2025 Legislative Recap and Upcoming Opportunities
By Anna Gray on May 27, 2025 in Blog
May 15 marked the adjournment of the 2025 legislative session. Once again, conservation voices prevailed, demonstrating strong, consistent support for Iowa’s outdoors!
Thank you for using your voice. Together, nature’s advocates accomplished the following:
- Protected the Natural Resources & Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund. Senate Joint Resolution 6 would have taken the first steps to repeal the Trust Fund that was created in the state constitution by Iowa voters for the purposes of protecting and enhancing water quality and natural areas, including parks, trails and fish and wildlife habitat and conserving agricultural soils. The bill was never considered in committee after receiving strong public opposition.
- Halted efforts to restrict growth and enhancement of parks, trails and wildlife areas. House File 714 and Senate File 553 were the latest bills in a series of attempts to limit the ability of INHF and its partners to grow public open spaces. Hundreds of people called, emailed and attended subcommittees to register their opposition to the bills, and neither made it past the legislative funnel.
- Highlighted the ways that Iowa’s outdoors enhance quality of life in our state. The first ever Celebrate Iowa’s Outdoors Day was hosted by more than 50 organizations and attended by nearly 400 individuals for a celebration of our parks, trails, wildlife and soil & water conservation in the Capitol rotunda on March 20. Save the date for the next Celebrate Iowa’s Outdoors Day: March 24, 2026!
- Maintained funding for programs like the State Recreational Trails Program at $2.5 million and Resource Enhancement & Protection Program at $12 million.
- Extended the Resource Enhancement & Protection Program. Iowa’s most popular conservation program faced a 2026 expiration date, but thanks to your advocacy, the program received a two-year extension to 2028.
While we celebrate our accomplishments of this legislative session, we know that there is more work to do. This session presented renewed attacks on Iowa’s parks, trails and wildlife areas. In recent years, bills have been introduced that would prohibit any new public open spaces, limit landowners’ ability to receive a fair price for their land simply for choosing to sell their property for public use, and require agencies to sell off parks, trails or wildlife areas in order to add or expand others.
Iowa’s land is a precious, limited resource. It requires us to be thoughtful about land use and protection so that it can meet the needs of Iowans now and into the future. Too often, natural lands and outdoor recreation spaces are undervalued and viewed as a “competing” land use, rather than a public asset that supports and compliments our other public needs. Consider, for example, how a trail enriches a community by connecting neighborhoods, parks, local businesses, and providing safe routes to school. Consider the wetland in a target watershed that mitigates downstream flooding impacts, cleans the water, and provides wildlife habitat that make it ideal for public recreation. Consider the lone prairie situated in a sea of row crops, providing critical pollinator habitat that helps keep the surrounding farms healthy and productive. Consider the forest in rural Iowa that draws hunters and visitors to fill local hotels and cafes year after year. Consider your treasured outdoor places and how they have served you and your fellow Iowans.
As lawmakers make decisions with long-term impacts on our land, water and wildlife, advocates like you play a crucial role in helping them understand the value of nature in our landscape and quality of life. Planning for Iowa’s future is an ongoing process best fueled by the creativity and vision of its people. Your advocacy is key in protecting our most vulnerable agricultural and natural resources and ensuring that parks, trails and wildlife areas have a place in our communities.
With the 2025 legislative session concluded, this summer and fall is a great time to reflect, learn, connect and prepare for the next session. Here are ways that you can continue to be and advocate for nature outside of the legislative session:
- Enjoy Iowa’s outdoors. Take time to enjoy Iowa’s natural resources and outdoor recreation opportunities. Reflect on how they have benefitted your family, friends, and neighborhood and what opportunities there are for further enriching your community.
- Learn. Deepen your understanding of the policies and programs that have helped protect Iowa’s special places. You can sign up for INHF policy updates, find information about conservation issues and tips for advocacy at: https://www.inhf.org/what-we-do/conservation-policy/natures-advocate/.
- Connect. Outside of the session, legislators are working in their home districts and learning about local issues to address at the statehouse. Now is a great time to connect with your legislator. Share how parks, trails and wildlife areas enrich your life and community, ask them questions and listen to their perspective, so that you can build a working relationship built on trust and collaboration. You can also help develop the network of nature advocates by connecting with local elected officials, your county conservation board, and community leaders.
Ensuring we have clean water, protecting places to recreate, and caring for the best soils in the world takes vision, planning, and partnership. Iowans must come together to find opportunities for collaboration, rather than gridlocking competition, to realize the full potential of our land, waters and communities. Now is a great time to start.