PRESS RELEASE
January 2008
Contact: Sheriffa Jones (712) 262.2083 or sjones@iowalakesrcd.org
Rural Preservation Partners
Sheriffa Jones, architectural historian with Rural Preservation Partners, a historic preservation consulting firm will celebrate its one year anniversary in February. In the past year, Rural Preservation Partners has assisted on over 20 historic preservation and economic development projects in northwest Iowa.
Spencer, IA – Historic preservation is economic development; historic preservation is sustainable; historic preservation is green. February 5, 2007 was a day that Sheriffa Jones will look back upon with a grin and it was the day the battle of preservation began. It was her first day of work at the Iowa Lakes Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) as architectural historian.
The Iowa Lakes RC&D assists with various natural resource and business development ventures throughout Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, O’Brien, Osceola, and Palo Alto Counties. Mrs. Jones was able to come on board as a project of the RC&D, which assists with business incubation. In this instance, to assist Mrs. Jones with starting a historic preservation consulting business.
Historic preservation is a good practice for small and large communities alike. The preservation of buildings of any kind, takes pressure off of the natural environment. It lessens the need to cut down forests for lumber; to break up the homes of wildlife; to pave over farmland. And it takes pressure off of landfills (many of which are filled to capacity).
As Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said upon receiving the Vincent Scully Award, “Once the old building is gone, putting up a new one in its place takes more energy, of course, and it also uses more natural resources and releases new pollutants and greenhouse gases into our environment…It is estimated that constructing a new 50,000-square-foot commercial building releases about the same amount of carbon into the atmosphere as driving a car 2.8 million miles.” Historic preservation must be a part of every community, county, state, and country’s plan to decrease the effects of global warming.
With the assistance of the Iowa Lakes RC&D, a few of Mrs. Joneses’ goals are to:
- assist communities in assessment of cultural resources that contribute to the distinctive character of the town’s history
- educate on how buildings are significant as living history
- provide leadership to develop grant proposals
- increase understanding that preservation is a sustainable practice
- educate and disseminate the benefits of historic preservation.
In 2006, Mrs. Jones completed a Master of Science in Historic Preservation with a certificate (minor) in Nonprofit Management from the University of Oregon. As an architectural historian, Mrs. Jones can assist with: National Register Nominations; conducting cultural resource inventories and surveys; grant writing; board facilitation; and project management. In the first year, over 20 historic preservation projects in seven counties have been cultivated. These projects include: schools, depots, cemeteries, a blacksmith shop, and theatres. Many of these projects involve small business development, rehabilitation, and expansion of arts and culture opportunities. Shortly after Mrs. Jones began working as an architectural historian, a colleague told her, “keep up the fight for what’s right,” and that’s just what she’ll do. Contact Sheriffa at (712) 262-2083 or sjones@iowalakesrcd.org if you have questions about historic preservation.
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