Representatives from Story, Dallas, Polk and Warren Counties are meeting this Thursday to make plans for central Iowa greenways.

“Greenways are woodlands, prairies, wetlands, streams, parks and wildflowers,” said Lisa Hein, trails and greenways program director for the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. “Greenways are human-made natural surroundings.”

Greenways cover the Iowa landscape.

These sporadic greenways are going to become one centralized Iowa greenway, which will be coordinated by a team of representatives from each of the four counties, she said.

Committee members are meeting this Thursday in Ames from 7 to 9 p.m. at the State Forestry Nursery to discuss unifying the sporadic greenways of Story, Dallas, Polk and Warren Counties.

Greenways are human made with the intent to maintain wildlife and to create a people-friendly environment with recreational trails, culture centers and possibly historical sites, Hein said.

“We, the conservationists, decided on these four counties due to their particular population growth in urban areas and their suburban sprawl,” she said.

“This sprawl or population growth could mean loss of greenways if we do not protect and identify these greenways of plant and animal life.”

Greenways are designed not just to preserve plant and animal life, but also to improve human life.

Greenways improve water quality and can be enjoyed during getaway retreats from work, home or school.

“I would enjoy a central Iowa greenway where I can retreat from daily stresses, such as college,” said Russ Kennerly, sophomore in mathematics. “The more greenways there are, the better.”

Dunbar-Jones Landscape Architects in Des Moines are the designers of the Central Iowa Greenway project.

Contributions for the project added up to $32,000 and were made by the city of Des Moines, the city of West Des Moines, Dallas and Story Counties, Polk and Warren Counties’ Conservation Boards, Natural Park Service and local citizens.

Hein said she would like to see this project develop in the next five to 10 years by holding educational meetings, finding key recreational areas to be combined in the counties and maintaining the project through private and public funding.

“Iowa has already lost 99 percent of its original landscape due to roads, farming and construction,” Hein said.

“The only way we can maintain Iowa’s beautiful landscape is through these greenway projects.”

The conservation areas will be connected by strips of land that will not disturb farms or hog confinement, Hein said.

“I believe conservation is a good idea,” said Priscilla Kelber, who lives on a farm in Albion.

“If people are not educated and there are not greenway projects, then people will waste resources, and we will all hurt in the long run,” Hein said.