Joe Jayjack, External Affairs Director at the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, joined us today to update us with the INHF. The INHF has been around since 1979 under the Governor Robert D Ray administration with a primary use as a funding source to purchase land in a timely manner. This helps public groups like the Iowa DNR and county conservation groups purchase land when they don’t have the immediate authority to do so, then get paid back later when the land is deeded to the public entities. All the funds used come from private donations.
The INHF also act as an information and administrative source for private owners that want to have help preserving their land or part of their land while they are alive (or in their will). They can help with estate planning and conservation easements when either the land stays in their family or goes to others in their will. They have helped preserve over 200,000 acres in Iowa since their inception. It is not all funding though; the INHF relies on lots of volunteer support in the field.
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Iowa’s Water and Land Legacy (IWiLL) was an Iowa Constitutional Amendment voted in by the citizens in 2010 with a 63% vote but was never funded. It had to be funded by a 3/8 sales tax that has never been approved by the Legislature. This effort, if ever funded, brings Iowans together in support of permanent, substantial, reliable funding to improve our water quality, protect our soils, enhance our wildlife habitat, and increase outdoor recreation opportunities throughout Iowa. Joe tells of an effort to try to cancel this amendment by legislators in the Iowa Legislature, but it failed in 2024. It is the INHF’s hope for the legislature to fund this in 2025.
You can find more information here: https://www.inhf.org/what-we-do/conservation-policy/iowas-water-and-land-legacy/.
Thank you to guest host Mark Gannon for this IowaPodcast.com exclusive. Guest host opinions do not necessarily represent the opinions of IowaPodcast.com, our hosts, or sponsors.