Benton County’s Wildcat Bluff Recreation Area doubles in size

Wildcat Bluff Recreation Area in Benton County, a county park known for its camping, hiking and renowned disc golf course, is doubling in size after two years of collaborative work by Benton County Conservation and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.

The addition of 184 acres — including 122 acres of unplowed and preserved land — to the east of the existing recreation area expands wildlife habitat, protects another scenic bluff and creates a scenic entrance for visitors.

Joe Jayjack, external affairs director with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, said Wendling Quarries, a drilling company in Robins, reached out to Benton County Conservation two years ago. It owned the land adjacent to the Wildcat Bluff Recreation Area, and was offering to sell that land to the county.

The Benton County Conservation Board contacted the foundation in 2023 about partnering on buying the land.

The foundation bought the land for $1.2 million, then worked with the conservation board to raise money so it could buy the land from the foundation.

“This is what we exist to do,” Jayjack said. To “partner on projects like this, as temporary landowners, someone that can help with fundraising and grant writing for a project like this, before it can be turned over and open to the public.”

Shelby Williams, director of Benton County Conservation, said the expansion would not have been possible without the foundation.

“Opportunities like this wouldn't happen in local, small government without organizations like (the) Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. It just can't be done,” Williams said. “They had all the faith in the world in us and they knew how great of a project this was.”

To fund the expansion, Benton County Conservation received a $360,461 grant from Resource Enhancement and Protection, or REAP, a program through the Iowa Department of Natural Resources that distributes grants funded with revenue from Iowa gaming and the sale of natural resource license plates.

The project also received funds from the Myers’ Family Conservation Fund, and more than $600,000 was donated by individual Iowans, Williams said.

A grand opening to celebrate the recreation area’s expansion is planning for 1 p.m. Saturday at the recreation area south of Urbana.

What the expansion includes

Wildcat Bluff Recreation Area had many amenities before the expansion, including camping, fire rings, picnic areas, a pavilion and Iowa’s top-rated disc golf course, which is 21 holes.

Although Benton County Conservation isn’t planning to add any new infrastructure to the recreation area at this time, the additional 184 acres will offer more grasslands and blufflands for recreationalists to take advantage of.

“It has a really unique bluff face feature that is overlooking the Cedar River,” Jayjack said about the park’s new acres. “There is an active eagle's nest that's right across the river from the boat launch area, so it has a little bit of a different feel from the existing park.”

Jayjack said the new area will be great for bird watching and will be “a really unique area that is expanding on the public area that's already available there.”

Williams said the new 184 acres will be for hiking, birding and hunting-related activities.

More recently, the conservation board completed work to the existing portion of the recreation area, particularly the camping sites, Williams said.

“We're looking to provide more of the ‘wild side’ with this addition and preserve it as much as we can, while providing those other recreation opportunities,” Williams said.

Olivia Cohen covers energy and environment for The Gazette and is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.

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Comments: olivia.cohen@thegazette.com