NEW! The Red Rock Lake Association succeeds in an application for Lake Red Rock to be officially designated as a state water trail. Along with the designation comes grant funding to protect and enhance the future Hickory Ridge Wilderness Camp as a quiet campground for paddlers. Read the news release.
NEW! The new 167-acre Nolan Addition to the English River Wildlife Area in eastern Iowa will be restored as wetlands and prairie, with waterfowl in mind. The project has just gone public, thanks to gifts from the Nolan Family, three counties, several private organizations, and state and federal agencies.
NEW! The new Boersma Wildlife Area that INHF has helped Lyon County protect is "exceptional" for water quality benefits, as well as for birds and other wildlife. (12/09)
INHF has new board members and officers, including new board chair Carole Reichardt and new board members Garth Adams, Andrew Anderson, Paul Easter and John Gray. (11/09)
INHF has a new portal to information on the Hagie Heritage Award, scholarships, and awards the Foundation has received. Check it out at www.inhf.org/awards.html. (11/09)
INHF recently helped the Iowa DNR protect a 136-acre property in Monona County as an addition to the Loess Hills Wildlife Management Area. INHF has worked to clear nonnative trees from the prairie since purchasing the land in 2006. (10/09)
A campaign is underway to develop Hickory Ridge Wilderness Camp as Lake Red Rock's first public site for primitive camping. On a quiet cove, Hickory Ridge will offer a secluded oak-hickory woodland that will be geared especially to paddlers and youth groups. It will also be a place for individuals and families to hike, cross-country ski or picnic at a quiet spot on the lake. (10/09)
Raccoon River Valley Trail (RRVT) partners have succeeded in raising funds to match a $1.6 million Vision Iowa grant and complete an ambitious campaign to help build a north loop, completing a 33-mile expansion of this popular recreation trail in central Iowa's Dallas, Greene and Guthrie counties. Read the story and project update. (10/09)
The Prairie Addition to Bruggeman Park was dedicated Oct. 3, 2009 and is now open for public use. INHF helped the Black Hawk County Conservation Board purchase this 128-acre site, which is part of a designated state Bird Conservation Area and also provides buffer and access to the Wapsipinicon River and its water trail. (10/09)
Strong local support for the Wabash Trace Nature Trail in western Iowa will leverage significant federal funding for trail improvements. Major gifts from the Iowa West Foundation and Union Pacific, with additional help from individuals and businesses, set the stage for the trail to receive up to $2 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). INHF is coordinating funding for the project. Two segments of the trail in Malvern and Silver City will be paved in Summer 2010. New donations will help to pave more of the Wabash Trace Trail between Mineola and Malvern. (09/09)
INHF helped the Johnson County Conservation Board acquire 87-acres of riparian woodland along Clear Creek. Plans to protect and enhance the area are in place and expanding. This is the first project to use partial funding from the Conservation Bond approved by Johnson County voters in 2008. (08/09)
INHF recently purchased two properties to complete a trail in Hamilton County connecting Jewell to Ellsworth and it gets a new name. The county is still fundraising to pay for the new "Jewellsworth Trail." (08/19/09)
Read the essay, "Land Conservation and Communities" by INHF President Mark Ackelson in the July 2009 edition of Land Lines, published by the Lincoln Institute of Land policy. The two-page “Fellowship perspective” emphasizes the interaction between conservation leadership and community involvement. For some good food for thought, you can find it at http://www.lincolninst.edu/ under Publications & Multimedia. (07/09)
Eight neighboring landowners in the Grant Center Special Landscape Area along the Loess Hills Scenic Byway are helping protect the character of the area and natural resources, in partnership with INHF, the Woodbury County Conservation Board, the Iowa Department of Transportation and others. For more information, read the press release. (07/29/09)
INHF partners with the Audubon and Cass County Conservation Boards and the Nishna Valley Trails to complete the T-Bone Trail, a west-central Iowa trail. For more information about the project, contact Gene Karstens from the Audubon CCB, or read the press release. The public is also invited to the Grand Opening ceremony, view the details on our events page. (07/20/09)
INHF helps Mahaska County Conservation Board add 39 acres to existing wilderness area. A hard-surface trail, excellent game and non-game habitat and a mature oak woodland make the Quercus Wilderness Area a gem of Mahaska County. For more information, read the release. (07/01/09)
INHF is branching out to social networking sites! Become a fan of our Facebook page or follow INHF and IowaTrails on Twitter. These pages are interactive resources for Iowa conservation news, ideas, events and volunteer opportunities. They help environmentally-minded folks connect with each other and with us. (3/24/09)
The latest issue of the INHF magazine, with project news and feature articles, is available online. Our latest Annual Report is also available.
Landowner’s Options, a free land conservation guide published by INHF, won the annual Ada Hayden Conservation Education Award. The guide outlines numerous options for Iowans who are exploring permanent land protection — whether they intend to maintain private ownership or convert it to public use. (4/16/08)
For more information, e-mail Cathy Engstrom, Director of Communications, or call (515) 288-1846.
