(photo courtesy INHF) At almost 1,800 acres, LSSR offers unsurpassed opportunities for outdoor recreation such as hiking, birdwatching, wilderness camping, fishing and hunting. The property has 25 miles of trails and a 20-acre lake.

On Friday, September 26, INHF and its partners at the Iowa DNR celebrated with a ribbon cutting at the former Little Sioux Scout Ranch (LSSR). More than 100 neighbors and supporters of the project joined in to learn more, explore and celebrate the new addition to the Loess Hill State Forest. Permanently protected, residents and visitors of Iowa can continue to forge a connection with nature and enjoy remote camping, hiking, fishing, hunting and other forms of outdoor recreation across the nearly 1,800-acre former Little Sioux Scout Ranch.

History

A well-known outdoor recreation and educational area, the LSSR was well known as a hub for youth development, outdoor adventures and conservation education and was managed by the Boy Scouts of America since the early 1970s. Then in 2021, because of declining interest, the owners decided to put the property up for sale. In late 2022, the INHF raised nearly $2 million dollars to exercise an option to purchase the property with the help of lead donations of $500,000 from Polina and Bob Schlott of Crescent, $500,000 from the Iowa West Foundation of Council Bluffs, $300,000 from the Gilchrist Foundation of Sioux City and $250,000 from the MidAmerican Energy Foundation, along with scores of private donors to help achieve this option. This left $5 million to reach the total price.

Then on Thursday, May 8, 2025, the Iowa Natural Resource Commission, approved the state’s purchase LSSR. The commission purchased the land from the INHF for $5.1 million, $3 million less than appraised value. The purchase is funded by a #4.6 million  U.S.D.A. Forest Legacy grant and $500,000 from the REAP Open Spaces funding.

“The support for this project has been amazing,” said INHF President Joe McGovern. “Donors have told us they want to see this place protected — staying in one piece and not being developed — but they’re also excited to see it opened to the public eventually.”

In working on the sale, INHF has agreed to do three things: Open the property to the public; maintain the memorial to four boys that died in a 2008 tornado on the property; and honor and share the history of the LSSR as a scout camp.

Why protecting the LSSR was necessary

• It is vast – The average privately owned parcel of land in the Loess Hills is around 100 acres. At almost 1,800 acres, LSSR offers unsurpassed opportunities for outdoor recreation such as hiking, birdwatching, wilderness camping, fishing and hunting. The property has 25 miles of trails and a 20-acre lake.
• It is unique – The Loess Hills landscape is a globally unique area consisting of ridges formed by wind-blown soil. This property is located within the Loess Hills Bird Conservation Area (BCA), the Little Sioux Special Landscape Area (SLA), and along the Loess Hills Scenic Byway. It is directly adjacent to different tracts of the Loess Hills State Forest (LHSF) owned by the DNR.
• It is a refuge – The LSSR is home to several state listed endangered, threatened or of special concern plant and animal species. These include the plains pocket mouse (Perognathus flavescens), numerous butterfly species and the bullsnake (Pituophis catenifer sayi). Threatened plant species include narrow-leaved milkweed (Asclepias stenophylla) and scarlet globe-mallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea).
• It is a memorial – On June 11, 2008, a deadly EF3 tornado struck the LSSR, injuring 48 and sadly resulting in the loss of life of four young scout members: Aaron Eilerts, Josh Fennen, Ben Petrzilka and Sam Thomsen. The memorial erected on site will continue to honor the memory of these scouts after ownership changes.

“I can see Eagle Scout projects being done for generations at Little Sioux. Arbor Day can be celebrated by planting native trees. Scouting will continue to have a presence there,” said Chris Mehaffey, CEO of the Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). “When parents want to take their kids back to where they did scouting, they’ll be able to do that. It will be the same place, the same topography. There are a ton of people here that know of Little Sioux because of the tornado, but there’s not a whole lot of them that have been there. Now they’ll be able to go and get to know this place.”