Partners raise funds to preserve natural lakeshore

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Plans are unfolding to conserve one of the last remaining wooded shorelines on Clear Lake.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF), a statewide nonprofit conservation group that has long been active at Clear Lake, is facilitating the purchase of the 25-acre wooded property located west of Ventura Heights along County Road S-14.

Though privately owned, the property's woodland, wetland, and shoreline have for years been enjoyed-both on the ground and from the lake-by neighbors, locals, and visitors alike. INHF has been meeting with a local project committee, other conservation and recreation organizations, and public and private neighbors to discuss the future use of the site.

Craig Ritland, a landscape architect who has worked with INHF on other projects, has developed a preliminary conceptual plan, tentatively called the Ventura Cove Enhancement Plan, which details both the natural features and possible uses of the property.

Because this property is one of the last undeveloped areas on the lake, local committee members, including Jan and Tom Lovell, Charlie and Kathy MacNider, and Randy Cram, feel it should remain largely natural. Use by the public will likely be limited to activities like birding and hiking. Access will be provided across the property for the biking/hiking trail being developed by Cerro Gordo County Trails, Inc. Also, this site will give Ventura school children access to the shore and lake, providing more opportunities to learn about and participate in activities related to lake restoration. Expanded educational venues are possible in the future.

"We are so grateful that the owners of this woodland-George Daskalos, Meredith Saunders, Jay Shriver, and John, Aristotle and Socrates Pappajohn-have chosen to sell it for conservation purposes," said Jan Lovell, who is also a board member of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. "This property plays an important role for the Ventura and Clear Lake area in many ways - in lake water quality, recreational opportunities, wildlife habitat and public access to the lake. We're just learning about the importance of restoring water quality and the economic benefits of providing recreational opportunities such as bike trails and lake recreation. This project fits in very well with others which are under way to enhance our quality of life in North Iowa."

INHF and local committee members will be raising funds to cover the cost of land acquisition and initial management. The total project budget is around $865,000. The landowners are donating a portion-$330,000-of the land value. Other gifts to the project now total $20,000. About $515,000 remain to be raised.

A combination of competitive public grants and private donations will be needed to complete this project. If more private donations are given or pledged soon, it will be easier to compete for state or federal grants to cover a portion of the cost. Gifts given or pledged by mid-January will help INHF in its bid for state grant funds for the project.

Charlie MacNider, summing up the committee's feelings, said, "We expect that many year-round and seasonal Clear Lake residents, as well as local organizations, will want to participate with gifts to this project, which will not only preserve natural lakeshore features but also provide public lake access and access for the trail linkage."

Contributions should be sent to "Ventura Cove Project," at the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, 505 Fifth Avenue, Suite 444, Des Moines, IA 50309. For more information, contact Cheri Ungs Grauer at (515) 288-1846 or cgrauer@inhf.org.

Visit the Ventura Cove home page to learn more about this project and ways you can help.

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