INHF helps protect sand prairie habitat

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This article first appeared in the Summer 2005 edition of INHF's magazine.

by Nic Young

photo by Brian Fankhauser/INHF

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, land donors, city officials and a neighborhood conservation group have protected a degraded sand prairie remnant in Iowa City. The site will be restored as a “natural” city park, available for low-impact recreation and conservation education.

There’s a treasure nestled on the southern edge of Iowa City that, with the help of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) and local partners, will soon be restored for public enjoyment.

The 38-acre site contains remnants of sand prairie, an unusual ecosystem that supports drought-tolerant plant and animal species.

Prior to 1998, the site was home to the Ornate Box Turtle, a state-threatened species that can survive only on sandy soil. To protect them from surrounding development, the turtles were relocated to other sites by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

To preserve portions of the prairie, a local conservation group, Concerned Citizens for Sand Prairie Preservation (CCSPP), compiled a report with research and nearly a dozen letters from geology and ecology experts.

Their efforts convinced a local company developing adjoining remnant land to work with Randall Arendt, a nationally renowned conservation landscape architect. Under Arendt’s direction, the company donated 18 acres of the prairie to the city.

Meanwhile, INHF acquired another 20 acres from seven siblings who grew up on the site. In 2003 Portia Cooper, Mary Jane Showers, James Showers, Donald Showers and Susan Blumgren donated their shares to INHF. The Foundation purchased the remaining interest from the other two owners in 2004 and transferred the entire parcel to Iowa City in April 2005.

The city intends to maintain and restore the site’s natural features and to construct nature trails, opening it for low-impact uses like bird-watching and school programs.

“This project is good not only for preservation, but also from an educational standpoint,” said Terry Trueblood, director of the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department.

The department is currently commissioning a management plan for the site to help refurbish its degraded remnants. CCSPP members have volunteered to help with the restoration effort.  

“Until we get in there and start to burn and remove the trees, it’s tough to say how well the area is going to respond,” said CCSPP member Amy Bouska. “We have a lot of work ahead of us from a management perspective.”

 

Nic Young is an Iowa City native, Drake University student, Svare Family Intern and Robert R. Buckmaster Intern at INHF.

 

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