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. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT to [log in to unmask]