Upper Iowa River Watershed Project Spring 2018 Newsletter
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Download in PDF format
Karst, Water Quality & Livestock Forum: Finding Balance for a Sensitive Geography Held on May 30, 2017 at Luther College in Decorah Iowa From: https://www.iaenvironment.org/events/eid/1EBC82C0001C6257/council-events/karst-water-quality-and-livestock-forum/ Thanks to more than 100 attendees at the forum on May 30 for your interest and participation. We especially want to thank the Mississippi River Network (MRN) for a small grant that made the event possible. Additional support came from the Iowa Groundwater Association, Luther College Center for Sustainable Communities and Bob and Donna Bernard-Trout Unlimited Members. Other event co-sponsors were the Allamakee County Protectors – Education Campaign, Practical Farmers of Iowa and Trout Unlimited. [...]
Matt Frana has been hired as the Project Coordinator for the Upper Iowa River Watershed. Mikael Mulugeta with IIHR/Iowa Watershed Approach, talked with Matt about his work skills and hobby interests: Following six years of experience with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Iowa native Matthew Frana will serve as the project coordinator for the Upper Iowa River Watershed (UIRW). In this new role, Frana will work with the UIRW to facilitate watershed planning activities, manage the implementation of flood resiliency conservation projects, and share information with the public across the watershed to ensure the program’s effectiveness. He will help identify suitable [...]
Trout need clean, cold water to survive. And thanks to many Iowa farmers who are taking on the challenge to improve water quality, the fish are getting just what they need in northeast Iowa. Farmers and landowners are improving the trout habitat with watershed and land use improvement projects that control erosion and reduce the amount of sediment in the water. That’s good news for the fish, anglers and local economies in Iowa’s Driftless region, where annual spending on fishing and tourism is estimated at $20 million. The recovery of Iowa’s trout streams has been remarkable. In 1980, only six [...]
The Upper Iowa Watershed Management Authority recently kicked-off a process to develop a 20-year plan for increasing resiliency to flooding along the Upper Iowa River and its tributaries. The planning process, led by Northeast Iowa RC&D, is part of a $96.9 million state-wide Iowa Watershed Approach project, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Record-setting floods in recent years prompted new approaches to flood risk reduction. The Iowa Watershed Approach gives communities an opportunity to evaluate past and future flood impacts and invest in strategic solutions at the watershed level. “Developing a watershed resiliency [...]
Cities, counties, and other groups are organizing regional watershed management authorities (WMAs) and hiring project coordinators as the Iowa Watershed Approach (IWA), a $96.9 million program, enters its first official year and kicks off work to reduce flood risks and improve water quality across the state. It was roughly a year ago that the governor’s office announced the grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Iowa’s proposal, The Iowa Watershed Approach for Urban and Rural Resilience, received the fourth largest award, coming in behind New Orleans, New York, and Virginia. A key player behind the grant win [...]