Larchwood, Iowa — State officials say we’re still in the early stages of naming an area in western Lyon County a state park.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources Parks Bureau Chief Todd Coffelt says while a cultural landscape master plan was unveiled last summer with the help of Native Americans and experts in several fields, we’re still in the first phase of the plan.
He says the Gitchie Manitou area made up the far northern part of the Blood Run plan.
Coffelt says they are doing some other background work to build up interest in the area.
Coffelt tells us that due to the fact that much of the land involved in the master plan is still privately held, a ceremony designating the area as a state park is probably years in the future. However, he says they do have other options, including a “conservation easement” which would allow the conservation of the area while it is still privately-held. He says he doesn’t think the state park designation is “going to happen overnight”. He says their number one priority is to protect the resources that exist.
