Story County Conservation dedicated its newest natural area on May 27, Hertz Family Woods and Nature Preserve. The 21 acre woodland is about 1.5 miles south of Highway 30 at Nevada on 11th Street, also known as Country Club Road. The Hertz family initially approached the conservation board about protecting the area several years ago as part of a planned rural subdivision development. The little wooded valley had long been a special place to the Hertz family, but particularly to Marjory, the matriarch of the family, who viewed it as her private nature preserve. It was clear from the beginning that no matter how the subdivision plan came together, Marjory's woods were not to be touched.

The area offered quite a diverse community of different trees and wild flowers. There were some severe ravine erosion problems, though, that had to be corrected if the woods and the narrow prairie buffer that was to be planted around it were to be stable into the future. The Hertz family went to work and installed several check dams with intakes and drop structures to take surface runoff safely down to valley floor level without further erosion and extension of the ravines. Planning assistance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the conservation board helped insure that the structures and the planted prairie buffer would be durable and effective. The conservation board also helped the family plan a foot/bike path all the way around the perimeter of the wooded valley and the family proceeded to build that, too. They added a nice graveled parking lot and opened the area for public use several years before last weekend's dedication made it officially public land. Finishing touches by the family included large "sitting rocks" at the parking lot and at the entrance to each of several short mowed trail segments that veer off into the woods from the surfaced perimeter trail.
The donation process was smoothed and assisted by yet another entity, our long trusted partner in land protection projects, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. The INHF didn't need to help with fundraising on the Hertz Project like they did on the Jennett Heritage area last year. The Hertz family protected the new natural area for over 60 years and completely developed it for public use prior to the donation.

Volunteers outside the Hertz family were part of the mix, too. Several woodland invasive species are present in the area and control measures were begun as soon as it was clear that the area would eventually become public land. Many trash bags of garlic mustard were hand-pulled by volunteers and removed from the area before they could make more seed. A few small patches were found in the past couple of months, but garlic mustard wasn't able to claim a strong foothold before control measures took effect. Bush honeysuckle is also a problem that will require ongoing work to get ahead of, but the few multiflora roses and autumn olives that were found have been dealt with.

Hertz Family Woods and Nature Preserve is only the last in a long series of successful efforts to protect important natural areas in Story County. Each effort required the cooperation of multiple agencies, organizations, and individuals. Many included critical assistance from the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. A few happened quickly, but most required months and even years of planning, fundraising, and negotiation. You can now visit places like Christiansen Forest Preserve, Doolittle Prairie, Leopold Woods, Robison Wildlife Acres, Jim Kettelsen Greenwing Marsh, Cooper Marsh, Larson Marsh, Kalsem Prairie Marsh, the Skunk River Greenbelt, the Jennett Heritage area, and many more special wild places thanks to the hard work of the Story County Conservation Board and its many partners like Pheasants Forever, Skunk River Paddlers, Whitetails Unlimited, Big Bluestem Audubon, Friends of Central Iowa Biking and countless individuals who have generously donated funds, time, and skill to make our area a better place to live for both people and the wild things that share the land with us.