The Loess Hills of western Iowa will apparently -not- become a national park, not anytime soon at least. A National Park Service study is complete and recommends the hills -not- be made a part of the National Park System. Shirley Fredericksen is spokeswoman for the Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development Office in Oakland (Iowa).Fredericksen says the study showed more than 90-percent of the land in the Loess Hills is privately owned, so it would be hard to turn the area into a national park. She says there was some encouraging news in the park service report, including the recommendation of a joint powers board of state, local and regional people to set up a plan for area.The study also said that the Loess Hills are “nationally significant” and should be protected. She says they already knew that, but it’s nice to have the experts say it.Fredericksen says there are some parts in the Loess Hills that could be made into a national park, a national reserve, or other protected area. She says that decision is up to Iowa’s Congressmen and the locals.The glaciers that left the Loess Hills in western Iowa melted about 12-thousand B-C. The only other place in the world with geology similar to the hills is in China.
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