Jim Wooley Family Tract Aims to Protect and Open Access to 422 Acres in South Central Iowa
By Joe Jayjack on March 31, 2025 in Press Center
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joe Jayjack, external affairs director, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, jjayjack@inhf.org, 515-288-1846, ext. 19
Contact: Jared Wiklund, director of communications, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, jwiklund@pheasantsforever.org, 651-788-3038
Jim Wooley Family Tract Aims to Protect and Open Access to 422 Acres in South Central Iowa
Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) and Pheasants Forever (PF) and Quail Forever (QF) are working to protect a 422-acre grassland and woodland property in south central Iowa to provide crucial wildlife habitat and public access for outdoor recreation. The parcel, located on the border of Madison and Clarke counties, will be named the Jim Wooley Family Tract in honor of the 31-year Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever biologist.
PF & QF worked jointly with INHF to purchase the property in late 2024, and the groups are now collaborating to raise private donations for this $3 million, cornerstone project. Working with partners to open the property to the public and expand use around the adjacent Heritage Hills Wildlife Management Area, which is owned by the state of Iowa and managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, is a primary objective. Moving forward, the property will contribute to quality wildlife habitat, water stewardship, and support of rural communities with the economic revenue generated from hunters and recreationists visiting the one-of-a-kind property.
The parcel is being named in honor of conservation legend, Jim Wooley, who was responsible for starting more than 125 local chapters of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever in six states, has been the lead for many key habitat and partnership efforts in the state of Iowa, managed the organization’s very successful seed program, and has been a vital committee member of several southern Iowa chapters of Pheasants Forever.
“Wooley made a lasting impact on conservation and on our organization,” said PF and QF’s Habitat Protection Officer Eric Sytsma. “It’s an honor to work with our incredible partners to memorialize his legacy with a project that clearly represents our core mission – public access and permanently protected wildlife habitat.”
The site includes considerable grassland, woodland, and riparian habitats, which shows signs of remnant prairie. These grasslands will support bird species such as Henslow’s Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, Ring-necked Pheasant, and Northern Bobwhite. The adjacent Heritage Hills WMA was protected by INHF and the Iowa DNR in 2016 in a project that was supported by local PF chapters as well. The tract is one of the largest roadless wilderness areas in the state and has seen extensive native habitat restoration over the last several years, helping to create a popular hunting destination.
“It is exciting to be able to build on a complex of protected public land,” said INHF Senior Land Protection Director and Counsel Ross Baxter. “Partnerships like this allow us to protect more wildlife habitat that will also benefit soil health, water quality and outdoor recreation opportunities in Iowa.”
Fundraising for this project will be a prominent part of this year's Build a Wildlife Area® program, which is Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s permanent habitat protection program delivering strategic, fee-title acquisitions to conserve habitat and increase public hunting access. The program strives to create functional landscapes supporting wild, sustainable populations of upland birds and other wildlife, while providing ancillary benefits to natural resources and communities. Since 1982, the program has permanently protected more than 238,860 acres of publicly accessible habitat in 17 states.
Learn more about how you can support the project here.
About Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation
Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation is a nonprofit conservation group that works with private landowners and public partners to protect and restore Iowa's land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect more than 200,000 acres of Iowa's natural resources. Learn more at www.inhf.org.
About Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever make up the nation's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. This community of more than 480,000 members, supporters and partners is dedicated to the protection of our uplands through habitat improvement, public access, education and advocacy. A network of 754 local chapters spread across North America determine how 100 percent of their locally raised funds are spent — the only national conservation organization that operates through this grassroots structure. Since its creation in 1982, the organization has dedicated more than $1 billion to 580,000 habitat projects benefiting 28.8 million acres.