The state of Iowa’s property holdings are growing by about 700 acres. TheDepartment of Natural Resources has won a federal grant that’ll allow thepurchase of 175 acres of wetlands and 525 acres of native grasslands innorth-central Iowa. Richard Bishop is bureau chief of the D-N-R’s WildlifeBureau. He says the lands will become home to wildlife & waterfowl.Much of the property is now farmland that’s prone to flooding so thelandowners are selling it to the state. Bishop says that land is often tiledfor drainage purposes.Bishop says the goal is for the new areas to become havens for all sortsfish, birds and animals — as well as people.The federal grant is for 600-thousand dollars. The North-central IowaWetlands Project will include land in the following counties: Winnebago,Worth, Hancock, Cerro Gordo, Franklin and Wright.
