Coon Rapids- A huge new Iowa nature preserve is poised to build a
world-class mountain-bike and horse trail just 70 miles northwest of Des
Moines. Many Iowa counties and state parks maintain hard-surface
bike trails or park paths. However, Iowa currently has very few long
dirt trail networks tailored for the increasingly popular sport of
mountain-biking. Of the 100 best mountain-bike trails ranked by the
International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) website, not a single one
is in Iowa. This lack will soon be remedied.
The proposed new
Whiterock Backcountry Trail will be a 35-mile soft-surface trail winding
throughout a large new prairie and oak savanna restoration area along
the Middle Raccoon River. The entire network will be open to walkers and
runners. Over 16 miles will be single-track trail designed especially
for mountain-bikers, and 6.3 miles will be single track tailored for
horses. Another 12 miles of double-track trail will be open to all
users, including low-powered carts serving the mobility impaired.
This backcountry trail will represent an important recreational
option for outdoor enthusiasts from the Des Moines, Ames, and Omaha
metro areas. From Des Moines, the trail will be located just 70 miles
northwest along Highway 141; from Omaha the trail will lie 100 miles
east.
The backcountry trail will be built and maintained by the
private seven-square-mile Whiterock Conservancy land trust. Construction
costs will be covered by a combination of federal grants, city and
county contributions, private donations, and possibly state funding.
Whiterock requested the last
$400,000 in construction costs from
the Vision Iowa Community Attractions and Tourism (CAT) program on Sept
17. If approved, construction will begin next year.
In a state
with the nation's second lowest percentage of lands open for public
recreation, the nonprofit Whiterock Conservancy land trust represents an
innovative partnership model to increase Iowa's outdoor recreation
services with almost no municipal, county or state outlay.
Unique Trail Experience
The
seven-square-mile Whiterock Conservancy land trust is a private outdoor
nature area founded in 2004 and located upriver from Des Moines. In a
state characterized by monoculture, Whiterock has a unique three-part
nonprofit mission of "multipurpose land use." The goal is to combine
sustainable agriculture and grazing, environmental restoration, and
low-impact public use --all on one gorgeous 5,000-acre landscape.
As
part of its mission to engage the public with the landscape, the
nonprofit Whiterock already hosts free and low-cost outdoor events, and
rents canoes and event space. It also rents campsites and
accommodations, including at the historic Garst Farm that once hosted
Khrushchev.
In addition, Whiterock shares public art initiatives
--and a local 10-mile hard-surface trail system--with the small town of
Coon Rapids and Carroll County Riverside Park.
Now, after years
of planning and preparation, this emerging land trust is ready to extend
the local trail system deep into the heart of its huge landscape by
adding 35 miles of sustainable backcountry trails.
Whiterock's
current trail network is cobbled together from eroding deer paths and
abandoned farm roads. The new trail system will be soft (dirt) surface,
but will follow the state-of-the-art trail design and construction
principles of the International Mountain Bike Association. The carving
of new trails along the contours of dozens of river valley ridges,
employing frequent grade changes and precise outsloping,
will
create a special trail experience that maximizes the enjoyment of trail
users, minimizes erosion and sediment load in the Middle Raccoon River.
The
newly designed and engineered trail will wind dozens of miles through
one of the most beautiful and diverse landscapes in Iowa. Since large
portions of the trail are being planned from scratch, it will be routed
to numerous points of scenic, archeological, geological or environmental
interest such as Whiterock's prohibition-era dance barn, riverside
bluffs, prairie remnants, ancient oaks, sustainable agriculture
demonstration sites, and various wildlife-viewing stands. One portion
will be built as a boardwalk along a gorgeous wetland seep, filled with
unusual native plants.
Whiterock's backcountry trail will provide
an important in-state option for the state's increasing number of
mountain-bike enthusiasts. Currently, 7 % of the Iowa's population
engages in mountain-biking and the state has several active
mountain-biking clubs. However, at the present time Iowa's serious
off-road bikers must travel to Minnesota, Wisconsin or Michigan to find
larger specially-engineered single- or double-track trails tailored to
their sport. The closest comparable trail would be the Cuyuna Lakes
Mountain Bike Trail in Ironton, MN, 407 miles to the north.
The
Whiterock project will help keep those recreation dollars in-state. Once
the new trail is completed, it will easily serve over 10,000
mountain-bikers a year.
Horseback riders will also find at
Whiterock a backcountry trail experience that rivals that of the best
state parks. To protect the trail from erosion, all stream crossings
will be armored, and segments of the trail open to horses will be
undergirded with rock.
Walkers, hikers and marathoners will find a huge landscape to explore. The mobility-impaired, including the
elderly and families with small children, will have the option of
renting low-powered carts. Whiterock's goal is to allow all types of
users to be able to appreciate its surprisingly wild and remote
landscape.
