In 2005 I was invited to join the Board of Directors of the Loess Hills Preservation Society. The Society, alongside the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and the City of Council Bluffs, had recently completed acquisition of a 40-acre property known as Vincent Bluff, and I provided pro-bono consulting services to the board by helping to craft an application for State Preserve status - the highest level of protection for landscapes in Iowa. The project required coordinating input from a variety of stakeholders, and creating a proposal that would not only satisfy the State Preserves Advisory Board’s requirements, but also inspire them to create the first state preserve dedicated primarily for its scenic resources. In addition to spending hundreds of hours cutting non-native trees, collecting and sowing native seeds, and welcoming visitors and volunteers to the preserve with my wonderful colleagues like Larry Tibbles and Glenn Pollock, I prepared maps and photographs, led State officials on a tour of the site, and compiled required documents for the proposal, including coordinating with wildlife biologists to document rare species of plants and animals, archaeologists who conducted a phase one cultural survey, and letters of support from our partners such as the City of Council Bluffs. In 2007 I presented our proposal to the State Preserves Advisory Board in Des Moines, and in 2009 Vincent Bluff was dedicated by Governor Vilsack as the 95th State Preserve.