Trail.

As board chair, Young hopes to continue Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation’s efforts to protect land in Iowa for the enjoyment of both current and future generation. A fifth-generation Iowan, Young appreciates the tremendous diversity of Iowa’s landscape.

“Iowa has thousands of spots where we, despite our cell phones, email and other modern distractions, can still get lost in nature,” Young said. “As Iowans, we owe it to our children and grandchildren to protect and cherish these natural habitats. I’m very proud to be a part of INHF.”

INHF President Mark Ackelson said, “Travis continues as a new generation of conservation leaders serving INHF.  He previously served as our project committee chair, so he has a good understanding of our work and has long been an enthusiastic partner.  I look forward to working with him in his new role as our organization’s leader.”

INHF is a statewide nonprofit conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect more than 130,000 acres of Iowa’s wild places.

The Resource Enhancement and Protection Program (REAP) is an Iowa program focused on enhancement and protection of the state’s natural and cultural resources. This includes water quality projects, agricultural soil conservation, outdoor recreation, trails, and historical preservation. Projects are voluntary and most are developed and implemented by local county conservation boards and non-profit organizations.

“REAP is an Iowa success story,” says Iowa REAP Alliance co-chair Mark Ackelson, president of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. “We’ve had over 20 years of success protecting water quality, creating jobs, and protecting our agricultural soils. We hope the legislature and Governor Branstad will fulfill the commitment they made during the 2011 session and fund the program at $20 million.”

After the close of the 2011 legislative session, the program was slated for funding of $20 million for FY 2013. The current recommendation for funding in Governor Branstad’s budget request cuts the program by $8 million. This includes a $1.6 million cut to important voluntary agricultural soil conservation programs that improve water quality and improve our farmlands.

At www.reapalliance.org, people can get more details and register to attend the 2012 REAP Lobby Day, scheduled for February 22, at the Capitol in Des Moines, beginning at 9 a.m. The website also features an interactive county-by-county map of REAP projects, a blog, links and more. The official Iowa DNR REAP Program site will still be available at http://www.iowadnr.gov/Environment/REAP.aspx.

The REAP Alliance is a broad, statewide coalition of conservation, recreation, historical preservation interests and sporting organizations that support REAP. 
 

Turn to February in the national 2012 Rails to Trails Conservancy wall calendar, and you'll find a striking photo of the High Trestle Trail bridge at night.

Congratulations to Boone photographer Troy Hendrickson, whose image of the trail under a full moon will entice trail lovers everywhere to plan visits to Iowa.

Order your own national trails calendar and support the Rails to Trails Conservancy with a gift of $20 or more. RTC, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is an important advocate for rail trails nationwide. The organization often partners with INHF and similar state and local groups to create trails and get people moving. 
 

This is a version of the HIgh Trestle Trail selected as the February photo for the national Rails to Trails Conservancy's 2012 calendar.  Photo by Troy Hendrickson of Peas Creek Studio, Boone.

More about the High Trestle Trail Support the High Trestle Trail View INHF HTT Facebook photos

Despite the recession and rising land costs, Iowa saw an increase in the amount of land protected for habitat, water quality and recreation. The first census of private land conservation organizations (land trusts) in five years found 10 million new acres conserved nationwide since 2005. In Iowa, that includes more than 36,000 acres permanently protected during the five-year period by the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, the state's only nationally accredited land trust.

The National Land Trust Census, released by the Land Trust Alliance, shows that voluntarily protected land increased 27 percent between 2005 and 2010. In the same period, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a major federal conservation program, added just over 500,000 acres, and suffered a 38% funding cut. Find more information about the LTA census.

Nationally, a total of 47 million acres—an area over twice the size of all the national parks in the contiguous United States—are now protected by land trusts.

Since 1979, when the Iowa Natural Heritage was founded with a mission to protect and restore the state's land, water and wildlife, the organization has permanently protected more than 123,000 acres statewide in 889 projects. Much of this land is still owned and managed by private landowners, who have voluntarily protected their land with permanent conservation easement agreements.

The Land Trust Alliance statistics do not include additional land protected by four other Iowa land trusts: The Nature Conservancy in Iowa, Whiterock Conservancy in Guthrie County, the Johnson County Land Trust and Four Mounds Foundation in Dubuque.

"Iowans value their land, and we are proud to be a leader to help them take care of it," said Travis Young, Waterloo, Chair of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation Board of Directors. "Here in Iowa, this progress has been possible, thanks to many individuals and private and public partners."

INHF President Mark Ackelson, a founding board member of the Land Turst Alliance, said he is deeply gratified by the continuing progress of his organization and other land trusts.

"It is important, though, to remember that we still have a lot of work to do here in Iowa and elsewhere," said Ackelson. "For example, data shows Iowa is still near the bottom of the list of states in total dollars spent on natural areas conservation and also the amount of public land per capita."

Enhanced state and federal tax deductions for gifts of conservation land have helped make the recent progress possible. Federal incentives for donations of conservation easements are at risk, however, according to the Land Trust Alliance.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation thanks Iowa's congressional delegation for unanimous support of this conservation legislation that would make the federal tax incentive permanent to assist future landowners.

The Land Trust Alliance, based in Washington, D.C., is a national conservation organization that works to save the places people love. LTA's priorities include enhancing the pace of land protection and the quality and accountability of conservation practices.

Land protected: Recent INHF land protection projects that are now public areas, include: I42-acres that includes high quality prairie as an addition to the Waterman Prairie Complex in Cherokee County. 25-mile long High Trestle Trailthat is drawing visitors far and wide to small Iowa towns in four Central Iowa counties. 320-acre Curtin addition to the French Creek Wildlife Management Area that protects one of Iowa's premier trout streams. 347-acres in Dickinson County that will provide dramatic improvements to water quality in Lake Okoboji, Iowa's favorite tourist destination/. Other Resources: Read this USA Today article for more information on the Census and land acquisitions.

The US Department of Interior announced today that two projects in the state of Iowa will become part of the America’s Great Outdoors (AGO) Initiative, the Loess Hills and the establishment of a wildlife refuge in the Southern Prairie Pothole region. The plan seeks to encourage a healthy and active population, conserve wildlife and create jobs through travel and tourism.

The Mississippi Bluffs region, which includes Iowa, was also named as one of seven national multi-state priorities for the AGO initiative.  

The report highlights a new approach to conservation for the federal government.  As Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar explains, “Rather than dictate policies or conservation strategies from Washington, it supports grassroots, locally driven initiatives.”  The Department of Interior recognized that this approach is already working in areas like the Loess Hills. “A strong foundation of advancing this project has been laid with conservation organizations like Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation…” 

Mark Ackelson, President of the INHF agrees with this approach to conservation. “I am excited about the partnership approach that the federal government is taking.  Although I’m honored that INHF is mentioned in this report, our work, like that done in the Loess Hills and the Blufflands, has been successful thanks to  great partnerships with local organizations and willing landowners.”

Find more details about Iowa's Great Outdoors or read the AGO press release about Iowa projects (10-27-2011): 

Read more about the Loess Hills. 
Read read about Iowa's Prairie Pothole region.
Read more about the Mississippi River Bluffs region. 

Western Iowa's Loess Hills and the southern Prairie Pothole region have been selected as the two Iowa projects for the America's Great Outdoors Initiative. The Mississippi River Bluffs region was also included as one of seven regional priorities. Photo: Marlene Ehresman.

Andrea Chase, INHF's Trails Coordinator, holding the hand-painted walking stick that commemorates the 2011 MATAG Project Award. Photo by Megan Yulga

The High Trestle Trail was awarded a 2011 Mid American Trails and Greenways (MATAG) Project Award this month.

As part of the fifth annual MATAG Conference in Fort Wayne, Ind., nine states – Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio and Kentucky – selected a person and a project with outstanding impact on local trail efforts.

The High Trestle Trail Bridge, selected for Iowa, spans the Des Moines River.  At one-half mile long and 13 stories high, it is one of the largest bicycle and pedestrian bridges in the world.  The bridge is adorned with stylized steel cribbing, which pays homage to the area’s mining history.

The High Trestle Trail Bridge cost $3.4 million and was completed in April 2011.  It forms part of the 25 mi. High Trestle Trail, which stretches from Madrid to Woodward and crosses four counties.  The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation was an integral player in the trail’s construction, conducting fundraising and planning for over eight years.

“I love to go to these conferences and brag about Iowa and our great trails network,” said Andrea Chase, INHF’s Trails Coordinator.  “At this past conference, I announced to these nine states that Iowa was the ‘Trails Capital of the World.’”

“[The conference is] a great place to network with other trails and greenway professionals…I have been able to utilize the relationships that I have made there to pull new ideas to Iowa,” said Chase.

MATAG also recognized Peter Komendowski, Waterloo, of the Friends of Iowa Trails.

Ackelson was selected in honor of his "significant efforts to preserve Iowa's lands for future generations." Zone XI includes Iowa and five other midwestern states.

Liz Neumann nominated Ackelson on behalf of the Des Moines Founders Garden Club. The nomination described his many contributions to conservation in Iowa and beyond, including helping “launch and then lead the nonprofit INHF, which helps landowners and agencies establish, enhance and protect the state’s woodlands, wetlands, prairies and water. Mark embodies the vision, innovation and inspiration of this statewide land trust as he works to protect and restore Iowa’s land, water and wildlife ‘for those who follow.’”

After receiving the award, Ackelson commented, “It was a wonderful surprise to be honored by the Garden Club of America. I have enormous respect for the important work of CGA and its members in educating themselves and others on conservation issues. They are terrific partners with land conservation organizations all over the country.”

At the event, the Whiterock Conservancy of Coon Rapids, Iowa, an INHF partner organization, received the GCA Zone XI Aldo Leopold Award. Whiterock was honored for its “mission to preserve a unique part of Iowa and educate future generations.” Executive Director, Tolif Hunt, was there to receive the award.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) recognized Duane for six years of service on the State Soil Conservation Committee. Duane was the chair of the committee for two of his six years.

Duane also received an Honorary Member Award from the Conservation Districts of Iowa (CDI) for his service.

“Duane has been a long-time conservation activist, a great thinker and public policy analyst,” wrote Tim Palmer, CDI president. “His work with the State Committee has benefitted all of the conservation districts in Iowa.”

Sand was presented at a formal banquet in the West Des Moines Sheraton Hotel on Wed. September 7.

CDI, formed in 1941, is a nonprofit organization “devoted to providing educational programs on the conservation of soil, water, and other natural resources” for the 100 conservation districts of Iowa.

A Kansas native, Hannah graduated from the University of Iowa with degrees in Journalism and Political Science. She lived in Austin, Texas and Washington, DC, before returning to Iowa with her husband, Iowa native, Mike Inman. Since moving to Des Moines in 2005, she has embraced Des Moines as her adopted home and has worked hard to make this great place even better.

Service is important to Hannah. She is a graduate of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute, Class of 2011, serves on GDMLI’s alumni committee, is president of the Iowa State chapter of Chi Omega House Corporation Board and president of KDC’s Home with a Heart Project benefitting Variety,

Hannah’s other passion is her family. She has a 4 year old son and 16 week old daughter. When they can find the time, Hannah and her husband love to explore Iowa’s trail system by bike.

At the open house for the Hagie Heritage Award, 2011 winner Chad Graeve holds his own action figure, a gift from colleagues. Photo by Tina Popson.

Chad Graeve is the recipient of the 2011 Lawrence and Eula Hagie Heritage Award. Graeve will be especially recognized for his contributions to the Loess Hills Alliance and his conservation work with local landowners.

He will receive his award during a public open house Sunday, October 9th, from 2-3:30 p.m., at Hitchcock Nature Center near Council Bluffs. A program with the award presentation will begin at 2:30 p.m., followed by an informal reception with light refreshments.

The Hagie Award, endowed by the family of Lawrence and Eula Hagie, is given annually by the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF), a statewide conservation organization that protects and restores Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. INHF’s work in Pottawattamie County includes the Hitchcock Nature Center and the Wabash Trace Nature Trail.

“INHF has a long history in the Loess Hills and Chad has been right there with us for almost two decades,” INHF President Mark Ackelson said. “We couldn’t be happier to present him the Hagie Heritage Award, which recognizes his personal and professional commitment to this important region.”

Graeve was nominated for the Hagie Award by Shelley Bishop and Cal Parrott, along with Paul Koch and Melvyn Houser of the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors.

“Not much of what Chad does is ‘inside the box,’” said Bishop. “He doesn’t let the boundaries of his job description keep him from going those extra miles whenever he has an opportunity to work directly with individual landowners in the local area.”

Bishop remembers when Graeve first visited her land in 2006. Graeve insisted on examining the entire property, while taking the time - much of it off the clock - to explain exactly what the Bishops needed to do.

“This isn’t a field where you watch the clock,” Graeve said. “There’s just so much to do, and nothing gets done talking about it. It only gets done by doing.”

Graeve’s most public conservation contribution has been his leadership in the Loess Hills Alliance (LHA), a group formed to organize protection of western Iowa’s special landform. During 15 years of work with the Alliance, Graeve was both the chair and co-chair of the Stewardship Committee.

After graduating with a degree in biology from Loras College, Graeve worked on the Wabash Trace Trail Crew, a project of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. Graeve started working for Pottawattamie County Conservation in 1997 as a seasonal employee, and later as a naturalist and park ranger at Hitchcock. His current title is Natural Resource Specialist.

“Chad has been a driving force in developing an innovative 50-year plan to develop the area around Hitchcock Nature Center so this area of Iowa’s Loess Hills will be preserved for generations to come,” said Melvyn Houser, a member of the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors. “Chad didn’t have to do this, yet he saw the need and stepped up to meet that need.”

Graeve considers his conservation work in a larger perspective. “Iowa is considered one of the most altered states in the country,” he said. “But Iowans should realize that there is a lot here to protect.”

After spending nearly all of his professional life in the Hills, Graeve is a respected figure in the region. He remembers a time - not long ago - when appreciation of the Loess Hills was much less prevalent than it is today. “The increased awareness is tremendous and the result of attention from many different players…all of a sudden, people were paying attention,” Graeve said.

It is this mentality that makes Graeve a leader among Loess Hills advocates. His dedication to his state and region are unmistakable and – luckily for Iowa – not temporary.

“My wife and I looked at some other opportunities and just decided that the vision here is something that I need to keep plugging away on,” Graeve said. “This is home.”

His wife, Amy, is school teacher. The couple first met when she brought her class on a field trip to Hitchcock. Graeve said he draws much of his inspiration from his two young children, Mary and Alex.

“I hope there’s a better world for my kids when they’re my age,” Graeve said. “It is my responsibility to raise them in a way that they have an appreciation for the natural world, and that they consider this appreciation when they make day-to-day decisions.”

When fully restored to wetlands and prairie, the two parcels totaling 347 acres could filter as much as 90 percent of the silt loads entering West Lake Okoboji through Sand Piper Cove. This subwatershed of the lake is the source of some of the area’s most severe polluted runoff. The restoration projects will also significantly reduce nutrient loads of nitrogen and phosphorus blamed for the lake’s blue-green algae problem.

The sites being restored had been identified as a top priority for protection based on a detailed watershed assessment. The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources were the lead project partners. The two nearby properties are in a prime location to capture sediment from agricultural land in the watershed.

Engineering will begin this winter for 15 reconstructed wetland basins on the properties, which are now primarily cropland and pasture. Restoration is planned to start in Fall 2012, according to Chris La Rue, of the Iowa DNR.

Area fisheries and wildlife — from butterflies to migrating waterfowl — will also benefit from improvements to habitat. In addition, the projects should also alleviate local flooding problems by providing a number of small wetlands to hold water and by establishing deep-rooted prairie grasses to soak up water.

“We are very pleased to be able to work with the landowners and our partners on this strategic project,” says Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation President Mark Ackelson.

INHF initially negotiated with the landowners to acquire the parcels and help conduct fundraising. The first parcel has now transferred to the DNR for public ownership, and the second is expected to transfer next year.

Derek Namanny, Iowa Great Lakes Targeted Watershed Coordinator for the Dickinson County Soil and Water Conservation District, applauds the projects. He says, “By putting a buffer of wetlands between the lakes and agriculture, we can continue to successfully promote both farming activities and water quality in the Iowa Great Lakes watershed.”

Public sources of support for the projects include DNR 319 lake restoration funds, a loan from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, and the federal North American Wetlands Conservation Act Prairie Pothole Joint Venture. A local grant from the Dickinson County Water Quality Commission is providing about 10 percent of the project cost. Private assistance comes from INHF’s LaVonne and Dale Foote Fund, the organization’s first use of this bequest provided for Iowa Great Lakes conservation.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation is a statewide nonprofit conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect and restore Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect more than 120,000 acres of Iowa’s wild places. Past INHF projects in Dickinson County include Anglers Bay, Arnolds Park Green Space and the Iowa Great Lakes Trail.

For more information, visit www.inhf.org or call 515-288-1846.
 

The new addition to the Burr Wildlife Area is recognized for its plant and animal diversity. Clay CCB

The area will be an addition to Clay County’s Burr Wildlife Area, located south of Spencer. The 76-acre property expands the Burr Wildlife Area to 227 total acres, and narrows the gap between Burr and the larger Kindlespire Little Access Area to the north. The Clay County Conservation Board (CCCB) has long recognized this area for its plant and animal diversity, and classic old-growth burr oaks.

The addition contains 30 acres of high-quality oak savanna, and additional woodlands that could be developed into oak savanna. Once a common ecosystem in the Midwest, just .01 percent of oak savannas remain today.

The property was previously owned by brothers Gary and Jim Nelson. For more than a decade, the county has worked with the Nelson family to perform prescribed burns and seed harvests on the land to improve the oak savanna and prairie areas. Gary, who lives nearby, has spent many hours removing invasive species, especially cedars.

“Gary’s commitment to preserving and protecting his land for generations to come has been so fulfilling for me as a professional in the field of conservation,” said Dan Heissel, director of the Clay County Conservation Board. “He was managing his property for wildlife and native prairie long before we became a partner with him in management practices.”

The Nelsons’ commitment to preserving the special property culminated in their decision to sell it to the nonprofit Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) in 2009.

INHF assisted the CCCB in applying for and receiving a state Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) grant, which the county used to acquire the property from INHF in 2011 so that it could be opened to the public.

The addition will provide important habitat for its already wide range of species. The property contains 68 plant species and over a dozen Species of Greatest Conservation Need, including Bald Eagle, Broad-winged Hawk, Red-headed Woodpecker, Regal Fritillary butterfly, Bobcat, and Southern Flying Squirrel.

“This area is special for a number of reasons,” said INHF Land Projects Director Heather Jobst. “Its diversity in both plant and animal species, as well as its location, make it a vital property to protect in Clay County. We’re thankful for the cooperation and work that Gary and the county put into protecting this land.”

The area is also less than half of a mile away from the Little Sioux River, which is one of the five designated Protected Water Areas in the state. Protection at this proximity means improved water quality and better drainage within the river’s watershed.

INHF is a nonprofit, conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect more than 120,000 acres of Iowa’s wild places.

Past INHF projects in Clay County include Dewey’s Pasture Complex, Kirchner Prairie and an addition to the Oneota Little Sioux Area.

About 140 members, friends, donors and Jennett Family members gathered on a beautiful fall evening in September to help dedicate the Jennett Heritage Area. Thanks to all who came to celebrate this new public area and view progress in restoring its wetlands and prairie.

See photos of the dedication at INHF's Jennett Heritage Area Facebook photo album.

Location

62321 280th St., Nevada, Iowa, 50201 (click to access Google map). There is a small parking lot.   

The property is now owned and managed by the Story County Conservation Board. Please contact them with questions about the land's use, at 515-232-2516.

Partners

The dedication and official opening of the new wildlife area celebrates a diverse partnership, according to Story County Conservation Board Chair Ted Tedesco. “The cooperation between the county and our partners has made it possible to preserve this place, which reminds us of Iowa’s native landscape.”

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, a private nonprofit conservation organization, purchased the property at a bargain price from the Raymond and Edythe Jennett family in 2008. INHF held the land while helping the county raise funds to purchase the site to open it for public use.

“The Jennett family was very committed to seeing this property protected,” INHF President Mark Ackelson said. “By setting it aside for us and making their donation through the bargain sale, they set the tone for the cooperation and partnerships that were needed to complete this project.”

The bargain price made the $705,000 project feasible. The project’s next big step was receiving an Iowa Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Habitat Stamp Grant – the Jennett property ranked highest among grant applicants in 2010 – for $402,000. The remaining funds came from 160 donors, including Story County Pheasants Forever, Whitetails Unlimited, Living Roadway Trust Fund, Iowa Native Plant Society, Iowa Ornithologists Union and numerous generous individuals.

“We are very appreciative of everyone who contributed to this project,” Tedesco said. “A major project like this requires the efforts of many partners. The dedication event is not only a celebration of the area, but also the people and organizations that make conservation possible.”

Background

The 171-acre property, located three miles south of Nevada, is especially coveted for its diverse plant and animal wildlife. A botanical survey of the site revealed 277 native species, including 65 native prairie species, such as silver-leafed scurf pea, smooth blue aster and marble seed. The 25 acres of remnant prairie at Jennett rest on steep slopes, which allows for a greater variety of prairie plants to thrive.

The area’s combination of landscapes also allows for a wide range of bird species, including wild turkey and the increasingly rare bobwhite quail.

While its biodiversity and species are impressive, Jennett is not pristine. The area’s wetlands are being reconstructed, as are large portions of the prairie. The native prairie remnants have some woody invasive species that will require further work along with the oak savanna and riparian woodlands.

“This area has a lot of potential,” Tedesco said. “It is a great place right now, and it will only continue to improve in the years to come.”

INHF staff and interns removed trees and brush, cleared invasive species and performed prescribed burns. Their work is the first step in reconstruction of 100 acres of farmland and reinvigoration of the current prairie remnants.

Visit Hickory Ridge

Make plans to experience the new Hickory Ridge Camp at Lake Red Rock soon. Visit the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website to learn more about Hickory Ridge rules, regulations and reservation information.

Click photo to see Hickory Ridge slideshow. Photo by Ron Huelse.

Background

Hickory Ridge is located on a quiet cove south of the Whitebreast Recreation Area, north of Knoxville and west of Pella. The 200-acre public camping area has been created as a place on the lake for enjoyment of nature, with primitive camping available for scouts, paddlers and others. The camp is expected to be a favorite overnight spot on the new 37-mile roundtrip water trail that is nearly completed.

Partners

Primary partners protecting and restoring Hickory Ridge have been the Red Rock Lake Association, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and the federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The groups coordinated a two-year effort to fund the purchase and restoration of the area, reaching the project goal of $405,000 this past winter after receiving a major grant from Prairie Meadows.

More than 130 contributors included 32 major donors of over $1,000. The Iowa DNR’s River Programs provided $33,000 in grant assistance and the water trails conservation crew and local volunteers designed and constructed the landing beach, trails and campsites.

According to Jamie Gyolai, the USACE’s Hickory Ridge project leader, “The Corps is glad to be able to help make Hickory Ridge available for public use. We are also excited to be able to have the unique opportunity to offer the Leave No Trace workshops and water trail-related events as part of the weekend.”

The largest known unprotected native “black soil” prairie left in Iowa – 125 acres in Kossuth County – has now gained permanent protection.

This special place, barely touched by time, will continue to be known as Bernau Prairie. It’s named for the farm family who kept it unplowed for decades.

The late Roland Bernau bought this piece of wild prairie across the road from his home in the 1950s. He had ample opportunity to plow and drain the land, but he was proud of his prairie relic and always resisted. According to Gary Bernau, Roland’s son, “Later in my Dad’s life, that prairie and protecting it became the thing he was the most proud of.”

When Roland passed away late last year at almost 96, his son Gary contacted the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit, statewide conservation group. Gary wanted to honor his father’s wishes by assuring that “his” prairie would be preserved forever. INHF immediately began exploring options for protecting the land.

The Foundation was able to protect Roland’s prairie in several phases. First, they helped Gary sell 71.5 acres of the property to Dale Swanson and his sons Andrew and Richard, from Nevada – another family of Iowa farmers with a special place in their heart for prairies. Then, the Swansons donated a conservation easement to INHF to permanently protect the prairie. Finally, INHF purchased a conservation easement on the remaining 52 acres that is still owned by Gary Bernau. Contributions to help pay for the easement are being accepted.

So, the prairie remains private property – with two owners – and two permanent conservation easements, and it will continue to be known as Bernau Prairie. The easements ensure that, even if the land is sold, all future owners must preserve the virgin prairie. The easements prohibit plowing, development and animal confinements. They allow limited harvests of native prairie seeds and “wild hay,” both consistent with prairie preservation and management. INHF land stewardship staff and interns will assist the landowners with active management that includes removal of woody and invasive species and limited use of prescribed fire.

Joe McGovern, Land Stewardship Director for INHF, describes Bernau Prairie as one of the most important sites the Foundation has ever protected. “This has been a rare opportunity to save such a large and diverse prairie remnant. With only 0.1 percent of native prairie left in Iowa, opportunities like this rarely come along. If this were lost, it would be irreplaceable,” says McGovern. “It would be generations – if ever – before a reconstructed prairie could compare.”

So far, more than 130 species of plants are known from this site, including federally and state endangered species. INHF plans to have a thorough plant inventory conducted this year.

Andrew Swanson says he and his Dad met Roland Bernau and enjoyed hearing his stories of rural Iowa and prairies past and present. According to Andrew, his family was fortunate to be in a position to help protect the land, thanks to federal and state tax incentives that helped make it feasible. “We knew this is something very special. To us, there isn’t a much better cause.”

Four of the ten families who donated a conservation easement on Pleasant Grove: Back row from left: Kent McClelland, Russ and Nicole Behrens, Doug Caulkins and Sandy Moffett. Front row from left, Katherine McClelland, Hannah and Claire Behrens, Lorna Caulkins, Betty Moffett. Not pictured: Jon Andelson and Karin Stein; Jon and Jeannie Chenette; Bob and Nancy Cadmus; George and Sue Drake; Tom and Mary Moberg; John Whittaker and Kathy Kamp. Jessica Rilling/INHF

But two couples envisioned a square mile of restored prairie. They had been looking for the right land to restore and protect. Unable to afford the downpayment alone, they searched among their friends with strong conservation leanings and soon enlisted eight other couples to join them in the purchase. Together, these 10 families are converting their conservation dreams into reality – at the place they’ve named “Pleasant Grove.”

In the group are mushroomers and birders; a “pyro” who orchestrates prairie burns for recreational therapy and determines the burn schedule for the group; a long-horn cattle breeder who harvests hay from the property; deer and turkey hunters; and those who simply enjoy reading in the fresh air.

To ensure that their dream will continue beyond their lifetimes, they donated a conservation easement on the property to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation in late 2010. Thanks to current tax benefits, such gifts can be affordable even for moderate-income landowners.

Knowing there is more land in need of care, this group of 20 is actively looking for additional protection opportunities. And they are looking, as well, to enlarge this circle of care-givers by bringing on new and younger members to continue the conservation legacy.

This diverse site lies on the west fork of French Creek, a coldwater trout stream. Having purchased the Allamakee County property at public auction, INHF will soon transfer the most natural portion to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the balance to two private owners.. Tylar Samuels/INHF

But there are surprises here as well: goat (hillside) prairie, rugged limestone outcrops, massive white oaks, countless migratory birds and quite possibly timber rattle snakes (a Species of Greatest Conservation Need).

It’s also home to the West Fork of French Creek and adjacent to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) French Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA). French Creek is one of Iowa’s premier cold water trout streams and one of only four cold water streams in the state with
naturally reproducing brook trout.

Last fall INHF got word from some of our members that this land, part of the Anna Mae Curtin Estate, would soon be going to auction. We were successful in purchasing the entire 320 acres—191 acres of oak savanna, riparian bottomland, remnant prairie and pasture and 129 acres of tillable land.

Later we surprised some of our counter-bidders by crafting a solid, three-pronged protection plan involving public and private partners.

IDNR is positioned to re-purchase the ecologically rich land adjoining French Creek WMA. A farmer who attended the auction will purchase the arable and. And John Curtin – son of the late Mrs. Curtin – along with his wife, Eileen, are buying the 22-acre homestead site, out of an abiding affection for this land, a part of which was in the family for 155 years.

Some auctions end with hard feelings but, as one of our private partners exclaimed, “This is going to work out better for everybody!”

Back in 2007, the Iowa Natural Heritage
Foundation purchased 1,224 acres along
the Upper Iowa River and named it
“Heritage Valley.”

Becoming neighbors
Concerned neighbors often asked us
about our plans for the land. When we
began cutting cedars from remnant goat
(hillside) prairies, some people were
dubious.

“We watched them clear goat prairies
and thought why?” recalls Pat Ryan, a
neighbor whose family had sold the land to INHF. “But once cleared, it took us back to when we were kids – and that’s the way it looked, absolutely great!”

So when our stewardship crew returnedto clear more cedars in 2010, Pat helped by providing heavy equipment, labor and a place to pile the cedars. Mike Farley, another neighbor who had
initially questioned the restoration, worked alongside the crew for two days. Now that’s being neighborly!

Planning for success

Restoring Heritage Valley’s prairies is part of a much larger land stewardship plan – guided by historical data, soil types, information from neighbors, existing area habitat and on-site research.

For example, we’ve planted native prairie and hardwood trees in former crop fields located in the floodplains and uplands. Our goal is to reduce soil erosion and the resulting sedimentation in the Upper Iowa River, stabilize the stream banks, improve water quality and restore land and water habitats.

Applying BioBlitz findings

To better understand the site’s habitat needs, INHF hosted four BioBlitz events from 2007 to2009. From the ridgeline to the river bottoms and into the river itself, nature experts worked alongside novices, identifying more than 1,100 plant and wildlife species.

Based on their findings, INHF adapted parts of our original restoration plan. For example, because BioBlitzers discovered that most of the site’s at-risk bird species relied on interior or riparian woodland habitat, INHF added more woodland restoration into the plan. BioBlitzers also found a Fitch’s elephant hopper (Fitchiella robertsoni), the flightless plant-hopper’s first sighting in Iowa. So INHF adapted our prescribed fire program to be even more conservative, helping ensure adequate habitat for these and other rare insects.

We, too, want to be good neighbors – for humans and non-humans alike.

Surprisingly, the largest site we protected last year lies within city limits.

Gerald Weiner donated a conservation easement
on 535 acres to the Iowa Natural Heritage
Foundation, protecting part of the Loess Hills
landscape along the northern edge of Sioux
City. The Foundation has assigned the easement,
which includes monitoring responsibilities, to the Woodbury County Conservation Board.

“Jerry had already placed an easement on 290 acres, but the entity holding that easement was preparing to dissolve,” said Lisa Hein, INHF’s Program and Planning Director. “They approached INHF about holding the existing conservation easement, which we recommended expanding to cover more land and restrict additional uses. Mr. Weiner agreed.”

He donated the entire conservation easement, along with significant funds to cover future monitoring costs.

The resulting conservation easement site is larger than many state and county parks. Located among the steep Loess Hills, it contains a mixture of mid-grass prairie, tall grass prairie, grazed pasture prairie, wetlands, early successional savanna, crop fields, mixed woodland and ponds. The site currently contains two residences, and the conservation easement document permits no more than one additional structure (a greenhouse).

Like other land protected by private conservation easements, the site will not be open to the public without the landowner’s permission. However, even as Sioux City grows, this property’s soils will never be mined and its hills will never become a housing subdivision.

“This easement not only protects agriculture and open space, but preserves scenic views that the public can enjoy and makes a very large tract of contiguous land available for habitat in a rapidly developing area,” said Hein. “I like imagining this site after a century – a large, intact island of open space surrounded by the growing city. Who knows what urban development or agriculture will look like by then!”

Updated March 2011

The proposed JewEllsworth Trail, which will connect Jewell and Ellsworth, has come a long way since its inception five years ago. Due to recent setbacks, however, more help is needed to finish the 3.5 mile multiuse trail in Hamilton County.

Last August, Jewell and Ellsworth’s proposed grants just missed the cut for grant funding from Iowa’s Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program. If the 2010 legislature had fully funded the REAP program, Jewellsworth Trail would have received a grant, Hamilton County Conservation Board Executive Brian Lammers said. In January, Hamilton County also was disappointed to learn they would not receive a major federal grant.

Both Hamilton County and the two cities plan to apply for several grants again this year. Trail organizers are also appealing to local supporters and corporations for help. To boost grant potential by increasing local matching funds, the Hamilton County Conservation Board is working toward its goal of securing $100,000 in private support through fundraising.

“Having a larger private match would help our grant requests score higher and increase the likelihood of funding,” Lammers said. “We hope local citizens and businesses can help out.”

More than half the funding for the trail’s completion has already been raised. Those funds allowed Hamilton County and the two trail cities to purchase land in the trail corridor. Money for construction remains the final obstacle, says Lammers, who estimates the total cost of completing the project is around $950,000.

“Both cities are 100 percent in support of the project,” Lammers said. “They’ve been instrumental in public support and conducting private fundraising projects. Jewell and Ellsworth have done everything possible within their financial means.”

Hamilton County encourages private donations to the Jewell Area Development Enterprises (J.A.D.E.) Foundation or Hamilton County Conservation Board.

Aside from laying the concrete trail, funds raised will go toward rehabilitating rail bridges, building a new bridge over the Skunk River and other necessary enhancements.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, a statewide nonprofit conservation organization, purchased the final two trail corridor segments needed for the project in summer 2009, and held them until Jewell, Ellsworth and Hamilton County could raise the funds to purchase them.

“We are very happy we could help Hamilton County, Jewell and Ellsworth as they strive to complete Jewellsworth,” said Andrea Chase, INHF’s Trails Coordinator. “The communication and support of this rural community is really inspiring.”

Jewell purchased a 2.3 acre parcel from a private owner with a grant from the REAP program. That section of the corridor will connect JewEllsworth to the existing Jewell Jubilee Trail. The Hamilton County Conservation Board purchased about 30 acres from the Union Pacific Railroad Company with state recreational trail funds from the Department of Transportation.

The trail also received small land donations from the Heartland Cooperative in Jewell, Sportsman Hunting Club in Ames and Prairie Land Cooperative in Ellsworth.

Lammers also eventually hopes to see the construction of a trail extension from the Jewell Jubilee Trail to Little Wall Lake – two miles south of Jewell. The project would create a 7-8 mile trail from Little Wall Lake to Ellsworth, but the alignment for such a trail connection has yet to be determined.

A major effort to fund the protection and restoration of the 171-acre Jennett Heritage Area has succeeded in just two years. The property, about 3.5 miles south of Nevada on County Highway S14, is slated for a public opening later this year.

“Thanks to wonderful support that came through at the end of 2010, we have the gifts and pledges needed to complete this $705,000 project,” announced Steve Lekwa, Director of the Story County Conservation Board, on Thursday, January 6.