Taking all users together, based on figures from comparable parks and trail systems, Whiterock's
backcountry
trail will soon be serving well over 25,000 users a year. These
rural-tourism dollars will bring a significant economic boost to local
convenience stores, gas stations, lodgings and restaurants in Coon
Rapids, Bayard, Carroll, Guthrie Center, and Perry.
Fundraising Almost Complete
Planning
and fundraising for the trail is well underway. All archeological and
environmental permits have already been secured, the route is staked
out, pre-construction scientific work (including plant and
water flow surveys) are complete, and the construction supervision contractor selected.
Construction
costs for soft trails are only about one-fifth the cost of paved
trails, so this 35-mile soft-surfaced trail has a total construction
budget of only $1,560,000. Together with $2.7 million in land donations
made since 2008, and $400,000 in associated non-infrastructure costs
(such as marketing, trail-impact monitoring, and the maintenance fund),
the total project cost is $4.2 million.
Fundraising is now in the homestretch. Whiterock has already secured $1.2 million in construction
monies,
including a $474,200 Federal Recreational Trails grant and a $355,680
Transportation Enhancement Grant. The Iowa Department of Natural
Resources (DNR), which holds a seat on the Whiterock board, is public
sponsor for the federal grants.
Private donations, and pledges of
local public support, have now brought fundraising within striking
distance of being completed. Only $800,000 more needs to be raised. And
as soon as half of that ($400,000) is secured, trail construction can
begin.
On September 11, Whiterock requested $418,000 from the
Vision Iowa Community Attractions and Tourism (CAT) Board, which likes
to be the "the last dollars in." The amount requested represents less
than 10% of the total $4.2 million project cost. If approved, this state
funding would allow Whiterock to begin trail construction next year,
and hold its grand opening in 2015.
Whiterock Product of Huge Land Gift
Iowa
has the second lowest percentage of public lands in the United States.
When cattle-rancher, farmer, and outdoorsman Steve Garst died in 2004,
his widow, five daughters, and sister decided to take steps to protect
and preserve the historic Garst Farm and also 5,000 acres of his scenic
river valley landholdings.
However, rather than donating the land
to the county or state, the seven Garst women chose a different model.
They asked the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) to help set up a
private non-profit land trust to receive the donation. This is one of
the largest land gifts ever made in Iowa. Only one state park in Iowa is
larger than the Whiterock landscape.
The new organization was named Whiterock Conservancy after the local name for an ancient light-colored bluff along the river.
The
nonprofit Whiterock Conservancy is led by a 9-member board of directors
controlled by representatives of the INHF, the Iowa DNR, and the
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University.
Land gifting is still underway, but when all Garst land donations are
complete, Whiterock Conservancy will own over 5,000 acres stretching
eight miles along both banks of the Middle Raccoon River valley,
including over 1,000 acres of rare prairie and oak savanna remnants.
To
date, the Garsts have transferred to Whiterock ownership the Garst Farm
and a little more than half the pledged land. Much of the donated land
has grazing or crop production value which helps support the new
non-profit, which also raises funds from private donations, grants and
tourism services. The recent hire of Conrad Kramer, a professional land
trust director, is now allowing the fledgling Whiterock organization to
come into its own.
Public Benefit
The existence of the
private Whiterock land trust benefits Iowa in numerous ways. Besides
protecting and restoring scarce habitat for native species, and using
and demonstrating best-practice agricultural
production methods
that help preserve soil health and water quality, Whiterock Conservancy
also provides free and low-cost recreation for locals and visitors
alike.
Local economic benefits are realized through county
property-tax payments and visitor spending. Whiterock can also assist
with area business attraction by offering quality outdoor recreation
that workers otherwise might seek in other states. Of course it also has
its own employees.
Conrad Kramer, an experienced land trust executive, recently moved to Coon Rapids from California
to
assume the position of Whiterock Conservancy's Executive Director. "I
was attracted to Iowa by Whiterock's unique mission of a multipurpose
landscape," reports Kramer. "Most land trusts simply seek to protect
land from development. Whiterock goes far beyond that in seeking the
creative intersection of sustainable agriculture; environmental
restoration; and public engagement with the landscape through outdoor
education and recreation."
"Because Whiterock is a non-profit, we
have a lot of freedom to be creative, and especially to layer
activities on the same piece of land. Our mountain-bike trail, for
example, will cross prairie-pastures where we practice sustainable
grazing, monitor bird populations, and host astronomers attracted by our
dark skies and excellent stargazing. Once our new trail is complete,
for the outdoor enthusiast there will be no other Iowa backcountry trail
experience that even comes close."
For more information go to www.whiterockconservancy.org