Issuu

November 1994

the monthly newsletter for people who live, work or play on the Upper Mississippi River

Turning the River Upside Down By Reggie McLeod

What we think we know determines what we think we see. For example, four simple statements about big rivers ain't necessarily so: • The river carries away waste. • The river makes a good boundary. • The river needs lots of water. • The river needs more management.

The river carries away waste - not. If you pee in the river, it appears to carry the pee-tainted water away, leaving you with what appears to be fresh water. But it only works that way if you look downstream . Look upstream and you see creeks and other rivers bringing together water that has drained from thousands of square miles of cities, suburbs and farmland - home to millions of pissers. The river doesn't carry away waste; it brings together all the contaminants that entered it from all the land drained by all the rivers, creeks, springs and storm sewers upstream from where you stand. If you could see the entire watershed, it would look like a huge tree whose branches bring together the waters from a bigger and bigger area of land as you travel farther and farther down the trunk. Some of the critters in the river work hard to concentrate some of the contaminants in the water. PCBs, for instance, tend to get in a critter and stay. Small animals may collect it from eating algae. Small fish eat them and concentrate it a bit more. Big fish eat the small fish, concentrating it at a dangerous level, while there may be an immeasurably small amount of PCBs in the water that the fish lives in . All rivers eventually carry their burdens to the sea,

(Upside Down continued on page 4)

Vol. 2, No. 11

The Birds That Stay By Pamela Eyden

It's amazing that any birds stick around for the cold, wind, snow, ice and darkness of winter on the Upper Mississippi River, when they could follow their own kind south. But some stay, and it's no accident that fish, fisheating birds and bird-watching humans hang out in the same places in the winter. Open water pools are where the action is for geese, ducks and eagles. Once a week from September through early December and again in January, U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologists Carol Burns and Eric Nelson fly in small planes 200 feet over the river from Lake Pepin to Dubuque, counting waterfowl. In November, the count takes a long time . Large flocks of tundra swans and snow geese, and the last of the ducks are here, the birds may be in any of hundreds of backwaters, and the numbers add up fast . "At 180 feet over Lake Onalaska, flocks of 50,00 or 60,000 birds look like pepper covering the water," Burns said. "Swans stay quiet when we fly over, but mallards sometimes take flight quickly, which can be nerve-wracking (Winter Birds continued on page 2)

Arrowhead Plants Focus of Concern

BIG RlvER

November 1994

(Winter Birds continued from page 1) - especially if the wind is doing weird things out there." The counting is easier in early December, when the backwaters freeze and most of the birds leave. In January,

At 180 feet over Lake Onalaska, flocks of 50,00 or 60,000 birds look like pepper covering the water."

Burns and Nelson head directly to the few remaining pools of ice-free water - usually where rivers converge, below dams and below power plants. They may find dozens or a couple hundred of birds there. "You'll see some mallards, mergansers and even Canada geese as long as the water is open and they are successful in finding food," Burns said. Sometimes quite a variety of birds will stick around. On January 5, 1993, for example, a volunteer drove 40 miles along the Wisconsin side of Pools 4, 5 and SA of the river, from Alma to Trempealeau. He saw 208 mallards, 24 mergansers, five black ducks, three whistling swans, two goldeneyes and one Canada goose.

Other years, it's a different story. "In January of 1994, it looked like a frozen tundra all the way down to Pool 14 [upriver from the Quad Cities]. There was no open water at all," Burns said. The waterfowl count was zero. Many birds are late migrators, pushing the limits, ready to bolt south at a moment's notice. If just one or two of a species remain, they may be sick or injured. One thing's for sure - the birds that stick around are not finicky eaters. Mallards, for example, will eat almost everything from wild millet and sedge seeds to corn, invertebrates and an occasional minnow. Canada geese are willing to push aside snow to get at seeds and grain. Others may have a strategy- a method in their madness. Tundra swans, also called whistling swans, fly hard day and night from the Arctic. Different groups leap-frog each other along the way, until they come to places where they rest, eat and store up energy for the next leg of the trip. On the Mississippi River they stop to dine on plentiful aquatic and marsh plant tubers, stems and leaves. They stay here as long as they can and as long as the food sources hold out before heading off to the Chesapeake Bay. They may be among the last birds through, but they don't winter over here.

