Major Project Updates

Posted on November 19, 2024 in Blog

Good things take time — protection projects may span years, or even decades! Wondering about the status of a recent INHF project? We have some updates on a handful of parks, trails and wildlife areas we asked you to support.

Brenton Slough, Polk & Dallas counties

The 1,114-acre wetland and woodland complex has long been recognized as an exceptional place, particularly among birders, wildlife watchers and the Brenton Family who cared for it for over 100 years.

INHF purchased Brenton Slough in July 2023 and has since been actively raising funds to transfer the land to Polk County Conservation who will manage the area with a natural resource focus, facilitating light recreation where appropriate.

Through the generosity of hundreds of individuals and organizations and the successful receipt of several grants, INHF has reached 75% of our $8 million fundraising goal — just $2 million left to go before this natural wonder can be opened to the public. Find more updates here.

Iowa River’s Edge Trail, Hardin & Marshall counties

The dream to create a 34-mile trail along the Iowa River corridor between Steamboat Rock and Marshalltown began in 2013 when INHF purchased the section of discontinued railroad. Following the transfer of the corridor to Hardin County Conservation and Marshalltown, INHF has remained involved as a fundraising and community partner alongside Trails Inc. and the all-volunteer Hardin County Trails Commission. More than five miles between Steamboat Rock and Eldora have already been paved thanks to public grants and generous donors. A recently awarded $2 million grant from the Iowa DOT’s Transportation Alternatives Program will be leveraged to repair a bridge and pave the next six miles to Gifford with work anticipated to begin in 2025.

With about 24 miles left to pave (a $19 million project), INHF and partners are continuing to pursue grant funding to cover building and maintenance costs. A flurry of giving this summer raised nearly $2.7 million to qualify as match for a $12 million Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program grant, which would finish the trail. Announcements for grant awards are expected in January 2025.

Iowa 4-H Camp, Boone County

The wooded hills and valleys of the 1,011-acre former 4-H camp holds a special place in the hearts of all its visitors. Declining attendance led to the camp being listed for sale in 12 separate parcels, and INHF — knowing that the camp’s natural resources needed to be protected — made an offer on and ultimately purchased the entire property in 2019.

Though the camp was safeguarded from development, it wasn’t impervious to the derecho the following year that substantially changed the landscape, damaged buildings and downed massive oaks.

Most of the property has transferred to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, whose staff are still working on the substantial clean-up job the derecho left in its wake. Though portions of the property are open and accessible from adjacent public land, the main entrance will remain closed until building removal is complete, when it can again offer ample outdoor recreation opportunities and places for quiet contemplation.

The Narrows Preserve, Dickinson County

Protected in 2021 with the aid of hundreds of donors, The Narrows Preserve and its excess of 2,000 feet of East Okoboji Lake shoreline will forever remain undeveloped. INHF’s focus to return the land to its natural, historical state as a prairie and oak savanna ecosystem is in full swing, creating critical, contiguous habitat for grassland birds and other wildlife. While it may be periodically closed during certain restoration projects, The Narrows Preserve is otherwise open for the public to enjoy as a natural space.

The land’s natural grade and flow has been restored through terrace and fence removal and the grassland has been prepped for prairie restoration to begin next year. In accordance with regulations that protect Iowa’s bats, remaining tree removal along the shoreline will take place this winter. While this tree removal will be striking, it will restore a more natural shoreline less susceptible to erosion. Substantial completion of the restoration efforts is slated for spring 2026. Learn more here. 

High Trestle Trail & Raccoon River Valley Trail Connector, Dallas County

These two beloved and well-traveled rail-trails INHF helped create were finally connected in August, realizing a goal alive at INHF for decades. INHF started working with Dallas County Conservation in 2016 to secure all the 17 needed pieces of trail corridor along the nine mile stretch between Perry and Woodward, with the last piece transferred in 2022.

With the connector complete, cyclists and other trail users can now enjoy two loops — one 86 miles with a spur to Jefferson, and the other a massive 118 miles — putting more Iowa towns on the map for outdoor recreation and tourism.

Little Sioux Scout Ranch, Monona County

INHF purchased the former 1,776-acre scout camp in early 2023 after the Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts of America sought a buyer that could open the property to the public, maintain the memorial to the four boys who died in the 2008 tornado and honor and share the history of Little Sioux Scout Ranch as a scout camp. Its vast and unique landscape in the heart of the Loess Hills offers unsurpassed opportunities for outdoor recreation and is home to several state listed endangered, threatened or special concern plant and animal species.

While it remains closed to the public while access and management plans take shape, the goal to transfer the Little Sioux Scout Ranch into public partner ownership was accelerated by a successful application for funding from the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Legacy Program earlier this year. Watch for updates at inhf.org/lssr.

Wildcat Bluff addition, Benton County

Already a popular park for its renowned frisbee golf course and other outdoor recreation opportunities, Benton County Conservation (BCC) recognized just how much more they could provide for their community when the 184 acres adjacent to Wildcat Bluff Recreation Area came up for sale. BCC sought INHF’s help in purchasing the property in 2023, and, with the help of generous donors and a match effort by The Myers’ Family Conservation Fund, have already nearly met their $1.3 million fundraising goal. Just a few thousand dollars are needed to close the remaining gap before Wildcat Bluff can more than double in size.