After more than 60 years, the University of Iowa is ending its lease on the MacBride Nature Recreation Area, as officials say renewing the lease would be too expensive.
The UI first leased the land from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the early 1960s.
Over the decades, the park has welcomed countless researchers and locals, while Johnson County Conservation director Brad Freidhof says it’s also home to the university’s wildlife camps.
“I think that’s the hardest part for everybody,” Freidhof says. “There’s only so many dollars that are being allocated towards conservation efforts, and so having every player at the table you can get is always important, and so we’ve just lost another player.”
The university pays no rent but is responsible for maintaining the 485 acres of trails and natural growth. The lease with the Corps of Engineers will end in 2029.
“It’s unlike anything else the University of Iowa has,” Freidhof says. “It’s not an urban environment with very landscape style trees. It’s a wild environment. It’s more realistic to what the state of Iowa was.”
UI President Barbara Wilson says continuing the lease would not have been financially feasible, given the university’s current resources.
A statement from the university said keeping the land would cost $14.8 million dollars up front, and an additional million dollars every year for upkeep.
(James Kelley, Iowa Public Radio)