Conservation Efforts

By UMRI's Outreach Coordinator, Christine Curry and Iowa's Conservation Director, Mike Delaney, and other Iowa Izaak Walton League chapter members

 

Native Lives Matter…”close to the Meskwaki Indian Settlement”. January 2023 Photo by: Robin Fortney


Once again— We are grateful that the Izaak Walton League provides UMRI a home within a respected organization and leaders that give credibility to our undertaking of addressing problems of climate change, compromised natural resources; polluted waters, destruction of habitats, flooding, sedimentation and food production.  Most of the individuals and organizations who are committed and take action are volunteers who give hours of their time to the cause of improving our natural capital to create a harmonious life for all.  We are Thankful for ALL of you!


Thinking Green Love—

 

Good to know and good to share—UMRI’s February web series, “Thinking Like a Watershed,” brings Maya van Rossum’s Green Amendment to the forefront, starting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 14. It’s a romantic idea, right, but also one of many attempts to help us take our environment seriously. How does it work and why now: van Rossum will explain and address your questions. Don’t forget to register.

Register Here! for Tuesday, February 14th @ 7 pm CT

Please share this event with your networks! Facebook link!

Izaak Walton League’s Upper Mississippi River Initiative’s
Thinking Like a Watershed in 2023—

Montana, Pennsylvania, and most recently, New York, have Green Amendments incorporated into their state constitutions that guarantee environmental protections. Author and attorney Maya K. van Rossum says clean air and water, and a stable climate, are entitlements for all. Coining the phrase in her 2017 book by the same title, van Rossum and her non profit, Green Amendments for the Generations (https://forthegenerations.org/), are on a national campaign to protect the planet by bringing more states on board. Iowa, for example, was introduced to Green Amendment legislation on Earth Day 2021 by Representative Chuck Isenhart. How does this environmental tool work in today’s politically charged and radically changing climate?

This monthly series is a project of the Upper Mississippi River Initiative of the Izaak Walton League of America, with co-hosts Chris Henning of the Panora Conservation Chapter and Des Moines Chapter Communication Director, Bud Hartley. We feature guests for 30-40 minute presentations that shed daylight on good works done in the name of the Mississippi and its uplands. In this way we uplift our shared goals for a cleaner river, a cared for environment, and kinder communities. Recorded programs are available at umri.org shortly after they air live.

 


 

 

If you missed our January 10th program, it’s available now via You Tube:  “We are NOT Farm Bill Fly-over states!”:  Thinking Like a Watershed ~ Duane Hovorka and Ben Knuth—January 10, 2023

How ag. conservation strategists in MN and IA hope to deliver soil and climate priorities on the back of the Inflation Reduction Act. A preview of what’s next, with Duane Hovorka, Agriculture Program Director, Izaak Walton League of America, and Ben Knuth, Agriculture Policy Specialist, National Wildlife Federation.


 

February Action—

 

If you’re interested in participating at the Farm Bill Summit, this February 23-24, you can register below:

—JUST ANNOUNCED: Ben and Duane invite you to a Farm Bill Info and Strategy Summit to be held in Mason City, IA on Feb. 23-24, 2023. The first day will be dedicated to Farm Bill education and discussion and the next day will be dedicated to developing strategies to advance conservation priorities in the 2023 Farm Bill. Click here https://forms.gle/LkmxN9hX9qXaTxM98 to RSVP for the summit. Everyone is welcome though the session will be focused on Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. For more information, please contact Ben Knuth or Duane Hovorka.

Follow up links from Ben Knuth— NWF’s farmer-oriented Conservation Champs website  and conservation professionals-oriented Grow More website, please contact

for further details.


March Action— coming soon…

 

“Thinking” sneak peek for March 14th

Helping crop and livestock farmers do more farming together is a driving concern behind UMRI and many others paying attention to the landscape. Mark your calendar for our “Thinking” program on Tuesday, March 14th, when Iowa Extension beef specialist Denise Schwab and UMRI’s Caroline van Schaik shed light on the multi-state “Matchmaking” project and the survey we’ve just released to propel our soil and farmer health forward. Read on for survey details, available now for 10,000 farmers and landowners.

 

Robin Fortney is a naturalist and an extraordinary photographer. We have featured many of her beautiful images she’s captured on her nature walks throughout Iowa. She started documenting gorgeous images of her nature walks during Covid. This month Robin visited Three Bridges County Park along the Iowa River east of Marshalltown. January 2023, Photo by: Robin Fortney


 

Ecosystem Health of the Cedar River

The Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River. Its major tributary is the Cedar River. As one travels throughout Iowa’s watersheds, there are many impacts from both urban and rural drainage systems. The Izaak Walton League in Iowa and Minnesota with the Upper Mississippi River Initiative (UMRI) in the lead is organizing a day of discussion on the “Ecosystem Health of the Cedar River Watershed in Iowa and Minnesota” Drainage issues related to the Cedar River in Minnesota combined with worsening conditions in Iowa make a re-visit of our January 2020 meeting imperative. Some work is underway; some problems are brewing; there are some new players.

The Cedar River Watershed meanders some 300 miles from Dodge County, Minnesota to Louisa County in southeast Iowa, feeding the Iowa River and then the Mississippi. Its legacy is one of artificial drainage and resulting negative changes to watershed hydrology: crop losses, habitat damage, flooding, sedimentation, mercury, and unmet water quality standards.

Its legacy impacts rural and urban landscapes, and therefore the solutions rest in both environments. Stay tuned for updates as we continue to meet with our partners and others in the Cedar River watershed network during this year.


 

 

January Snaps—

 

“Ice fishermen await bites on Lake Petocka in Bondurant. Ice looks quite iffy to me.” January 2023, Photo by: Robin Fortney

 

“View downstream at Scott Street Bridge & Dam on the Des Moines River at the confluence with the Raccoon River (so there’s turbulence even at low water levels and fish available in the open water below the dam)” January 2023, Photo by: Robin Fortney

 

“Pair of mallards looks for new food possibilities”, January 2023, Photo by: Robin Fortney


 

 

Learn more—

 

Previous recorded “Thinking Like a Watershed” programs are available at umri.org!

Izaak Walton League provides a fun educational outdoor activity for the entire family…
Learn more here!

The IWL’s history: At the turn of the 20th century, uncontrolled discharges of industrial waste and raw sewage, unrestricted logging, and soil erosion threatened to destroy the nation’s most productive waterways. The country’s forests, wetlands, and wilderness areas were quickly disappearing. In 1922, 54 sportsmen declared that it was “time to call a halt” to this destruction. Aware that action – not just talk – would be necessary to solve these problems, the group decided to form an organization to combat water pollution and protect the country’s woods and wildlife. As a reminder of their purpose, they named the organization after Izaak Walton, the 17th-century English angler-conservationist who wrote the literary classic The Compleat Angler.

“Defenders of Soil, Air, Woods, Waters & Wildlife”

Continue to Stay Safe and Stay Engaged…

Save our Streams—On-line training to become a certified Izaak Walton League’s Save Our Stream monitor

Click Here to learn more about Save Bloody Run

— Izaak Walton League’s Outdoor America articles on line. 

—About water quality monitoring and research, check out The University of Iowa’s Chris Jones blog who has published several articles on where Iowa stands with regards to soil health and water quality.

Iowa Farmers Union Events, check out their amazing weekly webinars…

Iowa Environmental Council’s Event page is packed with fabulous opportunities to learn more from their organization and others.

 

 

 

 

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