Status of the Loess Hills Project

This web site has been produced by naturalist/writer Jim Conrad. At present this site is all that exists of the Loess Hills Project. There is no cooperation with any organization of any kind, and other than some of Jim's personal friends and a few specialists who have contributed much-appreciated help here and there, no other people are presently involved in this project.

At this early moment in the Loess Hills Project history, then, this web site is offered as a skeleton of a potentially much greater, much more interesting and valuable site that can come into being with your help. Our present goal is to find others willing to contribute their creativity, time and effort to this project. And that includes finding someone to sponsor it (probably an institution) and someone to take over much of the site's main production responsibilities. Here are the kinds of individuals being sought:

Someone to help coordinate the whole site. This person should have fair computer knowledge. Jim can quickly teach this person how to add to and maintain this Internet site by using an FTP program.
Individuals willing to be responsible for gathering and organizing material relating to certain fields of interest, such as the Loess Hills'...

history

archeology

folklore

botany

zoology

ecology

geology

hiking trails

biking trails

backcountry roads

Someone to make the site look better and easier to use -- a graphic-artist person
Someone to find funding for this site, or an organization who will take it over -- a political type of person
Someone to develop a Loess Hills Land Trust/ Conservation Easement Program, and to convert this into a legally non-profit organization -- an attorney-type person
Someone who will promote the site as a learning resource -- a teacher-type person
Someone who will promote the site as an information resource for potential visitors to the area -- a promoter-type person

This site will not be turned into a commercial concern. At some point we may accept nominal fees for advertising local attractions such as bed-and-breakfast offerings, riding stables, and the like, but these fees will be set at rates only high enough to cover our costs. So far all work on this site has been done for free. In short, we promise that eventually we shall not make money off of work done by our contributors.

In review, here is an outline of the project's goals:

Establish this web site.................. DONE! Find people to maintain & enlarge it..... BEING DONE Promote the Loess Hills internationally.. FUTURE GOAL

Anyone interested in assuming any of the above responsibilities should email Jim