WCCB acquiring 103 acres for English River watershed

Washington County Conservation and the Bur Oak Land Trust of Iowa City are preparing to exchange ownership of over 100 acres of undeveloped land just west of Wellman.

Packed with native fauna and plant life, the 103-acre Gross property in Lime Creek Township will continue its protected status as an addition to the English River Wildlife Area, which the county already manages.

“Transferring this property to the WCCB will create nearly 900 contiguous acres of protected land, helping to establish an important corridor for wildlife along the English River,” said Bur Oak Land Trust Executive Director Jason Taylor in a news release.

“The acquisition of the Gross property is a good thing for Washington County Conservation because it continues a pattern of investment our department and county has made into increasing access to public land,” said Washington County Conservation Board Executive Director Zach Rozmus. “Not every individual has access to private land where they can learn to camp, fish, hike and hunt, which makes it important to have access to public land so that the opportunity to recreate is all-inclusive.”

Rozmus said talks had been in the works for some time.

“It was something where we had been involved in negotiations back in 2018 for this same property, and both parties, we just both kind of walked away from it,” he said. “We both went our separate ways for a while, then … their director at Bur Oak Land Trust, Jason Taylor, reached out to me about our interest in the property, and things just kind of snowballed from there.”

The land is split by the English River, with a low-lying wetland on the south side marked by maple and walnut trees, while the north side features bluff timber like oaks and hickories.

“You really get a unique blend with a lot of diverse habitats associated with one property,” Rozmus said.

Rozmus said the property’s location made it a perfect fit for county conservation.

“This property’s going to make it where we’re nearly 900 acres for the English River Wildlife Area,” he said. “That’s public access property pretty close to Wellman, not too far from Iowa City, open to public recreation.”

It’s also a highly coveted spot for conservation purposes, especially given Iowa’s low rank at 47th in the U.S. for total acres protected for public access, according to the news release.

“Countless native species, including the threatened long eared owl will benefit from the property’s unique combination of lowland timber, wetlands, willow thickets and native grasses,” the release said. “These features also mean the property serves as a flood mitigation area and water quality filtration system, and WCCB’s strict management plan will make the Gross property a place for public recreation for years to come.”

The area, however, comes with a litany of strict federal regulations, all of which the county will have to manage as its new owner.

“It does have a permanent easement associated with it, so it can never be developed,” Rozmus said. “We will have to work with the local NRCS for some of the details for programs, whether it’s our prescribed burn plan, if we wanted to have some trails through the property, whatever it might be. It does have some pretty strict stipulations, but as far as protection goes this will be managed in a way that is open and accessible to the public.”

Rozmus said the land would be used for recreational space, but stressed that its use would extend beyond fishing and hunting.

“Here in the Midwest especially, a lot of our environmentalists or environmentally conscious individuals are hunters or fishers or whatever it might be, but I don’t want to put it that that’s the only thing this property is going to be open for,” he said. “For bird watchers, there’s a significant amount of waterfowl on this property. And recreation as far as getting out, hiking, and enjoying the outdoors is something this property is going to provide.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com