president's corner:

Choosing our future

---

This article first appeared in INHF's Spring 2006 magazine.

“what we do with our lands decides the fate
of our water and wildlife.”

Iowa’s land, water and wildlife—and people—are all precious resources. All are facing difficult challenges in the next few years. What we do with our lands decides the fate of our water and wildlife. We can no longer be satisfied with Band-Aid repairs but must look to broader landscape-scale solutions. If we are serious about cleaning up our dirty water and impaired streams, rivers and lakes, we need to restore our severely altered landscape and its historic biological diversity.

Iowa and its landowners face unprecedented opportunities and challenges in the next 20 years. Rural polls tell us that 20% of Iowa’s land will change hands within the next five years and 50% in the next 20 years. Landowners are deciding the future of not only their primary asset, their land, but also the future of Iowa’s water and wildlife—and our state’s quality of life and economic well-being. Many landowners are choosing conservation.

Meanwhile, a recent series of public meetings to discuss the Resource Enhancement and Protection Program (REAP) showed strong public support for natural and cultural resource protection, conservation and outdoor recreation. Attendees wanted more land acquired and made available for public use. They also wanted more emphasis on natural area protection, water quality improvement and conservation education.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation will continue doing our part to protect Iowa’s best remaining natural resource areas while also restoring what we have lost. We will partner with willing Iowa landowners to help them do their part as well.

Thank you for your support and help in this important work…for those who follow. 

Your conservation partner,
Mark C. Ackelson
President

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