Leopold Center - Guest Commentary: An evolving relationship with the land

This new conservation project reflects my family’s evolving relationship with the land and what are considered appropriate uses for land. My grandfather Roswell Garst, co-founder of the Garst & Thomas Seed Corn Company, was a firm believer in the Green Revolution and importance of making every acre yield the most food. He promoted his theories worldwide, most famously to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, who became his friend and in 1959 visited him at his Coon Rapids farm.

My father Stephen continued Roswell’s tradition of high-input agriculture but also was an avid hunter and fisherman, and increasingly a conservationist. He was an early supporter of erosion control measures such as waterways and no-till farming. He purchased extensive tracts of timber and pasture where he built and stocked dozens of ponds. He also helped found the Carroll County Conservation Board and was a leading force behind the Coon Rapids bike trail.

One step further
My generation has taken things a step further to focus on biodiversity and sustainability. Iowa is the most changed landscape in the nation, with just vestiges left of the native prairie and oak savanna that once covered the entire state. Our interest is in seeking methods to restore as much biodiversity as possible, while simultaneously making a living on the land. Unless Iowa farmers have viable economic alternatives for conservation land, they will have little incentive for its protection and restoration.

Our approach to sustainability focuses on two main avenues: sustainable agricultural practices and rural tourism. By sustainable agriculture, we mean productive practices that can continue over time without depleting our natural resources.

By rural tourism, we mean using the beauty of the land and the recreational opportunities it affords, to lure people to the area where they provide a market for local entrepreneurs. People coming to bird-watch (and bird-watchers will travel a long distance to see a specific bird) also need to buy gas, eat and sleep. They also may want to shop. Astronomers attracted by our unusually dark skies of the area also will come to visit, even to retire here.

This gives us and our neighbors a strong incentive to protect and preserve those resources. Dark sky protection is not that difficult; mostly it involves convincing neighboring communities and businesses to install lighting that is directed downwards, rather than allowing light to shoot up into the night sky.

Creating and protecting wild bird habitat is a somewhat more complicated challenge. Some birds need large tracts of unbroken woodlands; ground nesters may need protection from disturbance during nesting season. But the basic idea is the same: once you consider wildlife viewers as a market, you see wildlife as an economic asset and then you have a greater incentive to protect habitat.

Of course, none of this will work without facilities and marketing. That is where we are increasingly developing a concept of rural tourism as a community effort. One business alone cannot sustain itself or offer a diverse array of services. The person who has hunting lands needs someone with a hotel, and vice versa. Add to that a restaurant, a target range, a hunting supply store and a gift shop, and the combined offering starts to be attractive enough to keep everyone in business.

Hunters are an important potential market for rural Iowa. Increasingly, hunters are paying for access to land, or even buying conservation land outright. Land owners not only can sell hunting rights, but also market outfitting services. In the case of absentee conservation landowners, neighboring farmers or tenants might be able to step forward to provide conservation land management services.

More interesting still is to manage land currently used for crop and/or cattle production to simultaneously support these alternative uses. Even crop land can become a tourist attraction: witness the popularity of corn mazes or horse-plowing contests. Pasture land can support field dog trials. We already have local neighbors who make a little money simply giving tours of their farms. Many city people have lost touch with the land, and will actually pay for a tour that explains modern or alternative farming.

Multipurpose land use
Our vision of multipurpose land use has sometimes been difficult for people to grasp and it will need tweaking. At first we called Whiterock a “preserve,” but the next thing we knew, we had a bird-watcher scared by curious cows. Perhaps we will erect visitor signs with tips to tell when a cow really is being a threat! Yes, a Vermillion flycatcher stayed with us this summer, but cattle are our long-term residents.

Another misconception is that Whiterock will somehow affect the tax base. With only a minor acreage exception, even the nonprofit Whiterock must pay taxes on the land. And as the Conservancy begins to generate funds for restoration via pasturing and nontraditional land uses, its tax contribution should start to rise.

We will need innovative and experienced partners in this complex process. For this reason we are pleased to be working with the Leopold Center, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, as well as other partners, and look forward to seeing what will emerge from this creative mix.