Dickinson County, Iowa — The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation has raised more than eight million dollars to purchase about two-thousand feet of shoreline on East Lake Okoboji.
Joe Jayjack, the foundation’s communications director, says more than 400 donors stepped up so the natural beauty of the lakeshore can be preserved.
The property, which covers 50 acres, is next to a state park. It’s the last undeveloped and privately owned tract of shoreline on East Okoboji. The sale should close sometime in December and Jayjack says the Natural Heritage Foundation has begun planning for work at the site.
The eight-point-two million dollar project is the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation’s largest ever fundraiser. The organization had a September 7th deadline to raise the money after making an offer on the property a year ago.
