Palmer donates
another easement

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

Though a bison herd may not appreciate the legal details, their grazing land has been permanently protected.

Dan Palmer, who owns a bison herd, donated a conservation easement to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation on 90-acres in Jackson County. The Palmer property, located near Maquoketa, contains half woodlands and half tillable acres. Locally, Palmer is best known as president and CEO of Tri-City Electric Company in Davenport.

Palmer plans to establish native grasses in the area, which will be restricted for bison grazing. Palmer has done two previous easements with the INHF in the past, Mill Creek (186 acres) and Dark Hollow Bison Ranch (582 acres). "We just like to see the land kept in its natural state," Palmer said.

"We are pleased that Dan's bison ranch vision includes native grass restoration and permanent land protection," said Darrel Mills, INHF Land Conservation Specialist. INHF is a member-supported, nonprofit organization that protects Iowa's land, water and wildlife. Since 1979, INHF has helped protect more than 65,000 acres of Iowa's prairies, wetlands, woodlands and river corridors.

A conservation easement is a voluntary method that allows private landowners to protect natural features on their land while maintaining private ownership. In this case, Palmer donated the value of selected land rights (such as the right to build housing developments) to INHF. The donated rights are then extinguished permanently.

The easement becomes a permanent restriction on the land's use, no matter who owns it in the future. INHF assumes responsibility to monitor the easement for compliance, Palmer may receive income tax benefits for his charitable deduction, and all Iowans enjoy the scenic and conservation benefits of permanent open space.

Palmer will relinquish his rights to mining, large animal confinements, commercial and industrial development, and subdivision and residential development. Row-cropping will be restricted to hay growth on about 20 acres of the tillable land.

Palmer, like most easement donors, maintains the rights of private access and ownership. Though the newly protected parcel isn't open to the public, educational bison tours are occasionally given at Dark Hollow Bison Ranch.

"We really like what the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation does," Palmer said. "It fits our ranching operation perfectly, as far as preserving the land."

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

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