MidAmerican Energy recently strengthened its long-standing relationship with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources by donating a 35-acre property to be used as a conservation area.
Located 4 miles south of Sioux City, the parcel includes a five-acre ponded area that has been graded to attract wildlife and seeded with more than 60 species of natural wildflowers and grasses to create a pollinator habitat.
“Environmental respect is one of MidAmerican’s core principles,” Tina Hoffman, MidAmerican Energy’s vice president of corporate communications and public affairs, told American Gas. “Since we no longer needed the property, we saw this as an opportunity to design and complete site work to attract wildlife and then donate the land to the state for use as a public conservation area.”
According to Hoffman, the land had previously been used to supply fill material for other projects. “This was a unique opportunity for us to enhance a property we were no longer using into a public conservation area that the Iowa Department of Resources will manage for the public in perpetuity,” she added.
For Nick Nation, MidAmerican Energy’s vice president for natural gas delivery, the project represents an opportunity to expand the utility’s value to the community.
“MidAmerican provides an essential service to our natural gas customers around the clock, but we offer so much more to our customers and the communities we serve. Conservation projects like this are good examples,” he said. “We want to be more than a utility provider—we also want to be a community partner and a good environmental steward.”
Several MidAmerican Energy groups worked on the project, including project managers; environmental, right-of-way and legal teams; and senior leadership.
Hoffman says the relationship the utility has cultivated over the years with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has allowed it to partner with the state and county on other valuable conservation projects in the same area.
“In each case, these are true partnerships with those we serve,” Hoffman said. “We’re proud to be able to go beyond simply providing utility service to our customers and be a true partner and a good corporate citizen.”