184 PUBLIC PARKS OF IOWA 



lake in the state that is of any reasonable service to the people. Sufficient 

 time is being given for all interested parties to give their claims or 

 desires. It is to be hoped that those who enjoy the lake pleasures will be 

 as active in presenting their views to the council as are those seeking 

 drainage or expansion to their farms. Iowa Park and Forestry Associa- 

 tion, 4th Report, pp 85-99. 



OUR LAKES AND RIVERS. 

 By L. H. Pammel, Botanist. 



I have called attention to the preservation of our lakes. Where pos- 

 sible these should be preserved. We have comparatively few, but they 

 add to many of the attractive features of Iowa. In a measure these lakes 

 are public property and should be so regarded. The pleasure resorts 

 are for all the people, and not only for those who can afford to pay for 

 the many pleasures connected with them. A recent decision in the New 

 York Court of Appeals, Wm. Rockefeller, affirmed a judgment of eighteen 

 cents damages and $700 costs against a mountaineer who fished in the 

 fish reserve of Mr. Rockefeller in the Adirondacks. These parks are 

 for the people. The Rockefellers along with J. Pierpont Morgan and 

 several other wealthy New Yorkers have purchased large tracts of land 

 in the Adirondacks, conceded to be one of the finest of park regions in 

 the East, for the middle classes to spend the summer. While I can see 

 no Objection to these wealthy people buying this land for their own 

 pleasure, it does seem that a state having the wealth that New York has 

 should be able to control these areas for timber and park purposes for 

 the benefit of the people at large, those who have not the means, for 

 there are thousands of people in New York who would like to enjoy 

 the privilege of a short vacation in the mountains. It would seem to me 

 that the state of Iowa should reserve for the use of its citizens parts 

 surrounding the lakes for the people at large. I refer especially to shore 

 lines. The shore lines of all these lakes should be provided with wide 

 and ample drives giving the general public an opportunity to utilize the 

 lakes in a legitimate manner. These shore lines should be the property 

 of the state. 



There are places in the state, not numerous to be sure, that should 

 be guarded and protected. I refer to "the Ledges" in Boone county, a 

 small area there should become the legitimate property of the county, 

 the city of Boone, or the state, to be preserved forever for the uses of 

 the people. Then there is a limited area in Muscatine county, "Wild Cat 

 Den," with its unique trees of the north and its southern flora. A greater 

 assemblage of southern plants is not to be found anywhere else in the 

 state. We also have a limited area in Hardin county, on the Iowa river, 

 near Steamboat Rock, especially well known to all lovers of plants. Here 

 is a region where the white pine, and cherry birch are found. There is 

 no such an assemblage of plants in any other region in the state, besides 

 it is a beautiful spot. Then there is a little area in Allamakee county 



