Report underscores benefits of Iowa’s preservation money, how much more could be done

Linn County has been greatly enriched by a multitude of projects paid for in part by more than $6 million in state Resource Enhancement and Protection funds since 1989, according to the authors of a report released Monday by Iowa Policy Project.

'This program has done an awful lot for Linn County and the state, and it could do a lot more if it were ever fully funded,” said report co-author David Osterberg, who as a state representative co-sponsored the legislation authorizing REAP in 1988.

While the report highlights Linn County projects, similar benefits have accrued to the state's 98 other counties, said Osterberg, the Iowa Policy Project's former director.

'Our hope is that Iowans around the state will see the impact of REAP more clearly in local projects that have been funded or supported this way,” said co-author Katie Gandhi.

The report notes that the Legislature initially set REAP spending authority at $30 million a year, but funding reached the $20 million mark only once, causing a long-term shortfall of more than $220 million.

For the new fiscal year, lawmakers appropriated $16 million, same as last year.

Despite the gap, the state has invested $264 million in the program, helping to pay for 14,535 projects ranging from conservation education, soil and water enhancement and roadside plantings to parks, land acquisitions and historic resources.

In Linn County, much of the funding is channeled through the Conservation Department, which since 1989 has invested $1.25 million in REAP funds for capital improvements and $1.12 million for acquisitions.

'For us, REAP has been incredibly important,” said Linn County Conservation Deputy Director Dennis Goemaat.

'It has been the catalyst to get a lot of projects going - the seed money to leverage funds from other sources,” he said.

One of the notable capital improvements was the 2012 installation of the Mary Lundby Memorial Trail Bridge, a $1.6 million project honoring the late legislator that connected two sides of Pinicon Ridge Park separated by the Wapsipinicon River.

REAP funding also contributed to Linn County's acquisition of 1,250 acres, including parcels at Pinicon Ridge Park, Matsell Bridge Natural Area, Morgan Creek Park and Wickiup Hill Natural Area.

And REAP funds helped pay for expansions at Palisades-Kepler State Park and Pleasant Creek State Recreation Area, as well as the acquisition of parcels by municipalities.

Marion, for example, leveraged REAP funds to acquire 110 wooded acres that became the Faulkes Heritage Woods, and Cedar Rapids did likewise in acquiring the 28-acre Vecny Woods.

REAP funds have assisted several local historic preservation projects including textile restoration efforts at the National Czech & Slovak Museum and Library after the flood of 2008.

REAP funding has been instrumental in the successful completion of more than 150 Linn County projects, the report stated.

The value of such projects, though hard to quantify, is self-evident, according to Osterberg.

With full funding, 'we could do so much more, and so much better,” he said.