Members of Marshall/Tama County Pheasants Forever, Iowa Pheasants Forever staff, Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources staff, Tama County Conservation staff, and several others pose for a photo at the newly dedicated Oxbow Bottoms Wildlife Management Area located just north of Montour on Thursday, August 25. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

September 9th, 2022 – On August 25th, just north of Montour along the Iowa River, a small group of land stewards, including local members of Marshall/Tama County Pheasants Forever, officially dedicated the new 251-acre Oxbow Bottoms Wildlife Management Area in a ceremony that invoked much of Leopold’s belief that humanity has a moral and ethical duty to care for the land.

“It’s been a long time and a lot of work and a lot of coordination,” said Eric Sytsma, Southern Iowa Regional Representative for Pheasants Forever (PF), as he opened the Aug. 25 dedication ceremony, standing on a mowed firebreak next to a hay bale propping up the property’s new entrance sign.

Gathered around Sytsma was a group of about 30 individuals representing not just local PF chapter members and volunteers but also Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) staff and Tama County Conservation staff, as well as a few interested Montour residents.

“It is exciting to see this project [completed],” Sytsma continued. “This is our fourth completed project in the state in the last couple of years. We’ve got five more projects in different parts of the state we’re working on. It is just absolutely exciting to see this program grow – to see another piece of ground that all of us can come back to this fall and walk around on.”

Oxbow Bottoms WMA is mostly comprised of flood-prone upland prairie habitat cradled against the west side of the Iowa River near U.S. 30.

The property’s former owner, farmer Richard Frundle of Montour, attempted to farm the acres through the years but, due to flooding, eventually enrolled some of it in the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) – an easement the property retains to this day.

After PF purchased the property from Frundle under the Build a Wildlife Area program, the Iowa DNR was then able to acquire the parcel from PF using grant funding.

Following his formal remarks, Sytsma opened the floor to those in attendance, to which long-time Montour resident Jessie Calvert provided his perspective as a nearby resident.

“I grew up right here in the river bottom,” Calvert said. “They’ve never been able to get corn out of here. It’s always been flooded. So, it’s really exciting – what’s happening right now – for the wood ducks, the pheasants, and everyone.”