DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) - A nonprofit overseeing Davenport’s Nahant Marsh wants to ensure it can protect and preserve the natural resources already under its watch before buying 40 more acres of adjoining land.
Nahant Marsh has seen a sharp increase in the number of visitors within the past 10 years from about 2,500 annually to almost 18,000 this past year.
Nonprofit Nahant Marsh board of trustees is considering purchasing 40 acres of adjacent land, including wetlands, to expand its property. They’ve hired a consulting firm to make sure it can properly care for its natural resources before buying more land, the Quad-City Times reported .
“Growth is a great problem to have, but we want to grow responsibly,” said Brian Ritter, executive director.
“What are our best options for protecting and restoring prairies and wetlands and providing access?” he said.
Ritter said consulting firm Amperage Marketing & Fundraising will hold discussions with people and groups that “know us and use us.”
He said the firm will also conduct a feasibility assessment for raising nearly $3 million to expand efforts in education, conservation and recreation. The efforts include $460,000 for the purchase of the 40 acres, $500,000 for building an addition to the education center, $500,000 for a scholarship fund, $350,000 for wetland bank creation and land restoration and $360,000 for trails and maintenance.
Anonymous donations totaling about $700,000 were already given to the marsh to put toward the goal. Ritter said the improvements would be made over a period of time.
“Some might be 10 years off and some might be happening sooner,” he said.
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Information from: Quad-City Times, http://www.qctimes.com
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