Yellow River State Forest gets bigger

HARPERS FERRY - 'There you go. He's right here,” bird researcher Jon Stravers said at the start of a Thursday morning hike celebrating the acquisition of the Paint Creek Valley Addition to Yellow River State Forest.

Billed as a bird-watching hike, it could be more aptly described as a bird-listening hike when the main attraction is the cerulean warbler, a reclusive treetop dweller increasingly rare in much of the world but more than holding its own in the expansive wooded hills of northeastern Iowa's Yellow River State Forest, which just got bigger by 368 acres.

For every 100 cerulean trills that Stravers hears, he said he sees only a few of the singers.

'This is cerulean central - southeast-facing bluffs, the confluence of a valley with Paint Creek, plenty of wet-soil insects that the ceruleans like to eat,” said Stravers, whose cerulean warbler research helped secure a globally significant bird area designation for the more than 14,000 acres of public land that includes Yellow River State Forest and Effigy Mounds National Monument.

Besides its remarkable cerulean habitat, the Paint Creek Valley Addition features a 2.1-mile stretch of Big Paint Creek, which has a strong population of wild brown trout, and a rare and fragile algific talus slope, whose preternaturally cool microclimate supports a large population of Canada yew conifer and the threatened northern monkshood flowering plant.

'This is very emotional for me,” said Joe McGovern, president of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, whose brokering over more than a decade secured the acquisition.

At a brief ceremony marking the occasion, McGovern recalled asking the foundation's board of directors for $1.5 million to secure the property while other partners raised money for the purchase.

Asked by the board where the money would come from, McGovern replied, 'I'm not sure, but we have to do this.”

McGovern praised the many partners - including the Department of Natural Resources, the Audubon Society and Trout Unlimited - whose cooperation clinched the deal.

'We just love this area. Two miles of trout stream open to the public forever is huge. We are delighted to get 200 yards, let alone 2 miles,” said Tom Murray, representing the Iowa Driftless Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

Iowa Audubon President Doug Harr said the state's bird enthusiasts are pleased to help expand the core of public land in Iowa's only globally significant bird area.

DNR Director Chuck Gipp said such natural area acquisitions are a key component of the state's economic development strategy.

When recruiting companies to bring jobs to Iowa, it's critical to show them that their employees will have appealing recreational opportunities, he said.

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