Protect

Snyder Farm Photo by INHF's Joe McGovern.

This article was released in June 2011
The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation's mission is to protect and restore Iowa's land, water and wildlife - not just through our own work on the land but also by helping other Iowans do the same.

INHF is perhaps best known for protecting land  throughout the state for public use and enjoyment.  Since about 98 percent of Iowa's land is privately owned, we also help willing landowners protect their lands.

Moreover, since most of Iowa's water quality problems are caused by soil and chemical run-off from the land, INHF often targets public and private land protection to key  locations within critical watersheds.

Because the leading threat to Iowa's wildlife is habitat loss, we also prioritize land protection where it will most benefit wildlife: sites with rich natural resources on which wildlife species depend, larger landscapes that promote wildlife diveristy, and connected landscapes that aid day-to-day wildlife movement as well as long-term movement that might be necessary as a result of climate change.

Even seemingly unrelated policy issues can have a huge impact on conservation. Here in America's breadbasket, details in the federal farm bill can either strengthen or threaten Iowa's land, water and wildlife. In addition,  sustainable conservation funding is critical to ensure that our generation and those who follow have a safe, healthy environment that will support a good quality of life not only for humans, but for all species.