According to Lekwa, this site’s diverse landscape — with a mix of cover types needed to support many types of wildlife — is uncommon and scattered in relatively small "islands" across Iowa. Story County first became interested in this property because of a 25-acre remnant native prairie that still had good plant diversity. The site also has two ponds, two creeks, and upland and riverine woodland habitats, with opportunity to restore significant areas to wetlands and additional prairie. However, the SCCB did not have the major funding needed for such a project back in 2008.

The six Jennett siblings who inherited the land chose to sell it for conservation purposes and to donate a significant portion of the land value in memory of their parents, Raymond and Edythe Jennett. Hertz Farm Management, Inc., of Nevada, which assisted the Jennett family during the sale, also became one of the project’s 37 major donors.

“The Jennett property is a beautiful acquisition to our Story County parks,” said Randy Hertz. “The process we were involved with is a model of private and public cooperation.”

The statewide nonprofit Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation was part of the partnership that made the project work. INHF purchased the property from the Jennett family, then worked with the county to begin to restore wetlands and prairie and to raise the funds to cover the purchase and restoration. Now that funds are raised, the land will transfer from INHF to the county so it can be opened for public enjoyment. The county will makes some minor improvements first, including a small parking lot. Project status, plus plans for a dedication later this year, are being posted at www.inhf.org/jennett.

“The perfect marriage of committed landowners, public leadership and enthusiastic private support made this project a success,” said Anita O’Gara, Development Director with INHF. “It could not have succeeded without significant state grants, nor without the 160 generous local families, businesses and organizations who contributed. Because of this site’s diverse habitats and its size and restoration potential, it drew wide excitement and support.”

The Story County Pheasants Forever Chapter provided the first major organizational support. Other groups to provide funding were Whitetails Unlimited, Iowa Ornithologists’ Union, Story County Conservation Partners, Story County Conservation Board, the Iowa Native Plant Society, Big Bluestem Audubon Society and INHF. In 2010, the project earned a priority ranking among conservation projects statewide, earning major grants from the state’s Wildlife Habitat Stamp program and the Living Roadway Trust Fund. Neighbors Cindy Hildebrand and Roger Maddux pledged thousands of dollars worth of high quality seed from their native prairie.

“Thanks to all who have helped protect the Jennett Heritage Area for current and future generations to enjoy,” said Lekwa of the SCCB. “Opportunities like this don’t happen very often. The original owners of this diverse tract cared deeply enough about the future of their land to offer a bargain sale for conservation. Competitive grants were won, and generous private donations put the frosting on the cake. It shows what can be accomplished when people work together toward an important, shared goal.”

INHF recently helped Lyon County protect part of Little Rock River corridor near Rock Rapids. The new Boersma Wildlife Area which offers great fishing and hunting opportunities, was protected with the help of anglers, pheasant hunters and its former owners. Craig Van Otterloo/LCCB

“We were especially interested in protecting this spot, with one of the only known rock riffles on the river that offers good catfish and bass fishing,” said Lyon County Conservation Board Director Craig Van Otterloo. The CCB is working on fisheries enhancements on the property, including a 100-foot-wide bufferstrip along either side of the river.

“This area will be great for pheasants and pheasant hunters, but it’s just as valuable for its other benefits,” said John Linquist, Iowa Pheasants Forever Western Iowa Regional Representative. “Lyon County is doing some exceptional work to string critical areas together as part of a bigger complex that provides great habitat and also benefits water quality,” said Linquist.

INHF helped acquire the land while the county lined up funding, including a major grant from Pheasants Forever (PF) local and state chapters. The grant was matched through the national PF Build a Wildlife Area program. Other assistance came from Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) county funds and a fisheries habitat grant from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The previous landowners, Arlyn and Shirley Boersma, also helped with a partial donation of land value.

They appreciate the site’s river frontage, scenery and plentiful wildlife. In the 1850s, these same characteristics must have appealed to Hancock County’s first white settler, Anson Avery, who called his new home Upper Grove.

Diverse landscape

Today, the property contains 38 acres of rolling upland timber with bur oak and other species. Another 12 acres of bottomland timber lie along a small stream. There are several wetlands and potential to restore others. The rest of the land has been in marginal cropland, but will soon be restored to native prairie grasses and forbs. The East Fork of the Iowa River still meanders one-half mile along the property’s western border.

“This property’s riverside location is special for so many reasons. Protecting it helps preserve water quality while offering residents and visitors a great place to canoe, fish or view wildlife,” said Hancock County Conservation Board Director Tom Haan.

Many partners

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation stepped in to acquire the property in December 2007, when the county asked for help. INHF held the land until we could help the HCCB raise the necessary funds to take ownership.

“I’m glad we were able to help Hancock County protect this gem,” said INHF Land Projects Director Heather Jobst. “This is a good example of a conservation partnership.”

Funding support came through the state Resource Enhancement and Protection Program (REAP), the federal North American Wetlands Conservation Act, the John K. and Luise V. Hanson Foundation, Pheasants Forever and the state Wildlife Habitat Stamp Fund.

Location, location

The Upper Grove property is located just a quarter-mile from the Eldred Sherwood Timber and the Eldred Sherwood Park, portions of which INHF also helped the county acquire in the last few years. The state’s Goodell Wildlife Area is nearby. This proximity to other natural areas enhances the overall benefits for wildlife and public use.

“This project ties in so well with other nearby conservation land,” said Haan. “With this addition, we are starting to create a nice greenbelt of about 300 acres here in Hancock County.”

The new Kelley tract addition to Dewey's Pasture will enhance bird habitat within an existing Bird Conservation Area. Bryan Hellyer/Iowa DNR

The land, north of Ruthven, was once part of the Lost Island Golf Course. When owners Dick and Jackie Kelley, who now live in Florida, did not find a buyer for the golf course, their next choice was to sell the land for conservation purposes.

“This project improves habitat and water quality for many species – including humans,” says Bryan Hellyer, wildlife biologist for the Prairie Lakes Wildlife Unit of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. “The Wildlife Bureau of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources would like to thank the Kelley family for working with them to enhance the Dewey’s Pasture Wetland Complex.”

The project is within the Dewey’s Pasture Bird Conservation Area. It will allow a large existing wetland to be enhanced and several other smaller wetlands to be restored. The tentative management plan is to restore the upland area to a local ecotype prairie mix in 2011 and complete the wetlands in 2012. Much of the land will be cropped for another year before restoration occurs.

“I’m glad we were able to help with this key addition to Dewey’s Pasture,” said Heather Jobst, Land Projects Director at the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, a private statewide nonprofit conservation group.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation worked with the landowners to acquire the site for protection, while the state put together funding. INHF has assisted with several previous projects in Palo Alto County, including at Dewey’s Pasture and Whitetail Flats.

The land will be managed by the Iowa DNR’s Wildlife Bureau and owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Primary support come from the U.S. FWS Prairie Pothole Joint Venture using federal Duck Stamp funds purchased by waterfowl hunters and other conservationists.

Dugout Creek's 90-acre marsh borders the new addition, and provides critical waterfowl habitat. Iowa DNR

Improved water quality, expansion of a popular hunting site, and endangered species protection – all are benefits of a new addition to Dickinson County’s Dugout Creek Wetland Complex.

The 155-acre tract connects the Dugout Creek complex to the adjacent Yager Slough Waterfowl Production Area, providing benefits in conservation, recreation and hunting. The addition contains eight wetland basins. Its uplands will be restored to natural prairie in the next few years.

“This parcel adds several key elements to the complex,” said Chris LaRue, a Wildlife Management Biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. “It’s an excellent waterfowl hunting area and there’s great pheasant hunting. We also expect a lot of hikers who are interested in seeing the rare and unique species.”

One of those species is the endangered Northern Harrier. The area also has several threatened fen plant species and declining prairie butterflies.

“This project offers many benefits for Dickinson County residents,” said Heather Jobst of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. “It’s a great place to explore, and the restored wetlands will improve local water quality.” INHF is a private, statewide nonprofit conservation group that helps protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife.

The addition also enhances the 90-acre marsh that previously acted as Dugout Creek’s eastern border, improving its value as waterfowl habitat. The expansion provides more nesting areas for migratory birds in its uplands and restored wetlands.

INHF purchased the land from Synco, Inc., in December 2009 and managed it until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was able to acquire it this October. Synco chair Don Meyer and his wife Ann Meyer were intent on the parcel being used for conservation purposes. The site will be managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The US FWS Prairie Pothole Joint Venture program and the Iowa Water Quality Loan Fund helped provide funding for the area.

By Ann Robinson

How can you convert 40 acres of farmland into 157 acres of conservation land – and still keep 40 acres in farmland? Ask our partners in Hamilton County.

Start with a bequest

The story begins in 2004, when the Hamilton County Pheasants Forever Chapter inherited 40 acres of flat, black, Iowa crop ground from Henry Redling, a local outdoorsman who especially enjoyed fishing and trapping.

Since Henry’s land didn’t contain or adjoin significant habitat, PF sold his property as farmland. With the proceeds, they helped the Hamilton County Conservation Board purchase 82 acres containing restorable wetland basins and rolling land that was once prairie. The property adjoins and will expand the county’s Bauer Slough Wildlife Management Area, located in the watersheds of the Boone River and popular Briggs Woods Lake.

“This land will produce great conservation benefits,” said Brian Lammers, Director of the Hamilton County Conservation Board. “Restoring wetlands and prairie here not only provides additional wildlife habitat but also is a critical component of local watershed improvement projects.”

The local partners requested INHF’s assistance to purchase and hold the new site until the partners could complete fundraising needed for public ownership.

Add a project

Meanwhile, an adjacent 75-acre tract – with more restorable wetlands and prairie – came on the market. It was an opportunity the partners didn’t want to lose.

“This project started with a bequest and kept growing,” said Brian Fankhauser, INHF’s Land Stewardship Specialist. “Generous support from local and state PF chapters made it possible to pull off the larger conservation package.”

Additional financial help came from Hamilton County Conservation and from the federal Wetland Reserve Program through USDA. Private support, including a gift from the Van Diest Supply Company of Webster City, provided matching funds to secure a state Wildlife Habitat Stamp Fund grant.

Hamilton County’s Lammers also credits the additions’ former owners – Rusty Grace, Sharon Grace and Barb Schleichardt – who supported the conservation goals and allowed partners extra time to raise funds.

Celebrate

After five years of hard work, the land is now open for public use. The process has begun to reconstruct prairie and wetlands at the site.

In early October, the partners and public gathered to celebrate the completed additions with a dedication and barbecue. They thanked donors and remembered Henry Redling, whose love of the outdoors was the catalyst for a project greater than he might have imagined.

Ann Robinson is INHF's Outreach Coordinator. 

Located on the west face of the Loess Hills, the Reese homestead contains restored prairie remnants (shown here) and wetlands. INHF, the Monona County Conservation Board and the Iowa DNR are partnering to protect this property. When fundraising is complete, the 280-acre site will be open for public recreation, environmental education and even overnight stays in a family cabin. Susanne Hickey / The Nature Conservancy.

Ever since R.T. Reese settled just north of Turin in 1856, his descendents have owned and cared for their place on the west slope of the Loess Hills. Located on the Loess Hills Scenic Byway, the property has become familiar to many as a bed and breakfast and a site for outdoor events.

Recently, the four Reese siblings who still owned the land decided they must sell their 280 acres, including its restored hill prairie, Missouri River bottom wetland and historic homestead.  As they say goodbye, the land begins its next phase as a public area and environmental education site.

The future unfolds
When the family listed the land for sale, the Monona County Conservation Board and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources asked INHF to help them acquire this unique site as a public treasure. INHF is serving as the interim landowner and will transfer the property to each agency respectively after needed funds are fully secured.

Located within the Turin Special Landscape Area, the property adjoins and expands the state's Loess Hills Wildlife Management Area and Davis Wetland.

"It's rare that you find a property that has so many different aspects, including the high quality prairie, the wetland, and the historic buildings," says Craig Hartman, chair of Monona County Conservation Board.  "We're glad to help ensure that this bit of Loess Hills beauty will always remain an attraction and benefit for the community - from local students to hunters to prairie enthusiasts."

A tradition continues
Under its private ownership, the property already had a long history of natural land restoration and environmental education.

"Our great-grandfather was the first person of European descent to be a part of this piece of land, and three generations of our family were born and raised on it," says Jo Reese Nelson. "Howard Reese, our grandfather, sacrificed during the '30s in order to keep the homestead. Our parents, Don and Luella Reese, were farmers and environmentalists."

In addition to conservation efforts on his own land, Don Reese was involved in founding the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar held nearby, now in its third decade as a popular annual outdoor learning opportunity.

Following in his stepfather's tradition, David Zahrt and wife Lin restored a wetland and an extensive tract of native prairie. The family enrolled the riparian wetland in a Wetland Reserve Program permanent easement throught the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Last year, they protected their hillside prairie through a conservation easement with The Nature Conservancy.

Meanwhile, the Zaharts also converted the family home into the Country Homestead Bed and Breakfast, where they hosted many conservation-related events. Until his recent reitrement, David also worked part-time for INHF to promote Loess Hills protection.

"We have deeply appreciated David and Lin's commitment to the Loess HIlls, and his advocacy on behalf of its natural and cultural heritage," says Mark Ackelson, INHF president. And we appreciate the whole family's willingness to work with so many partners in protecting this land for conservation.

Funding nearly complete
More than 90 percent of funding for the project has already been committed. Major donors include Reese Homestead, Inc., Pheasnats Forever (both the Monona county Chapter and the state chapter), the National Wild Turkey Federation state chapter, the Loess Hills Alliance, and Marlene Richardson, who contributed in memory of her husband Tom.

Public support includes federal Pittman-Robertson funds, which come from a tax on sporting equipment, and Iowa's Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program. The land will not be open to the public until fundraising is complete.

"We are all connected to the land of our ancestors, and in a way, the land claims us," says Jo Reese Nelson on behalf of the Reese family. "For us, the 150 years of our family living on this land have made it a spiritual home, and we feel responsible to make sure it is cared for forever."

Ann Robinson is INHF's Outreach Coordinator

The public is invited to the dedication of a new public woodland and wildlife area, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010. The 40-acre woodland will be known as The Carroll-Gwynne Woods, in honor of its donor Dr. James L. Carroll of Cedar Falls and his late wife Mary Gwynne Carroll.

Following a brief program at 10:00 a.m., there will be a guided hike. The event will be held rain or shine. Hosts are the Fayette County Conservation Board and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. The new natural area will be open for public enjoyment after November 6.

To find the Carroll-Gwynne Woods in northwest Fayette County: From Waucoma, travel 1 mile south on County Road V68 (blacktop, also known as W Ave.), then 1.5 miles west on 280th St. (gravel). The woodland is on the north side of the road.

“This donation is a great thing for Fayette County, especially since the woods are in a part of the county where there’s not much opportunity to provide natural land for public enjoyment,” said Rod Marlatt, director of Fayette County Conservation Board. The county agency will manage the site into the future, with the goal of preserving the woodland and its wildlife habitat.

Dr. Carroll, a long-time dentist and orthodontist in the Cedar Falls area, purchased the woodland on impulse at a 1974 auction. The family enjoyed visiting the woods from time to time. This was “homecoming” in a way, as Mary Gwynne Carroll’s grandmother had come from Wadena. Dr. Carroll planted pines and walnuts, and he removed a hardwood tree occasionally to use in his lifelong hobby of woodworking. “I’ve always appreciated hardwoods,” Carroll said. “My father was a lumberman, and he ran a sawmill at Frederika.” Several native species such as oak, hickory, ironwood, walnut, cherry, butternut and box elder can be found in the woodland.

As time went by, Dr. Carroll started to plan for the future of his woodland. “I was interested in preserving it as woods – a kind of legacy,” he said.

When Dr. Carroll asked the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation about protecting the woodland through donation, they helped him look at ways to make it a public woodland. They introduced him to Marlatt, and Carroll decided to entrust the woods to the care of the Fayette County Conservation Board.

“It is such a pleasure to assist generous and public-minded landowners like Dr. Carroll who want their natural lands to remain natural always,” said Anita O’Gara, INHF Vice President for Development and Communications. “This is a service we provide free and confidentially to Iowa landowners, and it’s very satisfying to see their goals met in ways that benefit the land, people and wildlife of Iowa.”

INHF is a nonprofit, conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect more than 100,000 acres of Iowa’s wild places. Past INHF projects in Fayette County include Thelman Wildlife Area near Hawkeye. For more information, visit www.inhf.org or call 515-288-1846.

Cardinal flowers and other wildflowers growing along the Wapsipinicon River in the new Addition to the Little Buck Wildlife Area.
Heather Jobst/INHF

A 93-acre addition to the state's Little Buck Wildlife Area in Bremer County will benefit wildlife, protect water quality and enhance outdoor recreational opportunities along the Wapsipinicon River.

The expansion, located about three miles east of Readlyn and 14 miles east of Waverly, is adjacent to the southern border of the state’s Little Buck Wildlife Area. The Aldo Leopold Wildlife Management Area is nearby to the east. The addition is a mixture of upland and bottomland forest with much oak and hickory, and about a half-mile of river frontage that includes two riparian oxbow wetlands.

The area will open Sept. 1, 2010, for public use. Recreational opportunities here will include hunting for deer, turkey and waterfowl, hiking and wildlife viewing

“We’re excited to be able to protect this key location in the Wapsi Greenbelt. Its unique Wapsipinicon oxbow wetlands are essential habitat for many game and non-game species of wildlife,” says Jason Auel, Cedar Wapsi Wildlife Biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The new property is located within a state-designated Bird Conservation Area (BCA) focused on providing neotropical bird habitat along the Wapsi River. Of the 145 bird species that nest in Iowa, 135 have been found to use habitat here, including red shouldered hawk, wood duck and eagle.

“The area is just loaded with songbirds, several of which I've never seen before,” says former owner, Bill Neunsinger.

Bill and his wife Elizabeth made a significant bargain sale that helped make the project possible. Support for the project also came from the Iowa Habitat Stamp Fund, which derives from hunting license fees. Property taxes will continue to be paid on the property, as required when conservation land is purchased with Habitat Stamp funds.

The Neunsingers originally purchased the land as a recreational property, to hike deer, turkey, ducks and mushroom. They worked to improve the wildlife habitat. But they eventually decided that the site, which had problems with frequent flooding and limited access, might be best used as a state wildlife area. Thanks to them, the land will be shared with the public and now can be accessed through the Little Buck Wildlife Area.

In addition to protecting wildlife, protecting the woodlands and wetlands from future development will help preserve water quality along this section of the Wapsi River, which has been designated as an Iowa Protected Water Area. Since the early 1980s, the state and county have protected nearly 5,000 acres in the Wapsi Greenbelt to improve water quality and outdoor recreation.

This is another great addition to the Wapsi River Greenbelt, in a good location to offer a lot of benefits,” says Heather Jobst, Land Projects Director for the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.

INHF, a statewide nonprofit conservation organization, assisted the Iowa Department of Natural Resources by acquiring the property and serving as interim owner while the state secured funding. INHF works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife.

For more information about this addition to the Little Buck Wildlife Area, contact Jason Auel, IDNR, 319-213-2815, jason.auel@dnr.iowa.gov, or Heather Jobst at INHF, 515-288-1846.

October 2012 Status Update: the Reese Homestead Project will open to the public June 3, 2012, at a dedication, beginning at 1 p.m. Thanks to all who have contributed to protecting this special place! 

Ever since R.T. Reese settled just north of Turin in 1856, members of the family have owned and cared for their place on Larpenteur Memorial Road. The property, familiar to many in the area as a bed-and-breakfast and conservation area, overlooks the Missouri River valley on the west slopes of the Loess Hills.

Now the Reese homestead is beginning the next phase of its story as a public attraction and environmental education site.

When the four Reese siblings who owned the land listed 280 acres for sale, a partnership project came together so that the prairie, restored wetland and homestead could be shared with the public. Here, visitors will be able to experience the prairies and wetlands that once covered this part of Monona County. State and county conservation agencies are cooperating to maintain the property’s natural heritage, as they work together to own, manage and interpret the site in ways that allow them to expand local program offerings.

The Monona County Conservation Board and Iowa Department of Natural Resources asked the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation to acquire the land from the Reese family. INHF, a statewide nonprofit conservation organization, will serve as the interim landowner, and then transfer the property to each agency respectively after needed funds are fully secured. More than 90 percent of funding for the project has already been committed; about $40,000 remains to be raised. The land will not be open for public use until it transfers to the public agencies.

“It’s a dream come true to have an opportunity like this to interpret the uniqueness of our Loess Hills to different audiences, from students to hunters and prairie enthusiasts,” says Craig Hartman, chair of Monona County Conservation Board. “It’s rare that you find a property that has so many different aspects, including the high quality prairie, the wetland, the historic homestead and even a cabin for future visitors. We’re glad to help ensure that this bit of Loess Hills beauty will always remain an attraction and benefit for the community.”

A great deal of environmental education and natural land restoration has occurred at the land over many years, as Reese family members David and Lin Zahrt restored an extensive tract of native prairie and a Missouri River bottomland wetland. David’s stepfather, Don, was a strong conservationist who was involved in the beginning of the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar. In recent years, the Zahrt’s Country Homestead Bed and Breakfast was the location of regular conservation-related events, including annual prairie workdays that attracted volunteers to assist with prairie restoration. David Zahrt also promoted Loess Hills protection part-time for the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation until his recent retirement. The Zahrts plan to move out of state this fall.

According to David Zahrt, “My folks Don and Luella would be so delighted to think that their place is going to be in the care of the Monona County Conservation Board and the DNR.”

David’s sister Karen Reese Bird, who now lives in Berkeley California, and who has served as treasurer for the family’s farm corporation for many years, agrees. “ Our parents’ love for the natural world and their concern for its future has infused us all with an interest in seeing this site preserved and restored. We are so pleased and grateful that it will be a place where the next generations can see what this beautiful land was like.”

The project is drawing support from beyond the local area because of its many attractions and its location, which expands both the Loess Hills Wildlife Management Area and Davis Wetland. The land is along the Loess Hills Scenic Byway in the Turin Special Landscape Area. The prairie is further protected by a conservation easement the Reese Family signed last year with The Nature Conservancy.

Sources of public support for the project include federal Pittman-Robertson funds that come from a tax on sporting equipment. The state’s Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) Open Spaces funds will also be used, which ensures that the state will make annual property tax payments to the county.

Major sources of private support have already been committed by the Pheasants Forever state chapter and Monona County PF chapter, the National Wild Turkey Federation state chapter, the Loess Hills Alliance, and a generous gift from Marlene Richardson in memory of her late husband Tom Richardson. Pledges or contributions can be made to Monona County Conservation or Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. Those who contribute $1,000 or more will be recognized in permanent signage at the site.

Brian Fankhauser, Land Stewardship Specialist for INHF, especially credits the county for its leadership: “Monona County Conservation is bringing great enthusiasm and vision to this project. We’re glad to support them in creating an extraordinary addition to their local park system.”

“There’s a lot of potential for this site over time to benefit our local area, and people from beyond our area,” responds County Conservation Board Chair Craig Hartman.

“We appreciate our partners. This wouldn’t be happening if it weren’t for the state and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and all of the groups and individuals who are helping make this project possible.”

The addition is located about four miles north of Estherville in Emmet County. The new property will offer an expansive surrounding habitat of 250 acres to Eagle Lake’s original 100 acres. The new area includes a quarter mile of shoreline along Eagle Lake, which will provide improved access to the area and allow greater control of the lake’s drainage.

The property was enrolled in the federal Wetland Reserve Program. A prairie reconstruction has been completed for this tract, but will need to be maintained for the next two years. The restoration of the wetland basins will begin in the next couple of months and should be complete this fall. The restoration efforts enhance wildlife habitat and benefit water quality in this heavily row-cropped area. Local and migratory species should be able to utilize the restored wetland area as a flyway next spring.

“The area will provide opportunities to Iowa’s sportsmen and women for upland game hunting, as well as additional local waterfowl for bird hunters, and improved deer hunting,” said Bryan Hellyer, wildlife biologist for the Prairie Lakes Wildlife Unit team of the Iowa DNR’s Wildlife Bureau. “The additional types of habitat will increase the diversity of wildlife species here, especially grassland and wetland bird species, from ring-neck pheasant to the bobolink and black tern.”

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation initially acquired the land from the Kirk Family, while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lined up funding from federal duck stamp revenues. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will manage the site.

INHF is a nonprofit, conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Past INHF projects in Emmet County include Jim Hall Habitat Marsh, several additions to the Burr Oak Lake Wildlife Area and others.

“The Iowa DNR’s Wildlife Bureau would like to thank the many partners involved in making this water quality project a reality and a success — those being the Kirk family, INHF, NRCS, the Emmet County Board of Supervisors, and the USFWS,” said DNR’s Hellyer. “The commitment from the Kirk family and these partners will improve water quality and provide numerous recreational opportunities for all Emmet County residents.”

The late Harold Mathes bequeathed these 51 acres near Pella to INHF. The site contains remnant oak savanna, which we intend to restore. Joe McGovern / INHF

Except for the two weeks right after his marriage, Harold Mathes lived his entire 84 years on the family farm just north of Pella.

Harold loved his land – particularly the 51 unplowed acres with rugged terrain, open-grown oaks and Skunk River shoreline. Why spend time anywhere else?

Family Memories

According to daughter Malissa Wheeler, Harold walked or rode his horse across the land at least twice daily – checking his cattle and fences, but also savoring nature. The entire family spent most Sunday afternoons there: searching for wildflowers, sharing picnics under the oaks and savoring sunsets from the blufftop.

“The first wildflower find of the year was a special day. Dad always brought me directly from the school bus to see it,” Malissa recalls. “He and I often picked bouquets for my mom. That went on for more than 50 years, but her reaction was always like he’d just brought her a million dollars.”

Changing Times

Concerned about housing pressures from the city of Pella, in 1990 Harold turned to INHF staff about protecting his special place. We discussed several protection options with Harold and his attorney – including donating the property outright or by will.

After Harold’s death in May 2009, we were surprised to learn that he’d left the 51 acres to INHF with no restrictions for its use.

Next Step

Because Harold did not restrict the use of the land upon its transfer to INHF, we now have the freedom – and the responsibility – to determine how best to steward it. Given the unique natural qualities of this land, we have opted to retain ownership and devote time and energy to restoring the oak savanna. We plan to remove invasive species and conduct a small, prescribed burn in 2011.

“This property has the potential to provide tremendous benefits for water quality and wildlife,” said Joe McGovern, INHF’s Director of Land Stewardship. “With its open-grown oak trees, the land could develop into an impressive oak savanna.”

Mark Ackelson, now INHF president, was the staff member who met with Harold in 1990. “I saw first-hand his passion for this special place. Two decades later, we consider it both an honor and a solemn responsibility to be entrusted with its care.”

Tim Greene is the INHF Buckmaster Communications Intern.

The public is invited to help celebrate the Fairview Wildlife Area's new addition: a diverse site that increases the existing public area's size by 400 percent.

The county has been working several years to complete this significant acquisition, which adds more than 430 acres of primarily oak savanna near the Fairview Wildlife Area, about 13 miles west of Rock Valley. The new addition brings the original 95-acre recreation area to more than 500 acres. The land officially opens for public use July 15.
 

“With this addition so close to the Fairview Willdife Area, as well as the Big Sioux River Greenbelt and Inspiration Hills, we’re creating a wildlife and recreation complex,” said Rob Klocke, Sioux County Conservation Board Director.

In an agricultural part of the state with little public land, the addition expands opportunities for activities such as hunting, fishing, hiking and nature study. The addition also benefits water quality in the nearby Big Sioux River and protects a wildlife corridor known for its importance to game and nongame species, including migratory waterfowl and songbirds.

“These additions are our first projects in Sioux County,” said Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation Land Projects Director Heather Jobst. INHF is a private nonprofit conservation organization that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. INHF stepped in to help the county acquire the properties in the landowners’ desired timeframe and hold the land while the county secured funding.

“We really appreciated the opportunity to work with Sioux County to protect this gem in northwest Iowa,” continued Jobst. “The oak savanna community here is notable because of its size and its intact condition with a mix of native woodland and prairie plant species.”

Public funding for the project came from a Wildlife Habitat Stamp grant through the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, a Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) CCB grant and Sioux County. Private help came from the Sioux County Sportsmen’s Club, Sioux Prairie Pheasants Forever and the National Wild Turkey Foundation. INHF also contributed proceeds of a bequest from the estate of a Lyon County couple, Mildred and Elmer Hawkins.

“This dedication celebrates an impressive achievement as the Sioux County Conservation Board marks our 50th anniversary this year,” said Klocke. “I want to thank the landowners and the conservation partners who helped with the Fairview addition. We look forward to future projects.”

For more information about the Fairview Wildlife Area or other Sioux County parks, visit http://www.siouxcountyparks.com/ or contact the SCCB at 712-552-1047 or soococon@siouxcounty.org.

The Goose Lake Wetland Complex recently received a 55-acre expansion, which will add to the existing 449 acres of wildlife habitat.

The addition will allow easier access to the north and west ends of the existing wetland complex. It also offers water quality benefits, adds to the landscape level habitat needs of local and migratory wildlife, and provides additional recreational opportunities for Kossuth County residents.

The property is located adjacent to Burt Lake in northwest Kossuth County, seven miles north of Armstrong on Highway 15. It has three wetland basins that will be restored, along with much needed nesting cover for grassland birds and waterfowl that use this wetland complex. The property will also help reduce sedimentation, improve water quality, and protect approximately 150 feet of shoreline around Burt Lake.

“We plan to reconstruct a diverse native prairie on the cropland portion of this tract and restore hydrology back to temporary and seasonal wetlands within a two-year period,” said Bryan Hellyer, wildlife biologist for the Prairie Lakes Wildlife Unit team of the Iowa DNR’s Wildlife Bureau. “This tract contains a native prairie pasture, which will be managed using prescribed fire to invigorate native fauna.”

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation provided assistance by purchasing the property from the Neusch family. The Iowa DNR was able to purchase the property through a North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant.

INHF is a nonprofit, conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Past INHF projects in Kossuth County include the Geigel Conservation Area, Scuffham Property, Smith Woods and others.

“The Iowa DNR appreciates this grant program and the hunters who fund it – along with the help of the Neusch family and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation,” said Hellyer.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) originally purchased land for DU Marsh from the Rustan family in 1985. The wetland complex is located approximately one mile west of Ruthven and consists of a 90-acre restored wetland and associated uplands.

“This property is the perfect piece to the DU Marsh puzzle,” said Bryan Hellyer, wildlife biologist for the Prairie Lakes Wildlife Unit team of the Iowa DNR’s Wildlife Bureau. “Besides adding critical wetland habitat to the wetland complex, an additional 30 acres of upland habitat will be reconstructed in the next couple of years. The addition of this tract also brings the complex boundary out to a county gravel road, improving access and availability to Clay County residents.”

Acting as a facilitator, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation helped the DNR by purchasing the property when the Rustan family wanted to sell. INHF is a nonprofit, conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Past INHF projects in Clay County include the Elser Property, Ocheyedan River Corridor, Dewey’s Pasture Complex and others.The DNR repurchased the tract using Prairie Pothole Joint Venture funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“The Iowa DNR appreciates the willingness of the Rustan family, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in pursuing this tract of land,” said Hellyer.

Ed and Paulette Reveiz sold their property at a bargain price to INHF. These 200 acres will eventually be transferred to the Iowa DNR as an addition to the Boone Forks Wildlife Management Area. The property's extensive woodland and river habitats support numerous wildlife species. Jessica Rilling / INHF

When the opportunity arose to add yet one more piece to a diverse river greenbelt complex, INHF quickly responded to the call.

We’re helping the Iowa Department of Natural Resources acquire a 200-acre addition to the Boone Forks Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Owners Ed and Paulette Reveiz made the project more affordable (and possible) by selling us the land for significantly less than appraised value.

The property features oak woodland, prairie remnants, a nearly perennial stream, wet meadows and riparian woodland. Its quarter mile of the Boone River is another critical contribution to a multi-year effort to protect a 25-mile segment of the Boone River in Hamilton County.

This segment of the Boone River was the first in the state to be designated as one of Iowa’s Protected Water Areas. The Iowa Conservation Commission recognized that the river valley between Webster City and its mouth at the Des Moines River is “one of Iowa’s most scenic, natural river reaches. The water quality is good and among the best in the region.”

The Reveiz addition contains an extensive oak-hickory woodland that supports the rapidly declining cerulean warbler (Dendroica cerulea) and other species that need unbroken forest habitat. In fact, the Boone Forks WMA is slated to be designated a Bird Conservation Area within two or three years.

“Boone Forks is one of the most important forest areas for birds in Iowa – and it deserves to be protected and cherished,” said Bruce Ehresman, Iowa DNR Wildlife Diversity Program Biologist. “This area also provides habitat and movement corridors for a host of other species, including mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish, insects and mussels.”

The diverse wildlife attracted diverse funders, including the National Wild Turkey Federation plus Iowa Audubon and the Big Bluestem chapter of the National Audubon Society. Public funds came through REAP (Resource Enhancement and Protection Program) and the IDNR’s Protected Water Area Program.

A celebration and bird hike will be held May 22, 2010.

Of the 48 land projects that INHF completed in 2009, eight occurred in one neighborhood: the Grant Center Special Landscape Area (SLA). Here, INHF helped eight families protect their land with private conservation easements.

The Grant Center SLA, which straddles Woodbury and Monona counties, is one of the 12 Loess Hills regions designated by the National Park Service as most worthy of conservation. By early 2008, Grant Center was one of only two regions with no protected acres.

“A conservation friend told me that Grant Center deserved more attention,” recalled Brian Fankhauser, the INHF staff member who managed these projects. “He said people here really have it in their hearts to protect the land. He was right.”

“As I drove through the area, I could see lots of good conservation already going on. Local landowners were restoring prairie, removing cedars, conducting burns,” noted Brian. “As I began talking with them, I discovered how many have long-term ties to the land. They grew up here. It’s part of them.”

Brian talked with lots of area landowners, and nine neighbors chose to act – protecting more than 500 acres total. The first easement was completed in late 2008 and the rest in early 2009. The easements remove most of the development rights while protecting prairie remnants and many agricultural uses.

Since the land is located along the Loess Hills Scenic Byway, major funding came from the Iowa Department of Transportation. Each landowner donated 20 percent of the easement’s value, and the Loess Hills Alliance covered the appraisal fees.

Jeff Shupe’s response was typical. “Placing the easement, giving up the rights for my children to build houses there, was a hard decision. There are many pressures to build or bulldoze here,” he said. “Yet I feel privileged – first to own the land and now to have protected it. This whole area is really special to me.”

