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Oneota Slopes is
about 140 acres of woods, pasture, christmas
trees, prairie, hayfield, garden, farmstead,
and just plain room to roam. We are nestled
along the banks of the wild and scenic Upper
Iowa River, about 8 miles northeast of
Decorah, in the "Driftless Area" of
northeastern Iowa.
 
Though not
completely free of glaciation, the region
did escape the most recent cycles of glacial
activity. This historical luck, combined
with the predominantly limestone geology,
has resulted in a rolling and even rugged
landscape often referred to as "little
Switzerland". Ridges commonly rise 300-500
feet above the valleys, and the Upper Iowa
River is one of the most scenic in the midwest.
During
historical times the area was home to many
different Native American groups as they
were pushed westward by European Americans.
Originally surveyed by Nathaniel Boone (son
of frontiersman Daniel Boone), the Upper
Iowa area was opened to settlement in the
1848.
In 1853 a
Yankee born in New York constructed an oak
log cabin on what is now our farmstead,
which is
still a part of the farmhouse. We moved here
in 1974, and started milking a small Jersey
dairy herd and planting Christmas trees. We
still work the trees, of course, and have a
small herd of beef cows and a flock of
sheep. In addition, we have a small apple
orchard, a large garden, too many farm
buildings, and not enough time. The entire
farm, and especially the woods, prairie, and
Christmas trees, are managed with an eye
towards a healthy land community more than
simply a productive farm.
Conservation means harmony between
[people] and land. When land does well
for its owner, and the owner does well
by [the] land; when both end up better
by reason of their partnership, we have
conservation. When one or the other
grows poorer, we do not. Aldo
Leopold
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