(Radio Iowa) – A major plan is in the works to enhance a recreational area in western Iowa’s Loess Hills. A ski hill has been in operation since the 1960s at Crescent Hill at Hitchcock, north of Council Bluffs, an area that includes a 15-hundred acre nature preserve. Jeff Franco, executive director of Pottawattamie County Conservation, says they’re working to raise at least 25-million dollars for a project that could include a new tubing hill, cabins, an amphitheater, and plenty of public spaces. “It’ll take a little bit for us to work through this plan to ensure that we’re doing this in a sustainable manner,” Franco says, “but we’re confident that once we finally get there with all of this, this is going to be something great for the state of Iowa.”

Hitchcock Nature Center (Photo by Michael Leland, Iowa Public Radio)

Franco says his county and the state lack public spaces for recreation, and studies rank Iowa near the bottom in the nation. “We’re really kind of falling behind,” he says, “so this is an opportunity for us to better serve the citizens of this county and its visitors.” Pottawattamie County owns and operates Crescent Hill and the nature area, which includes some of the largest remaining sections of prairie land in Iowa. Franco says, “We also want this to be a place where we leverage our mission in a way that recreation, conservation, and education, kind of all come together in one space.”

Franco says the upgrades to make the property a four-season destination may take five to ten years to complete and will be funded without using taxpayer money.