(Wahpeton)– A popular state park in the Iowa Great Lakes is about to get larger.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources commissioners last Thursday approved a 30-acre expansion of Gull Point State Park on West Lake Okoboji.
The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation purchased the land through local donations totaling more than 300-thousand dollars. They also received a 35-thousand dollar matching grant from the Messengers of Healing Winds Foundation. The local contributions covered 75 percent of the acquisition…with the remaining 25 percent being covered by the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. The land is being turned over to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which will manage it.
Tom Hart, a Spencer businessman and lakes area resident, oversaw the fundraising along with Irving Jensen, a seasonal resident. Hart says keeping the land undeveloped will help maintain the integrity of the Iowa Great Lakes by preventing further run-off.
Hart says the DNR has some long term plans to do some planting, restore some wetlands, and build trails.
The former owner had planned to build 11 houses on the land.
A dedication for the expanded park is planned for sometime next Summer.
Gull Point opened in 1935. Prior to the expansion, it encompassed 165 acres of land north of Emmerson Bay.
