AmeriCorps crew to
rescue prairie and savanna

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This article was written and posted on INHF's website in October 2002. 

AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) members will soon be arriving in central Iowa to participate in the Iowa Prairie and Savanna Rescue Project.

A team of eight young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 will work with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) and Polk County Conservation Board to restore, reconstruct and manage Polk and Jasper County natural areas owned by the two groups. This will be the third year INHF has partnered with AmeriCorps.

The team will be in central Iowa from Sept. 23 through Nov. 1. They'll work on four different properties: Snyder Heritage Farm, which contains prairie, wetlands and oak savanna; Van Oel Prairie; Hominy Ridge Prairie; and Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt along the Skunk River corridor.

Project activities during the six-week period include removing and controlling invasive species, harvesting and planting native prairie seed, removing fence and brush and transplanting native plants. Their efforts will benefit area communities and Iowa in general because natural areas buffer water supplies and help clean pollutants from the air.

Iowa has lost 99.9% of its 28.6 million acres of original prairie, 90% of its original 4.5 million acres of wetland, and 70% of its original 6.7 million acres of forest that once covered parts of Iowa.

"Needless to say, time is NOT on the land restorationist's side," said Marlene Ehresman, INHF Program and Planning Associate. "But these energetic and passionate AmeriCorps crews can make major progress in a short time."

Past INHF projects in Polk and Jasper counties include the Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt, Chichaqua Valley Trail, Errington Marsh and many others.

The AmeriCorps NCCC is a residential national service program for young adults. Members serve on environmental projects, education, public safety, disaster relief, and other community needs across the country. Crewmembers receive a modest living allowance, health insurance, student loan deferment, training and a $4,725 education award.

New to the AmeriCorps NCCC program this year, inspired by Sept. 11, crewmembers will also be involved with a project to implement homeland security. This year's crew will work with local disaster and fire teams on a demonstration project about responding to crop or prairie wildfires.

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

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