Published in todays Des Moines Register.
When Tom Vilsack took over as secretary of Agriculture early this year,
one of the agency's new responsibilities outlined by Congress was the
Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. Almost 30 million acres
around the United States were afforded protection in a range of
authorizations. How sad that Iowa's natural areas were omitted from this
bill.

Our Loess Hills are a gem, but presently there is no national or state
plan for preserving them. Why do Utah, California and the state of
Washington receive federal support for protection of their natural
landscapes, but Iowa is left out?
Congress in the same bill established the National Landscape Conservation
System. The last native prairies of Iowa, a state whose agricultural
bounty derives directly from the fruitful prairies that once covered the
state, are holding on by a thread waiting for political leadership in
obtaining the national resources we need to conserve this threatened
landscape.

Wouldn't it be great for Vilsack to see Iowa's treasures included in the
protections afforded by the next public-lands bill that comes out of
Capitol Hill?
- Jim Redmond, Sioux City
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