Birds Spotted in the Winter in Mississippi River Refuges, Pool 4 - 12 Common (usually seen in proper habitat) mallard bald eagle Uncommon (regularly seen in small numbers) Canada goose common goldeneye common merganser Occasional (irregularly seen) American black duck green-winged teal belted kingfisher

Rare (seen at intervals of 2 - 5 years) great blue heron wood duck northern pintail canvasback redhead ring-necked lesser scaup Barrow's goldeneye bufflehead hooded merga nser red-breast merganser golden eagle osprey

Seabirds Off Course (very rare) old squaw black scoter white winged scoter

November 1994

BIG RlvER

Some goldeneye ducks apparently do winter in the North. One study found 8,000 goldeneyes wintering on the Mississippi from St. Cloud, Minn., to Alton, Ill. Goldeneyes eat a lot of fish, although they don't mind wildcelery, crawfish and insects. More and more bald eagles have been choosing to stay north along the Mississippi in recent years. Most of them

One study found 8,000 goldeneyes wintering on the Mississippi from St. Cloud, Minn., to Alton, Ill. migrate south, congregating near Keokuk, Iowa, or Jefferson City, Missouri, but about 200 stay. "Winter is a very good time to see eagles because the trees are bare and the eagles congregate around patches of open water, where they find fresh or dead fish," said Minnesota Department of Natural Resources nongame wildlife specialist Joan Galli. "I just drive along the river until I see open water, then I stop and scan the area with binoculars . I never don't see eagles!" The gizzard shad is the winter fish of choice for bald eagles, although they'll also take ducks and geese if they have a chance. Galli does not go out looking for eagles on bitterly cold, windy days, because the birds often stay in their communal roosts to save energy. As many as 30 birds may sit together in trees in protected places in the winter. In the summer, they nest in pairs, each pair in its own territory, and they don't tolerate such close company. Eagles are very efficient at balancing their energy ledger - making sure they don't spend more energy than they take in. One way they do this is by staying quiet when the weather's bad. They can also go hungry for relatively long times - two days - before gorging on a meal. They use sitand-wait hunting techniques in the winter, they scavenge

Anyone who's watched eagles for a while can testify to their insistent kleptomania. dead fish and animals instead of hunting live ones, and they frequently steal food from other birds . Anyone who's watched eagles for a while can testify to their insistent kleptomania . One study found it was the favored food-finding technique: when eagles approached others with food, they would attack and try to steal it 84 percent of the time. The birds that stay all winter tend to be adults, Galli said. The young ones go south where it's easier to find food .

Black seater sometimes hopelessly off course

For information about eagles and where to see them in winter, read "Great Places to Watch Eagles," by Joan Galli, in The Minnesota Volunteer, Jan.-Feb. 1993. Also contact the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and ask for "Bald Eagles in Minnesota," a six-page handout with maps. ~ Pamela Eyden is assistant editor of Big River.

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BIG RlvER

November 1994

(Upside Down continued from page 4) where they stay, to concentrate even more. The sea is very salty because the rivers are a little salty.

The river makes

a good boundary - not.

Along most of its length, the Mississippi serves as a boundary between states. This effectively puts it outside of every state's jurisdiction, with the exception of its beginning in Minnesota and its end in Louisiana. If one state enforces strict hunting or environmental laws while the state across the river does not, both states share the negative consequences. From our perspective, the river serves as a fence or a line on the map. From the river's perspective, the natural boundary is the edge of its watershed - the high land where if you pour a bucket of water on the ground half of it will flow toward the river and the other half will flow toward another river. The Mississippi watershed includes all or part of 21 states and two Canadian provinces. Humans are accustomed to marking boundaries with rivers, but thinking in terms of watersheds is a new idea. Yet we cannot deal with the Mississippi or the Great Lakes without dealing with all of the watery branches and all of the land they drain and all of the people who live or work on that land. Ironically, serving as a state boundary helped efforts to clean up the Mississippi when Wisconsin sued Minnesota for dumping millions of gallons of raw sewage into the river from the Twin Cities' antiquated sewer system. While the courts eventually threw out the suit, attention to the problem led to a massive project to replace the sewers. The project, which is nearly complete, dramatically reduced the amount of raw sewage flowing into the river.

