I get a weekly email update from a river advocacy group called American Rivers (
www.americanrivers.org). They try to inform the global community about river events, threats to rivers, success stories, etc. Today is national
Blog about Rivers Day! Do they know who they're talking to here? When DON'T I blog about rivers?
As I type, the Little Sioux River Watershed is swelling with rainwater. Farmers sip coffee, watching the meniscus on
their rain gauge creep higher, their combines parked expectantly on the end rows of corn fields. It's muddy out there, and
chilly. Will they get the corn out of the field before freeze-up? Will the ground freeze in November like it used to
or will they be driving and walking in gumbo until January? The collective worry of a rainy harvest season day lies
like a fog across the landscape.
The Little Sioux River in Northwest Iowa (and centrally located here in Cherokee County) is a recreational stream.
Paddling, fishing and even swimming are common uses. This is in spite of high levels of sediment (mud), pesticide and pathogens
(bacteria) in the water. Cattle wade in the river, sipping and cooling themselves through the summer. Levels were low enough
for them to walk across into our own Martin's Access this July. I guess the grass is greener on the public land side
of the river. Don't let those big brown eyes and pastoral looks fool you. They poop in the water anytime they feel like it.
Manure is money in Iowa. I don't argue that. And I sure wouldn't stand between an enterprising farmer and his/her money.
Most farmers manage their manure wisely, collecting and applying it to fields where it becomes a rich nutrient source for
a successful crop. But there is no doubt that an occasional careless application or a leak or spill from a collection facility
or application equipment is devastating to our river. Even a traditional practice that allows sleepy-eyed cattle to wade in
our streams threatens river water quality and wildlife.
I don't believe in punishing the many good people of our community because of the poor choices and actions of a few slackers.
(If I did the county parks would be closed because of paintball vandals and people who'd rather defecate on the floor
than in a public toilet.) But I do want to foster a partnership between river conservationists and land users
that supports both parties.
I want a clean river buffered by tall grasses that cradle the erodable edges of productive fields and pastures. I want a
supportive environmental protection agency that offers grants and low-interest loans to livestock producers to help manage
their nutrient resources for profit and river protection. And I want more people to enjoy the Little Sioux River without fear
of what's under the murky surface of the water.
Throughout this watershed, partner groups that include the Nature Conservancy, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources,
the US Fish & Wildlife Service, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, Soil & Water Conservation Districts, private
landowners, and County Conservation Boards are working on several fronts to protect the Little Sioux River. We hold meetings,
obtain grants, educate landowners, plant native grasses, manage grazing, burn grasslands and plan, plan, plan. Sometimes the
work is tedious, sometimes the goals feel unattainable, sometimes the meetings take over my schedule and I think about running
away and looking for a job mowing lawns. At least at the end of the day, I could look back over that short, green carpet and
say "All done!" It's hard to take lawn mowing home with you.
But then I drive my car down some dusty road to a park, leave it on the shoulder of the road, and walk down to the river.
I smell willows, hear catbirds, see dragonflies. The sound of water parting around blown-down maples greets my ears and I
am a woman enchanted. Beaver tracks and ancient fossils at my feet, I watch the sun set behind cottonwoods with that soothing
water flowing past, carrying away doubts and washing inspiration onto my sandbar. Can't quit now. Too much work to do. Never
give up. None of us will give up. The river needs us and we need the river.
Whoever you are, won't you join me in cleaning up and protecting the Little Sioux?
"America is a great story and there is a river on every page."
- Charles Kuralt
