(Milford)– The Dickinson County Conservation Board has acquired some land along the west side of the Little Sioux River, west of Milford. Conservation Board Director Lee Sorenson says it consists of 160 acres just south of the Little Sioux Savanna Wildlife Area…
“We’re calling this the Little Sioux Savanna Wildlife Addition. It actually is adjacent to that area and right across from another area where the Saddle Club used to be, so it kind of connects quite a few acres together, and then just south of that is the Horseshoe Bend Recreational Area. So we do have a little stretch there that’s still in private ground but it just makes a very wide, expanse area for wildlife to enjoy and for people to take in that wildlife.”
Sorenson adds they’re restoring the land to prairie…
“50 percent of it was planted to crops during the purchase and we have since planted it with prairie, upland flowers and forbs, and it will be open for people to hunt deer, turkey, birdwatchers. It does have the Little Sioux River that runs through it, so you can go down and skip rocks in the river and do some fishing or anything outdoor-wise.”
Sorenson says the acquisition was made possible through a partnership…
“This actually came for sale and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation stepped in and purchased it until we were able to write some grants and raise some funds. That was four years ago. We were just awarded a REAP Grant this last fall for $300,000 which made us be able to have enough to go ahead and purchase that from the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.”
Sorenson adds they believe there may be some historical significance to the land as well as some bison bones were found on the site.
