Ventura Cove Enhancement Project awarded grants

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This article was written and posted on INHF's website in October 2005.

Cheri Grauer, INHF

Anglers on the jetty at the Ventura Grade get a lovely view of the Ventura Woods. Among other benefits, the Ventura Cove project protects these woods, improves public safety and access on the jetty, and allows for a trail corridor connecting the two with the rest of the lake’s trail system.

The Ventura Cove Enhancement project, a conservation project aimed at acquiring and enhancing two stretches of shoreline on the west end of Clear Lake, recently received significant public and private grant awards.

 The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF), a statewide, nonprofit conservation organization,  requested and was awarded a $150,000 grant for the project through the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program on October 13.  REAP is a state grant program that invests in, as its name implies, the enhancement and protection of the state's natural and cultural resources. The program is funded annually by the state legislature. 

 Within the last month, the project also received an anonymous $50,000 gift from a central Iowa family foundation.  Two local, private foundations, the Bertha Stebbens Charitable Foundation and the Kinney Lindstrom Foundation, have also recently contributed to the project.

 “We’re very grateful to the more that 200 individuals, foundations, and businesses who have contributed to this project so far,” said Cheri Ungs Grauer, INHF Community Project Coordinator and Clear Lake native. 

 “We thought it was important to give those who live in Clear Lake—year-round or just part of the year—the opportunity to lend their support to a project that not only provides safer recreational opportunities on the west end of Clear Lake but also preserves wildlife habitat and contributes to lake water quality.  The benefits of this project are truly wide-ranging and long-lasting.”

INHF, with the help of local volunteers Jan and Tom Lovell, Charlie and Kathy MacNider, and Randy Cram, has raised nearly $470,000 of the $630,000 needed to fulfill its commitment to this $1.7 million project. 

 “The birding, biking, hiking, fishing, and boating communities—and others—can all enjoy this public area,” said Grauer.  “The final drive to raise the remaining dollars to which we committed—about $160,00—is underway.   We need the support of the community to complete this project.”  

 For more information or to make a donation, visit the Ventura Cove home page or contact Cheri Grauer at 800.475.1848 or at cgrauer@inhf.org

 

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