Ventura Cove project underway on Clear Lake

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This article appeared in INHF's Summer 2005 magazine.

by Nic Young, INHF communications inte rn

The Ventura Cove Enhancement project, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation’s latest conservation effort on Clear Lake, will not only increase the lake’s public recreational opportunities but also protect significant natural features.

In 2004, several Clear Lake INHF members and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources asked INHF to help purchase two properties along the lake’s west end. The two areas, a 24-acre woodland located just south and east of the Ventura Grade and a nearly one-acre site north of the Grade, comprise more than 1,000 feet of shoreline. The one-acre site is currently in Iowa DNR ownership.

“The west end of Clear Lake has long been used and enjoyed by the public—Clear Lake residents and visitors alike,” said Cheri Grauer, INHF community project coordinator and Clear Lake native.

The one-acre Ventura Grade Enhancement site is undergoing a significant transformation to maximize its environmental, recreational and safety benefits.

A landscaped green space will provide improved public access to the lake and feature a public restroom, picnic shelter, removable dock, information kiosk and a pathway linking the fishing jetty to a new lakeside parking area, thereby eliminating a hazardous road crossing. Meanwhile, a storm water retention and sedimentation pond and underground filter basin will control runoff from both the site and adjacent land, protecting water quality.

The 24-acre Ventura Cove Woods, which is still in INHF ownership, includes one of the few remaining undeveloped shorelines on the lake. The site features four distinct environments—the lakeshore, an interior ridge, a wetland and an oak knoll. INHF will survey these areas to evaluate their biological health and determine what land management is needed

“The Foundation purchased this property to ensure that the environmental services it has long provided—such as riparian habitat, erosion control, water retention and water purification—will continue,” said Grauer. “Its woods and wetlands slow and filter runoff water from nearby fields and lawns.”

INHF purchased the site through a bargain sale from George and Susan Daskalos, Aristotle and Barbara Pappajohn, John and Mary Pappajohn, Socrates and Elaine Pappajohn, Meredith Saunders, and Jay and Karmen Shriver. The value of the donated portion of this land transaction was $330,000.

Project still seeks funds

The Ventura Cove Enhancement project’s total cost is estimated at $1.7 million. More than $1 million has been obtained for the project. INHF and its local members have committed to raising a large portion—$630,000—of the remaining amount.

INHF has received private donations totaling more than $250,000, including the following:

• $100,000 from the John K. and Luise V. Hanson Foundation
• $50,000 from the Clear Lake Telephone Company
• $50,000 from the Young Family Foundation of Waterloo
• $15,000 given anonymously by a Clear Lake resident
• $5,000 from Winnebago Industries Foundation
• $5,000 from the Alliant Energy Foundation

INHF has also submitted funding proposals to five area foundations and will submit a request for at least $100,000 to the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) state grant program in August 2005. The balance must be raised from additional private sources.

In the meantime, INHF secured a project loan for the woodland purchase through the General Non-point Source Pollution program of the new Iowa Water Quality Loan fund. This program, a component of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, provides low-interest loans for projects that protect water quality. INHF received the $513,000 loan at 2.5 percent interest for up to three years. Clear Lake Bank and Trust Company has agreed to participate in the program as INHF’s local lender.

“We’re trying to make the Ventura Cove project a model for other local and statewide water quality programs,” said Mark C. Ackelson, INHF president. “The project is exemplary for its multiple environmental benefits, widespread local support and innovative funding methods.”

Project donations can be sent to INHF and designated “Ventura Cove.”

Visit the Ventura Cove home page for more infomation about the project and ways you can help.

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