When David Hartig was 5 years old, his father bought a beautiful oak-filled property — a place that would forever impact how he would view the environment.

 “My father encouraged protecting the land and the wildlife,” Hartig said. “As a child, you’re very impressionable, so those environmental values have stayed with me.”

Today, Hartig is taking a cue from Dad. He’s protecting his own Dubuque property — most of which he’s owned since 1965 — through a voluntary protection agreement.

Hartig recently donated a conservation easement to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF), a non-profit conservation group. The specific purpose of this easement is to protect the bluffs, restrict development and preserve open space and wildlife habitat.

Hartig’s property, which remains in his private ownership, lies between Rockdale Road and Southern Avenue, and Catfish Creek and the Swiss Valley Creek in Dubuque. The property is also upstream from the Iowa Department of Natural Resource’s Mines of Spain.  The latter forms a significant natural wildlife greenbelt complex, which is land surrounding an urban area that is designated to remain natural and undeveloped.

The property contains mixed deciduous trees. It provides habitat for neotropical migratory songbirds, pheasants, turkey, deer, rabbits and coyotes. One of Hartig’s favorite parts of the property is near a stream, where he can look for 500-600 feet at the sun reflecting off the water.

But it was the highest point on the land that originally sold him. “I trimmed some brush away from the edge of the bluff, and I could see 15 miles northwest of beautiful countryside,” Hartig said. “At that moment, I said to myself, ‘I have to have this property.’”

 Though Hartig retains private ownership and use, the easement permanently protects the land from mining, developing, clear cutting, over-grazing and other activities that could diminish the area’s natural resources and scenery. The easement restrictions apply to Hartig and all future owners.

Before donating the easement, Hartig had been active in managing his property’s natural resources. He credits his father for teaching him the importance of the environment at a young age. Since obtaining the property more than 40 years ago, Hartig always knew he wanted to protect it, and felt a conservation easement was the right choice to ensure its future.

Someday, Hartig envisions a greenbelt running from the Mines of Spain up to Highway 20 that would include a wildlife refuge and public trails. But until then, he continues its upkeep.

INHF is a nonprofit, conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect almost 100,000 acres of Iowa’s wild places.

Past INHF projects in Dubuque County include the Mines of Spain State Recreation Area, the Heritage Trail and Whitewater Canyon.

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