At 542 acres, Bank Swallow Bend was INHF's largest project site in 2009. This diverse wildlife area, owned and managed by the Warren County Conservation Board, is just minutes from the Des Moines metro.
Jim Preibe / Warren CCB

It’s old news for the local wildlife, but hunters and birdwatchers can celebrate a huge, new public area in Warren County, just 15 minutes from Des Moines.

The 542-acre site, named Bank Swallow Bend, contains 1.5 miles of shoreline on the South River, about 60 acres of existing wetlands with numerous small islands, substantial upland habitat and some river-bottom timber.

INHF purchased the land in 2009 and transferred it to the Warren County Conservation Board in April 2010. 

Wildlife discovered the area much earlier. Because the property has been enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program since 1998, substantial wetland restoration and upland planting has already been done.

On their first walk-through of the site, Warren CCB staff documented more than 30 bird species: a variety of ducks and geese, pheasants, quail and numerous songbirds. Other finds included bobcat tracks, an active bald eagle nest and – of course – bank swallows.

Jim Priebe, Warren CCB director, notes that the project involved many partners. Major public funding came from the Iowa DNR’s Habitat Stamp program, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) and the county’s REAP (Resource Enhancement and Protection) funds.

On the private side, “Pheasants Forever volunteers kept this project on track,” Jim said. “In addition to donating local chapter funds, they beat the bushes for other funds. Ducks Unlimited also made a donation for the acquisition. And, as always, INHF was there when we needed fast action to close the sale.”

“With our development pressures, I didn’t think there would ever be an opportunity to protect something so large in Warren County,” added Priebe. “Finding such a parcel with this quality of habitat already in existence is pure bonus.”

The two additions are approximately 2 miles from the confluence of the Little Wapsipinicon with the Wapsipinicon River, which has been designated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources as a state Protected Waters Area.

Like an old-fashioned quilting bee, neighbors, friends and partners are piecing together a patchwork of nature in Mitchell County.

Most recently, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation helped the county conservation board acquire two key properties - plus a third that will transfer from INHF to the county later this year.

These three additions to the Wapsi River Greenbelt total just 60 acres, but they contain diverse habitats: a 2.5 mile segment of river, bottomland timber, grasslands, pasture and a spring-fed stream.

Meanwhile, they build a larger natural complex by connecting the 110-Wapsi River Wildlife Management Area to the 320-acre Pinicon Alders Wildlife Management Area. They also expand the Wapsi-great Western Trail corridor.

County Conservation Board Director Milt Owens’ vision for the site’s future is guided by its past. Historical survey notes from 1854 describe this area as a place of transition, with prairie stretching to the west, heavy timber to the south and along the river, and bur oak savanna between.

“I’m looking forward to watching the prairie restoration as it unfolds,” said Owen. “It is exciting to have a chance to recreate something resembling what the settlers encountered here. Some of the old bur oaks still scattered along these ridges could have been growing even then.”

The project attracted diverse funders: the Mitchell County Pioneer Chapter of Pheasants Forever, the State Pheasants Forever chapter, the Mitchell County Land Acquisition Trust Fund, the county’s REAP (Resource Enhancement and Protection) fund, and the Iowa Ornithologists Union. The project also won grants from the Iowa Department of natural resources Habitat Stamp and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act.

Brian and Christine Huffman, who owned one of the parcels, cooperated with INHF and the county in preserving the site for public ownership.

“I always meant to leave the land to my children,” said Brian. “I still feel like I did that. Now it will always be there for anybody to enjoy, including my children and myself.”

Paulette and Ed Reveiz were among a group of Iowans recognized at the second annual “Gift to Iowa’s Future Day” in Des Moines.

The landowners from Des Moines were honored at a reception at the State Capitol. Richard Leopold, Director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and legislators spoke and presented certificates. The event was the second of its kind, held as a result of a law passed in 2008 to express appreciation for voluntary land protection. The landowners’ gifts represented different types and levels of donations across the state.

The Reveiz family made a generous bargain sale of 200 acres that includes oak woodland, remnant prairie and riparian woodland in Hamilton County near Webster City. Located along a quarter mile of the Boone River, the land nearly connects two sections of the Boone Forks Wildlife Management Area, a public recreation area owned by the DNR. The property, which contains 182 acres of natural areas, adds significant conservation value to the area and will help protect the quality of the Boone River, a state designated Protected Water Area.

The diverse woodland is one of the largest tracts of unbroken forest along the river. The site’s large area supports interior forest birds like the rapidly declining cerulean warbler (Dendroica cerulea), which has been seen on the property. The land may also include a Native American archaeological site.

With the help of the Reveiz family, the property was purchased in 2009 at a significant discount by the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. Just a year after its purchase, INHF plans to transfer the property to the DNR for public use, with additional assistance from other conservation partners including the state Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) Program, the DNR’s Protected Water Area Program, the state chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, and the Iowa and Big Bluestem chapters of the Audubon Society.

The conservation partners involved in this project are also planning a local event to celebrate protection of the property and to honor the Reveiz’ gift. The dedication will be held May 22 at 9:30 a.m., at the project site. Look for more details and directions coming soon on INHF's event page.

INHF is a nonprofit conservation organization that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect more than 111,000 acres of Iowa’s natural resources. For more information about easements or other methods of permanent land protection, visit www.inhf.org or call 515-288-1846. Iowans can request a free copy of “The Landowner’s Options,” a guide published by INHF, or read it online.

In all, more than 37 Iowa individual, families and businesses chose to permanently protect about 5,700 acres of natural land in 2009, donating more than $5 million of land value through fee title donations, bargain sales and conservation easements.

The land, which includes a stretch of the Little Sioux River state Protected Water Area, brings a new measure of diversity to Oneota Park. The park lies on the southeast corner of Spencer at the intersection of 10th Avenue S.E. and 360th Street/U.S. Highway 18.

“We’ve got deer, pheasants and ducks, plus good waterfowl water production here,” said Dan Heissel, director of the Clay CCB. “The new food plots and habitat will only improve our wildlife support.”

The property includes 10 acres of wooded bottomland, 40 acres of pasture – about half of which has been replanted with native grasses and forbs – and a three-acre pond. Though Heissel and the CCB are just beginning to create their management plan, they already have a vision for Oneota’s future.

“We’re looking primarily at habitat and watershed protection with this addition, and we hope to add better canoe access and maybe a water trail,” Heissel said. “We’re considering including a dog training area in the wetland portion that would be fenced off to allow training without disturbing nesting.”

Heissel said they also plan to add permanent, mowed hiking trails to expand existing trails and improve access across Oneota Park. Though the addition is not yet open to the public, the original section of the park is available for public use, including picnicking, hiking, stream fishing, boating and winter sports.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit conservation organization with more than 30 years experience protecting Iowa’s land, stepped forth in 2008 to help Clay County bring this project to life. Spencer and Clay County coordinated to work out a sale at appraised value that would satisfy both parties. INHF purchased the property while the CCB raised the funds for later transfer to the county. About 12 acres of land were purchased from a private source, bringing the total acreage of the addition to 69.

INHF Land Projects Coordinator Heather Jobst said the Foundation became interested in the project because of the importance of the Little Sioux River, which has been protected to ensure high water quality. The river was identified as one of five rivers in Iowa to have outstanding cultural and natural resources.

“The Little Sioux is one of Iowa’s most important waterways, and we were excited to help protect more of it, while also helping Clay CCB expand its home park,” Jobst said. “The CCB has always been a good partner of INHF, and this project was no different.”

The transfer from INHF to Clay CCB is currently in progress. Clay County received funding for the project through a Resource Enhancement and Protection grant, which was written by INHF, and Iowa Department of Natural Resources Protected Water Area funds.

After decades of restoring native prairie and wetlands, Betty and Sandy Moffett decided to permanently protect their work with a conservation easement. Danny Akright/INHF

It all started in 1971 with a house and four acres. Now, 39 years and 130 acres later, Sandy and Betty Moffett can take both pleasure and pride in having transformed a nearly-farmed-to-death rental property into a truly beautiful piece of land. 

Then as now, the restoration of this land is a work in progress. Over the years, the couple added a few acres here, restored a few acres there. Using available farm programs, they began by establishing filter strips along the creek and placing contour buffer strips in some of the remaining crop fields.

Through the CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) they were able to establish – again, piece by piece – an expanse of reconstructed prairie, all using local ecotype seed. The restoration doesn’t stop here; the Moffets have also restored wetlands.

As Sandy tells it, they are passionate about wildlife, and their restoration work has been undertaken with wildlife in mind. Their efforts are paying off – in sightings of otters, beavers and even sandhill cranes.

The Moffetts’ commitment to the prairie extends well beyond their 130 acres.

Sandy, formerly a Grinnell College professor, has been deeply involved with the college’s Center for Prairie Studies, serving on its board of directors since its inception. Sandy and Betty narrated Prairie through the Seasons, a video produced by the Center.

Betty has captured her love for the prairie in essays and musical compositions – some of which the two of them have performed with a local group to which they’ve long belonged, the Too Many String Band.
After so much personal investment, the couple wanted to ensure that their work would be protected forever. Thus, they donated a conservation easement on the property to INHF, knowing that we’ll keep watch over their wildlife haven long after their lifetimes.

Thanks to a bargain sale through the Arnold E. Bruggeman Residuary Trust plus a generous donation from Mark and Mary Ellen Stinksi, INHF was able to purchase and protect these 540 wooded acres along the scenic Maquoketa River near Monticello. Darrel Mills/INHF.

On the other hand were the heirs of Arnold E. and Agnes E. Bruggeman, a long-time Iowa family with deep connections to and convictions about their land.

And then there was the land itself – 540 acres of rolling woodland, studded with limestone outcrops and underlain by a carpet of spring ephemerals. Within and along the land’s borders lie one and a half miles of the Maquoketa River. Its protection is key to conserving an exceptional portion of this scenic river corridor.

INHF had already helped the Bruggemans place a conservation easement on the family home site near Dubuque in 2008. We were thrilled when Dianne Bruggeman Hanten approached us about protecting this site. Her parents had considered it their “crown jewel” property. In their honor, Dianne and her siblings said yes to protecting this extensive woodland for future generations by selling it at a bargain price. We were able to accept their offer once we received the Stinski’s resounding yes in the form of a most generous lead gift to INHF toward its purchase.

Now that INHF owns the woodlands, we’re crafting its long-term protection strategy, which may or may not include some public ownership and access.

Mark Stinski, on seeing the land for the first time remarked, “This land should be preserved … it needs to be part of the larger landscape to which it’s connected.”

Together we’re doing just that.

IViking Lake State Park's popular shoreline campsites and other facilities get heavy use. With INHF's help, the Iowa DNR is adding 167 acres along the park's eastern border. A former church camp, the addition contains a lodge, cabins and other amenities – plus quiet trails through the woods. Bob Schierbaum/Iowa DNR

Located near Stanton, Viking Lake State Park already has many popular amenities, including newly renovated campsites right on the lakeshore, fishing, boating and hiking trails.

The new addition, recently operated as a church camp, contains oak-hickory woodlands – plus buildings suitable for a large lodge and family cabins, overflow camping sites, trails and a lookout tower.

“This property fits in perfectly with what we already have at Viking Lake,” said Bob Schierbaum, IDNR supervisor of state parks in southwest Iowa. “Its vegetation matches the existing park, but its buildings can provide several new amenities.”

Since 1984, this 167-acre site was known as Camp Aldersgate. Operated by the Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church, Aldersgate immersed thousands of children in faith and nature.

However, due to declining usage, the Conference reluctantly closed the camp. The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation purchased it at auction in October 2009.

INHF will soon transfer the site to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which will fund the acquisition through the REAP (Resource Enhancement and Protection) Open Space program. The addition’s trails and most outdoor facilities should be open to public use right after the transfer, but the camp buildings will require additional repairs and renovations before public use.

“The fact that the buyer is the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation – for long-term ownership by the Iowa DNR – delights the Board of Camps and Retreat Ministries,” said Tom Robertson, Leadership Development Minister for Camping and Christian Formation of the Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

“What delights me most,” Tom added, “is that Aldersgate will continue to be a place where people may go for respite, reflection, and contemplation surrounded by God’s creation, and there God will continue to touch and heal hearts as before when it served as a United Methodist Church camp and retreat setting.”

Carmen and Bryan Iwen protected their property's woods and farmland with a conservation easement. This photo was taken during a hike on the land with Bryan's mother, Andrea Iwen (center). Darrel Mills/INHF

Located just south of the Iowa-Minnesota line in Allamakee County, the Iwen farm is quintessential northeast Iowa. Its rugged topography features level uplands that give way to steep, rocky, wooded slopes dissected by deep ravines and dotted with goat prairies. For Bryan and Carmen Iwen, it’s a little slice of heaven.

Though they now live near Green Bay, Wis., the Iwens are not newcomers to this neighborhood. Bryan’s family has owned the land since President Franklin Pierce deeded it to his great-great grandfather. Bryan is adamant about keeping the farm in the family. And he’s adamant about ensuring that it continues to be well-cared-for. That’s why the couple chose to protect 359 acres with a conservation easement.

With the easement in place, the farm’s 120-acre native woodland will remain intact – preserving important habitat for migratory and resident wildlife species, including neotropical migratory birds. The easement adds another layer of protection to 80 acres of adjoining cropland that the family had already enrolled in the State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) Program, a new continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) practice. SAFE provides incentives to create habitat for high priority wildlife species. In this case, the program helps finance the family’s effort to plant trees, creating an even larger block of contiguous forest.

As the Iwens wished, the balance of their cropland will remain available for limited, sustainable agricultural use, including a corn-oats- hay rotation with waterways planted to native grasses and forbs.

The easement also describes how the property may be enjoyed by the family and all future owners. Hiking, bird watching, crosscountry skiing, mushrooming and hunting are among the welcomed activities.

In sum, this conservation easement preserves the land’s biological diversity, the family’s sustainable agricultural and timber practices, and the pleasures of play – for the Iwen family today and for generations to come.

Once crop ground, the land was enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program by its owners, Keith and Carol Hagen, before acquisition. Now, the land has been restored to upland and lowland prairies and swales that provide healthy habitat for wildlife and native plants.

“The project provides diversity to an existing area through its landforms and plant communities, and also by connecting watersheds,” said Jones CCB director Larry Gullett. “The Hale Wildlife Area sits on a ridge that separates two different watersheds, which makes it a prime corridor for wildlife.”

The site is open to public use – an aspect that Twin Rivers PF Habitat Chairman Matt McQuillen found very attractive.

“It’s not just a hunting property; it’s a very diverse recreational area – fishing, hiking, sightseeing, walking, and other activities are all popular there,” he said. Gullett also mentioned the wildlife area as a prime spot for mushroom hunting.

Twin Rivers PF had hopes to expand the Hale Wildlife Area even before Jones CCB approached the chapter and INHF in the fall of 2008. PF and INHF’s roles with acquiring the site freed the CCB to plan and develop the site.

“This project was marked by great partners; everyone does what they can and it was a good collaborative effort,” McQuillen said. “We couldn’t have done it without each other.”

McQuillen credited Gullett with the site’s high quality.

“This site is not just well-restored,” he said. “Larry Gullett went above and beyond in creating such a high quality habitat area.”

INHF purchased the property from the Hagens in December 2008 and transferred the land to Jones County in January 2010. INHF is a nonprofit conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect more than 110,000 acres of Iowa’s wild places.

Twin Rivers PF organized fundraising for the site, an effort which eventually included the Delaware County and Dubuqueland chapters, the PF state trust fund, the Jones County Endowment Fund and several chapters of Whitetails Unlimited, including the Wapsi Bottoms Chapter near Oxford Junction, Maquoketa Chapter, Cedar River Chapter (Lisbon/Mount Vernon), Cedar Rapids Chapter and National Organization of Whitetails.

“The Hagens have been great to work with, and the project is a great addition to Hale Wildlife Area,” Gullett said.

Hale Wildlife Area is located on 62nd Street, about 2.5 miles southwest of Wyoming, about 15 miles southeast of Monticello.

Past INHF projects in Jones County include Whitewater Canyon and Indian Bluffs.For more information, visit www.inhf.org or call 515-288-1846.

At the closing for the Nolan Addition in late December, several of the project partners were present, including Steve Anderson, Washington County Conservation Board Director, Carl McCall, Treasurer of Pheasants Forever, Lee Sorenson, Iowa County Conservation Board Director, David Long, Keokuk County Conservation Board Director, and Bruce Mountain, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation Land Projects Director. Washington County Conservation Board

The 167-acre Nolan Addition brings the public recreation area to 782 acres. The new land is on the west edge of the wildlife area, adjacent to the South Fork of the English River. It will improve the area’s value as habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife. It will also will help protect water quality and turn flood-prone crop ground into natural flood buffer.

“I am amazed that we were able to all get together so quickly, to complete this project and get it ready to open to the public,” said Steve Anderson, Director of the Washington County Conservation Board, who said the addition will predominantly be used for hunting.

“We’re going to do everything to make it the best wildlife area it can be,” said Washington County’s Anderson. “It’s going to be nesting cover, winter cover, shrubs and wetlands.”

The former owner had enrolled the floodplain crop ground into the federal Wetland Reserve Program, which meant it could no longer be farmed, according to Bruce Mountain, Land Projects Director with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. With help from WRP funding, the land is being restored as a wet prairie ecosystem, with several shallow basins, swales and native grass seedings.

Map view of Nolan Addition within English River Wildlife Area at the junction of Iowa, Keokuk & Washsington counties. Steve Anderson, WCCB

INHF initially acquired the land from Clemencia Nolan and Martin C. Nolan, who donated nearly 50 percent of the land's value. Washington, Keokuk and Iowa counties secured the additional funding needed to purchase the property, with help from an Iowa DNR Wildlife Habitat Stamp grant and three different chapters of Pheasants Forever, each of which made generous donations.

INHF is a nonprofit, conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect more than 100,000 acres of Iowa’s wild places. INHF had previously assisted in another English River Wildlife Area expansion in 1989, as well as with the Nolan Family itself on a 155-acre project in Harrison County.

For more information about the new Nolan Addition, contact the Washington County Conservation Board at http://co.washington.ia.us/departments/conservation/, or contact INHF at info@inhf.org, phone 515-288-1846.

Anna Gardner, 1958-2006, created this self-portrait with scans of plants.

Anna’s father, Dr. JH Gardner of Davenport, recently donated 80 acres of that property to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. The land is a fitting memorial to Anna, who passed away in 2006 after a fall.

The person

A perpetual learner, Anna began her schooling in art. She later earned a bachelors degree in Biological and Premedical Illustration from Iowa State, followed by an interdisciplinary masters degree in art, English and botany.

According to her sister, Sarah Gardner, “Taking a walk with Anna was always an education. She knew the scientific names of all the plants.”

Anna created art made from or inspired by the nature around her. A “self-taught computer geek,” she designed several websites for ISU’s Dendrology department. She co-authored Grasses in Your Pocket: A Guide to Prairie Grasses of the Upper Midwest, to be published this spring by the University of Iowa Press.

Anna was widely appreciated by friends and colleagues. Their memorials include two plants named in her honor: a truffle species first discovered on the Gardner land by friend, Rosanne Healy; and a type of bamboo discovered by her Iowa State advisor, Lynn Clark.

The place she loved

Throughout her life, Anna Gardner remained connected to the family land both personally and professionally. She and her husband, Dave Marlow, purchased a parcel from her father, where they built a passive solar home. Anna grew or gathered much of the couple’s food on the property and began restoring its prairie remnants.

Their land adjoins the property donated to INHF. A choice development site, the donated property overlooks the Des Moines River. Instead, it will remain a choice natural area – a mixture of oak savanna, woodland and native prairie dissected by a healthy stream. Dr. Gardner and INHF agree that the land may eventually be transferred to a suitable conservation agency for public use.

For now, INHF’s land stewardship staff and interns will help restore the high-quality prairie remnants and remove invasive species around the stately, open-grown oak trees.

“Dr. Gardner entrusted INHF with a special place in memory of a special person,” said Joe McGovern, INHF’s Land Stewardship Director. “We’re honored to fulfill that trust.”

Cathy Engstrom is INHF's Communications Director.

Bob and Jane Madsen Brian Fankhauser/INHF

The Madsen conservation easement is located within the Grant Center Special Landscape Area of Iowa's Loess Hills. The easement permanently protects 115 acres, including remnant prairies, in Monona County. Brian Fankhauser / INHF

In December 2009, Bob and Jane Madsen formalized a family tradition – protecting 115 acres of their Loess Hills property with a conservation easement.

The easement permanently protects land owned by the family for about a century, conserving both its native species and working farmland.

Protecting, connecting

The protected property includes 65 acres of highquality remnant prairie, supporting unique plants like small white lady slipper orchids (Cypripedium candidum). It also provides critical bird and wildlife habitat. Twenty-two butterfly species, including Ottoe skipper (Hesperia ottoe) and regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia) butterflies, have been found here or on surrounding lands.

For 20 years, Bob has cared for the native prairie: removing invasive shrubs and trees, conducting controlled fires and using moderate grazing techniques. He’ll continue to do so.

The Madsen property is located within the Grant Center Special Landscape Area (SLA), one of 12 conservation priority areas within the Loess Hills landform. INHF recently placed conservation easements on eight other Grant Center properties, all within Woodbury County. Together, these nine easements protect about 10 percent of the Grant Center SLA, up from zero percent just a year ago.

Private support

The Madsen conservation easement is also the most recent site protected through INHF’s Campaign for the Bluffs, the Hills, the Lakes. Now in the third of its five years, the Campaign targets funding to large, connected habitats in key wildlife corridors. The Madsens donated 20 percent of the easement’s value, while INHF reimbursed the remaining 80 percent from funds donated to the Campaign.

“This project relied completely on private donations: from the Madsens and from donors who support this ongoing Campaign,” said INHF President Mark Ackelson. “We’re particularly grateful for two recent bequests designated specifically for the Loess Hills, which is ‘The Hills’ portion of the Campaign.”

Public benefits

Landowners who choose conservation easements can later sell the land or pass it on to heirs, knowing that the easement protections will remain intact. Though such sites are not open for public use, their public benefits include open space, natural scenery, and habitat for resident and migratory wildlife populations.

INHF Land Stewardship Specialist Brian Fankhauser said he appreciates the property and its owners. “It’s really nice quality prairie – and very scenic,” he said. “What the Madsens have done on their own over 20 years on this property is impressive.”

Danny Akright is the INHF Chamberlin Communications intern.

Decatur County's new Elk Creek Wildlife Area is being transformed from a quarry to a public conservation area. INHF received the site as a gift from Beasley Farms, Inc., and recently donated it to the county conservation board. Rich Erke/DCCB

The transformation is taking place thanks to a gift from the landowners, Beasley Farms, Inc., to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation in 2004. As the donors wished, INHF sought a suitable public owner and, in December 2009, gave the 52-acre property to the Decatur County Conservation Board.

The land’s donors did not specify plans for the site, so INHF Land Stewardship Program Director Joe McGovern worked with the county to determine the land’s best use. Now named the Elk Creek Wildlife Area, the land is already open for fishing, hunting and other forms of outdoor enjoyment.

The site, once scarred by the quarry, has remnant prairie, healthy bur oaks, a stretch of Elk Creek and a pond. Rich Erke of the Decatur CCB thanked INHF and the original owners: “This area is a great asset to Decatur County and will make a very nice addition to our public land.”

This scenic 57-acre site adjoins the Cedar Valley Nature Trail, a previous INHF project, which is now a popular recreation area. Black Hawk County Conservation Board requested INHF assistance to acquire this land, east of La Porte City, which is already recognized as a haven for many types of birds.

The property is mostly pasture ground that has been grazed, but not tilled. The potential for native prairie to recover and develop as a high quality remnant prairie is high. Plans are to re-establish the site's prairie-oak savanna and riparian buffer. About $140,000 remains to be raised from private and public sources.

To learn about other current projects that fit your interests — or to inquire about a specific project — contact Anita O'Gara, INHF's Director of Development, by e-mail or phone, 800-475-1846.

After years of waiting, the Superior to Allendorf Trail began to pick up steam in early August.

INHF recently purchased 37 miles of rail corridor for the future trail. When complete, this trail will link the extensive trail system at the Iowa Great Lakes to Osceola County’s Ed Winkel Memorial Trail.

The corridor will be transferred to the Osceola County Conservation Board and the Dickinson County Trails Board for future conversion to a multi-use trail. The county partners will meet soon to develop the trail’s plan and seek grants for its construction.

“We’ve been eyeing this as a possible rails to trails project for the last 12 to 15 years,” said Steve Litts, executive director of the Dickinson County Trails Board. “It’s a win-win situation.”

Prairie and savanna restoration on the Faust Heritage Area has reinvigorated plant species large and small, from Indian paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea) to mighty oaks, like this black oak (Quercus coccinea). Bur (Quercus macrocarpa) and white oaks (Quercus alba) also reside there. Joe McGovern / INHF

After nearly a century, rich native landscapes thrive once again on a hilly tract of southern Iowa land. This resurgence of prairie, oak savanna and diverse wildlife habitat is the result of two generous gifts and lots of hard work.

Two gifts together
In 2001, Dr. David Faust and his wife, Patricia, sold their 623-acre “rough farm” to INHF at a significant bargain price. A hunter and nature lover, Dr. Faust wanted the mostly wild land in Appanoose and Monroe counties to be preserved and well-managed.
Even with the Fausts’ generous gift, INHF still needed help to pay for the property. That help came from the fund left by Richard S. “Sandy” Rhodes II, a prairie enthusiast who passed away in 2005. Sandy’s will instructed that his gift first be used to help restore his beloved Indiangrass Hills in Iowa County. In addition, INHF could use the funds to protect and manage other natural lands similar to Indiangrass Hills. With its native prairie remnants and oak savanna just waiting to be restored, the Faust property fit the profile.

TLC for nature's treasures
Since acquiring the land, INHF land stewardship staff, interns, AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) crews and volunteers have devoted hundreds of hours to bringing back the former glory of the property’s native features. Although a small portion had been plowed for row crops, most of the land was in a natural state – but it needed work to return to health. Given patient care, the degraded prairie remnants and former pastures lent themselves to natural re-vegetation.

Joe McGovern, INHF’s land stewardship program director, was surprised at the difference between aerial photos of the land from the 1930s and the landscape in 2002. In a matter of decades, succession and fire suppression had allowed woody vegetation to overrun the original open savanna and prairie.

The rough terrain challenged stewardship crews, but persistence is paying off. INHF has conducted six prescribed burns to knock back woody encroachment on the prairie remnants and clear unwanted understory brush in the oak savanna. Crews have been removing invasive species like cedars, Osage orange, honey locust and multi-flora rose, which compromise the native oaks and degrade the herbaceous groundcover. INHF is taking a long-term approach to nurturing these ecosystems back to health; they will take decades to recover.

Glory emerges
While the restoration plan is long-term, early efforts are making a visible difference. The return of fire has invigorated native prairie species, giving rise to prairie violet, Indian paintbrush, lead plant and native grasses and sedges. In the savannas, white and bur oaks are once again beginning to preside over a healthy herbaceous groundcover. (See before and after photos.) Bobcats, coyotes, and red and gray foxes are known to prowl the wild land.

Dr. Faust, an Iowa native who now lives near Omaha, has witnessed the progress firsthand. In spare moments from his jobs with the University of Nebraska and as a colonel in the Iowa Air National Guard, Faust visits the land occasionally and notes “a remarkable comeback of native species” that he never saw there before, including bluebirds, woodcocks, bobcats and bald eagles.
“As an Iowan at heart, taking a walk there in the winter and seeing bald eagles was a great pleasure for me,” Faust said.

Bright future
Plenty of work still remains. INHF continues to focus on restoring the land’s native features and biodiversity. McGovern is confident there is much more to learn about the plants and animals that call it home. The property will be managed as a wildlife area to preserve a place with a “sense of wildness” in Iowa.

“I’m excited about bringing health back to the property by restoring its native features,” McGovern said. “Southern Iowa has tremendous potential for bringing wildness back to Iowa, and this project is a great example. We greatly appreciate the gifts from the Fausts and Sandy that made this stewardship possible.”

Dr. Faust feels this special land is in good hands.
“I’m very fond of it. It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in my life, and I thought it deserved professional management,” Faust said. “The professionals at the Foundation have made an immediate and positive impact on the land.”

Stacie Bendixen is a senior writing major at Drake University and a Buckmaster intern at INHF.

In 1978, Martha Christensen fell in love with a beautiful woodland near Tipton – and purchased it for personal enjoyment and long-term protection. More than 30 years later, she has donated the property to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation to ensure that its natural features are protected forever.

Christensen first began talking with Joe McGovern, INHF’s Land Stewardship Director, a decade ago about how to best preserve her land’s high-quality woods, restore its oak savanna and improve a prairie reconstruction.

By studying the original 1837 geological survey data, Christensen learned that much of her property had been oak savanna. Though huge, open-grown oaks still remain, invasive trees had filled in over the years – trees once kept at bay naturally by prairie fires.

“I had the impression, then, that you could buy a nice piece of land, just leave it alone, and it would stay that way forever,” Christensen said. “But I learned that owning this kind of land is like owning a Victorian House; it requires some maintenance.”

Over the years, Christensen and other family members planted walnuts and oaks. She launched a prairie reconstruction in 2005. “But prairie and oak savanna restoration demands closer attention than I’m able to give it,” she noted.

Working with INHF and using her experience as a retired Botany and Ecology professor, Christensen developed a longterm management plan for the site. Under this plan, INHF staff and interns will use fire and cutting to restore the oak savanna. As the restoration becomes more stable, we’ll continue to monitor the entire property for invasive species.

Black Hawk County Conservation Board and its conservation partners will dedicate the 128-acre Prairie Addition on the Wapsi River Greenbelt, a stretch of protected land along the Wapsipinicon River that now totals nearly 1,000 acres. The addition will be managed as upland and wetland prairie. The event will celebrate the area’s designation as a state Bird Conservation Area by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The dedication begins with a short program followed by a walking tour.

The Bruggeman Addition is located 1.5 miles north and 2 miles east of Dunkerton. Follow Highway 281 north from Dunkerton and then go east on Bennington Road to the intersection of Wheeler Road, where there is a gate to the property. Park along the road. Attendees are encouraged to dress for the weather and conditions. In the event of severe weather, the event will be directed to an indoor location near the property.

According to Vern Fish, Director of the Black Hawk CCB, "This land was a high priority because it provides important temporary habitat for migratory birds and nesting habitat for Iowa native species, including blue-winged teal, wood cock, heron, pheasant and bald eagles.”

The new Prairie Addition to the Bruggeman Wildlife Area will also provide additional buffer for the Wapsipinicon Water Trail that flows through Bremer and Black Hawk counties. The Wapsipinicon is one of only five Protected Water Areas in the state, a designation that reflects its overall high quality. Even so, problems in the watershed have resulted in several stretches of the river downstream being listed as state-designated impaired waters.

The addition will be officially opened to the public in time for pheasant hunting season this fall. Besides hunting, the area is available for bird watching, hiking, fishing and cross-country skiing. In addition to bird species, the property’s location and biodiversity will provide a haven for a variety of wildlife, said Fish. For example, the site’s wetlands and prairie, in proximity to a large waterway, provide potential habitat for Sandhill cranes and Massasauga rattlesnakes, a reclusive reptile species listed as endangered in Iowa.

“This project was a true partnership between the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and Black Hawk County Conservation Board. It took all of us to pull it together,” said Fish.

The property came up for auction in 2007. Black Hawk CCB officials asked the INHF to purchase the land in expectation of an eventual transfer to public ownership. The DNR and the county purchased the property from INHF after receiving money from the Protected Water Areas fund and North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant, and from the Resource Enhancement and Protection program. The REAP funds, only available to counties with a certain level of local funding committed to conservation, were key to making the addition a reality. Black Hawk County’s preparation to secure funding for the project was also critical to make the short timeline work.

For additional details about the event, contact the Black Hawk County CCB at 319-433-7275.

INHF is a nonprofit, conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Past INHF projects in Black Hawk County include the Cedar Valley Nature Trail and Beaver Valley Wetland. For more information, visit www.inhf.org or call 515-288-1846.

For more information on Iowa Bird Conservation Areas, visit the IDNR website at http://www.iowadnr.gov/Environment/WildlifeStewardship/NonGameWildlife/Conservation/BirdConservationAreas.aspx or call the DNR Wildlife Diversity Program at (515) 432-2823.

“This beautiful Little Sioux River valley habitat has something for everyone,” said Ginger Walker, CCCB Director. “We have camping, hiking, picnicking, bird watching, fishing and hunting. It’s also a popular access point for paddlers on the 134-mile Inkpaduta Canoe Trail.”

The new addition includes prairie restoration, trails, modern camping facilities and rental cabins, wildlife viewing and a playground. The expansion will also allow the county to open an additional area for equestrian use on land that was formerly cropped.

INHF purchased the property from a relative of Charles Martin, for whom the park is named. We held the land while the county raised acquisition funds.

“INHF made the entire project work,” said northwest Iowa farm manager and realtor Terry Argotsinger, who represented the seller on behalf of Stalcup Agricultural Service, Inc., of Storm Lake, Iowa. “The owner was willing to sell to the county, but time was of the essence. INHF had the resources to make the project happen in a timely way. Otherwise, we would have had to move on and sell the land to the highest bidder.”

The county was able to pay off the land in only six months, thanks to more than 90 supporters. They include local individuals and businesses, the state Resource Enhancement and Protection (REA P) program and the Cherokee County Pheasants Forever chapter. Fundraising continues for development of the new facilities.

For more information or to donate, see www.cherokeecountyparks.com or call Cherokee CCB at 712-225-6709.

Eight neighbors southeast of Sioux City are protecting their land to help assure scenic vistas of the Loess Hills are preserved for the future. The Woodbury County families contributed a total land value of about $100,000 to help protect more than 400 acres, as part of a public-private initiative in the Grant Center Special Landscape Area.

The properties, near Smithland, have been enrolled in permanent conservation easements. All are along the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway, which is one of only two national scenic byways in Iowa (the other is along the Mississippi River).

The Grant Center SLA is one of the 12 Loess Hills regions identified by the National Park Service as particularly worthy of conservation. Before these easements, the Grant Center area had no land under permanent protection. All the other SLA regions have at least some areas that are permanently protected.

Under the conservation easements, the land remains in private ownership and is not open to public use. Easements terms are tailored to each property and owner, but they generally limit future development and prohibit mining of the loess soils and destruction of native prairie. The protected land is not open to public use, but public benefits include preservation of scenic views, native prairie remnants and habitat for wildlife, including butterflies, bobcats and wild turkey.

The 5,364-acre Grant Center SLA is a wedge-shaped area that stretches from roughly Highway 141 in Woodbury County to a point west of Ticonic in Monona County. The eight new easements are all in Woodbury County, where the conservation board is a key partner. The Woodbury County Conservation Board (WCCB) will monitor the sites to ensure that the easement terms are understood and respected by current and future owners.

