James “Bucky” Wolford, a mall developer from Tennessee, is pushing the development of a brand new mall in the Ames area. Not only would the proposed mall at the intersection of Interstate 35 and 13th Street have devastating effects on existing centers of commerce in Ames, but it would also prove to be detrimental to the local environment.

The proposed site is located near Jim Ketelsen Greenwing Marsh, a 68-acre park with a native prairie pothole and restored wetland, restored and native prairie, pasture grasses, a sedge meadow and a shelterbelt. The area is maintained by the Story County Conservation Board and offers public hunting opportunities for the local community.

Officials from the Story County Conservation Board are concerned the mall’s proximity to Ketelsen Marsh may make hunting too dangerous to continue, with mall patrons roaming so close to a natural area. If hunting is eliminated at the marsh, the Story County Conservation Board could lose state dollars that allow them to maintain the park’s natural environment.

Ames residents aren’t ready to see one of Story County’s natural jewels go down the tubes for a new mall.

At this time, 1,650 people have signed a petition being circulated by 1,000 Friends of Iowa, a Des Moines-based, non-profit organization that works to protect Iowa’s farmland and natural areas from urban sprawl. The people who signed the petition are from Ames and the surrounding communities of Nevada and Boone. The petition opposes a change in the City of Ames’ land-use plan that would allow the construction of the new mall proposed by Wolford.

Not only would the mall put the environment surrounding it at risk, but it would also deal a sharp blow to Ames’ other centers of economic activity. The City of Ames already has three major centers of commerce — the North Grand area, downtown and Campustown. In recent months, the City has successfully developed the downtown area and continues to attract a variety of small business owners to Ames.

Unlike many cities covered by strip malls and large discount chains, the Ames downtown continues to evolve and gives the city a unique community flavor dominated by small business owners. A new, enormous mall would drive out many small business owners and could render the North Grand Mall a ghost town.

The North Grand Mall is currently planning a renovation that will begin in fall 2004, including expansion and remodeling. The mall’s facelift will enable it to offer the Ames community all of the shopping variety a new mall could, without urban sprawl or placing the future of Ketelsen Marsh in jeopardy.

Ames officials should take heed to the petition circulating by 1,000 Friends of Iowa. A new mall is not worth the risks to the health of the local environment and local economy.

Editorial Board: Nicole Paseka, Amy Schierbrock, Alicia Ebaugh, Ayrel Clark, Lucas Grundmeier