An act establishing Iowa’s state park system became law 100 years ago. An associate professor of landscape architecture at Iowa State University, Heidi Hohmann, is studying the history of the parks.

The 100th anniversary comes as state budget cuts threaten upkeep of the state parks. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is NOT hiring the typical amount of seasonal workers to maintain them this summer. Hohmann says the parks remain as critical to preserving natural beauty today as they were in 1917.

Hohmann is hoping to celebrate the centennial of the state parks by visiting more than 50 of them this year.