“Without the county conservation board’s leadership, this group of easements probably could not have happened,” said Brian Fankhauser, a land protection specialist with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, a conservation group that coordinated the project.

The benefits to local citizens and visitors will be well worth the small investment, according to Rick Schneider, director of the WCCB. He views conservation easements as a cost-effective tool that can help agencies and landowners meet compatible interests.

“Conservation agencies can’t possibly acquire by fee title all the areas worthy of protection, nor do we want to do that,” said Schneider. “Easements can be crafted to protect special lands in a way that fits the landowner’s wishes. Protection goals can be accomplished while the landowner continues to control and care for the land, as agreed to in the easement document. And the land remains on the tax rolls.”

These easements include dramatic views of the rugged west slope of the Loess Hills landform, the expansive Missouri River valley and landmarks such as “Sugarloaf Hill,” an isolated loess deposit west of the scenic byway.

Marilyn Byers’ family has long owned part of Sugarloaf Hill, which will be protected in cooperation with Thomas Worrell who owns the other side of the hill. Marilyn remembers being fascinated by the hills since she was a girl, when her mother had a newspaper article that showed an aerial view of their hills and described the wind-blown soils that created the landform.

“We’ve farmed here a long time, but we’ve also tried to take care of it as a special place,” Byers said. “We’ve been working on restoration of some of the remnant prairies and trying to bring back wildflowers, like the bluebells that I knew of as a kid. We’re having some little miracles of success. So we were so excited to find out about this program that could help us. And I am so happy and thankful that some of our neighbors also want to be part of this effort.”

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation worked with the Byers and the other landowners and helped bring together the project partners, including the Iowa Department of Transportation. A grant from IDOT reimbursed landowners for 80 percent of the value of the easements to protect the “viewshed” of the scenic byway. The viewshed is the area that can be seen from the byway. To make the project work, the landowners had to donate 20 percent of the value of their easement, for a total contribution of $103,000.

Additional support for the conservation easements came from the Loess Hills Alliance, which helped cover the landowners’ appraisal costs. Private donations through INHF were also critical to create a permanent fund that will help the county conservation board monitor the easements.

Easement donors Charles and Judith Bromander were strong local supporters of the project. They describe their land as a “unique property that has one of the prettiest views around.”

“I really consider this easement part of following in the footsteps of my dad, who was a farmer active in conservation in the area,” said Charles.

And I would like to know that my grandkids can see this place as I have known it. It’s getting harder to find natural areas like this. We need a few left.”

To learn more about easements and other methods of permanent land protection, Iowans can download a copy of “The Landowner’s Options” a guide published by INHF. Call 515-288-1846 for a free copy by mail. Past INHF projects in Woodbury County include the Owego Wetlands Complex, several additions to Stone State Park and three private conservation easements in the Luton Special Landscape Area.

A popular natural area in Mahaska County has more than doubled in size and added valuable wildlife habitat. The recent addition to the Quercus Wilderness Area, located between Eddyville and Oskaloosa, brings some special recreational opportunities for area outdoor enthusiasts.

The 39-acre addition expands the site to 105 acres. The addition also boosts the quality and diversity of the preserve, which boasts a mature oak woodland, a hard-surface path and ideal habitat for a wide range of Iowa plants and animals.

The Quercus Wilderness Area and its new addition are owned and managed by the Mahaska County Conservation Board. Mike Gipple, director of MCCB, said he is excited about the addition and its potential to enhance public enjoyment.

“The short, hard-surfaced trail through the area is very well used. It allows people of all ages and abilities the chance to witness and discover the many animals, birds and plants that call a forest a home,” Gipple said.

Seniors and even some wheelchair-bound citizens have used the trail, which allows much less restricted access to the area’s natural beauty.

Quercus Wilderness Area’s draw is not just its trail. The preserve provides excellent wildlife habitat for a variety of game and non-game species. It is open to hunting. Located along a sand ridge, it has unique potential for harboring rare or even endangered species of both plants and animals. The new section also adds a swath of mature hardwood forest, which is no longer common in Iowa.

Gipple said the forest will be a special attraction for Mahaska County residents.

“Quercus Wilderness Area provides individuals with the opportunity to discover a true gem in Iowa, a mature oak-hickory woodland,” he said.

A portion of the wilderness area will eventually be converted to short grass prairie, facilitating a growth of biodiversity in the preserve.

The addition took some time to purchase and fund so that it could be opened for public use, according to Gipple. The Mahaska CCB approached the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation about helping the county purchase the land in 2003. INHF is a nonprofit conservation group that works with private landowners and others to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. INHF was able to help, and Mahaska County completed the deal to take ownership of the expanded area earlier this year. To secure the property, the county received funding support from the Mahaska County Pheasants Forever and Mahaska Fan Club (a chapter of the Wild Turkey Federation).

“If you get a great opportunity, INHF is always there to help,” Gipple said. For more details or a map to the site, visit the county’s Web site at http://www.mahaskaconservation.com/.

Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect more than 100,000 acres of Iowa’s wild places. Previous INHF projects in Mahaska County include Cedar Bluffs Natural Area, Maskunky Marsh, the development of the Conservation Center and Peter’s Park Wildlife Area. For more information about INHF and its work, visit www.inhf.org or call 515-288-1846.

Vincent Bluff, a 41-acre Loess Hills prairie located in Council Bluffs, will be dedicated as the 94th Iowa State DNR Preserve, on Saturday, May 16, at 10 a.m. The preserve is located on the southern edge of Council Bluffs, at the north end of Thallas Street, which is just a few blocks north of the intersection of Thallas and Woodbury Streets just east of Harry Langdon Boulevard.

The city owns Vincent Bluff Preserve as a natural park and the Loess Hills Preservation Society manages the facility. The dedication will be hosted by Society board members, representatives of the City of Council Bluffs, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. There will be a special reading for the event by Iowa author John Price, whose works include Not Just Any Land: A Personal and Literary Journey into the American Grasslands. Elected officials and other dignitaries also are expected to attend.

INHF has provided critical technical, legal and fundraising support from the project’s start. The creation of the preserve would not have been possible without the leadership of the LHPS and support from the City and INHF, as well as the donations from over 400 individuals, organizations and other partners totaling over $1 million and more than 10,000 hours of volunteer services.

Vincent Bluff has recently been awarded state preserve status by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

“It’s been a long and arduous process that has required hard work and sacrifices by more people than we could ever hope to list here,” said Terry Oswald, Loess Hills Preservation Society President.

Oswald continued, “Preserve status is awarded by the Iowa DNR through a highly competitive and selective process; almost all applications are rejected. Being recognized as a DNR State Preserve is a critical step for the project and this is a tremendous compliment to the Preserve as well as the tireless efforts and sacrifices of hundreds of volunteers, thousands of contributors and the partner organizations.”

Glenn Pollock, Society board member and the project’s restoration leader, said: “State preserve status not only affords protection against selling or developing any part of Vincent Bluff, but it also gives a great deal of recognition across the state for the efforts to preserve this spectacular landform. Preserve status also makes Vincent Bluff eligible for grant funding through the state preserves advisory and more technical assistance as well.”

The Iowa state preserve system was established in 1965 to identify and preserve, for this and future generations, portions of our natural pre-historical and historical heritage, and to maintain preserved lands as nearly as possible in their natural condition.

State Preserve status means that in order for Vincent Bluff to be sold or developed the Iowa legislature would have to act to overturn the protection afforded by virtue of being a State Preserve. “With this status, we have made sure the existence of Vincent Bluff continues for future generations” adds Society board member Larry Tibbles, taking a break from his chain saw after felling several invasive cedar trees at Vincent Bluff.

Vincent Bluff Prairie Preserve stands as the only truly urban prairie preserve in the state of Iowa. It is also a classic example of Loess Hills prairie, oak savanna, and eastern deciduous forest ecosystems. The fact that this nearly pristine landscape exists in the heart of a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million residents speaks of the resiliency of prairie and the ruggedness of the Loess Hills.

The bluff contains high-quality prairie remnants and provides wildlife habitat and offers a tremendous view of the entire region from its high points, and its signature form is seen daily by hundreds of thousands of drivers who pass by along Interstate 80, Interstate 29, the Loess Hills Scenic Byway, the Western Historic Trails Center and the Wabash Trace Nature Trail. Vincent Bluff, in Pottawattamie County, is one of the first things drivers on I-80 see as travellers cross the Missouri River into Iowa. The property also is directly adjacent to the area once known as Skyline City Park Drive and historic Boys Scout Point where many Scouting events including climbing contests and camp-outs were once held.

Oswald offers a final thought about the project and this moment: “The Society got its start in the early 1990s because of a passionate citizen’s response to the threat of soil mining to this very Hill. There’s just so much emotion, pride and passion tied to this place. But, one of our objectives from the very start has been to save this Hill by showing that if we could, we also could help Iowa ‘dress for success’ – meaning: if we truly want this area to become successful at attracting and retaining positive business investment, in the form of higher paying jobs, then we have to dress for the part. You wouldn’t go into a job interview wearing jeans and a t-shirt, so why would we, as Iowans, want the first impression others get of our state to be an unsightly dirt mine, or a junkyard?"

The dedication will be an incredibly touching and emotional time for everyone, says Oswald, "especially for those of us who roamed this hill and the ridge next to old Skyline Drive and Boy Scout Point when we were kids."

The Loess Hills Preservation Society is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization that works to protect the unique natural resources and landforms of the Loess Hills through education, land protection projects, sound land use planning and land acquisition. It is the mission of the Society to promote and utilize voluntary land protection methods and land acquisition to ensure that the Loess Hills' resource integrity continues for generations.

The Society has pioneered the use of positive, win-win approaches to conservation and protection and is credited with leading successful efforts to identify alternate cost-effective environmentally impact neutral sources of fill material for many of the large development projects completed in the areas. The Society also has co-hosted and co-founded the Council Bluffs fall festival known as Autumn in the Bluffs and has made many other positive impacts in the Loess Hills region.

Links and Contact Information:

Loess Hills Preservation Society, contact Terry Oswald, phone 712-310-7423

City of Council Bluffs Parks Recreation and Public Property Department, phone 712-328-4650

Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, phone 515-288-1846

Iowa Department of Natural Resources State Preserves

Though not open to the public, the conservation easement donated by Lee and Andrea Venteicher provides scenic views for travelers along County Road X26 in Allamakee County. The easement also protects two natural springs, caves, limestone outcroppings, woodlands and other diverse habitats. Darrell Mills/INHF

After talking with neighbor Curtis Lundy about the INHF conservation easement on his property, Lee and Andrea decided an easement with INHF would be the best way to permanently protect their land as well.

A fine example of northeast Iowa’s Driftless Area, the property contains caves, sinkholes, steep limestone outcroppings and two year-round springs. Woodlands, oak savanna and native prairie provide habitat for diverse species, including resting sites
for neotropical migratory birds on their cross-continental journey.

The Venteichers’ easement protects wildlife, water quality and scenic beauty. Its location adjoining another easement creates a valuable contiguous habitat complex. Together, their restrictions on development ensure this stretch of nature will remain wild.

“Our vision for the land is that it remain the same but with improvements to the degraded areas,” Lee said. “We hope to take what’s there now and refine it, to restore it to the way it was.” The couple is already controlling invasive species as the first step in a multi-year plan to restore the woodlands, savanna and native prairie.

Like other 2008 land or easement donors, the Venteichers are eligible for a new state income tax credit plus other charitable deductions. Meanwhile, they retain ownership of the land and can use it for their favorite outdoor activities: hiking, cross-country skiing and mountain biking.

In a nod to the land’s mystical qualities, or perhaps to reflect their sense of humor, the Venteichers reserved another land-use right: “Sasquatch observation.” Whether or not Bigfoot roams here, this land is certainly special.

The Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge near Prairie City gives visitors a taste of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem that once dominated our landscape. A popular school field trip destination, the refuge is also a great place for individuals and families to see native plant and animal species, including these American bison (Bison bison). INHF is partnering with the Friends of the Refuge and with refuge staff on a proposed 840-acre addition. Neal Smith NWR

That’s how INHF acquired 840 acres near Prairie City at a recent auction. Surrounded on three sides by the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, the property is within the refuge’s federally designated boundaries. INHF purchased this proposed addition at the request of the refuge’s staff and its nonprofit Friends group.

With support from our members and revolving fund donors, INHF and the Friends of Neal Smith Refuge each risked considerable funds and credit for the acquisition – a multimillion dollar leap of faith. We’re now working with Iowa’s congressional delegation to secure a federal appropriation for the site’s acquisition. Until funding is acquired, the property is owned by INHF and is not open for public use.

Why put so much money on the line?

The proposed addition contains native prairie remnants, oak savanna, the only unaltered section of Walnut Creek, plus crop and pasture land. Working with Refuge staff, INHF will begin restoration work during our ownership. When federal funds are available, all 840 acres eventually will be restored according to the Refuge’s master plan. In the interim, INHF is allowing the current tenant to continue farming some areas.

The acquisition is also valuable for its sheer size. If you’ve ever been to the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, you know it’s a work in progress – slowly growing in size and diversity. Now topping 5,400 acres, its creators envision 8,600 acres of restored tallgrass prairie, the ecosystem that once covered more than 20 million acres within Iowa alone! If you’ve never visited the Refuge, make a point of seeing this outstanding resource soon.

Then you can return in future years or decades to experience the improvements your membership dollars helped support – part of a grand vision to experience Iowa’s native landscape in something like its original scale.

An egret flies over the emergent plants on INHF’s latest acquisition, located in Lee County along (and within) the banks of the Mississippi River. Lee CCB

Known locally as “Linger Longer” and “Ortho Pocket,” the parcels had been privately leased for waterfowl hunting and bass fishing. A county purchase would provide public access to nearly a thousand acres of excellent wildlife habitat and recreation land.

Or, not land, exactly – at least not yet. The properties are, in fact, part of Pool 19 of the Upper Mississippi River and feature mostly open water with shallow backwaters full of emergent wetland vegetation. Based on current sedimentation rates, however, the land is expected to become primarily forested wetlands by 2055.

As part of the Mississippi River Flyway, the area provides rich habitat for a wide range of species, including waterfowl, songbirds, freshwater mussels, amphibians and reptiles. It already supports Indiana bats (Myotis sodalis), a federally endangered species, and the state endangered yellow mud turtle (Kinosternon flavescens). The new area is near Heron Bend Conservation Area, a previous INHF-Lee County partnership project.

INHF acquired the land by AmerenUE’s deadline, using our project reserve revolving fund. The county quickly secured a state wildlife habitat grant for 75 percent of the acquisition value. If a federal North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant comes through, the county could take ownership by late summer 2009. State and local chapters of Pheasants Forever and the local Three Rivers Conservation Foundation are also providing financial support.

AmerenUE retains “flowage rights,” which means the area will continue to provide floodway for the Mississippi in high water seasons – a public benefit that extends well beyond its boundaries.

“This land will not be developed,” said Tom Buckley, director of the Lee County Conservation Board. “Part of this area’s natural function is to serve as a buffer area during floods. That will help maintain its habitat values and also protect downstream properties into the future.”

Blue-winged teal (Anas discors) Carl Kurtz

“This field wanted to be a wetland,” said Bruce Mountain, INHF’s land projects director. So the landowners, INHF and several partners granted its wish and reclaimed these 135 acres as a bird mecca.

INHF helped the state acquire the property as an addition to Eagle Lake Wetland Complex, a mosaic of about 1,000 acres. Its 50-acre wetland basin is being restored through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wetlands Reserve Program. The site also contains grasslands and some timber.

Located within the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture, this project qualified for grant funds from the federal North American Waterfowl Conservation Act.

Eagle Lake Wetlands is recognized as a Bird Conservation Area by the Iowa DNR’s Wildlife Diversity Program, highlighting its importance for diverse grassland and wetland birds, including blue-winged teal, bobolink, dickcissel, herons and even trumpeter swans. The new addition is being proposed as a waterfowl refuge, which would restrict public access from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31 every year. Limited hunting would be allowed outside of this time period.

Before the area was drained and farmed, it was a popular spot for hunting camps early in the 1900s. Archaeological evidence indicates it was also a popular encampment for Native Americans, who must have valued its abundant game, fish and edible plants. The Rasmuson family had owned the land for several generations, and they requested a public purchase to permanently protect the natural values of the land they still remember as Wood Lake.

The Rasmuson addition meets some unique habitat needs identified as critical for waterfowl and grassland birds, according to Greg Hanson, a DNR wildlife biologist. A recent study found that the best sites for increasing bird counts contain large wetland basins (at least 20 acres), varied wetland types and grassland buffers connected to larger grasslands. The new addition meets all these needs, providing more secure nesting cover and better food sources for diverse bird species.

The late Lottie and Hans Skow pose on their Dickinson County farm. Because Lottie loved native flowers, she didn’t permit her husband or son to plow a small prairie remnant on their property. Her son and his wife, Ernie and Edna Skow, donated the remnant to INHF with a reserved life estate. In this undated photo, Hans is holding a bouquet of wood lilies (Lilium philadelphicum), a species now documented in only a few Iowa counties.

Ernie and Edna Skow wanted their grandchildren to experience and appreciate a part of Iowa’s natural heritage, which is why in 1985 they took steps to protect a tiny prairie remnant on their farm near Lake Park in Dickinson County.

Named “Flowering Hill Prairie” by Ernie’s mother, Lottie, this two-acre prairie was resplendent with wildflowers. The remnant, part of a 160-acre farm purchased by Lottie and her husband, Hans, in 1907, was originally preserved by two accidents of nature – it lay on a hillside and adjoined a slough.

As Ernie related to us in 1985, farmers had for some time felt the pressure to put every acre into production. The remnant was spared, however, because Lottie “enjoyed the flowers and the wildlife and it came to the point that she wouldn’t let Dad plow it up.”

Later, when Ernie and Edna assumed responsibility for the farming operation, Ernie recalled that he, too, began to feel pressured to plow fencerow-to-fencerow, but “Mother insisted that we fence the prairie to keep the cows out, so we went even further and it stayed a totally native piece of land … and respected.”

Edna added her recollection of the occasion: “One reason we put the fence up was because Ernie’s mother and I thought Ernie was farming a little closer to the prairie each year.”

The protection of Flowering Hill Prairie had its roots in the pleasure Lottie took in its beauty. Ernie and Edna secured its preservation by donating the prairie to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation while retaining a life estate so they could continue to enjoy and steward it during their lifetimes.

Ernie died in 2003 and Edna in 2008. Now it’s INHF’s turn to care for this wisp of a prairie so that the Skows’ grandchildren – and others – can experience and appreciate this part of Iowa’s natural heritage.

The Scuffhams were honored during a reception at the State Capitol. Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Richard Leopold and legislators spoke and presented certificates. The event was the first of its kind, held as a result of a law passed in 2008 to express public appreciation for voluntary land protection. The gifts represented different types and levels of land conservation donations across the state.

The Scuffhams made a generous bargain sale of 128 acres that will eventually be an addition to Kossuth County’s Hurlburt Wildlife Area, part of the East Fork of the Des Moines River Greenbelt. The land contains river-bottom timber and an area of brome hay that will be restored to prairie. The project will make it possible to establish a 315-acre contiguous stretch of public protected land.

The Scuffham addition is not yet open to the public. The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation acquired the property, with plans for eventual transfer to the Kossuth County Conservation Board.

KCCB Director Kendall Stumme said the Kossuth County Conservation Board appreciates the patience and willingness of the Scuffham families in working with the KCCB and INHF in protecting this unique tract.

In all, 41 Iowa landowners chose to permanently protect their natural lands in 2008, donating some or all of their land value. A map and descriptions of these gifts can be viewed at the IDNR's website.

INHF is a nonprofit conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect more than 100,000 acres of Iowa’s wild places. Other INHF projects in Kossuth County include Maynard Reece Marsh, Eagle Lake Wildlife Area and Smith Forest.

Family members of the late Arnold E. and Agnes E. Bruggeman, landowners in Dubuque County, were among a group of Iowans recognized by Governor Chet Culver on April 6 in a proclamation marking the first annual “Gift to Iowa’s Future Day.” The landowners and their gifts were honored at a reception at the Iowa State Capitol. Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Richard Leopold and legislators spoke and presented certificates.

The event was the first of its kind, held as a result of a law passed in 2008 to express appreciation for voluntary land protection. The landowners’ gifts represented different types and levels of donations across the state.

The Bruggeman family contributed a 72-acre conservation easement near Dubuque that will protect a diverse upland timber area with a scenic bluff, ponds and a natural spring. The easement fulfilled Arnold and Agnes’ intentions as expressed in their will. The family contacted the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit conservation group, to request assistance in designing the easement. The Dubuque County Conservation Board will own and manage the property.

“The heirs deserve a lot of credit,” said Brian Preston, DCCB executive director. “They embraced this request and saw it through in the short time-frame indicated in the bequest.”

The Bruggeman family has had a longtime interest in land conservation, according to Preston. Arnold was widely known as a logger as well as a conservationist, and a forestry scholarship at Iowa State University carried his name for several years. The county conservation board will monitor the easement into the future to ensure the terms of the agreement are followed.

In all, 41 Iowa landowners chose to permanently protect their natural lands in 2008, donating some or all of their land value. A map and descriptions of these gifts can be viewed at the DNR's website.

INHF works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. For more information about easements or other methods of permanent land protection, visit www.inhf.org or call 515-288-1846. Iowans can request a free copy of “The Landowner’s Options,” a guide published by INHF, or read it online.

Ray and Patti Hamilton purchased this site, once slated for a large-scale hog operation, to protect its prairie remnants. To protect this treasure beyond their lifetimes, the couple sold the site to INHF at a bargain price – for eventual transfer to the Jones County Conservation Board. Jones County Conservation Board

Ray has been active with groups including The Nature Conservancy and Iowa Prairie Network, and he helped INHF and the Jones County Conservation Board launch the restoration of Breen Prairie Farm. Together, the Hamiltons have acquired and are restoring a fen wetland in Fayette County and a prairie in Jackson County. Ray even wrote a book, The Native Prairie Management Guide, to pass on his experience to others.

One of Ray and Patti’s special projects has been the restoration of a diverse, pristine prairie in eastern Jones County. They bought the property 15 years ago to save its fields of shooting stars from becoming a large-scale hog lot. The couple and their three children – now grown – meticulously cared for the five-acre remnant and protected about 30 surrounding acres.

The site’s prairie, savanna and woodlands are at the “biological and geological crossroads of the region,” Ray said. Plants considered “northern” are found here at the southern tip of their range, near species usually found much farther south.

After decades of personal investment, the family wanted to protect their special place beyond their lifetimes. The Hamiltons sold the prairie to INHF, donating a significant portion of the land’s value in honor of their parents, Dr. Henry and Virginia Hamilton and John and Lee Mulvaney. The new Iowa tax credit for charitable gifts of conservation land helped make their gift more affordable.

INHF is interim owner of the land. The Jones County Conservation Board and Pheasants Forever Twin Rivers Chapter are raising funds to purchase the site for public enjoyment.

“We are tremendously pleased to be working with INHF and the conservation board to protect this treasure,” said the Hamiltons. “They will be good managers for its long-term care.”

George and Alliene Schrimper on their land in Winneshiek County.
Darrel Mills / INHF

It may not be big, but George and Alliene Schrimper’s Winneshiek County property is an important part of preserving wildness in this corner of the state.

Their 44 acres northeast of Highlandville are adjacent to public land owned by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, including the North Bear trout stream complex. The Schrimpers, whose permanent residence is in Iowa City, knew the significance of the property’s location.

George and Alliene have permanently protected their land with a conservation easement, a voluntary protection agreement in which they retain ownership but give up certain land-use rights. They donated the easement to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit conservation group. INHF will monitor the property annually to ensure the Schrimpers and all future owners comply with the easement’s terms.

INHF tailors conservation easements for each landowner and property, with the goal of protecting that site’s unique resources. The Schrimpers’ easement sets a baseline for agricultural usage, while prohibiting building construction, mining, grazing and subdivision. Like other conservation easements, it allows the Schrimpers to use the land for private recreation.

Although the property is not open to the public, the easement has public benefits. It directly protects public water quality and recreation. As part of the Bear Creek watershed, water flows from the Schrimpers’ property into the public trout fishing area downstream. The easement also protects wildlife habitat and open space, and provides a buffer for the adjacent public land.

George, the former director of the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History, and Alliene are fascinated by the area’s past. George has gathered and written about its natural and cultural history, from Native Americans to Norwegian settlers.

The couple’s awareness of the land’s past and their experiences there make it special to them. They have “forged many wonderful memories of fishing in the stream, hunting, studying nature, and enjoying the abundant wildlife,” George said. The two are avid trout anglers, and they serve as IOWATER volunteer water quality monitors for North and South Bear Creek.

The Schrimpers want to make the land even more special for those who follow them. To enhance its conservation value, they’ve planted more trees, shrubs and native grasses. Their conviction that protecting their land was “the right thing to do” led them to donate a conservation easement to INHF.

“We see this easement as benefiting future generations by preserving the watershed and the natural qualities,” George said. “It has been a great pleasure to work with the Foundation staff. Our only regret is that the property is not 10 times larger.”

“The Schrimpers have a longstanding conservation ethic, and this easement formalizes their wishes to protect their land,” said Darrel Mills, INHF’s blufflands conservation coordinator. “Each conservation easement is individually drafted to fit the landowner’s unique approach. We invite anyone interested in protecting high-quality natural lands to talk with the Foundation about how we can help.”

INHF works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect more than 100,000 acres of Iowa’s natural resources. INHF has protected numerous public and private sites in Winneshiek County, particularly along the Upper Iowa River.

Conservation easements are one of several possibilities for protecting land outlined in The Landowner’s Options, a book published by INHF and available free online or by mail.

Since 1993, INHF has helped our partners add 6,030 acres to the 9,100-acre Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt, located just northeast of Des Moines. INHF purchased our 34th Chichaqua addition in 2008, but it could be several years before our public partners have the funding to purchase it. Three of our earlier acquisitions (dating back to 2005) will transfer to public ownership and use in 2009. Chichaqua is just one of many greenbelts that INHF has helped protect along Iowa rivers, including the Cedar, Raccoon, Des Moines, Big Sioux, Wapsipinicon, Iowa, Upper Iowa, Chariton, Missouri and others. INHF

The Floods of 1993 devastated parts of the Skunk (Chichaqua) River valley – inundating its farms and draining its economy.

When the Floods of 2008 struck the same area, it was just part of the natural cycle in the growing Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt.

In the intervening 15 years, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation worked in this valley alongside Polk County Conservation, the Iowa DNR, dozens of private landowners and other conservation groups to convert natural disasters to natural resources – and we’re not done yet!

Varied benefits
Straddling Polk and Jasper counties along the Skunk River, the Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt now contains more than 9,100 acres of wetlands and associated uplands. It is owned and managed by Polk County Conservation and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Pheasants Forever chapters have provided significant acquisition funds, along with Ducks Unlimited and other organizations.

This huge complex (extending almost 10 river miles) contains diverse habitats: Waterfowl and otters thrive in the low areas, wild turkeys and deer in the riverine woodlands, and Blanding’s turtles and Henslow’s sparrows in the sandy uplands.

Located just minutes from Des Moines, Chichaqua also supports diverse public uses: a large public hunting area, a wildlife refuge (no hunting), a dog-training area and trap-shooting range, canoe and lodge rental, camping, picnicking, a bike trail and – coming soon – a canoe access and primitive canoe campsite along the Skunk River.

“Chichaqua is a magical place that rarely fails to surprise and delight visitors. We are very appreciative of the major role INHF has played in helping it grow, develop and mature into a true landscape-scale restoration project,” said Doug Sheeley, Polk County Conservation Natural Resources Supervisor and staff-in-residence at Chichaqua Bottoms.

Piecing it together
With Chichaqua, as with many of our other land projects, the Foundation specializes in solving problems for our public and private partners.

INHF helps private landowners by purchasing when the they are ready to sell, helping them navigate complicated government programs like the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), assisting with like-kind exchanges of more suitable farm ground, and other services.

Our partner services for public conservation agencies can include temporary ownership (from months to years) while they raise acquisition funds, land restoration assistance and fundraising.

“INHF and our Chichaqua partners took lots of very flood-prone ground out of production – helping farmers and restoring a very large wildlife complex,” said Bruce Mountain, INHF’s land projects director. “And it’s all within a few miles of Iowa’s largest metro area!”

The WRP’s role in wetlands protection
“The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) has been a major factor in converting flood-prone ground to wetland complexes,” said INHF’s Bruce Mountain. “It’s hard to imagine how Chichaqua and many other wetlands could exist without it.”

The WRP program is administered by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. The program purchases the agricultural and development rights on the land and places a permanent easement on the property to ensure these rights are not exercised in the future. Farmers can then sell the land, subject to the easement, to public or private conservation groups – and use the proceeds from both transactions to buy more suitable crop ground or other investments. Meanwhile, WRP helps fund land restoration.

“INHF has played a major role in WRP’s success because we’ve been able to assist private landowners and public partners in helping the program fit their needs,” added Mountain. “Together, we’ve helped make Iowa a national leader in wetland restoration.”

More information about visiting the site:

Polk County Conservation Board

Maps/Directions

Make campsite reservations

More info

Cathy Engstrom is INHF's Director of Communications.

Last year, nearly 20,000 people visited Hitchcock Nature Area, an INHF project site now owned and managed by the Pottawattamie County Conservation Board. Hitchcock is the hub of PCCB’s outstanding environmental education programs. Pottawattamie County Conservation

Pottawattamie County Conservation staff are implementing an ambitious 50-year plan to restore Hitchcock’s natural balance, as on this prairie-covered ridge. Pottawattamie County Conservation

Working from a 45-foot tower attached to the Hitchcock Nature Center, dedicated volunteers observe the skies daily from Sept. 1 to Dec. 20. They identify and count up to 20 species of hawks, other raptors and vultures – and report their findings to a national database. Visitors are welcome to climb the tower, chat with the observers and scan the skies for themselves. Pottawattamie County Conservation

Eight years and one proposed landfill later, Camp Hitchcock near Council Bluffs is now protected!

So begins an article in the Winter 1991 edition of the Iowa Natural Heritage magazine. As part of the Foundation’s 30th anniversary celebration in 2009, we’re revisiting former projects to explore their past, present and future. We begin with what’s now called the Hitchcock Nature Area, owned and managed by the Pottawattamie County Conservation Board.

A shaky start
“The front end of this story is one of patience and persistence,” said Mark Ackelson, INHF president. In other words, things did not begin well.

In the 1980s, INHF and Pottawattamie County began negotiations to purchase the YMCA’s (inactive) Camp Hitchcock. At the last minute, we were outbid by an out-of-state buyer who paid far above the appraised value.

Undaunted, the partners opened talks with the new owner, who initially promised various protection methods. As the owner’s financial situation worsened, however, he explored increasingly desperate options. Without warning or permits, he began bulldozing the unstable loess soils to create a landfill, which he hoped to fill (and fund) with trash from Iowa and beyond.

The destruction “raised a firestorm of resistance from a number of residents, the historical society and others,” said Lynn Ford, who chaired the Pottawattamie County Conservation Board (PCCB) during this period. “These hills are part of our quality of life.”

When the zoning commission denied permission for the landfill, the owner defaulted on his loans and fled. INHF purchased the site at a sheriff’s sale in early 1991. The closing was postponed for several nail-biting months when the bank holding the loans also went bankrupt.

Meanwhile, Pottawattamie County citizens and businesses raised funds to help purchase the site, and it officially opened to the public later that year. The county converted the original bulldozer damage to some of the park’s first prairie restorations and trails, a transformation that Ford calls “kind of poetic.”

Hitchcock today
From the initial purchase of 508 acres, Hitchcock now tops 1,100 acres – with more additions planned. Some neighboring landowners have also protected their private land, buffering the park and expanding its wildlife habitat. INHF has assisted with several of these public and private expansions.

Nearly 20,000 visitors enjoyed Hitchcock last year. Of these, nearly 4,000 people – mostly kids – attended one of the park’s many public educational programs. Others enjoyed hiking, camping, birding, hunting and other activities. (See sidebar on planning your visit.)

“Hitchcock offers something for everyone – at every level,” notes Tina Popson, PCCB program manager. “People who stand on the deck and simply admire the view walk away with as much enthusiasm as those who hike on our steepest and longest trail.”

But there’s still work to be done.

“Over 150 years of fire suppression has upset the natural balance of the Loess Hills here,” notes Chad Graeve, PCCB natural resource specialist. “We’re now engaged in a 50-year restoration regime – not trying to get back to what it was but making it healthy.”

Hitchcock someday
Graeve, other staff and volunteers have devoted thousands of hours to conducting planned burns, removing invasive brush and planting native species. Native vegetation and wildlife populations are already responding favorably.

But as Chad considers his children – a three-year-old daughter and newborn son – he dreams further ahead. Chad and the county hope that Hitchcock someday encompasses about 2,100 acres, enough to function more like the original landscape.

“We won’t be done with the 50-year-restoration by the time my kids are my age, but I hope they’ll see a lot healthier place: more grass and more sun in the system,” Chad said. “And at some point, maybe by then, I hope they see bison and elk roaming around – and visitors who really appreciate the place and the hills.”

Experience Hitchcock
Whether you seek an easy, accessible introduction to the Loess Hills or an in-depth experience, Hitchcock Nature Area has something for you.

Most visitors begin at the Hitchcock Nature Center, with its indoor displays, equal-access boardwalk and large deck that provides stunning vistas of the Loess Hills and Missouri River floodplain.

Feeling more adventurous? Check out the park’s many trails, spanning a range of distances and difficulty. Other park activities include camping (tent, RV or cabin), birding, cross-country skiing and limited hunting.

PCCB’s staff offers a wide variety of educational opportunities for all ages. In addition to school field trips and day camps, they host dozens of public educational activities every year. Check out their online calendar for events like these: monarch butterfly tagging, Early Bird Walks, the Night Sky Series and others. The annual Hawk Watch Weekend, loaded with events for all ages, is held the last weekend of September.

For more information, contact Hitchcock Nature Center staff at 712-545-3283, or visit the PCCB website.

Cathy Engstrom is INHF’s Communications Director.

Fundraising goals have been met for the new Iowa River Wildlife Area in Marshall County. With that good news, it opens to the public Sept. 1, 2008, with a dedication, Sept. 6 at 10 a.m. Located about 1.5 miles northwest of Marshalltown, the 485-acre IRWA includes forest, prairie and wetland habitats and more than a mile of shoreline along the Iowa River. The mature woodland will be known as the Lowenberg Memorial Forest.

The area was previously known as the Hollingsworth Project.

