On a recent visit to Ryerson's Woods, a hilly, wooded park tucked into the corner where Old Highway 218 meets "new" Highway 218 just a few minutes' drive from the Sycamore Greenway, I noted that the signage called it a State Preserve.
State Preserve? I thought it was a city park, owned and managed by the city. What is this State Preserve?
Turns out, it's both! The land was acquired by the city in 1985, 49 acres of high-quality woodland that was apparently (and fortunately) too difficult to convert into row crops--the fate of much of our state's land--and thus managed to maintain an incredibly diverse number of species within its borders.
Although city and county parks and conservation areas, as well as land trusts like Bur Oak Land Trust, do great work protecting and maintaining land to limit the effects of harmful non-native plants and promote the growth of valuable native species, once land has been developed and used for agriculture or other industry, that original variety of species is gone forever. It will never come back as it was originally, no matter how carefully it is managed.
That's why treasures like Ryerson's Woods are so special: they give us a tiny glimpse of what our state was before it was turned over to agriculture and other development. Because of its unique nature and value to both science and education, botanist Diana Horton and others advocated to have it declared a woodland State Preserve in 2014.
According to the DNR:
"Legislation in 1965 created the Iowa State Preserves System to identify and preserve, for this and future generations, portions of our natural prehistorical and historical heritage, and to maintain preserved lands as nearly as possible in their natural condition."
A designation as a State Preserve would add an additional layer of prestige and protection to Ryerson's Woods, as well as opening up additional funding opportunities to maintain and protect the area. In September 2014 it was dedicated as a State Preserve by then-governor Terry Branstad.
In 2021, the city was awarded a $200,000 REAP grant to improve and enhance the preserve. Work will include removing invasive species and adding additional native plants, as well as work on the trails and interpretive signage.
If you haven't yet visited this gem on the south side of Iowa City, now is the perfect time to catch sight of some of those beautiful remnants of our state's bygone natural era.
Sources/Additional Reading:
- City Council Community Comment Transcript 6-17-14
- City Council Public Hearing Minutes 6-17-14
- Iowa City Press Citizen, "Ryerson's Woods Park is an Iowa City treasure" by Judith Klink
It truly is a gem!
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