The University of Iowa decided to review its long-standing contract with the Macbride Nature Recreation Area, or MNRA, in the summer of 2024. The college formed a 10-member committee in September 2024, which is composed of UI representatives who use the MNRA regularly and some UI administration.
The committee is required to deliver its decision to President Barbara Wilson by May 1, 2025. The university stated the nature area is under review to “ensure fiscal sustainability and consistency with the university’s mission of excellent education and research opportunities for a broad array of students.”
The 485-acre MNRA has been leased by the UI since 1959. The recreation area is home to many programs and organizations such as UI WILD, Wildlife Camps, School of the Wild, and the Iowa Raptor Project. These programs result from the College of Education’s initiative to connect students to nature and provide them with teaching opportunities. The university’s current contract with the MNRA expires in July 2029. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns the area and has continued to lease it to the UI.
Samantha Heilig, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers public affairs specialist, said the lease history between the Corps and the university is uncomplicated.
“The lease was officially signed on July 1, 1959. It gave [the University of Iowa] that space at no cost. Any costs that they face are on their operations side of the team,” she said.
The college does not pay the rent but is responsible for maintaining all landscapes, structures, and roads on those land areas. UI Recreational Services had managed the lease for more than 35 years, from 1985 to 2022, before the UI Facilities Management team took it over.
The College of Education also assumed responsibility for UI WILD programs, the Iowa Raptor Project, and Iowa Wildlife camps that year.
The committee has many factors to review before deciding on the lease. The 10-member team is divided into three subcommittees, each focusing on a key area: finance, history, academics, and data regarding past and present use of the land; costs of operation and educational value; and impacts of organizations and the community that use the MNRA.
The committee has also been collecting data such as usage reports from groups and organizations that use the land and estimating future maintenance and operations costs. They are also collecting statements from campus stakeholders and making a trip to see the area.
The committee is led by two co-chairs, one of them being Rod Lehnertz, the UI’s senior vice president for finance and operations. At the request of Wilson, this team was formed to dig deep into research in this area.
“I volunteered to co-chair the team with Pete Matthes, and then we reached out to university representatives who have connections related to MNRA. We try to make sure we’re well rounded in representing the university and their perspectives,” Lehnertz said.
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Recreation Services started the lease with MNRA through the Division of Student Life. The area continued to be operated by the group until the College of Education assumed the duties, which led to an initiative to involve current education students in the offered community programs. This gave the students hands-on experience teaching kids in an outdoor environment. The College of Education Director of Administration, Ben Walizer, is familiar with the programs and missions they offer.
“The Iowa Raptor Project is one of them and has a permanent location at MacBride. We keep and maintain all the birds for the program on-site. The second program is our School of the Wild program, which invites 5th and 6th graders from the local districts. They come out during their school day to spend some time with us. We also have our wildlife camps that we offer to local kids,” Walizer said.
The wildlife camp programs offered through the College of Education go all year round. The camp started around 1991 and has been offered ever since.
Recently, these programs have been struggling with funding, turning to the university for help. After decades of not doing so, Wilson acknowledged the request and had the idea to review the college’s lease with MNRA.
Previously, the funding for the care of facilities and upkeep came out of student fees. However, the committee has discovered that less than three percent of current UI students engage with MNRA, and many more don’t even realize it is a resource to them.
“This review is to make sure we are using our best resources at The University of Iowa for the core missions of the university which is of course the students,” Lehnertz said.
This review of the lease does not confirm whether the lease will end. The committee’s responsibility is to provide insight to the higher-ups with whom the decision lies.
“Our review isn’t to make a decision,” Lehnertz said. “We are providing the president and the cabinet the information — facts, background, issues, to help make the best decision for the university and the students. All of us working on that, taking comments, putting the report together with a timeline that will then be given to the president.”