Details

One of the most pristine forested areas in Marshall County, it has few invasive species and is known to have Turk's cap lily and green dragon plants. The mature woodlands, riparian areas and open space support deer, wild turkeys, pileated woodpeckers and many other species. It is known to contain a great blue heron rookerty, a wintering area for bald eagles and a nesting site for red-shouldered hawks, a state-endangered species.

The original 330-acre property was purchased by INHF from Carl Hollingsworth. An additional 155 adjacent acres of restored wetland habitat were added to the project area when the Iowa Department of Transportation’s transferred the land as a wetland mitigation area to compensate for wetlands destroyed due to road construction. Transfer of the land made sense for long-term management by one agency, according to Marshall County Conservation Board Director Mike Stegmann, who said the areas complement each other to maximize the potential for wildlife production.

Land management is underway at the site. Plans and work have started on the parking lot, public access and boundary markings. Degraded buildings and internal fences have been removed. County Conservation personnel will also conduct burns to nurture and assess any remaining native prairie. The area is designated as a game management area, and management will focus on natural lands reclamation and preservation. Most of the area will be open to public hunting, along with many other compatible activities such as hiking, bird watching, outdoor photography, and nature study. No designated trails will be managed on the area.

Support

About half the project's funding came from two state programs: the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) and Wildlife Habitat Stamp programs, both competitive grants. Private funding included $100,000 from an anonymous couple. Other key supporters include the Martha-Ellen Tye foundation, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever, Marshall County Ducks Unlimited, tributes to John S. Lowenberg and many local families and companies. INHF provided grant-writing, fundraising assistance and interim ownership. INHF has prvided similar services for many other Marshall County Conservation sites, including Sand Lake and Marietta Sand Prairie.

Directions

To drive to the site: Go North on North Center Street out of Marshalltown to Sand Road. Turn West (left) on Sand Road. Proceed west approximately three-quarters of a mile to the parking area on the south side of Sand Road. See map.

Project links

• August 2008 News - Iowa River Wildlife Area
• Iowa River Wildlife Area Dedication
• Summer 2006 INHF article - Bigger ... and different

John S. Lowenberg of Ames was a long-time member of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. He loved the land of Iowa, as well as beekeeping,mushrooming and monitoring a large bluebird trail in central Iowa. His curiosity and interest in land and nature knew no bounds.

When he passed away in 2007, gifts in John's memory were directed to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. Also, John left a bequest for the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation to be used for our work and mission in whatever way we deemed best. Working with John's widow, Kathie Oulman, we decided to use the tribute gifts and a portion of John's bequest to support protection and restoration at the Iowa River Wildlife Area north of Marshalltown.

To honor this support, the Marshall County Conservation Board is designating a portion of the wildlife area as "John S. Lowenberg Forest." We're grateful for their cooperation in creating this lasting tribute, and we can all be grateful to conservationist John Lowenberg for this natural legacy.

Project links

• August 2008 News - Iowa River Wildlife Area
• Iowa River Wildlife Area Background
• Summer 2006 INHF article - Bigger ... and different

INHF has helped knit another 180 acres into the Colo Bog Wetlands Complex, thanks to two recent purchases and a related land trade.

Colo Bog, situated in eastern Story County, was molded by the advance and retreat of the Wisconsin glacier 13,000 years ago. Though early settlers and road builders cursed the landscape’s myriad, poorly drained depressions, generations have valued its abundant wildlife. More recently, soil scientists value pollen records buried in the bog’s peat layers, a hidden historical record of the region’s plants and climate.

The dream starts small
In a 1999 Nevada Journal column, Story County Pheasants Forever member and neighbor Hank Zaletel described the area’s history and diverse habitat, which is used by “thousands of geese and waterfowl in early spring. Then, in May,” he wrote, “the sloping hills east of Colo are dotted with thousands of Lesser Golden Plover, while the shallow potholes yield hundreds of shorebirds. Pheasant and Gray Partridge abound.”

The first step to acquire this diverse conservation area took place in 1995 when the local Pheasants Forever chapter purchased just eight acres of marsh and 17 acres of upland, deeding them to the Story County Conservation Board. With the latest of eight total acquisitions, Colo Bog Wildlife Management Area has grown to 450 acres, all protected for recreation and water quality benefits.

A dream needs many partners
The local chapter and Iowa Council of Pheasants Forever and the Story County Conservation Board have led efforts to protect the bog, aided by partners ranging from Ducks Unlimited to the Big Bluestem Audubon Society. INHF acquired 140 acres from Andy Swanson through a land trade and purchased 40 acres from Joe and Phyllis Harper. Our roles included interim ownership and other technical assistance.

Public partners include the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service through its Wetlands Reserve Program. The Iowa Department of Transportation also supported the project as mitigation for wetland losses caused by improvements to U.S. Highway 30.

Portions of the Colo Bog Wildlife Management Area are now owned by Story County and the Iowa DNR, and management is shared. Dikes have been built and tile lines broken to restore wetlands. Native grasses have been planted on the upland prairies. As the changes reveal the original character of the landscape, outdoor enthusiasts like Hank Zaletel see a lifetime dream being realized.

The new Cortright Wildlife Area, located near Littleton, lies within a Protected Water Area, proposed Bird Conservation Area and Water Trail. Bordered by the Wapsipinicon River, above. Buchanan County Conservation Bo

Now owned and managed by the Buchanan County Conservation Board (BCCB), the 152-acre site includes a mile of Wapsipinicon River frontage, five fishable ponds, floodplain wetlands and more than 100 acres of native timber. To increase the site’s diversity, BCCB plans to convert 30 acres of cropland to upland prairie.

But wait—there’s more. The site is located within three larger conservation areas:

• a segment of the Wapsipinicon River designated as one of Iowa’s five Protected Water Areas;
• a newly designated Water Trail that will feature signage, educational materials and other aids for local and visiting paddlers; and
• the Iowa DNR’s newest proposed Bird Conservation Area.

A well-known INHF project created after the last major Midwestern flood offers lessons for floodplain recovery today and in the future.

The Horseshoe Bend Division of Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge was born after the flood of 1993. Previously known as Levee District 8, or LD8, the new public area is located in Louisa County. It’s on the Iowa River floodplain a few miles upstream from the Mississippi River.

Response to repeated flooding
LD8’s 13 landowners faced some tough decisions back in ’93. Though they’d been flooded repeatedly over the years, the problems were becoming more frequent and costly. That year, floodwaters broke the levee at two points, depositing large amounts of sand and debris and scouring many deep holes. Levee repairs and land restoration costs were estimated at $2.7 million.

In response, INHF and other partners found an innovative solution that became a national model. Landowners were given the chance to enroll the flood-prone land in permanent easements through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new Emergency Wetlands Reserve Program, and most seized the opportunity. INHF played a pivotal role, working with landowners and public agencies to acquire the properties and subsequently transferring them to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Fish & Wildlife Foundation and The Conservation Fund provided needed interim funding. This permanent solution cost less than repairing the 1993 damage.

Effects of 2008 floods
Today, Horseshoe Bend’s unique mosaic of grassland, wet meadow and oxbow lakes supports a diverse mix of fish and wildlife.

When flooding hit the area in 2008, local towns and roads suffered once again. However, this time there were no levees or fields within LD8 to repair and no disaster payments required to cover crop losses there.

According to Refuge Director Tom Cox, the damage on old LD8 lands from this year’s floods was minimal because there was little infrastructure to worry about. Though some species were hit hard — especially ground-nesting birds — Cox expects them to recover in a couple of years.

Rod and Nancy Bakken’s easement in Winneshiek and Howard Counties will protect the viewshed and water quality of the Upper Iowa River, as well as Bigalk Creek. Joe McGovern/INHF

Rod Bakken and his wife, Nancy Bakken, both of Ames, recently donated a conservation easement on 278 acres in Winneshiek and Howard counties. Their easement protects the property’s natural and agricultural features from development and other non-compatible uses.

“One of Rod’s values was keeping some crop ground as crop ground and wandering spaces as wandering spaces. Both of those seem to be in decline,” Nancy Bakken said.

The Bakken property contains plenty of “wandering spaces.” Its diverse woodlands and oak savanna are divided by the winding Upper Iowa River, with a mile of shoreline on one side of the river and a half-mile on the other side. Bigalk Creek, a coldwater trout stream, also flows through the property.

“The opportunity for people to be in wild places is getting scarcer. As that happens, it becomes even more important to preserve wild places,” Rod Bakken said. “I don’t think wild places are an extra in life. I think they’re a necessity in life.”

Growing up near Ledges State Park and the McCoy Wildlife Management Area, the Adams kids spent plenty of time outdoors. Their father, Harold Adams, farmed and worked for the Iowa Conservation Commission (now the Iowa DNR) at the Boone Wildlife Exhibit. There, Harold took care of the animals, gave occasional tours and mentored student interns from Iowa State University.

This rapport with wildlife and nature was instilled in his son Don and daughter Nancy at a young age. It even led Don to his own 20-year career in conservation: teaching outdoor education, minimum-impact camping and wilderness ethics to teens and adults, as part of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in Lander, Wyoming.

Don and Nancy inherited the land where they once explored an abandoned homestead, looked for Indian artifacts, and searched for mushrooms and the first spring flowers. Today these 44 acres are part of a certified organic farm that is managed by Don and his wife, Nan Bonfils. Its pasture holds a decades-old bluebird box trail, while short-eared and long-eared owls winter-roost nearby.

The siblings planned to sell the property, but they first wanted to protect its natural resources—while protecting the eastern border of the McCoy Wildlife Management Area from unwise development.

As 2007 closed, Don Adams and his wife of rural Madrid, along with Nancy and her husband, Donald Ross, of Boone donated a conservation easement to INHF on this site. They feel the easement donation is both “the right thing to do” and a fitting tribute to their father.

“I’m so happy things worked out the way they did,” noted Nancy. “This is exactly what my father would have wanted.”

A BioBlitz participant nets, identifies and releases dragonflies. Experts and novices, working in our BioBlitz events, have already helped us identify more than 900 species at Heritage Valley. Cathy Engstrom/INHF

Participants identified diverse mussel species in the segment of the Upper Iowa River that dissects Heritage Valley. The 1,224 acres we purchased from the Forrest and Gladys Ryan estate contain diverse plant and wildlife communities. Cathy Engstrom/INHF

However, due to Forrest’s legendary ability to discourage trespassers, conservationists had only anecdotal stories about the biological and geological treasures his land might contain. We purchased the area with great expectations.

Luckily, Iowa’s conservation community is known for both its intellectual curiosity and its generosity. Members of the Iowa Natural History Association volunteered to help our staff organize a BioBlitz or “rapid inventory assessment.” Together, we recruited volunteers with expertise in everything from fish to fungi. We were thrilled by the number of naturalists willing to give up two weekends to help out: experts from colleges, universities, public agencies, private organizations, clubs and more.

We invited experts only to our first BioBlitz in May so that we could perfect the inventory process. At the second round in July, experts and novices worked side by side, swinging nets at dragonflies, checking live traps for small mammals, floating on innertubes to look for mussels or poring over woodland plant guides to identify an unusual fern. Between forays, they’d excitedly gather around microscopes to view tiny lichen or insects — and everyone became a nature geek, at least for the day.

Thanks to all these volunteers, we’ve now inventoried more than 900 species on site. In addition to expanding statewide species research, this data is helping INHF staff develop the most appropriate land stewardship plan for this diverse property. The site is currently not open to the public, except for special events.

Starting in 2008, we’ll plant filter strips along the river, remove invasive brush from the hillside prairies and plant 31,000 trees in select river bottom areas. In an attempt to create a large contiguous block of oak/hickory woodland, we’re restoring two small, former crop fields in the middle of the existing hilltop woodland. We’re hoping to provide higher quality habitat for forest interior birds like the Cerulean Warbler, just one of the at-risk species documented during the BioBlitz.

Who knows what wild things we’ll find in our 2008 BioBlitz events?

Lorna Caulkins examines the winter remains of a compass plant, one of the tallest native prairie plants. Doug and Lorna Caulkins protected 239 acres of land in Mahaska County through a conservation easement. INHF

In December of 1998, the Grinnell couple bought 239 acres in Mahaska County, near New Sharon. The Caulkins named their land “Y Gwyndwn,” a Welsh phrase that means “the unplowed land.” Welsh and Scottish immigrants originally settled the area.

“Of course, it has been plowed. The prairie was destroyed,” said Doug. “We have replanted the prairie and made a promise that it once again will be an unplowed land.”

The couple has worked tirelessly to reconstruct the land’s natural splendor by planting 85 acres of prairie. They know that they have even more work ahead, especially in managing the woods. Eventually, the Caulkins hope to have schoolchildren and other groups tour their land to learn about Iowa’s natural heritage.

The Caulkins ensured that their land would remain protected by donating a conservation easement to INHF. Their easement will protect the oak savanna, native prairie remnants, reconstructed prairie, and wetlands along Buck Creek, which flows through the property.

“It would be sad if Iowans had no idea of what the prairies and oak savannas looked like,” Doug Caulkins said. “We want to do our part to preserve some of the plant communities native to the state.”

If you knew Richard S. (Sandy) Rhodes II, you knew his passion for prairies.

Bitten by the prairie bug at mid-life, Sandy soon became a regular volunteer on local restorations. His fierce dedication to the cause of protecting Iowa’s precious prairie remnants was backed up by countless hours of hands-on labor.

In 1997 Sandy and two friends, Judy Felder and Mary Brown, purchased a rough farm and patiently set about restoring the native prairie hiding within its overgrazed pastures. Today “Indiangrass Hills” is a growing natural oasis in Iowa County.

Stricken with cancer in 2005, Sandy spent his final months ensuring that their hard work would endure and expand. The three co-owners donated a conservation easement on the property to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. They donated the land itself — with individual reserved life estates — to INHF.

Sandy also provided for the land’s future health through his estate. INHF’s new Richard S. (Sandy) Rhodes II Fund will help to acquire and restore native prairie remnant sites, including Indiangrass Hills, well into the future.

Much of the gift provides annual income, in perpetuity, for continued land stewardship at Indiangrass Hills.

Another portion helped INHF purchase additional quality natural areas, with land management goals in keeping with Indiangrass Hills. They are Kothenbeutel Prairie, Wildin Prairie North and Faust Farm.

The final portion of the estate donation ensures that Sandy’s goals are shared with future generations. The new Rhodes Interns, part of INHF’s summer land stewardship crew, will work at Indiangrass Hills, the three sites named above and about 20 other natural areas each year.

“Sandy believed that committed stewardship is just as important as ownership in ensuring long-term health and protection for natural areas,” said Joe McGovern, INHF’s Land Stewardship Director. “His estate gift ensures that we’ll always have the financial and people resources to properly manage Indiangrass Hills, the three properties he helped us purchase and many others throughout the state.”

When he retired from the power company at age 65, Floyd Sherburne and wife Florence — ignoring everyone’s advice — struck out to build a new life in the country.

Working mostly alone — with limited money, limited training and unlimited self-sufficiency — Floyd set about building their new home. He gathered stones where farmers had piled them in fields, carried them to the house-site in five-gallon buckets, and eventually created a two-story fireplace that served as the home’s only heat source for decades. He and Florence always planted a huge garden and lived off its produce year-round. The couple maintained this lifestyle for 31 years, even as health problems began to take a toll.

When doctors insisted that Florence must have full-time care in late 2007, 98-year-old Floyd knew what he had to do: move together to the local care center and pay for it by immediately selling their special home and its 10 acres.

Because the Sherburne property is within the Springbrook State Park boundaries, the DNR wanted to buy it, and Sherburne wanted them to have it. Unable to meet Sherburne’s need for an immediate sale, DNR officials called INHF. Within days, we met with Floyd and signed the papers. Floyd teared up during the signing— his sadness mingled with relief that the land and house would be protected.

INHF will hold the land until the DNR raises the necessary acquisition funds, hopefully later this year. Their home will become Sherburne Lodge, which park visitors will be able to rent for overnight stays.

Florence has since passed away, and Floyd is now living with their daughter in Georgia. Park manager Carolyn Hack has reserved Sherburne Lodge for Floyd to celebrate his 100th birthday there in May 2009.

Inside the Dubuque city limits and just upstream from the Mines of Spain State Recreation Area, you’ll find the Catfish Creek valley and its confluence with Swiss Valley Creek. The valley’s wooded bluffs, former lead mines and limestone outcroppings form a significant natural wildlife greenbelt within the city, complete with neotropical migratory songbirds.

Saving this valley has been David Hartig’s persistent goal since he first bought land there 40 years ago. He appreciates the open space it provides him and other Dubuque residents. He allows visitors to walk through and enjoy his land, and some have helped him plant trees there. He especially loves its highest point, where you can view forest for up to ten miles.

Back in 1981, David was the first Iowan to donate a conservation easement to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, protecting a portion of the land he owned. He donated three additional easements in the 1980s, long before this land protection method was fully “discovered” in Iowa. David has since purchased several linking pieces of the valley. His 2007 conservation easement brings his protected total to 110 acres.

David especially credits his father for his appreciation of the land. He says, “It begins when you’re young, especially when your parents encourage those values.”

Like the Native Americans whose former encampment sites dot the rolling landscape along the Raccoon River, Jerry Kuehn thinks this part of Dallas County is special.

Back in 1982, Jerry worked with Mark Ackelson and a young Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation to help the Dallas County Conservation Board create a protection plan for the area. Kuehn sold 303 acres to the county at 40% of its value, helping establish a place where the public could share his enjoyment of the land.

For the next two decades, Jerry urged and worked for more protection of natural lands near this core. His “day job” was at the Iowa Attorney General’s office, but his consistent focus was on this special place.

The park doubled in size. It’s now one of Dallas County’s most popular areas used for camping, hiking, fishing and education; a popular canoe take-out spot; and the site of the annual “Prairie Awakening” Native American celebration.

But Jerry still owned land adjoining the park, and he wasn’t done yet. When his neighbor’s land was offered for sale, Jerry bought it to make sure the county had a chance to add both properties to the park. He then offered the ridge at one-third of its appraised value, and INHF secured a REAP Public/Private grant to cover the balance in 2007. Jerry’s sons, David and Lloyd, agreed with this use of the family’s land.

Is this 122-acre addition the culmination of Jerry’s vision? Don’t bet on it. As long as there’s natural land to be protected here, the Kuehn Conservation Area will be on Jerry’s mind and in his heart.

Vic and Jan Lothe

Although Lothe grew up and left the farm, she maintained close ties with the land, especially its woodlands.

Jan Lothe and her husband, Vic Lothe, both of New Auburn, Wis., recently ensured that 15 acres of their family’s woodlands in Humboldt County would be protected forever.

They donated the land to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, a non-profit conservation group. The parcel is located on the southwest edge of Humboldt along the west fork of the Des Moines River.

The Lothes own about 130 acres near Humboldt. Although the majority of their land is in agriculture, the northern 15 acres contains oak-hickory woodlands and rare oak savanna.

The Lothes always recognized the unique forest ecosystem they owned and were concerned with preserving its natural beauty. The property was enrolled in the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Healthy Forest Reserve Program (HFRP).

The Lothes said they donated the 15 acres to INHF because they did not want their woodlands developed, now or in the future.

“Every year I’ve gotten some inquiries regarding selling portions of the woodland for development. I don’t want to see that happen,” Jan Lothe said.

The high ground provides habitat for numerous woodland and savanna species. But with development increasing along the river, the possibility existed that the Lothes’ woodlands could be destroyed.

“This land would be desirable for residential development, as that is the land use pattern to the north,” said Joe McGovern, land stewardship program director for INHF. “But Vic and Jan wanted see it kept natural and undeveloped. We are glad we could help them reach this goal.”

INHF will continue to own the property. McGovern said the group will cooperate with the Humboldt County Conservation Board on the land’s management. Although the land is not open to the public, it buffers land owned by the Humboldt County Counservation Board.

Vic Lothe said his wife has always wanted the land preserved, and the decision has given them both peace of mind.

“There hasn’t even been a second thought about letting the property go and trying to preserve it. Jan has always felt strongly about protecting it,” he said.

INHF is a nonprofit, conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect more than 100,000 acres of Iowa’s wild places.

Other INHF projects in Humboldt County include the Three Rivers Trail, the Pioneer Prairie Pothole and the Humboldt Railroad Prairie.

So it made sense that he and his wife, Nancy Rigler, both of DeKalb, Ill. recently protected their 130 acres of land by donating a conservation easement to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, a non-profit conservation group.

The couple’s property, which will remain in their private ownership, lies three miles southwest of Lansing in Allamakee County. The couple built a cabin on their property about four years ago, and they spend about two months a year on their land. “It’s a beautiful area, even though it’s not untouched,” Burke said. “We’ve gained better appreciation for it from spending time walking around the property.”

Though the couple retains private ownership and use, the easement permanently protects the land from mining, developing, clear cutting, over-grazing and other activities that could diminish the area’s natural resources and scenery. The easement restrictions apply to Burke, Rigler and all future owners. The specific purpose of this easement is to protect the natural land attributes and wildlife habitat.

The property consists of steep wooded bluffs and savanna areas along Lansing-Harpers Road southwest of Lansing. On their land, there are goat prairie remnants and rock outcrops.

The couple’s cabin, which has commanding countryside views, is one of Burke’s favorite spots on the property. The land is also full of history. Village Creek Valley, near the north point of their land, used to house a growing town of Village Creek in the 1800s. “Though the town was eventually burned and flooded out,” Burke said, “there are still breathtaking views left, it’s really special to us.”

INHF is a nonprofit, conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect almost 100,000 acres of Iowa’s wild places.

Other INHF projects in Allamakee County include the Heritage Addition to Effigy Mounds, Clear Creek and Paint Rock.

Palmer, who owns a bison herd, recently donated a conservation easement to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) on 200 acres in Jackson County. This property lies adjacent to Palmer’s 582-acre Dark Hollow Bison Acre Ranch, which he protected in 1999. Adding this property to the existing easement creates a more than 700-acre block of permanently protected land.

Since 1999, Palmer, of Moline, Ill., has completed two additional easements with the INHF, Mill Creek (186 acres) and another in Jackson County (90 acres). Palmer continues his bison production and conducts on-site educational trips for school children about the story of North American bison.

The Palmer property, located near Maquoketa, contains interior upland pasture and mixed deciduous woods. There are also oak savanna areas that have been recognized for restoration. Locally, Palmer is best known as president and CEO of Tri-City Electric Company in Davenport.

Though Palmer retains private ownership and use, the easement permanently protects the land from mining, developing, clear cutting, over-grazing and other activities that could diminish the area’s natural resources and scenery. The easement restrictions apply to Palmer and all future owners.

“There’s only so much land out there,” Palmer said. “When you find the right piece, you know. It needs to be saved.”

INHF is a nonprofit, conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect almost 100,000 acres of Iowa’s wild places.

Other INHF projects in Jackson County include Baldwin Marsh and the Green Island Timber Easement.

Three local families recently finalized conservation easements that will permanently protect their lands’ natural and agricultural resources.

“In Woodbury County, we don’t have a lot of the top-quality sections of Loess Hills,” said Rick Schneider, director of the Woodbury County Conservation Board. “This land is some of the best in our county that we have an opportunity to preserve.”

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit conservation group, worked with each family to establish the easements through the federal Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP).

All of the land is located in the Luton Special Landscape Area, one of the 12 Loess Hills regions identified by the National Park Service as particularly worthy of protection. The area is about 20 miles southeast of Sioux City and is along the Loess Hills Scenic Byway, also known as County Highway D-25.

Leo Lidgett of Bronson protected 230 acres of his property, which contains remnant prairie, woodlands and improved pastureland. Lidgett said he sought permanent land protection to keep his property in its natural state.

“About every year, we’d get a half-dozen people who would want to buy five acres or 50 acres to build a house. In the last 25 years, there’s been almost 20 homes put up in the area,” Lidgett said. “If we don’t do something, we’re going to lose this natural property — it’s all going to be houses.”

Lidgett has been removing invasive trees and shrubs from his land and plans to do a controlled burn on the prairie. Lidgett is encouraging his neighbors to consider similar conservation easements.

“The biggest reason that I think anybody should be looking at this is to preserve this fantastic natural resource,” Lidgett said. “It needs to stay the way it is and not be spoiled by development.”

Gene and Linda Kollbaum of Bronson protected 67 acres of their property, which also contains remnant prairie and pastureland.

“It’s pretty country,” Kollbaum said, noting the rolling hills, diverse prairie grasses and wildlife.

“I would like to see the whole area in an easement,” he added.

A third Woodbury County family protected 160 acres of their Loess Hills property. Each of the three sites contains prairie remnants, pastures and abundant grassland habitat.

While each family donated a significant part of the easement’s value, they received financial compensation from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Additional funding came from the Loess Hills Alliance, the Young Family Foundation of Waterloo, Iowa, and INHF’s Loess Hills endowment. The Iowa Department of Transportation contributed transportation enhancement dollars, since the sites are visible from the Loess Hills Scenic Byway.

The conservation easements allow these families to maintain their private ownership rights. However, the easements permanently prohibit activities that would diminish the land’s natural and agricultural resources, such as construction, development, overgrazing, clear-cutting and more.

INHF currently holds the conservation easements. They will soon be transferred to the Woodbury County Conservation Board, which will monitor the easements.

“By permanently protecting the scenic, open-space, wildlife and agricultural values of these properties, these landowners have made a significant and lasting contribution to the citizens of Woodbury County and Iowa,” said Brian Fankhauser, land stewardship specialist for INHF.

INHF is a nonprofit, conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect more than 95,000 acres of Iowa’s wild places.

Past INHF projects in Woodbury County include the Owego Wetland Complex, the Stone State Park addition and the Table Marsh Wildlife Management Area.

“Thorpe Park was a previous INHF project, and we’re thrilled to help expand this unique natural area.”
- Bruce Mountain, INHF land projects director

Still growing! A unique wetland that links Winnebago and Hancock counties is gaining acres and wildlife species.

INHF worked with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to acquire this important 160-acre parcel. Located near Forest City, the land joins a complex that includes Thorpe Park, Eight Mile Pits Wildlife Management Area, Lake Edwards, the Thorpe Recreation Area and the Russ Wildlife Area.

“It’s a very nice addition to the wetland complex we have around Thorpe Park and Lake Edwards,” said Greg Hanson, wildlife biologist with the Iowa DNR. A flock of federally endangered Whooping Cranes stopped at the wetlands last fall. “We hope they will come back sometime soon,” Hanson said.

With restoration plans beginning this winter, it’s likely all sorts of critters will find refuge here. Iowa DNR staff will plant native prairie grasses and forbs and restore several wetland basins — providing perfect habitat for grassland birds, waterfowl, muskrats, amphibians and reptiles. The land will be open for public use by March 1.

INHF bought the land from a private landowner in 2004 and enrolled it in the Wetland Reserve Program. The Iowa DNR repurchased the property with funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA).

“Thorpe Park was a previous INHF project, and we’re thrilled to help expand this unique natural area,” said Bruce Mountain, INHF land projects director.

This photo was taken on “Old Baldy,” where humans get an eagle’s eye view of the Upper Iowa River. Mike and Linda Rickert and Connie Jo Ayer recently donated a conservation easement to INHF that protects 260 acres, including this blufftop. Joe McGovern/INHF

At first glance, “Old Baldy” is just a hill.

But to Mike and Linda Rickert and Connie Jo Ayer, this hill overlooking the Upper Iowa River is so much more. It’s a place where bald eagles soar at the same level as onlookers and where ladies’ tresses still grow wild on the native prairie remnant.

They knew they had to protect it.

The Rickerts and Ayer own 260 acres of land about 11 miles northwest of Waukon in Allamakee County. Its rich landscape contains diverse timber—including red oak, white oak, black oak and hickory—along with native prairie and one-half mile of Upper Iowa River frontage.

“We didn’t want anyone to build any kind of a dwelling or mansion or even a cabin that would destroy the natural wilderness,” Mike said. “It was just a matter of time before someone did that.”

After reading in INHF’s magazine about other landowners who had donated conservation easements, Mike contacted our staff. Mike, Linda and Connie Jo then gifted the easement to INHF — and received peace of mind that future generations can stand on Old Baldy and watch eagles fly alongside them.

“Preserving this property was one of the most important things I could do in my estate planning,” Mike said. “This is the one thing I know will always stay the same.”

Mike bought the land in 1975 with Connie Jo’s husband, John Ayer. Though John passed away in 1981, Connie Jo said it never entered her mind to sell the land.

“It was a vision that John and Mike had together ... It was going to be preserved,” Connie Jo said. She believes the land protection agreement is a legacy to her and John’s three children, now adults. “We’re very pleased that we have made this commitment. It makes us feel at peace. We know the land is going to be protected, as it should be,” she said.

Easements allow landowners to maintain most of their ownership rights. However, the contract places restrictions on the land’s use — now and in the future. This particular easement prohibits buildings but retains current agricultural practices and allows responsible logging.

“The conservation easement does not affect our enjoyment of the land or our income from the land,” Mike said.

“Even though the land itself remains in private ownership, the easement’s benefits extend beyond the property boundaries,” said Joe McGovern, INHF’s land stewardship program director. “Their donation helps protect the Upper Iowa River’s scenery, water quality and native wildlife habitat.”

Nicole Paseka is INHF’s Outreach Coordinator.

“I’m a developer, but I think development is for inside city limits. And the wild should stay wild.”
- Patrick Ryan

Remember that 1,224-acre treasure of bluffs, woodlands, goat prairie and Upper Iowa River corridor that INHF purchased from the Forrest Ryan estate last year? It just got better.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources recently accepted a conservation easement from Patrick Ryan, Forrest’s son, and his wife, Karran. The easement protects 358 acres that adjoin and buffer the land that INHF purchased. It contains timbered bluffs overlooking the Upper Iowa River and Patterson Creek, plus tillable land on the open ridges and river bottom.

The easement was a partial donation, with significant funding from the Forest Legacy Program, which is administered by the Iowa DNR and funded through the U.S. Forest Service. As with other FLP easements, the Ryans maintain private ownership and can still practice forestry and farming under an approved plan. By restricting development rights, they protected the land’s natural and agricultural resources. INHF introduced the Ryans to the Forest Legacy concept and provided significant background support.

“I’m a developer, but I think development is for inside city limits,” Pat said. “And the wild should stay wild.”

“Prior to these projects, there was absolutely no habitat here.”
- Ed Weiner, wildlife biologist with the Iowa DNR

Nearly a decade ago, wildlife experts observed a major habitat gap between the Missouri River and the Loess Hills in Woodbury County. They knew something had to be done.

A recent addition to the Iowa DNR’s Table Marsh Wildlife Management Area helps fill that gap by restoring habitat for pheasants, deer, waterfowl and other species. INHF helped the Iowa DNR acquire the 40-acre site. Located two miles east of Hornick, the tract adjoins Table Marsh. It is now open for public use, including hunting and bird watching.

Table Marsh is part of a regional wetland restoration effort. Thanks to efforts by INHF, the Iowa DNR, the Woodbury County Conservation Board and other partners, the Owego Wetland Complex now comprises 1,330 acres.

“Prior to these projects, there was absolutely no habitat here,” said Ed Weiner, wildlife biologist with the Iowa DNR.

Like many public areas, protecting and restoring this site required many months, partners and funding sources. INHF purchased the property from a private owner in January 2006. The land had been enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), a program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The Iowa DNR received acquisition funds through a federal North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant. The NAWCA funding used in this particular project was attained through Ducks Unlimited, which submitted the grant application.

“This trail network helps promote a healthy, active lifestyle for residents as well as for visitors.”
- Lisa Hein, INHF program and planning director

Eldora has developed a local trail plan that requires the acquisition of several properties over multiple years. One of these key pieces was a parcel belonging to the Union Pacific Railroad. Thanks to cooperation between the railroad and INHF, it will soon belong to Eldora.

INHF purchased this one-half-mile piece from Union Pacific in November. The city will use acquisition funds from a state Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) grant and INHF’s Gunderson Family Fund.

This new trail section is part of a larger network that will eventually connect trail users to Pine Lake State Park, the Hardin County Farm Museum and more.

“The goal for this corridor is to tie it into the regional trail system,” said Lisa Hein, INHF program and planning director. “This trail network helps promote a healthy, active lifestyle for residents as well as for visitors.”

by Andrea L. Zimmerman

A few years ago, an Iowa couple was doing what you’re doing right now—reading an article from the Iowa Natural Heritage magazine about Iowans who had chosen to donate conservation easements.

John and Karen Wanamaker were concerned about what would become of their land upon their deaths. The article they read convinced them to explore conservation easements. In late 2007, the Wanamakers protected their 411-acre Fremont County property — which has been in the family since 1938 — through a conservation easement donated to INHF.

The Wanamaker property lies approximately three miles north of Hamburg. It adjoins a former INHF project site, the WaShawtee Addition to Waubonsie State Park, in southwestern Iowa. A portion of the Wanamakers’ land is bordered by the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway.

By protecting 411 acres next to an existing 1,958-acre state park, this project expands protected habitat, open space and scenic beauty.

The landscape is a mixture of remnant prairie, woodland and retired hay ground, which provides habitat for diverse wildlife. The adjacent state park is home to many state Special Concern Species as well as the state-endangered Great Plains Skink (Eumeces obsoletus) and state-threatened Southern Bog Lemming (Synaptomys cooperi).

The couple’s favorite part of the property is a bluff ridge that provides a stunning overlook of the Missouri River bottom. There, the viewer can see four states at once — Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas. The land also holds plenty of history, like the family cemetery of the land’s homesteaders, with tombstones dating back to 1859.

As with other conservation easements, the Wanamakers’ protected property remains in their private ownership. Their easement permanently protects the land from mining, development, clear cutting, over-grazing and other activities that could diminish the area’s natural resources and scenery. These restrictions apply to the Wanamakers and all future owners.

Before donating the easement, the couple had been actively managing their property’s natural resources by removing invasive trees, conducting prescribed fires and removing interior fences. John Wanamaker notes that all these stewardship efforts have only strengthened his deep connection to the land.

“I have such a strong feeling about it,” John said. “I’ve walked, hunted, and hiked the land since I was nine years old.”

Andrea L. Zimmerman is a Drake University student and Robert R. Buckmaster Intern at INHF.

“It’s very satisfying to build such a large complex all at once, both from a habitat standpoint and from a public use standpoint.”
- Bruce Mountain, INHF land projects director

A new public wetland in Mills County provides a whopping 800 acres for wildlife habitat and human recreation.

The restored wetland complex is located approximately two miles south of Pacific Junction along Interstate 29. It will be called Haynie Slough, an old local name for the property.

Two things make Haynie Slough particularly significant: its sheer size and its location on the Missouri River floodplain, where most land has been converted to crops. The restored wetland will provide an oasis for resident and migrating wildlife.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation provided temporary ownership and landowner negotiations. It is now owned and managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

According to Carl Priebe, wildlife biologist for the Iowa DNR, the property already provides habitat for pheasants, deer, ducks and — depending on water levels — shore birds and northern harriers. Because of the wet conditions, Priebe said, the area also provides resting places for migrating waterfowl along the Missouri River flyway. Public uses will include hunting, birdwatching and wildlife photography.

