Lisa Hein, who might well be called the “mother of rec trails” across Iowa, will be the featured speaker for the 9th annual banquet of the Raccoon River Valley Trail Association here on Saturday, Feb. 20.
Hein has worked 27 years – “that’s half my life” – as one of the
leading trail developers and advocates for the Iowa Natural Heritage
Foundation, the non-profit conservation organization. The Des
Moines-based foundation has been an active partner with county
conservation boards, city parks & rec departments and other entities
in building a network of recreational trails in Iowa superior to what
you can find in nearly every other state in the nation. Indeed, the INHF
and others now refer to Iowa as the “World Capital of Trails.”
One of the 21 rail-trail conversions that Hein has personally worked
on is our Raccoon River Valley Trail, the 89-mile paved trail that
passes through 14 communities in three counties in west central Iowa,
and connects with the trails coming out of the Des Moines metro area.
Another is our very popular neighbor trail, the High Trestle Trail
between Woodward and Ankeny.
The Raccoon River Valley Trail Association, the non-profit group which markets and promotes the RRVT, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. It has the annual banquet in February as its only fundraiser of the year.
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