News Track: Linn County officials looking to leverage conservation bonds

CEDAR RAPIDS - In November, Linn County voters overwhelmingly approved a $40 million conservation bond issue.

Dubbed the Linn County Water and Land Legacy bond, the effort needed at least 60 percent approval from voters to pass, yet brought in more than 74 percent support.

The 20-year bond issue will put an added $40 million into the five-member Linn County Conservation Board's spending power on land and water quality projects.

In February, the board discussed a preliminary draft of projects that could come first in line, with the biggest emphasis placed on water quality projects.

Those projects, which include wetland restoration, mitigation and construction at county lands such as Morgan Creek Park and Squaw Creek Park, were expected to get underway as soon as later this year.

Early estimates for bond dollars have $22 million going toward land and water quality efforts, $12 million to park improvements and $6 million to trails.

What's Happened Since

Ryan Schlader, spokesman for Linn County Conservation, said wetland projects remain the county's top priority, but added the board likely won't ask for the first issuance of bonds until 2018.

Schlader said the board has identified possible wetland development and restoration projects, but said a big first step will be to build partnerships and identify grant opportunities.

County conservation officials have met with representatives with a growing number of organizations, including the Nature Conservancy, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa Flood Center, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and Trees Forever, he said.

Applying for and securing grant funds can be a time-consuming process, which Schlader said could take years. But it would help maximize the bond's impact, he added.

'This effort will enable us to leverage the bond dollars for the maximum benefit for the least local cost. Packing several of these projects together when issuing the bonds also keeps costs down,” Schlader said.

Schlader noted that ongoing county conservation projects, such as the Cedar Valley Nature Trail, Wickiup's Wandering Woods and the planting pollinator project, are not being funded with bond dollars.