River Days of Action - National Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque

 River Days of Action  is a week of events up and down the Mississippi with a goal of raising public awareness of the beauty, strength, resilience and problems of the Mississippi.  LWV UMRR Board member Nancy Porter (LWV Johnson County, Iowa) organized an event at the National River Aquarium and Museum in Dubuque.   LWV members from Johnson County, Linn County, Dubuque and UMRR gathered at the Museum on June 10 for a tour and discussion lead by the Museum's Curator of Conservation Programs, Jared McGovern.  

Jared is very enthusiastic about the opportunities for improvement in the Mississippi as change happens on the land in Iowa.  He told us that Iowa alone contributes 27% of the nitrogen pollution to the Mississippi that gets to the Gulf; change in Iowa to reduce this could mean big changes for the river.  The movement to improve soil health holds great promise, but more funding is needed.  You may have heard the news that EPA has earmarked $60million for nutrient reduction work in the 12 states of the Mississippi  River basin.  This is good news, but more is needed.  In Iowa, a law was passed in 2010 that established the Iowa Water and Land Legacy fund, which will be funded when the sales tax is increased by 0.38%.  This money will go to conservation programs.  Those in Iowa need to lobby for inclusion of this amount in the state budget, McGovern urged.  It is in the Governor's budget but the legislature must approve it to make it law.  Now is the time for action.  

Photo from American Rivers

Jared was excited to share about past successes in Iowa that prove that change CAN happen.  He pointed to Iowa's success in reintroducing river otters to the state, a project begin in 1985 after the animals had been extirpated in (entirely removed from) Iowa.   Thanks to efforts to rebuild habitat, reintroduce otters and protect growing populations, river otters are now found in most counties in Iowa.  The success of the  "There Oughta be Otters in Iowa" project  proves that concerted efforts by Iowans can bring about major change.  ​

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A local project that shows the value of vision, cooperation and hard work is the restoration of Bee Branch Creek in downtown Dubuque.  Flooding in the 1960's caused extensive damage in several years, resulting in significant loss to residents.  The Bee Branch Restoration Project took what was a buried storm sewer and restored it to open parkland through downtown Dubuque, which functions to retain floodwaters when needed and serve multiple human and ecosystem functions when not.  This YouTube video from the City of Dubuque describes the project and its success.  The people of Dubuque are justifiably proud of this accomplishment!  

Many thanks to Nancy Porter for organizing this event!  And thanks to Jared McGovern for a great tour, and thanks to the Mississippi River Network for their support and leadership in developing River Days of Action events throughout the watershed!