$470,000 to go to central Iowa wetlands thanks to Prairie Meadows grant
By Joe Jayjack on August 29, 2024 in Press Center
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joe Jayjack, jjayjack@inhf.org, 515-288-1846
DES MOINES, Iowa — Prairie Meadows Casino recently announced that four central Iowa wetlands projects will get a $470,000 Legacy Grant to support water quality, habitat, and conservation education.
The grant is a collaboration between Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Polk County Public Works, Polk County Conservation and the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance.
The majority of the grant money will go towards Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation’s Brenton Slough project. INHF bought a 1,114-acres between Grimes and Granger last year and have been raising funds to be able to transfer the land to Polk County Conservation and open it to the public. The grant puts the project within $2 million of its $8 million goal.
“This is an incredible opportunity for us to change the Iowa landscape in a way that will benefit communities,” said Ben Berka, Director of Development for Ducks Unlimited. “Impacts include not only cleaner drinking water, but also improved habitat, flood risk reduction, and opportunities to enjoy these beautiful, restored wetlands.”
Strategically placed and designed wetlands remove up to 90% of nitrates from farmland drainage, making them a key practice in Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy.
“Wetlands can be expensive to engineer and build, but their impact outweighs that cost,” said John Swanson, Water Resources Supervisor for Polk County Public Works. “We’re working to get them in the ground at a faster pace across central Iowa. Generous donors like Prairie Meadows are key to that progress.”
The Prairie Meadows funding will go towards four wetland projects:
- Wetlands improvements at Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt in Maxwell – Funding will support a new water control structure to help the wetlands clean an additional 10,000 acres of ag runoff in Northeast Polk County.
- Helland wetland restoration in Slater – An 8-acre wetland will be added to the Helland family farm north of Big Creek Lake in Boone County. The operation already has numerous conservation practices and this addition will make it a perfect demonstration farm for other farmers to see conservation in action.
- Fisher Lake restoration near Saylorville – Grant funding will jumpstart planning, allowing the team to survey and engineer the design for the restoration.
- Brenton Slough acquisition near Grimes – 1,114 acres of natural ecosystem are home to one of only 15 nationally designated sloughs in the state. Funding supports phase one of a four-part plan to transfer the land to Polk County Conservation and open it to the public.
“Projects like these wetlands greatly enhance the quality of life for Iowans,” said Julie Stewart, Senior Vice president of Business Development at Prairie Meadows. “We are committed to investing in our community and positively impacting central Iowa.”
In 2022, Prairie Meadows awarded project partners $140,000, which supported the installation of 52 saturated buffers (water-cleaning structures at edges of fields) in Polk County, and a six-acre wetland restoration at DMACC’s Dallas County Campus.
These projects would not be possible without many supporters. Other funders include the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, the Great Outdoors Foundation, Polk County, and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grant.