The Iowa DNR’s future plans for the property include preserving the wetlands, maintaining the quality of native grass on the uplands and providing a wetland area for the public to enjoy.

The previous owner, Dick DeLaschmutt, had enrolled the site in the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP), a federal farm program designed to restore natural wetland complexes. The WRP pays for agricultural rights, which lowered the subsequent purchase price. The Iowa DNR purchased the site through grant funding from the federal North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA). Ducks Unlimited administered the grant.

“Normally it takes several parcels acquired over a period of time to make a complex this big,” said Bruce Mountain, land projects director of INHF. “It’s very satisfying to build such a large complex all at once, both from a habitat standpoint and from a public use standpoint.”

Andrea L. Zimmerman is a Drake University student and Robert R. Buckmaster Intern at INHF.

by Andrea L. Zimmerman

Guy Grover recalls listening to the howling of coyotes from his tree stand, searching for bobcat tracks by an old sand quarry and catching largemouth bass. Even though Guy no longer does these things himself, he’s helped ensure that future generations can “appreciate the land just the way it is.”

Guy and Shirley Grover recently donated a voluntary permanent protection agreement, also known as a conservation easement, to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. The couple has been living, hunting, planting and working on this Buchanan County property for more than 20 years. So it just felt right to preserve their beloved landscape for today and forever.

The protected 190 acres is located about two miles west of Quasqueton. It contains natural woodlands and native tree plantings, a remnant sand prairie, oxbow wetlands and a small, inactive sand quarry. Its rolling topography also supports diverse woodlands, including native bur oak and shagbark hickory. With such diversity, the property harbors a rich variety of native plant and animal life.

But the site’s natural values don’t end at the property line. The Grovers’ land borders the Wapsipincon River for nearly one mile, and this stretch is one of five sites listed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as a Protected Water Area. Though still in their private ownership, the Grover property is near public natural areas, expanding the conservation value of each.

INHF staff and the Grovers developed conservation easement language to preserve the wildlife habitat, water quality and scenic values of this Wapsipinicon River corridor. The easement permanently protects the land from mining, development, clear cutting, over-grazing and other activities that could diminish the area’s natural resources and scenery.

Its restrictions apply to the Grovers and all future owners. Its benefits apply to them — and to all living things in this area and downstream.

Andrea L. Zimmerman is a Drake University student and Robert R. Buckmaster Intern at INHF.

Bulrushes at Anglers Bay Steve Anderson

Thanks to more than 1,050 donors, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation recently completed our largest-ever fundraising campaign: $6.67 million to protect two-thirds mile of natural shoreline along Big Spirit Lake. The 93-acre site, dubbed Anglers Bay, supports the area’s largest remaining bulrush bed and provides critical habitat for fish, birds and other wildlife species.

Funding sources include $1.67 million from private donors and $3 million from the Iowa Legislature. Another $2 million from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is divided among three fiscal years, with the final installment due in summer 2008.

With funding and firm pledges in hand, INHF has completed the purchase of the land from Don and Nancy Yarnes, and a small portion nearest to Hales Slough has transferred to the DNR. After the current crop is harvested, that portion will be posted for public use. INHF and Iowa DNR staff will begin restoration of two wetlands and a prairie planting this fall, weather permitting.

Once payments are completed in late 2008, the entire property will be owned and managed by the Iowa DNR for low-impact public use. The Dickinson County Trails Board will help build a multi-use trail through the property, a key segment in a trail designed to encircle the entire lake.

“Some conservation efforts capture the public imagination, and Anglers Bay has been one of them,” says Mark Ackelson, INHF president. “What began with a bargain sale from owners Don and Nancy Yarnes has extended to more than 1,000 other donors—from lakeside residents to every corner of the state. Not only the Iowa DNR, but also the entire state legislature made it a funding priority. It’s become our generation’s gift to the future.”

Gifts designated to “Anglers Bay” are still being accepted by mail or online. These donations will be used to establish the trail and provide amenities such as benches and interpretive signage.

Located off the southwest corner of Sac City, the site is now open for public hunting, birdwatching, nature study and similar uses.

When INHF purchased the property in 2006, it contained about 50 acres of wetlands with the balance enrolled in the Wetland Reserve Program. During our temporary ownership, INHF staff purchased a diverse native grass and forbs seed mix and arranged for it to be sown in key areas.

According to Mike Mahn, natural resource biologist with the DNR’s Black Hawk Wildlife Unit, wetland restoration is now in the design phase and will be completed by fall 2008. The plan calls for an expansion to 100 acres of wetlands with about a dozen basins. Once restoration is complete, he predicts the site will support waterfowl, grasslands birds and migrating songbirds.

The DNR received grant funding for the site from federal North American Waterfowl Conservation Act funds. The DNR contributed some of its own funds, and INHF helped by donating part of the land’s value. Meanwhile, the Sac County Pheasants Forever chapter contributed $30,000 in their own funds and $20,000 through the Iowa Pheasants Forever State Council.

According to Eric Yunginger, chapter president, “This project fits the very definition of Pheasants Forever’s mission; preserving wildlife through habitat improvements. We are excited to be able to witness this ground transform back to prime upland and wetland habitat once again.”

A father and his daughters have donated two expansive conservation easements, one as a tribute to a life-long friend, cousin and avid conservationist.

After previous owner and friend Carl Nus died in 1998, his widow sold one of the properties to Vernon Shaw and daughters, Christie and Shelley. The land, part of the Nus family for over a century, is a treasure trove of natural gifts and family memories. The Shaws intend to keep it in its natural state—one of Carl’s wishes—through a voluntary protection agreement with INHF.

“It’s always been a special place for us,” Vernon said. “Carl would be really happy to know it’s being left in its natural state. It’s what he intended.”

This conservation easement protects 120 acres in Clayton County. The property’s most prominent feature—and the prime reason for its protection—is a natural spring that provides the source of a trout stream called Ensign Creek. This coldwater creek supports the natural reproduction of native trout.

The site’s rugged bluffs feature a series of five or more large upland sinkholes and two large seep areas at the base of the slope. The family has placed about 34 acres in upland CRP. The balance of the farm contains both upland and lowland woods.

Vernon Shaw donated a second conservation easement on a Fayette County property that he owns alone. This 63-acre site adjoins Brush Creek Canyon State Park. It contains upland maple woodlands and a spring that’s one of the sources of Brush Creek. The rocky outcrops of its untouched bluff areas contain a known bobcat den.

The Shaws donated both conservation easements to INHF in September. Though the family retains private ownership and use, the easements permanently protect the land from mining, developing, clear-cutting, over-grazing and other activities that could diminish the area’s natural resources and scenery. The easement restrictions apply to Shaw, his daughters and all future owners.

As an additional tribute to Carl, Vernon constructed a monument close to the spring, his favorite place on the property. It’s inscribed with four names: Vern and his late wife, Karen; and Carl and his wife, Carol: a physical homage on a piece of land that has known a forever friendship.

by Andrea L. Zimmerman, a Drake University student and a Robert R. Buckmaster Intern at INHF.

One of the last trains to use the Chicago Great Western rail line in the late 1970s passes through Split Rock. Today, bikers can pass through the same spot on the Heritage Trail. This 26-mile trail, located in Dubuque County, is now celebrating its 25th year. Like its dramatic scenery, Heritage Trail also has a dramatic history—from violent opposition at its beginnings to widespread support today. Split Rock, 1979; Courtesy of Doug Cheever

Split Rock, 2007; Photo Credit, Larry Stone

From struggling railroad to controversial nature trail to keystone of a regional trail system, Dubuque County’s Heritage Trail, didn’t happen quickly or painlessly.

Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, this 26-mile rail to trail conversion helped lay the foundation for other trail projects in Iowa. Its story offers hope for current conservation projects that are ahead of their time.

Early controversy

In 1973, Dubuque County residents foresaw the demise of the Chicago Great Western rail line between Dubuque and Dyersville. If the trains stopped running, a planning committee said, the corridor offered a “once in a lifetime opportunity” to develop a premier trail.After rail service ended in 1979, Heritage Trail, Inc., a private, non-profit group, was formed to assist the Dubuque County Conservation Board in developing a trail. Unfortunately, a bitter fight pitted property rights advocates and adjacent landowners against recreationists and conservationists.

Trail advocates urged protection of the natural beauty, noted the rugged corridor’s low value for agriculture and touted its potential tourism benefits. Opponents challenged the railroad’s title to the land, argued against spending public money for recreation and voiced fears of trespassing and vandalism.

Emotions ran high. At one public meeting, opponents shouted, “Burn the bridges!” Suspicious fires damaged a half-dozen of the line’s more than 30 wooden bridges. Hog manure was dumped on the trail. Barricades were erected. Arnie Brimeyer, director of the Dubuque County Conservation Board; his successor, Bob Walton; and INHF’s Mark Ackelson received deaths threats.

Heritage Trail, Inc., president Doug Cheever of Dubuque said trail supporters insured the bridges with a policy backed by Lloyds of London. They hired the Pinkerton detective agency to deter trail vandalism. The vandalism and threats ended, but other obstacles remained.

Although land records showed that the railroad had clear title to 95 of the 100 parcels of land it had bought in the 1880s, several lawsuits disputed the ownership. Meanwhile, owners of some of the remaining five tracts initially blocked plans for a continuous trail. (Notably, a plan to extend the trail from Dyersville through Delaware County to Backbone State Park was never pursued because of landowner opposition.)

Undaunted, Heritage Trail, Inc., developed parts of the Dubuque County trail where the ownership was not contested, and several trail segments opened in 1982. The entire corridor finally was completed in 1986, after the Conservation Board negotiated agreements with the remaining landowners.

Booming popularity

As one of Iowa’s early rails-to-trails projects, the Heritage Trail has proved hugely popular. An adjacent landowner who initially had opposed the trail now declares it “was the best thing that ever happened for Dubuque County.”

A 1992 study by Penn State University estimated economic benefits of $1.2 million per year from about 135,000 trail users. According to Dubuque County Conservation Board director Brian Preston, those figures likely have increased in the ensuing 15 years. The board has begun a survey to update those estimates.

While even trail opponents agree that the opposition has faded, some question how much economic benefit the trail actually creates. Others argue that trails are a luxury funded by all taxpayers to benefit only a few. Proponents say the benefits are only beginning to be counted.

Many Partners Heritage Trail exists because of “a lot of people of goodwill coming together,” said Doug Cheever of Dubuque, president of Heritage Trail, Inc. As with other Iowa trails, acquiring, building and maintaining Heritage Trail has required an array of public and private partners. It began with a dedicated core of local volunteers. Heritage Trail, Inc., board members donated $12,000 for a down payment to buy the 380-acre corridor. Area businesses, led by Flexsteel and the Woodward Communications Foundation, also contributed. The Dubuque County Conservation Board, the lead public partner, added $135,000 to complete the $215,000 purchase. DCCB carries most responsibilities today as trail owner and manager. The $400,000 cost of development came from state and federal grants, plus donations from more than 700 individuals and organizations. The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation provided technical and fundraising assistance. Today INHF continues to work for increased public trail funding, along with regional and national trail connections, such as the Mississippi River Trail. Photo credit: Doug D. Clark

Bridge repairs and routine maintenance of the limestone chip surface on the trail take time and money, concedes Preston, but he thinks it’s worth the effort and expense. “It’s one of our more heavily visited areas, definitely.”

Pam Lewey, manager of The Bike Shack in Dubuque, notes the Heritage Trail is good for local business. She says the trail has encouraged biking—especially by older people, families or casual cyclists who don’t feel comfortable on busy streets or highways. Tourists at Dubuque’s other attractions—such as the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium—often bring their bikes and extend their visits.

Looking ahead

Though officially “completed” in 1982, the Heritage Trail keeps growing.

According to Laura Carstens, city planner for Dubuque, Heritage Trail was the catalyst for a city-wide, 18-mile trail system. The next phase includes a bridge over busy U. S. Highway 52 on the north edge of Dubuque. County officials also are seeking state and federal grants to pave road shoulders to link the city of Cascade with the Heritage Trail by way of Farley. The Heritage Trail will be a spur of the 10-state Mississippi River Trail (MRT), now under development.

Future plans include a trailside camping area and improved management of prairie remnants and other natural areas along the corridor.

Bob Walton, who retired as Conservation Board director in 2006, praised Brimeyer, Cheever and others who began more than 25 years ago to lay the groundwork for the continued success of the Heritage Trail.

“At that point in time, it was a mighty ambitious thing to do,” Walton said, “but the entire region continues to reap the benefits. It’s a great resource for the county.”

INHF member Larry Stone lives in Clayton County, not far from the Heritage Trail. He’s an occasional trail user, and has followed its progress for more than 25 years.

Visiting Heritage Trail

Location—Dyersville to Dubuque, passing through or near Farley, Epworth, Graf, Durango, Sageville

Length—26 miles, plus links to Dubuque trails

Surface—compacted limestone

Get maps, information and links about Heritage Trail.

John and Maxine Ham passed away in May but their legacy lives on through their beloved marsh, now in public ownership. The couple donated the marsh's core 10 acres (with a reserved life estate), to INHF. It's now owned and managed by the Buchanan County Conservation Board.
Bill Witt    

by Kate Lydon

Too few Iowans have experienced the rich beauty of an untouched glacial wetland. For the Hams and their seven children, however, it was part of everyday life.

Ham Marsh, located just north of Independence, can now be enjoyed by everyone. Owned and loved by John and Maxine Ham for more than four decades, the 54-acre site is now in public ownership.

A rare remnant

“Dad strongly believed that what you take from the land, you must give back,” said Susan Kauten, the Ham’s only daughter.

Her father purchased the Buchanan County land and relocated his family there in the early 1960s.

“There were so many frogs and salamanders when we first moved to the farm that we could hardly walk around without squishing one,” said Kauten. “Yet Dad would always tell us, ‘Don’t step on that! It’s a rare species!’”

Some of the plants and animals thriving in this diverse marsh are seldom seen in other parts of the state. The central newt—on Iowa’s threatened species list—finds its home among the quality stands of native wild rice, another unusual species in Iowa. Waterfowl such as mallard ducks, blue-winged teal and Canada geese visit the marsh during their yearly migrations. The upland meadows provide excellent nesting ground for birds such as bobolinks, pheasants and meadowlarks. Even sandhill cranes—a species that has rarely nested in Iowa since the late 1800s—have hatched young at the marsh for the past eight years.

A history of caring

The Hams’ first commitment to permanent land protection came in the 1980s after INHF’s Mark Ackelson approached them about conservation options.

Even after 20 years I can remember first meeting with the Hams around their kitchen table and hearing of their passion for their land,” said Ackelson. “It’s been a privilege to help them realize their conservation dream—a dream shared by the entire family.

In 1985 the Hams deeded the 10-acre marsh to INHF with a reserved life estate, which allowed them to use the property until their deaths. Their health failing, the couple gave INHF full ownership in early 2007. Meanwhile, family members helped them sell an adjacent 44-acre meadowland to INHF.

As planned, the Foundation soon transferred the entire property to the Buchanan County Conservation Board (BCCB) for public use.

“With support from John and Maxine’s family and friends, financial assistance from conservation partners and the dedicated work of several INHF employees, we are happy to protect the wonderful Ham Marsh,” said Dan Cohen, Director of the BCCB.

Cohen recognized other key funders for the land acquisition: the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Habitat Stamp Grant Fund, Iowa Pheasants Forever State Trust Fund, Buchanan County Pheasants Forever, Buchanan County Wildlife Association, and the Kirkwood Community College Wetlands Classic.

As the family wished, the marsh is now open for low-impact public use. Future restoration plans include reconstructing native prairie into the hay fields, prescribed fires, a limited hunting area, a bridge for the trail and a wildlife blind where visitors can observe the site’s myriad species without being noticed.

A bittersweet legacy

Though John and Maxine passed away shortly before the dedication ceremony took place, Kauten said she sensed their presence.

“I think they were definitely there that day,” she said. “They walked the trails with us and with their 30 great-grandkids. That’s who they really did this for.”

More than 200 adults and kids attended the dedication. After the program, attendees enjoyed a dinner provided by the Ham family.

John Pearson of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources conducted a guided hike around the property. Dozens of children were excited to find crayfish, bird nests and giant ant mounds along the way. Kauten said they couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day.

“It was bittersweet because we all wanted them to be there,” Kauten said. “But that’s the way it was supposed to be. It was an honor to have parents who could show us where heaven really was—and it wasn’t in a building."

Kate Lydon is an Iowa State University student and a Robert R. Buckmaster intern at INHF.

Blackmun Prairie’s dry hilltops and wet bottomlands support diverse plant and wildlife species. Photo by Joe McGovern/INHF

“Having so many different microhabitats in one parcel is what makes this place special,” says McGovern, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation’s Land Stewardship Program Director. “This is the kind of place INHF was created to help protect.”

Blackmun Prairie, in western Butler County, is a 175-acre tract of land with 115 acres of pasture and prairie, including some exceptional remnant prairies. Its lower elevations contain a mile of North Beaver Creek, which meanders among oxbow wetlands and wet, fen-like areas.

INHF purchased the land in 2005 and transferred it to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) earlier this year. It will be open for public uses, such as hunting, birding and prairie walks.

“Blackmun Prairie has been on the wish-list for Iowa naturalists for over 25 years,” says John Pearson, from IDNR’s Conservation and Recreation Coordination and Policy Department. “It’s nice to see it finally get protected status.”

Among other treasures, the site contains two state special concern species: Richardson’s Sedge and Grass of Parnassus. Other notable species include the Wood Lily, Downy Painted Cup and Turtlehead.

In 1979, state ecologists discovered the state and federally threatened Prairie Bush Clover on Blackmun Prairie. Though the land has been grazed for decades, this hardy species has been known to reemerge after long periods of heavy grazing. Indeed, the plant’s slim stature and unshowy appearance mean it could already be in Blackmun Prairie, but currently unnoticed.

During INHF ownership, staff and land management interns conducted prescribed burns on portions of the prairie remnant, killed trees and removed invasive species.

“As is typical with native prairie pastures, some parts are better than others,” says McGovern. “There are some great remnants and with time, patience and hard work, the entire property should recover.”

INHF used its own funds to purchase the property initially and then worked with the IDNR to secure acquisition dollars from the Federal Endangered Species Recovery Fund and the Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund.

Linda Yang is a Drake University student and a Robert R. Buckmaster Intern at INHF.

An unusual conservation easement arrangement permanently protects a popular stretch of West Lake Okoboji shoreline known locally as the Green Space.

The Messengers of Healing Winds Foundation, a charitable group with many ties to this region, donated $500,000 to the site’s owners in exchange for their placing a conservation easement on the nine-acre site. Their funds went to Historic Arnolds Park, Inc. (HAPI)—formerly known as the Iowa Great Lakes Maritime Museum Board—the nonprofit group which owns the museum, Arnolds Park Amusement Park and the adjoining Green Space. The easement will be held and monitored by the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF).

Though most INHF easements are on family-owned land and not open to the public, the Green Space has been enjoyed for years by Okoboji-area residents and visitors for activities ranging from family picnics to public gatherings and concerts. However, HAPI needs to retire debts and was getting tempting offers to sell the Green Space for private development.

Messengers of Healing Winds proposed placing a conservation easement on this site as an affordable, permanent way for HAPI to preserve its scenery, open space and public recreational opportunities. A conservation easement is a permanent, legally-binding agreement that limits how the land can be used—in this case prohibiting feedlots, housing or commercial developments, dumping and other uses.

“The Foundation is pleased to have been a part of a creative solution that will ensure permanency of the Green Space as a public gathering place,” said Andrea Waitt Carlton, president of the Messengers of Healing Winds Foundation. “We hope this gift, through the conservation easement, will enhance the quality of life for the Great Lakes area residents, families and visitors.”

Mark Ackelson, INHF’s president, agrees: “With this conservation easement, HAPI’s current board—and the general public—are now assured that no future board can compromise the Green Space to meet short-term financial needs. With this gift, Messengers of Healing Winds has purchased that peace of mind for all of us.”

Cathy Engstrom is INHF’s Communications Director.

This 177-acre tract stretching for more than a mile along the Ocheyedan River west of Spencer is “a diamond in the rough,” declares Dan Ellis, president of the Clay County chapter of Pheasants Forever. The chapter contributed significant site acquisition funds.

“Dan Ellis was key to the negotiations with the landowner in acquiring this ground,” notes Dan Heissel, director of the Clay County Conservation Board, which now owns and manages the site.

“It’s a piece of property that’s very unique,” says Ellis. The pasture along the river apparently has never been farmed. Several old oxbows and wetlands dot the river bottoms. In some parts of the remote site, “it looks like man has never been there.”

Heissel adds that the site has tremendous potential for habitat and diverse recreation. The river will offer canoeing and fishing, while oxbows will provide wetland habitat. Restored prairie and scattered trees will add more diversity. Because the area will be open to public hunting, no developed trails are planned, but hikers can use firebreaks and service roads.

Eventually, the tract may become part of a greenbelt that could stretch more than seven miles along the river from Spencer to Everly, linking several state- and county-owned properties.

Ellis and other partners are particularly excited about the land’s prairie restoration potential. Even though the site had been heavily grazed for many years, some native forbs and grasses were visible only months after the livestock was removed. More prairie species should recover over time—especially after planned burns.

Three-fourths of the cost was paid by a Wildlife Habitat Stamp grant. The money, which is administered by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), is contributed by people who buy hunting licenses. Pheasants Forever has committed to paying the balance over a five-year period.

The Delaware County Conservation Board is buying the 317-acre tract with funding from an Iowa DNR Wildlife Habitat Stamp Grant and donations from the National Wild Turkey Federation and Pheasants Forever.

“This is wilderness,” says Garlyn Glanz, director of the conservation board. The land includes about 1.5 miles of river between the county’s 150-acre Shearer Wildlife Area and the 175-acre Retz Wildlife Area. The Iowa DNR has designated the river as “catch-and-release” for smallmouth bass, making it an excellent fishing area.

According to Glanz, the land is a mixture of timber, pasture, prairie and cropland. Crop fields had been enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and the county is now converting those to wildlife food plots, tree plantings or reconstructed prairie. Pheasants Forever volunteers already have helped seed two 10-acre prairie plots and planted 10,000 trees, Glanz noted. Volunteers also have been working to eradicate multiflora rose.

“We’re excited!” Glanz adds. He expects anglers, hunters, canoeists, birders and other nature-lovers to treasure the Maquoketa River corridor.

By Larry Stone, a freelance writer/photographer and long-time INHF member from Elkader.

by Cathy Engstrom

Wading through the tall Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans), admiring purple spikes of prairie blazing star (Liatris aspera), spooking a buck and noting signs of recent prairie fire, it’s easy to imagine the landscape that greeted Iowa’s first white settlers.

It’s much harder to imagine the landscape that greeted three prairie enthusiasts when they purchased this Iowa County farm just 10 growing seasons ago.

Never mind that, at 480 acres, it was larger than they had planned to buy. And further from their Iowa City homes than they wanted to drive. That its pastured slopes were grazed nearly down to the soil. That they found only a few signs of native plants—some leadplant (Amorpha canescens) and a few sprigs of Indian grass and pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida) hiding under an invasive, skin-slashing overgrowth of multi-flora rose.

And never mind that, despite extensive volunteer work on prairies, none knew how to operate a chainsaw or apply herbicides or mend fences. That only one had ever driven a tractor—and only as a kid. That they were making this substantial financial and time commitment after knowing each other only a few years.

Like those early settlers, they took a leap of faith. If you ever doubt that a few people can make a difference, or question whether Iowa has any natural resources worth saving or need courage for your own leap of faith, drive by those prairie-covered slopes today­—or read on.

Restorative powers

Judy Felder, Mary Brown and Richard “Sandy” Rhodes met in the mid-1990s while volunteering at prairie projects. Each had discovered prairie restoration at mid-life­—and each quickly developed a fascination and then a passion for it.

Convinced that a number of Iowa farms harbor dormant prairies, they looked at many sale lands until they “fell in love with the rolling hills” of a farm west of Williamsburg. They did research to assure that native prairie had been and might still be on site—and then made the plunge.

“As soon as we removed the cows and did some burning, we started seeing native plants in nooks and crannies,” recalls Mary. “Each growing season we found new things, especially after we burned….It’s the surprise and the marvel that keeps us going.”

You hear hints of their restoration successes and love for the land in their affectionate nicknames for seemingly every rise or dip in the landscape: Yellow Warbler Draw, Cup Plant Alley, Liatris [blazing star] Slope, Spiranthes [ladies tresses] Slope, Sunflower Slough, Sunset Ridge, Woodcock Badminton Alley, Turkeyfoot Draw and many more.

Group effort

Despite occasional clashes of opinion, the partners shared labor and management decisions. For example, Sandy researched the ATV purchase, Mary the tractor selection and Judy the pole barn construction. They made sure all three learned to operate each piece of equipment. Together they read manuals, took lessons from local experts and learned by trial and error.

“Some of my favorite memories are times like when the tractor would break down out in the field and we’d all have to figure out how to fix it,” says Judy.

But mostly, they put in hours and hours of labor­—aided by volunteer support from friends and neighbors. For example, Ellen Hartz has been a regular volunteer, tour guide, donor and cheerleader since the beginning. Meanwhile, Bill and Barby Buss purchased 160 adjoining acres in 1998, and the group agreed to manage the 640 acres as a unit. In 2005 the Busses donated a conservation easement to the Iowa DNR and sold their land to the original three partners, but they remain actively involved in the restoration effort.

Change in plans

Everything changed­—yet didn’t—­in 2005, when Sandy was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. Limiting pain medications to keep his mind sharp, Sandy set about putting his affairs in order—­especially the future of Indiangrass Hills.

Sandy died in November 2005, ­just weeks after the partners donated a conservation easement to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. At the same time, they donated the land with individual Reserved Life Estates to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. This protection option technically transfers land ownership to INHF but allows donors to maintain typical landowner uses, rights and responsibilities until their deaths. Sandy also gave INHF a substantial bequest, the largest INHF has ever received, to fund long-term site management and similar prairie projects.

Though it was a difficult time for all, Judy and Mary are comforted that their original goal of permanent protection is already assured­ and pleased that the organizations involved helped the process go quickly and smoothly. “The whole thing just felt right,” says Judy.

“We want this land to honor Sandy’s dream—he had the vision,” says Judy. “But it’s not to be maintained as a museum.”

With that in mind, they are generous about allowing others on the land. They have invited local hiking, prairie and birding groups. They permit hunting by request. They’ve hosted research projects on native species.

Silent partners

Like Sandy, the land itself has a continuing presence and partnership here.

“Sometimes it’s like the land is listening, like it’s doing things for us,” says Mary. “Like one time Judy said she wished she could find an orchid growing here, and soon after we did. And that’s just one example.”

“It often takes two or three burns to see what’s there,” says Judy.

Both are disturbed that many landowners, too impatient to let dormant species return on their own (restoration), seek instant gratification by plowing natives under and replanting from scratch (reconstruction). The Indiangrass Hills partners believe in giving the land time.

“The land is restoring itself,” says Judy. “We’re just removing what mankind has done to it. The land does not belong to us; we belong to it.”

“We’re just the caretakers,” adds Mary.

Judy quickly agrees. “That’s why we gave it away.”

Cathy Engstrom is INHF's Communications Director.

by Tim Laehn

An Iowa couple is devoting their golden years to a golden place.

Bill and Marlys Brown spend countless hours restoring natural resources on their Jackson County land. The diverse, 119-acre site includes a half mile of frontage on the north fork of the Maquoketa River, steep limestone bluffs and their associated caves, prairie, pasture and ungrazed woodland.

“This might not be the way that a lot of people want to spend their retirement, but it just seems like this is where we’re supposed to be,” Marlys said. “It’s such a beautiful place.”

Leg work

Aided by their restoration efforts, the site harbors diverse wildlife. Its woodlands shelter scarlet tanagers and pileated woodpeckers, Iowa’s largest woodpecker species. Its well-maintained pasture provides nesting sites for grassland birds such as the bobolink.

The Browns regularly invite groups like the Iowa Native Plant Society to walk the prairie and the woodland, the Iowa Grotto Club to explore the property’s 15 caves and the Prairie State Mushroom Club to study the fungi.

Meanwhile, the Browns are restoring a native “goat” prairie, a dry bluff prairie that grows on steep southwestern slopes. It has colorful plants such as Indian paintbrush and silky aster. They continue to clear trees from the prairie and rock outcrop areas, conduct prescribed fires, improve soil conservation and implement river site management.

Legal work

With so much emotion and labor invested in the site, the Browns are concerned about its protection beyond their lifetimes. That’s why they donated a conservation easement to INHF. Working with INHF staff, they developed a voluntary agreement that permanently protects the land from clear-cutting, development, mining and other activities that could diminish its natural resources and scenic values.

While the Browns retain ownership and use of the land, INHF is permanently responsible for ensuring that present and future owners follow the easement terms.

“It’s exciting to work with people who have it in their hearts,” said Brian Fankhauser, land stewardship specialist at INHF. “They’re doing this easement for all the right reasons, and we’re pleased to help them attain their goals.”
 

The Browns have owned the land since 1991 when they bought it from Bill’s sister. They plan to someday pass it on to their three children, who all support the easement.

“Our children grew up there, now our grandchildren are growing up there and hopefully their children will grow up there,” Marlys said. “It’s just a wonderful place to be.”

 By Tim Laehn, a Drake University Student and Robert R. Buckmaster intern at INHF.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) recently purchased 78 acres of Loess Hills woodlands, prairie, and crop fields as an addition to the state’s 2,800-acre Loess Hills Wildlife Management Area (WMA) near Turin. The tract joins and will help buffer the Sylvan T. Runkel State Preserve. It also falls within the National Park Service’s “Turin Special Landscape Area.”

Ed Weiner, a wildlife management biologist for INDR, said he’d long hoped for an opportunity to buy the property.

“Very few parcels of land adjacent to this public area have become available for purchase in the past 20 years,” he noted. “This piece is really valuable because it’s kind of a transition area from the Loess Hills down to the Missouri River bottoms.”

Some of the best prairies in the Loess Hills grow on the west-facing slopes at the edge of the floodplain, Weiner added, and this site has such slopes.

When the tract came up for sale, Weiner contacted the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) for help. INHF is a nonprofit conservation group that has helped public and private partners protect more than 90,000 acres throughout Iowa, including many sites in the Loess Hills.

“It’s an area that’s prime for restoration,” said Weiner. One of his first priorities will be to clear cedar trees from the ridges and western slopes, allowing the rich prairie vegetation to thrive. Some of the small crop fields may be reseeded to prairie, Weiner said, while others will be kept in a crop rotation that includes grain and nesting cover for wildlife.

INHF president Mark Ackelson negotiated the purchase from Sharon Strohm, and then INHF held the property to give the DNR time to arrange funding.

“We are pleased that INHF was able to use a portion of our restricted Loess Hills funds to complete this transaction,” noted Ackelson. “Our many donors and supporters made this project possible—along with Sharon Strohm, who really worked with us to see the area protected.”

Strohm’s father-in-law, Albert Strohm, acquired the site in the 1930s, and she and her husband moved there in 1970. After decades of enjoying the land’s beauty, she said she wanted to see it protected from development and kept as a natural area for others to enjoy. Her agreement with INHF and the Iowa DNR will assure those goals.

Other conservation partners also provided funding support, including 11 Pheasants Forever chapters, the Iowa Pheasants Forever Council, the Loess Hills Alliance and the Iowa Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Because the site provides excellent wild turkey habitat, the Iowa DNR also contributed funds from its wild turkey program.

In addition, the family of the late Kevin Pedersen, of North Oaks, Minn., donated $10,000 in his memory. Pedersen’s widow, Dorothy, said she and her husband often had visited the Loess Hills when they lived near Omaha more than 30 years ago, and Kevin loved to hunt in Iowa.

INHF continues to work with the Iowa DNR and other public and private partners to protect important natural areas in Iowa’s Loess Hills.

The Lower Morse complex now stretches more than three miles southwest of Belmond, encompassing about 3,000 acres of state, county, and federal land, said Doug Janke, a wildlife management biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). The latest addition was made possible when the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF)—a private, statewide conservation group— bought a 149-acre tract of marginal farmland in 2004. Past INHF conservation efforts in Wright County include helping the county conservation board acquire additions to Rolling Acres Potholes, Horse Grove and other natural areas.

A tenant continued to farm the Lower Morse addition while INHF negotiated its transfer to public ownership, said Bruce Mountain, land projects director for INHF.

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently bought the property from INHF, using money from the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture (PPJV). The land has been turned over to the IDNR for management. It will provide wetland and upland nesting habitat, and will be open to public hunting starting this fall.

Janke said part of the land already has been seeded to native prairie grasses. The remainder will be seeded with native grasses and forbs as soon as the crops are harvested this fall. The IDNR also is restoring six wetland basins, totaling about 17 acres, Janke said. The small wetlands will become part of the mix of diverse wetlands and uplands that provides the best habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife, he said.

The acquisition not only adds to the block of wetlands at Morse, but it also could help the IDNR limit and manage drainage on earlier additions to the complex without impacting other farmers in the district, Janke said.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF)—a private, statewide conservation group—is set to transfer the last of four parcels of land to the Pocahontas County Conservation Board.

That 120-acre property, and another 80-acre tract purchased earlier this year, join the 160-acre Westmoreland Wildlife Area, acquired in 1998, and the 161-acre Crotty Wildlife Area, which the county bought in 2002. The entire area, located about two miles north of Varina, will be managed by the county for wetland habitat and public hunting.

Brian Reis, director of the Pocahontas County Conservation Board, said he recently seeded prairie vegetation into about 50 acres of former crop fields on the 80-acre tract. Tiles draining into Little Cedar Creek also have been plugged, helping to restore about 30 acres of wetlands. The Crotty and Westmoreland sites already have been restored to wetland/prairie habitat. Long-term plans call for similar work on the newest, 120-acre parcel.

Much of the land is enrolled in the federal government’s Wetland Reserve Program (WRP), which permanently restricts farming or development of cropland that has poor drainage or is prone to flooding. In most cases, the original landowners received federal WRP payments, which compensate them for the farming/development rights. The program provides additional funding to restore the site’s original hydrology and plant the upland areas to native prairie species.

The owners then sold the land for its residual value to INHF. Pocahontas County has raised money from Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited and Iowa Department of Natural Resources habitat stamp grants to pay for transferring the land from INHF to the county. Some funds from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) also will be used. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will assist with wetland and prairie restoration of the land.

