NEW INHF is happy to announce the 2008 winners of the Gladys Black Scholarship! Andrea Schletzbaum of Pleasantville and Kirn Stevenson of Knoxville were selected from among other applicants for this year's award. Both recipients are high school seniors in Marion County, home to the Gladys Black Bald Eagle Refuge. (5/13/08)
NEW INHF has summer openings for four young people in our Heritage Conservation Corps. Applicants must be ages 16-21 with an interest in conservation, trails and working outdoors. Apply online or read a detailed job description here. Applications are are due May 21. (5/5/08)
NEW Landowner’s Options, a free land conservation guide published by the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, recently won the annual Ada Hayden Conservation Education Award. The guide outlines numerous options for Iowans who are exploring permanent land protection — whether they intend to maintain private ownership or convert it to public use. (4/16/08)
Vic and Jan Lothe recently ensured that 15 acres of their family’s woodlands in Humboldt County would be protected forever. The Lothes donated the land to INHF because they did not want their woodlands developed, now or in the future. The 15 acres contain oak-hickory woodlands and rare oak savanna. (3/24/08)
INHF is celebrating our 100,000th acre of land protection. The milestone acre is located on a new addition that INHF is donating to the state as a proposed addition to Stone State Park in Sioux City. Share our mutual accomplishments by viewing the online slideshow featuring just a few of these special places. (3/13/08)
130 acres of steep wooded bluffs and savanna areas southwest of Lansing are here to stay, thanks to landowner Patrick Burke and his wife Nancy Rigler. The couple recently donated a conservation easement on their Allamakee County land that will protect its goat prairie remnants and rock outcrops for years to come. (3/3/08)
Dan Palmer recently donated a conservation easement to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) on 200 acres in Jackson County. This property lies adjacent to Palmer’s 582-acre Dark Hollow Bison Acre Ranch, which he protected in 1999. Adding this property to the existing easement creates a more than 700-acre block of permanently protected land. (2/27/08)
Rod and Nancy Bakken of Ames donated a conservation easement to INHF. This voluntary protection agreement will preserve 278 acres of land in Winneshiek and Howard Counties. The Upper Iowa River and Bigalk Creek, which provides much-needed habitat for trout, both cut through the Bakken property. (2/26/08)
Dallas County is now the official owner of a new 28-mile segment of the Raccoon River Valley Trail. By connecting Waukee, Dallas Center, Minburn, Perry and Dawson, the new segment will create a 72-mile trail loop within Dallas County. (2/20/08)
Dubuque County resident David Hartig recently protected 55 acres near Catfish Creek through a voluntary protection agreement. The property is upstream from the Iowa Department of Natural Resource's Mines of Spain, a significant natural wildlife greenbelt complex. (2/13/08)
Sioux City's Stone State Park expanded by 160 acres in February, thanks to the Norman and Carolyn Sloan family and the Alfred Thurow family. Nestled in the Loess Hills, the new additions include prairie remnants, oak savanna, extremely rare butterfly species and more natural treasures. The land is owned and managed by the Iowa DNR. (2/12/08)
Doug and Lorna Caulkins of Grinnell donated a conservation easement on 239 acres of Mahaska County land. The property includes reconstructed prairie, oak savanna, a hanging bog, wetlands and more. After additional restoration, the Caulkins plan to invite school children and other groups to tour the site, which is near New Sharon. (1/29/08)
A new Mills County 800-acre public wetland, located along Interstate 29 and a major bird migration highway, is being restored to serve wildlife and humans. See related magazine article. (1/08)
Three Woodbury County families protected almost 500 acres of scenic Loess Hills through conservation easements. The land is located in the Luton Special Landscape Area near Bronson. (1/08)
Three landowners preserve Upper Iowa River frontage with a conservation easement in Allamakee County. (1/08)
For more information, e-mail Cathy Engstrom, Director of Communications, or call (515) 288-1846.