Guided Hike Offers First Chance for Public to See
New Council Bluffs Loess Hills Prairie Preserve

The Loess Hills Preservation Society announced that it would host a guided
hike at the new Vincent Bluff Prairie Preserve in Council Bluffs starting
at 8:00 a.m. on September 23rd. The Society's Prairie Life Specialist,
Glenn Pollock, will lead the hike and the public will get their first
chance to see Vincent Bluff Prairie Preserve on the south side of Council
Bluffs off Interstate 80.

To go on the hike, meet at the parking lot of the Hy-Vee Food Store, 1745
Madison Ave., near the Mall of the Bluffs, at 8 a.m. Sept. 23 to carpool to
Vincent Bluff. Participants will return about 10 a.m. Wear long pants,
walking shoes and a hat. Bring water, binoculars and insect repellent.

The 30-acre prairie features prairie birds, butterflies and plants,
including several relatively rare ones such as the bluntleaf milkweed.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation contracted to buy the property with
help from the Loess Hills Preservation Society from Mildred Vincent, the
owner for 50 years, who lived on Vincent Bluff, and who has entered a
nursing home. "She has resisted development offers on it time and time
again," O'Gara said. "That's not what she wanted for her land."

The foundation, the City and the Loess Hills Preservation Society are
raising funds to complete the project at an estimated cost of $500,000. The
Loess Hills Preservation Society also is organizing volunteers to help
manage the prairie according to Janice Marcantonio, Society President.

Vincent Bluff and Prairie Preserve is located on top of the hill at the
intersection of Woodbury Avenue and Harry Langdon Blvd on the southern edge
of Council Bluffs. It is one of the few undeveloped blufftops remaining
within city limits. This landmark bluff serves as an important portal into
the Loess Hills of Western Iowa and provides a window for the nation to
appreciate Iowa's vanishing prairies and bluffs.

For more information about the hike, contact Glenn Pollock, who will guide
the hike, at (402) 571-6230 or at [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>. For more information about how to donate to
the effort to acquire and preserve Vincent Bluff Preserve, please call:
(712) 366-2678 or e-mail [log in to unmask]
The Loess Hills Preservation Society is a non-profit organization with over
200 friends and members who are dedicated to building the region's economy
and promote tourism by improving the management of the world-famous Loess
Hill landform. The Society and its many volunteers have been credited with
helping governments and businesses find cost-effective alternative sources
for fill dirt. The organization also has helped create policies and educate
citizens about the significance of the region and the many problems caused
by repeated soil mining and unwise development in the Hills.

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