The State Preserves Advisory Board to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is soliciting public comment on the proposed dedication of two new state preserves in Floyd and Greene counties.

Fossil and Prairie Park is a 315-acre public site near Rockford owned and managed by the Floyd County Conservation Board that features geologically significant fossils, historic brick and tile kilns, native prairie, and rare plant and animal species.

Eureka Woods is a 106-acre, privately owned area of steep wooded bluffs and bottomland forest along the North Raccoon River near Jefferson in Greene County. Brief descriptions and maps of the proposed preserves are viewable on the State Preserves page of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources website at http://www.iowadnr.com/preserves/.

At its meeting on April 1, the Preserves Board is expected to decide whether to admit these proposed sites into the state preserve system. Public comments regarding these proposals can be sent to State Preserves Advisory Board, c/o John Pearson, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Wallace State Office Building, Des Moines, IA 50319-0034; the comment period is open until March 15, 2005. Land designated as a state preserve is intended to be preserved in perpetuity and is legally protected from disturbance by state law.

For more information, contact John Pearson at 515/281-3891 or John.Pearson@dnr.state.ia.us.

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