In addition to restoring wildlife habitat, this public land acquisition helped solve a road problem. Wetland work on the Westmoreland area, which initially was supposed to replace, or mitigate, wetlands lost during repairs to Drainage Ditch 176, had backed water against 110th Avenue. Part of the 80-acre land will be designated as an alternate mitigation site, allowing the Westmoreland water level to be lowered to avoid damage to the road.

Bruce Mountain, land projects director for INHF, said the project is typical of the group’s land protection efforts. The private Foundation was able to negotiate with the original landowners, buy the properties, then make relatively simple transfers to the Conservation Board.

In the case of the 120-acre parcel, INHF helped the farmer arrange for a like-kind exchange to trade the poorly drained property for better farm ground, This method helps landowners defer potential capital gains taxes. The tax law provision “gives us one more tool in the tool box,” Mountain said.

Reis said the grants and partnerships mean that no county tax dollars will need to be spent for the wildlife area.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) – a private, statewide conservation group – recently transferred a 51-acre property to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) near the Shimon Marsh south of Varina. The INHF helped acquire the core 265 acres of land from Leo Shimon in 1985, then assisted in adding additional parcels in 2001 and 2003.

The latest purchase makes up a relatively small portion of the1,321-acre Shimon Marsh-Sunken Grove Wildlife Area, said Mike Mahn, wildlife management biologist for the IDNR, but it opens the door to some important wetland improvements.

“It’s going to be a very significant addition to the area,” Mahn said. “Any time you can add some peripheral wetlands around a core area like Shimon Marsh, it’s going to increase the wildlife value for the whole area.”

Part of the site has been seeded to native prairie vegetation, which will provide critical nesting cover for both waterfowl and upland birds, Mahn said. Another 10 acres of wetlands will be restored, as well. What’s more, having the tract in public ownership will allow the DNR to complete a wetland restoration on an adjacent piece of state land that will back water onto the new tract.

The wetland complex could continue to grow, Mahn said. The Shimon Marsh Wetland Complex has been identified as a targeted area for protection under the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture (PPJV). Several tracts have been added in recent years, using money from the Fish and Wildlife Services’ Waterfowl Production Area (WPA) program, and logistical help from INHF. State and federal officials hope to continue expansion of this wetland complex as land becomes available from interested sellers, Mahn said.

The Shimon Marsh project is yet another example of how partnerships can boost conservation efforts, Mahn said. In addition to the DNR and FWS efforts, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation was able to move quickly to buy the Burditt property when it was offered for sale. The Pocahontas County chapter of Pheasants Forever assisted in the appraisal of the land. And the property has been enrolled in the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Wetland Reserve Program (WRP). Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) engineers helped design the wetland reconstruction.

The 1:30 p.m. ceremony at the Lost Island Prairie Wetland Nature center, near Ruthven, recognizes the national importance of the complex for nesting and migratory grassland and wetland birds, said Bruce Ehresman, wildlife diversity program biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The DNR is hosting the BCA event, which is open to the public and will include a driving tour.

The 79,000-acre BCA includes about 12,000 acres of public land, water, and conservation easements centered on the DNR’s Dewey’s Pasture-Barringer Slough-Lost Island Lake tracts in Clay and Palo Alto Counties.

The public lands also have been cited by the National Audubon Society as an Important Bird Area (IBA). Audubon called the site “one of Iowa's most historic prairie pothole wetland areas. Its abundant marshes, shallow lakes and extensive grasslands offer significant nesting, feeding and migration staging habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds and others.”

Dewey’s Pasture also has been given National Natural Landmark status by the National Park service.

Bryan Hellyer, acting manager for the DNR’s Ruthven Wildlife Unit, said a recent 95-acre addition to the area made possible by the Iowa Natural heritage Foundation “fits right in with the Dewey’s Pasture Complex. It’s a beautiful piece of property” that will help connect other wetlands in the area, Hellyer said.

Bruce Mountain, land projects director for INHF, said the land was marginal cropland, most of which had been enrolled in the federal government’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The INHF – a private, statewide conservation group – bought the land, negotiated a perpetual Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) easement, then resold it to the DNR at a substantial discount. INHF also has been involved in other projects in the area, including protection of a 155-acre parcel near Round Lake in 2002.

Hellyer said work is nearly complete to restore six wetland basins totaling about 20 acres on the most recent acquisition. Upland areas have been seeded to local ecotype native prairie vegetation, he said. Although it will take a year or two for the wetlands to develop and the prairie to become established, “we’re about ready to start raising some wildlife and improving water quality.”

“Everything is a by-product of water quality,” Hellyer said. Wildlife depends on clean water, as do the people who watch birds or hunt there, he noted. And the wetlands become filters that cleanse water before it reaches major streams.

“I like to base everything on water quality,” he said. “We need those types of areas to keep young people and to help local economies.”

Ehresman echoed the ecological significance of the region. “This area provides important nesting habitat for declining grassland birds, such as Northern Harrier, Bobolink, and Sedge Wren; for declining wetland species like American Bittern, King Rail, and Black Tern, plus it provides nesting and migration stopover habitat for many other bird species,” he said. He praised recent habitat protection efforts of groups like INHF and government agencies. Pheasants Forever and Ducks Unlimited also have been involved.

“With proper management, Dewey's Pasture BCA should become an excellent example of how "all-bird" conservation is implemented,” he said.

Bird watching and wildlife watching make up a $188 million industry in Iowa, Ehresman said. The new BCA could attract bird watchers from throughout the region, boosting growth of the local tourism economy and encouraging investment in local bird conservation, he said.

As a result of this $1.7 million project, Clear Lake residents and visitors now have 26 more acres and an additional 1,000 feet of shoreline to use and enjoy on the west end of Clear Lake.

The Ventura Cove Enhancement Project, comprising land north and south of the Ventura Grade, features a mix of quiet shoreline, woodland and wetlands and recreational and educational amenities. Public amenities near the fishing jetty—including restrooms, a parking area and an educational kiosk—will likely be completed by 2007. Future plans also include extension of the round-the-lake trail through the woodland and along the grade.

A partnership between INHF, private landowners (who made a bargain sale), the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and public and private donors secured the protection of the area. The project received significant public funding through the state Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program.

“This project provides a host of benefits to the Clear Lake area, including natural shoreline preservation, water quality protection, and safer recreational opportunities,” said Mark Ackelson, INHF president. “None of these accomplishments would have been possible without the interest, involvement and support of our partners and donors.”

Additional background material from Dec. 2005 release....

Because this property is one of the last undeveloped areas on the lake, local committee members, including Jan and Tom Lovell, Charlie and Kathy MacNider, and Randy Cram, feel it should remain largely natural. Use by the public will likely be limited to activities like birding and hiking. Access will be provided across the property for the biking/hiking trail being developed by Cerro Gordo County Trails, Inc. Also, this site will give Ventura school children access to the shore and lake, providing more opportunities to learn about and participate in activities related to lake restoration. Expanded educational venues are possible in the future.

"We are so grateful that the owners of this woodland-George Daskalos, Meredith Saunders, Jay Shriver, and John, Aristotle and Socrates Pappajohn-have chosen to sell it for conservation purposes," said Jan Lovell, who is also a board member of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. "This property plays an important role for the Ventura and Clear Lake area in many ways - in lake water quality, recreational opportunities, wildlife habitat and public access to the lake. We're just learning about the importance of restoring water quality and the economic benefits of providing recreational opportunities such as bike trails and lake recreation. This project fits in very well with others which are under way to enhance our quality of life in North Iowa."

Because of the land's dramatic changes in relief, Kothenbeutel Heritage Prairie harbors a variety of native species, such as Nodding Ladies' Tresses, Stiff Gentians and Birdsfoot Violets. Here Daryl Kothenbeutel (center) conducts a prairie hike for members of the Iowa Prairie Network. Inger Lamb

by Linda Yang

A Franklin County prairie enthusiast has entrusted his passion to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.

In November 2005, Daryl Kothenbeutel sold 40 acres—including 32 acres of remnant prairie—to INHF at a discounted price. The newly christened Kothenbeutel Heritage Prairie harbors more than 250 native prairie species, adapted to both wet and dry environments.

“What’s amazing about this site is the size and quality of the remnant prairie,” said Brain Fankhauser, INHF’s Land Stewardship Specialist. “To have such a large prairie in north central Iowa is rare, and its high level of plant diversity is rarer still.”

This land also offers glimpses of history: The tracks of a historical stagecoach route are still visible after prairie burns. It’s also home to a variety of fossils, similar to those at the Rockford Fossil and Prairie Site in Floyd County.

Kothenbeutel has been interested in conservation since his college days at Iowa State University. After graduating in 1974, he worked for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources on the Saylorville Wildlife Unit and later became the director of the Muscatine County Conservation Board. He now owns and operates the Iowa Prairie Seed Company, which carries over 100 varieties of prairie wildflower and grass seeds.

Slowed by a recent heart attack, Kothenbeutel decided to sell this remnant to someone who would continue his work. He chose INHF because he knew we would permanently protect the prairie that means so much to him.

“I probably know every inch of that land, more than I know any other land in Iowa,” said Kothenbeutel, who hand-harvested seeds for his company on this site. “I’ve spent hours and hours out there, and I could probably tell you every plant on it. I have a very close attachment to it.”

Other prairie lovers also love this project. The Iowa Prairie Network-Central Region devoted proceeds from their annual silent auction, raising over $3,400 to help us buy the land. Their parent organization, the Iowa Prairie Network, pitched in additional funds—as did many individual donors.

INHF’s land stewardship program will care for the site’s natural resources. This summer, our eight land stewardship interns plus staff removed invasive species and otherwise controlled tree and brush growth. INHF will continue these efforts, along with conducting prescribed fires.

“Daryl worked hard to manage this prairie, to keep it healthy,” said Fankhauser. “We plan to continue that wise management.”

Linda Yang is a Drake University student and Robert R. Buckmaster intern at INHF.

Marshall County Conservation Board and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation announced that fundraising has been completed for the purchase and restoration of a 212-acre site adjacent to Marietta Sand Prairie state preserve.

This site is located near Albion, northwest of Marshalltown. The project began a year ago when the two groups secured the opportunity to acquire the site from property owner Elwin Pearey and began fundraising efforts. Together MCCB and INHF raised $456,000.

“This project received outstanding support from a wide variety of donors,” said Mark Ackelson, INHF president. “We’re especially grateful to the Martha-Ellen Tye Foundation for their lead challenge grant, Iowa Prairie Network for their early support and outstanding aid from the state Pheasants Forever council, the Marshall County Chapter of Pheasants Forever and four neighboring county chapters. Also, a $200,000 grant from the state REAP [Resource Enhancement and Protection] program was essential to the project.”

The property is particularly special because nearly 56 acres of sand prairie remnant still exists on the new addition. Remnants of native sand prairie are among the rarest of prairie types and comprise only a few hundred of Iowa’s 35 million acres.

“With the fundraising and purchase complete, now the actual work of restoration starts—and that’s just as exciting as the start of the project a year ago,” said Mike Stegmann, director of the Marshall County Conservation Board. “It will be neat to watch it grow. Then we can show our great-grandkids that this is what Iowa once looked like 200 years ago.”

Restoration efforts started last fall and are planned to continue for several years. Volunteers have been hand-harvesting seed from the preserve to be used for the restoration of the prairie on the new addition. Approximately nine and a half acres have already been planted and another 25 to 30 acres will be done by the year’s end.

Hopes for the restoration beyond 2007 and into 2008 include connecting the preserve with prairie remnants on the new addition. This will create extensive interior grassland habitat for songbirds, pheasants and other species.

“It will take years to establish the prairie, and some care and attention long-term to keep it whole and healthy,” said Joe McGovern, INHF land stewardship program director. “But it’s worth all of the time and effort to do it right.”

Additional special features of the new site include a fen, which is a rare, spring-fed type of wetland with saturated soil. Of the more than 200 plant species found in fens, about five percent are listed as threatened or endangered.

The new addition is not open for public use until the dedication ceremony set for Saturday, September 30. Attendees of the event will be given the opportunity to hand-harvest seed to be used during plantings later in the year. After the dedication the entire site will be available for public enjoyment.

If conservation were as simple as hugging a tree, you wouldn’t need the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. A super-sized wetlands project at the Iowa Great Lakes illustrates just why INHF is needed.

Back in July 2002, INHF responded to a request from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR) to purchase a 666-acre site located near East Lake Okoboji and just across the road from Elinor Bedell State Park. INHF fronted nearly $1.2 million to purchase the site and has since worked with multiple agencies and funding sources to place it in public ownership.

The final parcel, 240 acres, is being transferred to the Iowa DNR at press-time. INHF previously transferred 326 acres to the Iowa DNR in March 2003 and 100 acres to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (with management by the Iowa DNR) in February 2004. Together they are called the Larry Wilson Legacy Marsh, named after the Iowa DNR’s long-time director who retired in 2002.

“We knew this project would take a few years, but how often does the public have a shot at acquiring an entire section of land in this sort of high-development area?” notes Bruce Mountain, INHF’s land projects director. “By converting the site from over-grazed pasture and crop ground to wetlands and prairie, we can improve water quality in the lakes, provide wildlife habitat and expand public recreation opportunities.”

INHF and the Iowa DNR raised funds from numerous federal, state and private sources, including the North American Waterfowl Conservation Act, Wetland Reserve Program, State Wildlife Grant, Wildlife Habitat Stamp, Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever. INHF itself made a major contribution by selling the final parcel to the state at a bargain sale price: $160,000 below appraised value.

Meanwhile, the Iowa DNR has site restoration efforts well underway. According to Jeff Joens, executive officer with the Iowa DNR’s Wildlife Bureau, the agency has already restored more than half of the site’s 20+ wetland basins, improving its wildlife and public recreation values. They are seeding the site with native grasses and forbs, which should improve water quality in East Lake Okoboji.

Cathy Engstrom is INHF’s Communications Director.

by Leah Scheppers

For the past decade Cindy Hildebrand and Roger Maddux have worked side by side to create what Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation’s Joe McGovern calls “one of the most admirable prairie reconstructions around Iowa.” Now they are preserving the prairie for future generations through a voluntary protection agreement, also known as a conservation easement.

Since acquiring the site—now known as Grant Ridge—over a decade ago, the couple has restored its prairie remnant and replanted a crop field to prairie, using seeds collected from this and nearby remnants. They plan to convert the hayfield to prairie sometime in the future.

“Grant Ridge is particularly special because of its natural prairie remnant,” says Joe McGovern, INHF’s land stewardship program director. “Cindy and Roger should be commended for their restoration and reconstruction work. They’ve created a window into our state’s past.”

The conservation easement protects that “window” for future generations, regardless of changes in ownership. Hildebrand and Maddux chose particularly restrictive easement terms: Absolutely no development will be allowed on the 72-acre easement site—no agricultural practices or buildings of any kind.

Though not open to the public, Grant Ridge offers numerous public benefits—such as providing habitat for diverse species. In addition, the couple routinely offers field trips, and university scientists have carried out several research projects on the property. With help from the Story County Conservation Board, the couple annually donates high-quality prairie seed from their land to other public and private sites.

“We believe the best use for Grant Ridge is to remain a natural area,” says Cindy. “Even the most protective land ownership is only temporary, which is why we felt that an easement was the best choice.”

Protecting this natural habitat was important to the couple, who McGovern describes as leaders in prairie reconstruction and highly respected among their peers. Hildebrand is a board member of the Iowa Prairie Network and serves on several conservation committees. In 1998 she received INHF’s Hagie Heritage Award for her conservation efforts.

“It’s good to know Grant Ridge is helping to expand prairie habitat and also educating Iowans,” says Roger, a mathematics professor at Iowa State University. “We hope it will do so for many years.”

 By Leah Scheppers, a Drake University student and a Robert R. Buckmaster intern at INHF.

Anyone walking through the 72 acres of Grant Ridge eleven years ago would have easily recognized the crop field, a hayfield and an old cattle pasture. What may not have been apparent is that the pasture contains one of Iowa’s few never-plowed prairie remnants. It was this prairie that drew Cindy Hildebrand and her husband Roger Maddux to the property in 1994.

For the last decade the couple has worked to create what Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation’s Joe McGovern calls “one of the most admirable prairie restoration efforts around Iowa.” Now they are preserving their land, located southwest of Nevada, for future generations through a voluntary protection agreement also known as a conservation easement.

Easements help protect land for future generations, regardless of changes in ownership. Though the land is not open to the public the easement offers a number of public benefits including protecting a variety of uncommon plants and animals, providing educational opportunities, sharing seed for public areas and improving water quality.

Since the couple acquired the land, they have restored the prairie remnant and reconstructed prairie on the crop field, using seeds native to the site and surrounding areas. They plan to convert the hayfield to prairie sometime the future. Thanks to their efforts, Grant Ridge contains an unusually diverse species mix.

“Grant Ridge is particularly special because of its natural prairie remnant,” said McGovern, land stewardship program director at INHF. “It’s a window into our state’s past prairie landscape.”

The land shelters a few species that are on Iowa's endangered, threatened, and special-concern list. Story County's first documented Henslow's sparrows were found nesting on Grant Ridge a few years ago, and regal fritillary butterflies and bull snakes call it home. Other uncommon prairie dwellers such as bobolinks, grasshopper sparrows and prairie violets can also be found.

The couple decided to donate the easement to the INHF to protect these species and the entire prairie ecosystem beyond their lifetimes.

"We've seen a lot of rural development in Story County in the past two decades," said Hildebrand. "We know development will continue, but we want to make sure that Grant Ridge will remain a natural area. All land ownership is temporary, so we decided a permanent easement was a good choice."

Each easement is individualized for the land and landowner who places it. Under the terms of their agreement, the couple has chosen unusually restrictive language to protect the land. No development will be allowed on the property. This includes all agricultural practices and buildings of any kind.

“We are happy to help protect such a high quality piece of land. It is by far one of the best prairie reconstructions I’ve ever seen,” said McGovern. “Cindy and Roger are prairie enthusiasts through and through. They’ve attempted to do everything right and that is so rare.”

Hildebrand is a board member of the Iowa Prairie Network and serves on several environmental and land-use committees. In 1998 Hildebrand received the Hagie Heritage Award, an honor from INHF that recognizes Iowans who have made an outstanding volunteer contribution to the states natural habitat. More recently she was chosen as the 2004-2005 winner of the Wild Iowa Essay Project sponsored by the Agrestal Fund of INHF.

McGovern described Hildebrand and Maddux as “leaders in prairie preservation and highly respected among their peers.”

The couple also offers field trips on Grant Ridge, and university scientists have carried out several research projects on the property. With the help of the Story Conservation Board, prairie seed from Grant Ridge is donated every year to public and private plantings.

"It's good to know Grant Ridge is helping to expand prairie habitat and also educating Iowans," said Maddux, a mathematics professor at Iowa State University. "We hope it will do so for many years. Good management is critical for prairies, so we are taking steps to ensure the land will be managed well in perpetuity. And we are grateful to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation for providing a conservation easement option to Iowa landowners."

A recent addition to a marsh complex near Lost Island Lake will provide expanded wetlands and prairie, help improve the lake’s water quality and provide public access for outdoor recreation.

The 47-acre site will become part of an existing public area, the 570-acre Blue Wing Marsh. It is located less than one mile from Lost Island Lake in Palo Alto County. The new addition will increase the area available for public recreation.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) acquired the property with help from the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF), a non-profit conservation organization that works to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. INHF negotiated to purchase the land and has now transferred ownership to USFWS.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) will manage and restore the site. The site will be open later this fall for public recreation activities such as hunting, wildlife viewing and hiking.

The site is currently cropland, but will be planted with a diverse prairie seed mixture to mimic the pre-settlement landscape. The IDNR will restore three wetland basins that will total eight acres. The basins will provide critical wildlife habitat and retain water to prevent flooding. The wetlands will also slow and filter the water flowing into Lost Island Lake, helping to improve water quality.

According to Tom Neal, IDNR wildlife biologist “The addition of this site is important for three main reasons: watershed protection, restoration of native species and public recreation.”

“This site will add much needed wildlife habitat expansion for the area, as well as increasing public hunting grounds,” said Bruce Mountain, INHF’s Land Projects Director.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation has protected more than 85,000 acres throughout Iowa, including many sites in Iowa’s Great Lakes area. For more information about this and other INHF projects, call 800-475-1846 or visit www.inhf.org.

The property is between the Boone Forks Wildlife Management Area and the Hamilton County Conservation Board’s Bell’s Hill Park. The Iowa National Heritage Foundation (INHF) successfully purchased the property in 2004 and has now transferred it to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). It is now open for public use.

“This new addition will help ensure the tranquil setting that attracts so many outdoor enthusiasts to the surrounding area,” said Scott Peterson wildlife biologist for the Iowa DNR. “It will further protect the naturally rich and scenic habitat that many locals and visitors come to experience when hunting or canoeing along the Boone River.”

The area offers a wide range of activities for area residents and visitors, including hunting, fishing, canoeing, birding and more.

The land features many scenic wooded bluffs, grassy uplands and some cropland. The addition will help protect the wooded bluffs, which stabilize the riverbank, protect water quality and provide a continuous wildlife corridor.

A significant portion of the new parcel is part of a designated “Protected Waters Area” (PWA). The PWA program aims to maintain existing natural and scenic qualities of selected lakes, rivers and marshes and their adjacent land.

This segment of the Boone River is one of five PWAs designated by the Iowa DNR. The area includes 25 miles of river—from its confluence with Brewer’s Creek south of Webster City to the confluence with the Des Moines River—and 6,338 acres of land.

“This area contains one of the most scenic, free-flowing rivers in Iowa and has some of the largest expanses of woodlands and diversity of game, non-game and rare species,” said Bruce Mountain. “We’re glad we could help protect it for public use.”

The new addition is sure to be welcomed by the site’s star species, the Greater Prairie Chicken. The partners hope the addition will further boost the bird’s small populations within Iowa. Though the prairie chicken’s signature “booming” sound once echoed across Iowa prairies, over-hunting and habitat destruction led to their complete absence here for nearly 50 years. The birds were successfully reintroduced to the Ringgold Wildlife Area in 1987, and their population is slowly rebuilding.

“The mission of this site is to provide habitat for open grassland birds and this includes the prairie chicken,” said Mel Moe, a wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in Mount Ayr, Iowa. “Kellerton is home to the largest existing prairie chicken flock in Iowa. This tract of land plays an important role in continuing the revitalization of the species to the area.”

Up to 40 prairie chickens have been seen in the Kellerton area. Due to their growing population, this BCA now hosts Iowa’s largest known “booming” grounds. Here male prairie chickens attempt to attract females by performing an unusual mating dance and making a loud booming sound, using air sacs in their throats.

As a result, the site draws still another species. Bird watching enthusiasts flock here every spring to witness the display. A viewing platform adds a special touch, allowing visitors to observe the bird’s mating ritual without disturbing them.

During the mating ritual the males gather on the booming ground, also known as a lek, bow and begin their song and dance. They stomp their feet on the ground and begin jumping and fluttering, whooping and cackling, until finally they fill their air sacs and let out the call.

“While hearing their deep resonating ‘whoo, whoo, whoooo’ is a highlight of my year, I secretly really love their dance, which inspired the species’ scientific name - Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus, or ‘drummer of love’,” said Marlene Ehresman, program associate for INHF. “Their little feet madly stamp the earth as the females wander around, looking for the best catch on the dance floor. It’s a sight to behold.”

The viewing platform is open year round and is handicap assessable. Viewing is usually best during the hours of sunrise and sunset all through the months of March, April and sometimes May.

“Getting the chance to witness the prairie chickens on their lek is a special experience,” said Ehresman. “An added bonus, visitors are also treated to the sight of short-eared owls hunting in the evening or harriers hunting in the morning. We’re happy to assist in expanding the habitat for such interesting and valuable birds.”

The Iowa DNR also plans to remove invasive trees from the new addition, to reduce predation on the growing prairie chicken population as well as help to restore the land back to a more natural landscape.

If you see prairie chickens mating or nesting on or near your property contact the Iowa DNR at 641-464-2220 as they are keeping records on the bird’s population. For more general information about this project, visit www.inhf.org or call 800-475-1846.

By Leah Scheppers

After years of relentless determination and hard work, Waubonsie State Park is 52 percent bigger. This park is located in Fremont County, Iowa’s southwest corner.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF), a private landowner, Iowa’s legislature and others helped the Iowa Department of Natural Resources acquire the 646-acre Wa-Shawtee addition. The site contains prairie-topped ridges, steep valleys and an entire camp complex.

“This is the most significant addition to Iowa’s state park system in a generation,” said Kevin Szcodronski, chief of the IDNR state park bureau. “The addition benefits the park, boosts the local economy and protects a large portion of Iowa’s natural resources.”

The Girl Scouts once operated Camp Wa-Shawtee here, but they recently closed the camp and sold the site to Edd Marshall of rural Silver City. He placed it back on the market in 2003.

Since that time, INHF has spent hundreds of staff hours and thousands of dollars to permanently protect the site’s resources. INHF helped with negotiations, fundraising and countless technical details.

Meanwhile, Marshall—believing the area should be used for “the folks, families and kids”—rebuffed significantly higher offers from developers so that the state might attain it instead. Marshall also donated 65 acres of this site to a non-profit organization, Hole in the Hills at Wa-Shawtee, for use as a camp for children with life-threatening diseases.

Success came this fall when the IDNR purchased the addition for $2.1 million—using a $1.5 million special appropriation from the Iowa Legislature and $1 million from the Iowa Values Fund, through the Department of Economic Development.

Waubonsie State Park is located in Iowa’s Loess Hills, which hug Iowa’s western border. Both beautiful and fragile, these hills contain some of the highest erosion rates in the United States along with several endangered plant and animal species.

Wa-Shawtee constitutes approximately 17 percent of the Waubonsie Special Landscape Area, one of 12 Loess Hills regions prioritized for protection by the National Park Service. With this purchase, 39 percent of this Special Landscape Area is now protected.

“Seldom have we had the opportunity to expand a state park with such a significant addition,” said Mark Ackelson, INHF president. “This project has been one of our major priorites for several years, so it’s great to finally see that hard work pay off.”

The camp itself is nestled in one of the Loess Hills’ valleys and will add more scenic nature trails and spectacular views to the state park as well as a seven-acre lake, indoor pool, nature center and lodge. Its 11 cabin-style buildings may be refurbished as rental cabins.

“The diversity of facilities and infrastructure of the new addition is really going to be a big draw to Waubonsie. The additional recreation offerings, year-round overnight accommodations, larger trail system and event rental lodge will really benefit the local economy and attract tourists,” said Ackelson.

Currently the state park has 70,000 visitor days annually. The new water features and other amenities are expected to double that number. The initial economic impact from the expanded park is estimated at $1.8 million.

“The Foundation was created to tackle just this sort of project—where great natural resources are at risk,” said Ackelson. “We are thankful to our members and volunteers for making it possible to protect this special slice of Iowa's Loess Hills."

By Leah Scheppers, a Drake University student and a Robert R. Buckmaster intern at INHF.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) purchased the site from Robert Sampson in October 2002 to preserve its exceptional natural resources. It contains more than 10 sinkholes that support rare algific (cold-producing) slopes in the adjacent Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge.

INHF sold 50 acres of the property to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) earlier this year. These acres contain the most sensitive natural features and will be permanently preserved as a buffer to the wildlife refuge.

Many of the rare species in the refuge, including federally threatened northern monkshood, can survive only in the cool environment provided by algific slopes. As air flows into the ground through sinkholes in the springtime, it passes over ice and cools. The resulting cold air is released through vents in the ground, cooling the surface throughout the summer. The process is reversed in the winter, drawing cold air into the ground and replenishing the underground ice.

“A major threat to algific slopes is filling in sinkholes,” said Cathy Henry, refuge operations specialist. “The number of sinkholes on this property made it an important site to protect.”

Because the sinkholes and other features on the 50-acre parcel are vital to sustaining the unique habitat provided by the algific slopes in the refuge, the Iowa DNR acquired the land utilizing funds provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through Section 6 of the federal Endangered Species Act.

In June 2004 INHF sold the other 70 acres to the Klaus Boy Scout Camp, which they used to expand recreation and education opportunities. The camp and INHF entered into a permanent land protection agreement, also known as a conservation easement, as a condition of the sale to protect the land from future development and cattle grazing.

“I’m pleased that this spectacular site is going to remain protected, not only for educational use by an established scouting program but also for habitat on adjacent refuge land,” said Darrell Mills, INHF Blufflands Conservation Coordinator. “This project blends two crucial conservation priorities.”

The entire 120-acre site is also home to a variety of species like golden saxifrage and glacial relic snails that are associated with algific environments. The water quality of Brownfield Creek, a cold-water trout stream, is also protected.

Because the land lies in the midst of a 640-acre tract of land with no roads, wildlife thrives there. Its wooded bluffs provide important habitat for neotropical migratory birds, who travel along the Mississippi River between points as far north as Canada and as far south as Argentina.

The non-profit INHF works with public and private entities to protect Iowa’s natural places for future generations. The organization has protected more than 80,000 acres statewide, but places special emphasis on the Mississippi River blufflands region.

In the neighborhood surrounding Dick and Shally Garin’s property in Allamakee County, conservation is all the rage.

The couple approached INHF in 2004 about protecting their 83 acres of scenic Allamakee County bluffs after watching neighbors complete the process. Their property, just south of Lansing in the Mississippi River blufflands, adjoins 537 acres of protected land held by three private owners. The voluntary protection agreement they signed with INHF, also known as a conservation easement, helped form a 620-acre expanse of preserved, but still privately-owned, land.

Two of the other protected properties in the complex are also INHF projects: a 180-acre easement donated by Doug Mullen and a 150-acre easement donated by Raleigh and JoEllyn Buckmaster. A third parcel, the 207-acre Lansing Preserve owned by the Riverland Conservancy, lies across the road from the Garins’ land.

“Together, these protected lands provide a great deal of quality interior wildlife habitat,” said Darrel Mills of INHF. “By minimizing fringe habitat, the whole of this protected land is greater than the sum of its parts.”

The Garins’ easement permanently preserves upland timber, prairie and oak savanna. These areas offer habitat for a wide variety of wildlife species while providing spectacular scenery for the public.

“If I built a house on top of the bluff, it would have a one-way view,” said Dick Garin. “It would be great for me, but not for all the people down on the river.”

The Garins protected both their homestead and an adjoining 17-acre property known as Jones Walnut Woods with this easement. INHF traded its Jones Walnut Woods for 22 acres owned by the Garins on the Upper Iowa River, provided that the couple include the Woods under their conservation easement. The land INHF acquired along the Upper Iowa River, another key INHF project area, adjoins existing public land.

“We used the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation as a tool, and everything we wanted for our land they provided without any pressure or hassle,” said Dick Garin, who grew up in this neighborhood.

Conservation easements are intended to protect land from activities like mining, livestock or construction that may diminish the site’s natural resource value. The Garins retain ownership and use of the land, while INHF is permanently responsible for ensuring that they and future owners follow the terms of the conservation easement.

Nic Young is an Iowa City native, Drake University graduate, Svare Family Intern and Robert R. Buckmaster Intern at INHF.

Since that time, PF has worked extensively to restore prairie habitat on the site by reintroducing native grasses and planting prairie-compatible trees. This has resulted in a large increase in the number of pheasants and other wildlife on the site. Ringneck Ridge is one of only a handful of sites held by Dubuque County Conservation Board that is open for public hunting. The land is also open for low-impact recreation like hiking and nature watching.

by Nic Young

There’s a treasure nestled on the southern edge of Iowa City that, with the help of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) and local partners, will soon be restored for public enjoyment.

The 38-acre site contains remnants of sand prairie, an unusual ecosystem that supports drought-tolerant plant and animal species.

Prior to 1998, the site was home to the Ornate Box Turtle, a state-threatened species that can survive only on sandy soil. To protect them from surrounding development, the turtles were relocated to other sites by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

To preserve portions of the prairie, a local conservation group, Concerned Citizens for Sand Prairie Preservation (CCSPP), compiled a report with research and nearly a dozen letters from geology and ecology experts.

Their efforts convinced a local company developing adjoining remnant land to work with Randall Arendt, a nationally renowned conservation landscape architect. Under Arendt’s direction, the company donated 18 acres of the prairie to the city.

Meanwhile, INHF acquired another 20 acres from seven siblings who grew up on the site. In 2003 Portia Cooper, Mary Jane Showers, James Showers, Donald Showers and Susan Blumgren donated their shares to INHF. The Foundation purchased the remaining interest from the other two owners in 2004 and transferred the entire parcel to Iowa City in April 2005.

The city intends to maintain and restore the site’s natural features and to construct nature trails, opening it for low-impact uses like bird-watching and school programs.

“This project is good not only for preservation, but also from an educational standpoint,” said Terry Trueblood, director of the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department.

The department is currently commissioning a management plan for the site to help refurbish its degraded remnants. CCSPP members have volunteered to help with the restoration effort.

“Until we get in there and start to burn and remove the trees, it’s tough to say how well the area is going to respond,” said CCSPP member Amy Bouska. “We have a lot of work ahead of us from a management perspective.”

 By Nic Young, an Iowa City native, Drake University student, Svare Family Intern and Robert R. Buckmaster Intern at INHF.

Two of the additions—adjoining parcels of 160 acres each—are located one mile west of Pisgah. In 2002 the private landowner sold one parcel directly to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the other to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit conservation group that often takes interim ownership while public agencies raise acquisition dollars. In December 2004 the Foundation transferred this parcel plus another 5.5-acre site to the Iowa DNR’s Loess Hills State Forest.

The smaller site is located off of 165th Trail in the south part of the Little Sioux Unit. It brought the state forest boundary out to a road access. The Iowa DNR is planning to put a public parking area there this fall.

“We’re especially excited about the 320-acre addition near Pisgah,” said Brent Olson, Area Forester, for the Loess Hills State Forest. “It contains the highest point between Pisgah and Murray Hill, rugged slopes with prairie remnants on the ridgetops and fabulous wildlife habitat.”

State Forest staff have already begun restoration efforts, such as removing crops and cattle from the steeply eroding slopes, restructuring waterways to repair past erosion, planting hay and local ecotype native grasses, removing invasive cedar trees and conducting prescribed fires to stimulate dormant prairie plants.

“Healing the land and restoring native species is a long-term process,” notes Olson. “We’re limited today by not having enough local, native prairie seed to cover all the erosive slopes. We could only plant a few acres for now, but once our local ecotype seedings mature, we will be able to harvest and plant that seed elsewhere on the properties.”

The restored grasslands and woodlands will provide suitable habitat for pheasant, quail, deer, turkey and numerous songbirds.

According to Olson, “It took a lot of partners and funding streams to purchase this land for public use—including the DNR, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and the Loess Hills State Revolving Fund. It will take even longer to reach our restoration goals, but the end product is worth the wait.”

Iowa’s Garst family is donating one of the state’s largest land conservation areas, with a vision to match.

