Leapin' Lizards!

Iowa dedicates nation's first amphibian and reptile area

---

This article first appeared in INHF's Summer 2007 magazine.

SE Iowa Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Area

The newly designated area spans approximately 470,000 acres of public and private land along the Mississippi River flood plain, including many INHF project sites now owned by public partners.

Iowa recently designated the nation’s first-ever Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Area.

Dedicated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) in May, the Southeast Iowa Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Area (ARCA) includes public and private lands in Iowa’s Mississippi Alluvial Plain. It spans approximately 470,000 acres, parts of seven Iowa counties and many past INHF project areas. The area’s diverse features—including riverbeds, grasslands, rock outcrops, streams, ponds and ephemeral wetlands—provide habitat for many species.

The IDNR Wildlife Diversity Program and the new Iowa Wildlife Action Plan were important for the designation of ARCA. Each works to protect species that are rare or in greatest conservation need. Sadly, 48 percent of Iowa’s reptiles fall under these categories, including the ornate box turtle and prairie kingsnake, both found in the ARCA. Rare amphibians such as the central newt and mudpuppy also find sanctuary there.

Marlene Ehresman, INHF’s Program & Planning Associate, attended the ARCA dedication and was asked to say a few words about its significance to the organization. Instead, she called upon Riggs Wilson, a 10-year-old from Lockridge, to share what frogs, snakes and turtles meant to him.

“Riggs told a wonderful story about a painted turtle he had found,” said Ehresman. “His genuine excitement about these critters should give us all hope for the future. It really made me appreciate what the Foundation does ‘for those who follow.’”

Others commended for their role in protecting habitat within the ARCA include private landowners, county conservation boards, The Nature Conservancy, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Every Acre Counts

Iowa has protected several thousand acres within the new Southeast Iowa ARCA.

Most recently, we transferred 350 acres in Louisa County to the IDNR in May. This low-lying land along the Iowa River adjoins two other recent INHF project sites, totaling 1,284 protected acres. Horseshoe Bend, our 2,500-acre addition to the Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge, lays just downstream.

Kate Lydon is an Iowa State University student and a Robert R. Buckmaster intern at INHF.

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