The Grassley legislation would specifically provide $275,000 for the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a year-long review of how best to preserve this geological fixture in Western Iowa. It would require a report to Congress no later than 60 days after completion of the study.
"The ground work for this study has been laid with the grassroots-based Loess Hills Alliance and its stamp of approval from the Iowa legislature. Now is an appropriate time to have a federal study of how the Hills can best be preserved," Grassley said.
Grassley said he sought the federal study for a complete review of the many models that exist for preserving the Loess Hills, especially those that are driven by local and state leadership.
Grassley said he would be promoting his bill with leaders of the Appropriations committees in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
The Loess Hills have natural distinctions which are found in only one other place in the world, China. Soil deposited by wind over many centuries formed the Loess Hills, which support several species of rare native prairie grass. The Hills are spread across 600,000 acres in Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Plymouth, Pottawattamie, and Woodbury counties in Iowa.
The Loess Hills Preservation and Development Alliance is made up of government officials, representatives from nonprofit organizations, business people, and local residents. The stated mission is to create "a common vision for Iowa's Loess Hills, protecting special natural and cultural resources while ensuring economic viability and private-property rights of the region." The alliance would survey, map attributes, set priorities, and assess which areas of the Hills would be suitable for preservation and which would be best for development.
National attention was drawn to the Loess Hills last September, when Interior Secretary Bruce Babbit visited Monona County for an event sponsored by The Des Moines Register and the Onawa Chamber of Commerce.