The Garsts donated 1,290 acres along the Middle Raccoon River, near Coon Rapids. Over the next few years, the family intends to donate a total of about 5,000 acres. At that point the site will be larger than most of Iowa’s state parks, with a donated land value of about $6 million.

New conservation entity

Though the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation is temporarily holding the Garst donation, the land will soon transfer to Whiterock Conservancy, the new conservation group created to own and manage the site.

The Conservancy independently continues the conservation interests of the Garst family donors. Its three-part mission includes land and wildlife habitat preservation; low-impact public recreation and environmental education; and sustainable agriculture practices like ecotourism, alternative pasturing, paid hunting, conservation-friendly farming and harvesting of forest products.

The family believes that turning control of the land over to Whiterock Conservancy is the best way to protect the valley from any potential actions of their heirs, as well as to ensure a coherent and professional restoration process.

The Conservancy was initiated by the Garst family and formed in coordination with INHF and others. Initial board members are Fred Kirschenmann of ISU’s Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture (serving as board chair), Mark Ackelson of INHF, Mike Brandrup of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Robert G. Riley, Jr., at-large member from Des Moines. Liz, Rachel, and Jennifer Garst represent the family.

Although three Garst daughters sit on Whiterock’s board today, the family is prevented from holding a majority position and is not guaranteed any board seats. “As directors of the nonprofit, we’re protecting goals of the nonprofit, not the family,” says Rachel Garst.

An evolving land ethic

Whiterock’s goals reflect an evolution of views on land and agriculture through four generations of the Garst family, beginning with Edward Garst who purchased the first piece of the farmstead in the 1880s.

In 1929, Edward’s son Roswell—a firm believer in the green revolution—founded the Garst and Thomas Seed Corn Company. The colorful Roswell promoted his theories not just on his farm, but also throughout the world. In 1959, Roswell hosted Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to display his innovative farm practices. That visit, during the height of the Cold War, put the family and the farm “on the map.”

Roswell’s son Stephen continued promoting high-input, high-yield agriculture, but was also an active outdoorsman. He was an early supporter of erosion control measures such as waterways and no-till farming, and was a leading force behind a local conservation board and bike trail. He added numerous tracts of timber and pasture to the farm for hunting, then built and stocked dozens of fishing ponds, which he opened to public fishing.

Stephen’s daughters, who grew up hunting and picnicking on the land, today focus on promoting biodiversity and sustainability. Liz has been running an ecotourism business called Garst Farm Resorts from her home on the wooded property and soon plans to donate the business to Whiterock. Meanwhile, she and other family members have begun restoring the land’s native prairies and wetlands.

“It’s exciting to have the opportunity to work with researchers—from ISU and elsewhere—on how to make land pay for itself in ways that are environmentally friendly,” says Jennifer Garst.

What’s ahead

The Whiterock Conservancy will continue the family’s conservation efforts, focusing on protecting and restoring the land’s diverse habitats, as well as its special geologic features and dark night skies. A botanist mapping plant communities on the property has already found several remnant native prairie and savanna communities, as well as unusual side-hill seeps.

“Our hope is that Whiterock Conservancy’s long-term impact goes far beyond its boundaries,” notes Whiterock’s board president Kirschenmann. “We envision extensive research in ecological and environmental sustainability.”

The agreement was made between Coldwater Creek Farms, LLC (CCF), the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) and the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). It preserves 312 acres along both banks of the river in Winneshiek County.

"We have to temper the pace of development by making strong efforts to protect important natural areas like the Upper Iowa River Corridor," said CCF President Bill Heine, who purchased the property in 2002 intending to protect it. "The sight of a dozen bald eagles soaring on an updraft over the limestone bluffs along this river is something everyone should have a chance to witness, and we owe it to future generations to protect as much of this area as we can."

Under the terms of the agreement, CCF retains ownership of the property. They relinquish all future rights for development, mining or other incompatible activities while retaining rights to use the land for conservation-minded agriculture. INHF is responsible for ensuring that CCF and all future owners of the property follow the terms of the agreement, which is also known as a conservation easement.

The NRCS Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP), a federal program designed to protect agricultural lands threatened by development, compensated CCF for half of the easement's appraised value. FRPP helps fund conservation easements by partially reimbursing landowners for decreased real estate value on lands permanently protected from development.

CFF donated 25 percent of the easement's value, and the DK Prediger Upper Iowa River Fund and INHF members provided additional funding.

"It's not often you have the opportunity to protect both sides of the river like this, especially in an area with such great natural resources," said Joe McGovern, Director of Land Stewardship at INHF. "This site will also be enjoyed by thousands of canoeists who pass along that stretch of the river each year."

The property is notable for its native oak and hickory woodlands, reconstructed prairie and limestone outcroppings, as well as its shared boundary with a wildlife management area operated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. According to McGovern the land protected by the easement also provides especially good wildlife habitat because it protects both shores of the river.

INHF has designated the Upper Iowa River as one of its target protection areas and is committed to helping landowners who want to permanently protect their land. Known for its scenic beauty and towering limestone bluffs, the river is the only waterway in Iowa to qualify for federal designation as a Wild and Scenic River.

The CFF agreement is the fifth FRPP conservation easement INHF has completed, following two others along the Upper Iowa River and two in the Loess Hills in Western Iowa. The use of FRPP funds is fairly new in Iowa, and was first used by INHF and The Nature Conservancy to preserve land in the Loess Hills.

"The FRPP program has limitations that make it inappropriate for most easements," McGovern said. "However, on an exceptional piece of land such as this, it can be a terrific option."

This is the second land preservation agreement that Bill Heine has made with INHF. In 2001 he and his brother David Heine donated a 105-acre easement next to the Chimney Rocks along the Upper Iowa River. To date, the INHF has helped protect more than 80,000 acres of wild places throughout the state of Iowa.

Pre-historic cultures thought this place was sacred-and left archeological traces of their presence. Early white explorers, like Major Long, noted its landmark bluff in their journals and drawings. Current owners Raleigh and JoEllyn "Joey" Buckmaster say they "always recognized this place as something special" and knew it deserved special treatment.

That's why the couple has spent a quarter century restoring their land's most distinctive and fragile areas-and has now extended that protection by donating a conservation easement. This easement, a voluntary land protection agreement between the Buckmasters and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, keeps the land in private ownership while restricting uses like construction or grazing that could damage its natural resources.

The Buckmasters own 800 acres in Iowa's northeast corner, just south of Lansing. Their easement permanently protects a 170-acre strip with more than two miles of bluffline overlooking the Mississippi River. The protected property contains woodlands, prairie, oak savanna, archeological remnants and wildlife habitat. But the eye-catcher is Capoli (CAP oh lie), a dramatically angled bluff that rises 420 feet above the river.

"INHF has protected many beautiful and diverse sites in the Mississippi River blufflands, and this one ranks among the crown jewels," says Darrel Mills, INHF's Blufflands Coordinator. "Moreover, it's the best match I've ever seen between a property and its owners. The diversity and quality of the landscape is surpassed only by the varied interests and capabilities of Raleigh and Joey."

Evolving ownership goals

Raleigh's father, the late Bob Buckmaster, acquired the property in 1958. Bob, an ardent outdoorsman who helped found INHF in 1979, advised his children to "live where you want to live and the rest will follow." Raleigh listened and spent every possible moment on the site. Joey was equally impressed, and they were married in the valley beneath Capoli. They purchased the property from Raleigh's parents in 1974.

The couple agrees that they've gone through distinct "cycles" during their three decades of ownership. Soon after purchasing the land, they fenced off the most fragile areas, developed a rotational grazing system and raised Limosine cattle-all while Raleigh established his veterinary practice, their three sons were born and the couple built a home from native materials on the site.

The second cycle began in 1986 when they switched from raising cattle to raising Fallow deer. It was a family business; Raleigh and the boys handled most of the outdoor chores while Joey marketed the specialty meat. After 16 years in the business, including national leadership positions in the industry, the family sold its last deer-and entered Cycle Three.

Evolving conservation goals

"Removing those deer fences created a psychological change we hadn't predicted," recalls Raleigh. Though they'd always protected the site's natural areas, the Buckmasters became more focused on restoration and hired Applied Ecological Services (AES) to develop a master plan. Referring to maps and management plans produced by AES, Raleigh notes that the property is a living laboratory of landscapes with various usage histories and stages of restoration.

"When you say you're preserving something, much of that is in the eye of the beholder," notes Raleigh. "I define preservation in part as minimizing human impact-not exclusion, but minimalization. People affect the environment in ways we can't measure yet. So, when in doubt, leave it alone. Responsible land ownership is like the Hippocratic Oath: First, do no harm."

The Buckmasters-using family labor plus support from AES, INHF staff, neighbors and friends-have concentrated their efforts on "liberating" the prairie remnants depicted in the earliest drawings of Capoli. Thanks to years of removing invasive cedars and conducting controlled burns, an increasingly diverse prairie covers Capoli's dry, southwestern slopes. Meanwhile, they've removed a man-made dike to restore the valley's natural drainage and cleared brush from a century-old apple orchard to preserve its heirloom varieties.

Planning ahead

With that level of investment-financial, emotional and time-the Buckmasters spent a long time considering their permanent protection options. "I'm a believer in personal property rights-a big believer-but this easement protects things we were protecting anyway," says Raleigh. "We included only part of our land in the conservation easement so that our kids or other future owners would have room for choices. However, we have protected the most sensitive areas because-regarding ecological integrity-we hope that long-term consequences will be immune from short-term decision-making."

"This bluffland prairie was created when the glaciers melted," Raleigh continues. "Some of that DNA from 10,000 years ago is still here. The events of our lives-no matter how important-seem insignificant in comparison."

Most people don’t associate Iowa with canyons, but the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation is working closely with Dubuque County Conservation Board to acquire a 419-acre site containing parts of Whitewater Canyon and associated uplands.

Straddling Dubuque and Jones counties, Whitewater Canyon is two miles long and 150-200 feet deep—with no development of any kind. Its geological treasures are described more completely in the Ecology College article below. It’s also rich in diverse plant and animal life.

When all funds are secured, the site will be managed by the Dubuque and Jones County Conservation Boards. Outdoor enthusiasts can then look forward to enjoying an assortment of activities here—from birdwatching and hunting to canoeing and environmental education.

Partners have already raised most of the $1 million project cost, primarily through public funds. About $50,000 in private donations are still needed.

Learn more from the links below or by contacting the Dubuque County Conservation Board, at (563) 556-6745. You may also donate now through our secure website.

Links:

Project overview, Winter 2006 magazine
Ecology College: Whitewater Canyon’s Bedrock Beauty, Winter 2006 magazine

In a project that should delight both anglers and conservationists, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) has expanded public protection along Iowa's premiere stream for native brook trout. INHF is transferring ownership of 40 acres along South Pine Creek to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). This creek supports Iowa's highest population of naturally reproducing brook trout-more fondly known as brookies-the state's only native trout species.

INHF purchased the newest addition on contract from David Dinger in 1998, using funds donated by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Hawkeye Fly Fishing Association and INHF's Trout Stream Protection Revolving Fund. Once INHF completed the contract purchase this summer, IDNR agreed to pay INHF the remaining $5,000 project balance and take ownership. The newly acquired land is adjacent to sites the two organizations had protected earlier. Like them, it will be open for walk-in, catch-and-release trout fishing.

"Without the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, we wouldn't have any protection on this stream," said Bill Kalishek, IDNR Fisheries Biologist. "With this newest addition, the Foundation offered a great bargain to the DNR and to the people of Iowa."

Local landowners also deserve credit. "Brook trout are a fussy species that demand pristine, free-flowing water," said Mark Ackelson, INHF president. "They survived in South Pine Creek because it's surrounded by responsible landowners, like David Dinger, who used good farming practices and protected the stream's integrity."

Dinger also sold a conservation easement on 20 acres just off the creek. The easement restricts Dinger and future owners from adding buildings, feedlots and other potential threats to the stream's integrity-while allowing them to farm existing crop fields, conduct sustainable timber harvests and maintain private use and ownership.

When INHF and IDNR first began protecting South Pine Creek in 1994, it was Iowa's only source for naturally reproducing brook trout. IDNR fisheries staff later discovered that the trout were genetically distinct from those found anywhere else in the world. Over the years, they have bred South Pine's brookies and placed populations in select area streams to improve their survival prospects.

"Protecting the land was important," said Ackelson. "However, long-term management efforts by IDNR staff and from private groups like the Hawkeye Fly Fishing Association have further ensured the site's integrity-whether you look at it as a conservationist or an angler."

"It was a leap of faith for both our board and staff," said Joe McGovern, INHF Land Stewardship Director. "We saw a potential prairie remnant there, but we weren't positive we could bring it back. After less than two years of prairie management, the species diversity is already better than we dared hope-and it's just going to keep getting better!"

A family's legacy

The site was purchased from the estate of George Wildin, who had owned it since 1946. Unlike neighboring properties, the site was never plowed, never drained and never treated with herbicides-except for occasional spot-spraying of Canadian thistle. When the Wildins expressed interest in selling their land to a conservation group, Algona attorney Thomas Lipps referred them to INHF.

Jim Wildin of rural Algona, one of George's four children, can remember his father using horses to harvest wild hay from the site: "You'd see all kinds of wildflowers and prairie flowers in the hay that you wouldn't see anywhere else." After decades of harvesting prairie hay, the family grazed livestock there in recent years.

"Iowa's prairie is 99.9 percent gone-and most of the remnants are in tiny, scattered patches," noted McGovern. "Because of their low-impact management approach, the Wildins have preserved part of a disappearing ecosystem: 80 acres of virgin prairie remnant, completely clear of invasive trees and shrubs, located on some of Iowa's best, flat, black soil."

Because it was never drained, the site also contains at least a dozen prairie potholes-the wet depressions that once dotted north-central Iowa. The site's moisture variations contribute to its diversity.

The legacy continues

INHF's short-term goal is to restore the native prairie community. To date, INHF staff members and interns have used hand labor to remove invasive species and conducted a limited, prescribed burn. Long-term goals include continuing to improve the site's health and, someday, using it as a source of local seed for other area projects.

Early results are promising. Dr. Thomas Rosburg, an INHF advisor and Drake University Ecology and Botany professor, conducted an extensive site inventory during 2004 and identified an impressive 125 native plant species, including 14 "high conservatism" and three "special concern" species, indicators of a high-quality site.

"Though hurt by intensive grazing, the site probably has more species that will show up when it's had more time to recover," noted Rosburg. "With this kind of diversity, at least the western half is of state preserve quality."

Another family's legacy

Though INHF's risk had paid off in terms of quality, staff and board were still concerned about the financial risk. The concern was allayed when, in June 2004, INHF received a gift from the estate of Susan Connell Magee, a Clear Lake native and ardent conservationist. Susan had noted in her will that she wanted her gift to be used for the protection of prairies. After consulting with her family, INHF chose to direct her gift toward the purchase of Wildin Heritage Prairie.

"I met Susan several years ago and was struck by her knowledge of and commitment to protecting prairie remnants," noted McGovern. "We didn't know about Wildin Heritage Prairie during Susan's lifetime, but I believe it's exactly the kind of place she would have wanted preserved."

At Morgan's request, the site will not be open to the public. Instead, it will be set aside as a wildlife refuge or, in her words, "a place where the wildlife can rest, not be harassed and chased and hounded." The donated property includes more than 266 feet of undeveloped shoreline on Brown's Bay in the southeastern portion of West Lake Okoboji. It also contains mature woodland maple and basswood trees and a stand of bur oak-important habitat for a wide variety of birds and mammals.

"This land was always a special place to me and to my parents and grandparents," said Morgan. "I have wonderful memories of the woods, especially Mother and I walking in the woods. She called it traipsing. She'd say, 'Come on, Lois. Let's go traipsing!'

"Mother loved the woods," Morgan added. "Mother knew all the birds, the flowers and plants. We'd see songbirds-many more than we have now-and lots of other animals."

The community has known this area as Wheeler Woods for many years. Morgan lived on the property from 1945 to 2003. The Wheelers also allowed six generations of several families to camp and enjoy the property. The word heritage was added to the site name to reflect the long-term commitment to protection and stewardship of this natural area-first by three generations of the Wheeler family, now by INHF.

Though public use is not allowed, everyone who uses the lake benefits from the natural shoreline and woodland-which looks much like it did when the family bought the land more than a century ago.

"Lakeshore refuges like this are rare," noted Mark Ackelson, INHF president. "Mrs. Morgan has protected a marvelous part of the lake's natural areas. Thank you, Lois!"

Landowners Michael Osterholm and Barbara Colombo donated a conservation easement on 98 acres of their land to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF), a non-profit conservation organization that protects Iowa's land, water and wildlife. This easement both prevents destructive use of the land and protects current habitat improvement efforts.

Osterholm, a Waukon native, and his wife Colombo live in Greenwood, MN.

"This project is a lifelong dream for me. Since I was a young boy fishing and exploring the trout streams in this area, I've always appreciated the unique beauty and resource value it represents," Osterholm explained. "For Barb and me, this is a legacy issue; it's our opportunity to help future generations experience this gift of nature that is in our own backyard."

Their property contains sections of Waterloo and Duck Creek, which both support naturally reproducing populations of trout, and is adjacent to state property on Waterloo Creek.

The site also contains a third cold-water spring stream that had been channelized in the early 1940s, reducing its habitat value. With the support of a variety of organizations, Osterholm plans to restore the stream's natural meander and introduce native brook trout from South Pine Creek, another INHF project area.

The remeandering project was submitted to Trout Unlimited's highly competitive, nationwide Embrace-a-Stream program for support. The project ranked fourth out of 52 proposals submitted this year and will receive a grant to support the effort.

The Osterholm property is open to public fishing by permission only. The owners require catch-and-release fishing and only barbless hooks.

Working with Driftless Land Stewardship, Osterholm has developed a multi-year restoration plan that will return the valley bottomland back to tallgrass prairie. Prairies have extensive root systems that hold soil and minimize erosion. They also provide for the increased production of insects, a food source for the trout population.

The property's upland wooded areas will be restored to native oak savanna, which is characterized by scattered oak trees with a groundcover of grasses, sedges and wildflowers.

Osterholm is supporting scientific research and education on the site. He is working with the Luther College Biology Department, and will support a Luther student to research changes in plant and invertebrate populations over the next several years. Luther College and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will conduct ongoing studies to measure the long-term benefits the project produces.

"Mike's conservation ethic is admirable and INHF's goal is to preserve it for perpetuity," said Darrel Mills, INHF's Blufflands Conservation Coordinator. "The easement protects the land's natural features so that future landowners don't counteract all of his hard work."

A conservation easement allows landowners to maintain private ownership while permanently extinguishing select rights in order to protect the land's natural features. This easement permanently protects the Osterholm property from destructive practices that would impair its conservation values: development on all but one acre, mining and most agricultural practices. It also preserves any of Osterholm and his many partners' current and future ecological restoration and will apply to future landowners.

"This project is really a collaborative effort of many, very committed organizations and individuals who have a similar understanding of what this land used to be and the vision of what it can be in the future," Osterholm said.

Osterholm noted the Iowa DNR and Trout Unlimited have been principal partners in his remeandering and brook trout introduction project. To date, other organizations providing support to his efforts include the Hawkeye Fly Fishing Association, the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the USDA, the Conservation District of Iowa, the Allamakee County Conservation Board and the Upper Iowa River Alliance.

"Working with Mike has been a real pleasure, because he is so committed to the land and its resources," said Joe McGovern, Land Stewardship Program Director. "I look forward to seeing his land and streams restored and healthy."

Other INHF projects in Allamakee County include several private conservation easements and plus the Heritage Addition to Effigy Mounds, Clear Creek and Upper Iowa River access, Paint Rock and other public sites.

Among other natural features, the Twin Valleys addition contains three algific talus slopes, a rare ecosystem containing several rare and endangered species. Species found on this site include the Vertigo hubrichti, a federally endangered land snail and others. Mathew Barthel

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF), Seed Savers Exchange and the USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) are working together to place a federal Farmland Protection Program (FPP) easement on 715 acres near Decorah. Seed Savers is purchasing the site, known as Twin Valleys, to expand their current 170-acre Heritage Farm.

Preserving agricultural diversity
Seed Savers is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the genetic diversity of agricultural and garden crops. They focus on heirloom varieties of vegetables, fruits and grains that gardeners and farmers brought to North America when their families immigrated-as well as varieties grown by Native Americans, Mennonites and Amish. Since their founding in 1975, Seed Savers has collected more than 24,000 rare seed varieties and distributed an estimated 750,000 seeds to gardeners everywhere.

Among other species, Seed Savers' existing farm contains more than 750 19th-century apples, 200 hardy grapes and more than 75 breeding Ancient White Park cattle (one of the world's oldest cattle breeds, with only 600 remaining worldwide).

Purchasing the Twin Valleys addition will allow Seed Savers to expand and improve their agricultural operations. However, the site also contains notable natural features: two cold-water trout streams; a rare algific slope; 350 species of plants (14 of which are rare in Iowa); and at least one endangered species of butterfly.

"The genetic diversity of our garden heritage will not be saved and perpetuated without a clear understanding of its relationship to the larger concept of biodiversity," says Kent Whealy, Seed Savers' Executive Director. "The immense Twin Valleys property which is currently being added to Seed Savers' Heritage Farm will be used to teach these insightful lessons."

Many partners, benefits
The NRCS administers FPP through partners, like INHF, who find willing landowners and then negotiate how the program can meet their needs. An FPP easement removes all development rights from the land-then pays the landowner 50 percent of the value of those rights. In this case, the FPP payment supplements Seed Savers' newly-launched capital campaign to raise funds to purchase this site. The other 50 percent-plus related costs-must be donated by the landowner or raised privately. (see box below)

In addition to extinguishing development rights, FPP rules require recipients to develop a long-term conservation plan for the property with the local NRCS office. Seed Savers' conservation plan incorporates both sensitive agricultural practices and protection of the site's natural features. Plan elements include creating isolation gardens for heritage agricultural seeds; developing eco-friendly, rotational grazing for their rare cattle; reconstructing native plant communities, including prairie and savanna; restoring streams; planting riparian buffers along the two cold-water streams; preserving the algific slopes; and restoring existing buildings to use for agricultural purposes, education and visitor services.

"In many ways what Seed Savers is doing is the epitome of farmland protection. They are making sure we have the genetic diversity in our food system," says Lisa Hein, Program and Planning Director at INHF. "By protecting the entire Twin Valleys with a conservation easement, those diversity goals include the natural systems on the land."

INHF brings FPP to northeast Iowa
Iowa's first FPP grant was awarded to INHF and the Iowa Chapter of the Nature Conservancy in 2001 to protect five properties in the Loess Hills. (Note: All funds from these grants go to landowners, not INHF.)

Having completed its portion of that project, INHF applied for a 2002 FPP grant to protect five sites near the Decorah and Effigy Mounds areas. The Seed Savers easement described above is the first of those FPP easements; the other four are still being negotiated. INHF's role includes finding willing landowners, helping negotiate their terms and becoming the permanent easement holder/monitor.

"Because of its beautiful scenery, northeast Iowa is experiencing a tremendous loss of farmland and habitat to rural subdivisions," says Mark Ackelson, INHF President. "With the FPP program, we can partially compensate landowners who want to protect the area's agricultural and natural heritage."

Want to help?
Between Farmland Protection Program payments and Seed Savers' cash and in-kind donations, most expenses for this FPP easement have been covered. However, INHF is raising $20,000 for expenses not covered by FPP payments: appraisals, legal costs and the easement monitoring fund. Without these funds, INHF can't complete the project. If you'd like to contribute to this fund, send contributions labeled "FPP fund" to INHF. If you have questions, contact Anita O'Gara, INHF's Director of Development, at 800-475-1846 or aogara@inhf.org.

In order to protect a rare fen and to limit residential development on property known as the Delaney farm in Allamakee County, INHF purchased 181 acres from Aelred and Dorthea Delaney at a public auction on Oct. 20, 2001.

"Fens are the rarest of Iowa's wetland communities, and this one is of extremely high quality," said Darrel Mills, land conservation specialist for INHF. "This fen supports several plant species that are currently endangered or threatened in Iowa."

The Delaney fen is a high-quality alkaline bog that results from the seepage of groundwater and supports a unique ecosystem due to its high pH levels. Iowa fens shelter more than 200 species of wildflowers, some of which only live in fens. Several endangered species, including Baltimore checkerspot, bogbean, shining ladies tresses, fringed gentian, sage willow and Grass of Parnassus, all thrive on the natural environment of the former Delaney property.

On June 12, 2002, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officially purchased the 94-acre eastern parcel of the former Delaney land from INHF, which will become part of Clear Creek Wildlife Management Unit. This eastern parcel of property includes the fen, the half-mile trout stream of Clear Creek, blufflands and 33 acres of tillable ground that will be managed by the DNR.

Three local families bought the remaining western parcels of land from INHF. All have agreed to deed restrictions that will protect the stream and the land.

"We're not only saving the land; we're saving the relationship between people and land," Mills said. "For the public, this project means access to a half-mile trout stream and a fen, a unique and special ecosystem. On the private side, we've created the opportunity for a young family to live on a classic farm acreage and steward it privately. Two other couples share ownership and will care for the balance of the property."

Mills notes that the future of high-quality fens often depend on private landowners. "Most of Iowa's fens are located in privately-owned pastures surrounded by cropland, and many have been damaged," Mills said. "Hopefully, fens and other wetlands can be recognized and continue to be protected with a united effort between public agencies and private landowners."

Brothers David and Bill Heine donated a conservation easement on 105 acres of their Chimney Rock Ranch, which contains soaring chimney rocks and palisades along one of the most scenic river bends between Kendallville and Bluffton. Further downstream, David and wife Kirsten Heine, are placing an Emergency Wetland Protection (EWP) easement on another lovely river bend.

A conservation easement allows interested landowners to maintain private ownership but donate or sell selected rights. For example, the Heines have permanently surrendered their development, mining and some agricultural rights to protect the area’s scenery, wildlife habitat and water quality. If Heines sell the property later, the easement restrictions are part of the deed and transfer to future owners.

“The whole Upper Iowa River is a phenomenal natural resource, and the Heine properties are part of what make it phenomenal,” said Joe McGovern, Director of Land Stewardship with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF). “When canoeists take their favorite photos of this river’s scenery, they’re often photographing the Heine property. This family has made a huge gift to their neighborhood, to Iowa and to the land. Though the Heines continue to own the land and maintain private access, every local resident or tourist will benefit from the scenery, wildlife and water quality they have protected.”

INHF is a nonprofit, conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. INHF will hold and monitor the Chimney Rock Ranch easement.

David and Bill are natives of Cedar Falls and remember many long weekends spent hunting and fishing along the Upper Iowa River. “Kirsten and I moved to Decorah because we have a passion for the Upper Iowa,” said David. “We love the river and we wanted to live near it and enjoy it. At the time we had no idea that it needed protection. But shortly after living here, we saw land being bought up and beautiful bluffs being desecrated.”

David and Kirsten have remodeled and live in the house that was built on the property in 1853. “We’ve restored all the original farm buildings, including a 1901 barn. We raise soybeans and some livestock, so we are not anti-agriculture,” notes David. “We created these conservation easements because we’re anti-sprawl.”

“This place is a gift, so we need to preserve and take care of it,” said Kirsten, who grew up in Decorah. “Our goal is water quality, soil conservation and protecting this beautiful landscape.” David is a doctor at the Decorah Clinic-Mayo Health System and Kirsten works for the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah.

Bill Heine lives in Denver, Iowa, and is president and CEO of Fosters, Inc., in Cedar Falls. “The Upper Iowa River corridor is definitely one of those special places that Iowa has to offer that needs to be safeguarded against the sprawl of modern life so that we can all get an occasional glimpse of Iowa as our forefathers saw it,” said Bill. “We were very happy that the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation was able to help us protect a part of this beautiful river.”

The Heines are not the first family to place private conservation easements along the Upper Iowa River. They expanded an earlier easement placed on their land by INHF and then then-owner in 1987. Last year a dozen landowners in the River Bend region east of Decorah area donated private conservation easements to INHF and the Iowa DNR. INHF is talking with many other landowners about permanent land protection elsewhere along the river. The Heine easement and other land protection projects are featured at a new section on INHF’s website: www.inhf.org/upper-iowa-river-intro.cfm.

The value of a conservation easement is determined by an appraised value of the relinquished property rights-such as development or mining. Some federal programs, like the EWP program administered by the NRCS (part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture), pay for these rights. Even so, David and Kirsten opted to receive only 60% of their EWP payment. David and Bill donated the entire value of the Chimney Rock Ranch easement-“a substantial gift to the people of Iowa,” says McGovern. Such donations can provide income tax benefits to the donor.

“Now that the Heines and other landowners along the Upper Iowa River have implemented conservation protection, we’re getting a lot more questions from neighbors about how they can protect their land’s natural values as well,” said McGovern. “It’s been exciting to see how each project we complete sparks more questions and interest.”

"These are the kinds of surprises we like to have," said Mark Ackelson, president of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF). "We finalized the purchase from Charles and Dorothy Kistler of Arizona only a few hours before transferring the deed to Effigy Mounds National Monument.

Everyone told us it would take a year to move from federal funding approval to actual deed transfer, but it's only taken a couple months. We are especially grateful for the hard work of the National Park Service in helping the process move quickly."

Ackelson officially transferred the deed to the National Park Service at a Friday ceremony at Effigy Mounds Visitors Center. INHF, a member-supported, nonprofit organization, spearheaded the landowner negotiations, fundraising and other logistics to make the Heritage Addition a reality.

The 1,045-acre addition expands the existing EFMO by 60 percent. More significantly, it connects EFMO and a unit of the Yellow River State Forest, putting more than 4,000 contiguous acres under public protection.

The Heritage Addition contains several streams and 2.5 miles of the Yellow River, which many claim is one of Iowa's best rivers for canoeing and small mouth bass fishing. Together, the Yellow River State Forest Unit, Heritage Addition and Effigy Mounds National Monument protect 7.8 miles of this river, along with critical migratory bird habitat along the Upper Mississippi River flyway.

Several state-endangered species have been found on the addition, including the jeweled shooting star, red-shouldered hawk and pileated woodpecker. Thirteen archaeological sites have been located scattered throughout the property. These include two bear effigies, linear mounds and habitation sites.

The National Park Service and EFMO are still working out details on how the property will be managed for its natural and cultural resources and the public. Like the rest of EFMO, the Heritage Addition will not be open to hunting or any type of vehicles.

EFMO is planning to host a public hike and dedication sometime this summer. "Effigy Mounds National Monument is honored to be entrusted with the care of these wonderful natural and cultural resources that convey our past history so well," said Phyllis Ewing, EFMO superintendent.

Various agencies, organizations and individuals have sought this key addition almost since the National Monument was created in 1949 as a gift from the state of Iowa to the National Park Service. INHF has been working to develop a mutually acceptable arrangement with local landowners and other partners almost since the group's founding in 1979.

The entire project, including land acquisition and related fees, interest, initial management costs and other expenses was more than $1.5 million. Funds came from a variety of federal, state and private sources.

Iowa's Congressional delegation, including Rep. Jim Nussle, Sen. Charles Grassley and Sen. Tom Harkin, worked together to secure federal funding of $750,000 toward the project.

The Iowa Department of Transportation granted $330,000 from its Statewide Transportation Enhancement Funds. The addition is located along the Great River Road, adding to this scenic highway's natural beauty.

The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs granted $200,000 from its Historic Site Preservation Grant Program. "The historic site grant program was created by the Legislature and Governor for the 'restoration, preservation, and development of historical sites.' The purchase of this tract fits perfectly with the program's goals. Our Department is thrilled to have been a part of this important effort," said Kathy Gourley, field historian for the department.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources provided a no-interest loan for a portion of the costs from the Blufflands Revolving Loan Fund, which was created by the Iowa legislature to help secure important bluffland areas.

More than 1,000 individual donors, mostly Iowans from the area and throughout the state, gave another $265,000 toward the Heritage Addition.

David Bolger, a New Jersey businessman who was visiting the area when federal funds were in doubt, offered to carry the interest on the federal funds for up to a year. Though federal funding arrived sooner than expected, Bolger is still covering interest costs until all pledge and grant payments are in.

"This project literally took a half century, a willing landowner, an act of Congress, support from state agencies, a team of dedicated professionals and volunteers from INHF and hundreds of individual Iowans-a partnership in the truest sense," said Ackelson. "But the Heritage Addition's wildlife, cultural and scenic values make it more than worth the effort."

Roger Gipple, an Adair County landowner, has a deep interest in creating wild places in Iowa just for wildlife-with little or no human intervention.

"Much of what we do in the name of conservation is really about entertaining humans," said Gipple. "These wild places demonstrate our ability to move beyond the narrow self-interest of our own species-to simply say, 'life here has value and a right to this place.'"

So five years ago, Gipple approached the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) about establishing a special fund within the Foundation for "wild places." Last year Gipple donated the first portion of his own land to the effort and worked with neighbors in Adair County to arrange for them to donate portions of their adjoining land.

The result is a 52-acre wildlife refuge just northeast of Bridgewater in southwestern Adair County. The site includes a triangular field that will be converted to prairie, 1½ miles of abandoned railroad corridor, plus the land lying between the corridor and Highway 92.

The task wasn't easy. It took Gipple and Greenfield attorney Steve Jensen five years to determine property titles prior to arranging the donations. Landowners who donated property to the refuge include Roger Gipple, John Gipple, Andy and Ione Jensen, Stanley Kading and Bernita Dellinger. Roger Gipple has also contributed materials and labor to begin prairie reconstruction on the refuge.

This refuge is the first land placed in the INHF Wild Places endowment, though INHF expects to add other sites over the years. Gipple has arranged for all his land to enter the endowment fund after his death. In the meantime, he is donating a conservation easement to INHF on his adjoining private land later this year.

The site now includes 15 acres of prairie remnants; 7 crop acres being planted to prairie species; and 30 acres of timber and edge habitat. The north end of the refuge adjoins a 352-acre wildlife area owned by the state.

"Native species don't get much voice in land use, but they sure have a strong advocate in Roger Gipple," said Mark Ackelson, INHF President. "Our organization has a history of working with committed landowners, but Roger takes his commitment the extra mile."

INHF is a non-profit, member-supported organization that protects, preserves and enhances Iowa's natural resources for future generations. Other INHF projects in the area include an addition to Wright Timber in Adair County, T-Bone Trail in Cass County, plus over 400 other projects throughout the state.

The Adair County Conservation Board is currently assisting Gipple with equipment and advice for prairie reconstruction. Though the refuge will remain in INHF ownership at this time, Adair CCB will provide important assistance. According to Gipple's wishes, the land will be for limited public educational purposes only.

"It is important that we have wild places in Iowa," Ackelson noted. "We all benefit-plants, animals and people-from having these special refuge areas."