The river needs lots of water -

not.

While it wouldn't be much of a river without the water, you can get too much of a good thing. Flooding inconveniences humans, but many plants and animals take advantage of it. Some plants and animals along the river also took advantage of the occasional summer dry enough to dry up many of the Mississippi backwaters, until the lock-and-dam system put an end to them. Back in the 1920s and 30s sporting groups would organize crews to rescue the unfortunate fish trapped in shrinking backwaters. Under the resentful eyes of eagles, herons, minks and other animals who found wondrous opportunities in those dry summers, guys in hip boots carried wagon loads of gasping fish to the Main Channel. River scientists are only now beginning to realize that the steadier water levels brought by the dams are taking their toll on river plants and, in turn, on the animals that depend on them. When backwaters dried out, the muck in them also dried out. Some seeds in the muck needed to dry out or be exposed to sunlight to germinate. Changing water levels changed the shoreline, encouraging many more kinds of plants along the shores.

Now with steadier water levels, the muck in many backwaters just gets deeper. Many kinds of plants are disappearing and many backwaters that used to feed and shelter large populations of ducks and fish have become large, open, shallow, mucky lakes.

The river needs more management -

not.

The Mississippi is a sport fishery, a commercial fishery, a commercial highway, a highway for recreational boating, a campground, a park, a wildlife refuge, a source of drinking water, a hunting preserve, a flyway, a natural system, part of a huge water drainage system and a scenic feature that enhances the value of land near it. So, how do you prioritize management goals for the river? What happens when protecting or enhancing one function detracts from another? How do you predict what the effects of a project will be? Weaver Bottoms, where the Whitewater River flows into the Mississippi, downriver from Wabasha, Minn., used to be thick with wildlife. Soil that eroded from agricultural land started filling in the bottoms more than a century ago. The lock-and-dam system accelerated the process. A few years ago the Army Corps of Engineers worked with biologists from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to build islands and channels in the bottoms to reverse the process. The experiment was a failure; plants, and fish disappeared even more rapidly after the construction projects were completed. Wildlife managers have scored many successes, but countering the damage caused by the dams and erosion may prove to be an impossible task. The management process may just provide false hope as we watch the river system slowly change into something else. River managers are part of the government food chain. Business, sporting, environmental and anti-environmental groups lobby the politicians who decide what projects to fund. A lot of management energy focuses on walleyes, largemouth bass and ducks, because a lot of people spend money on licenses and gear in order to pursue them. When environmentalists or biologists try to focus attention on threatened plants, minnows, clams or other river life that is not the object of a sporting group, they are often ignored or ridiculed by politicians or anti-environmental groups. "How can we forsake jobs to protect a snail?" or "Why should our tax dollars be spent to study a clam?" However, the walleyes, bass, ducks and even people depend on a complex web of plants and animals for food and shelter. Nature is messy, and it has much more experience making walleyes, bass, ducks and clean water than do managers or politicians. Of course if we turn our backs on the river, people could quickly use up its resources. We must remember our limitations as well as our power. We need to remember to look at the river from more than one perspective._

Reggie McLeod is editor of Big River.

BIG RlvER

November 1994

Arrowhead Plants -

Focus Of Concern

By Nancy Haugen

Arrowhead, an aquatic plant with broad, arrow-shaped leaves is a focus of concern on the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge because some of the major beds of this valuable wildlife-food plant have declined in quality. Arrowhead beds in lower Pool 8, south of La Crosse; Weaver Bottoms, north of Winona in Pool 5; and Rieck's Lake, near Alma in Pool 4, have lost their vigor. While the health of these plant beds declined this summer, other arrowhead beds thrived . Stable, healthybeds of arrowhead are in Blue Lake in upper Pool 8 near La Crosse; Gibbs Lake, Big Marsh, and Goose Lake in Pool 7 north of Lake Onalaska; and Big Lake in Pool 4 north of Alma. Wildlife managers want to find out what is causing the decline in some beds. The winter tubers may have been buried under extra deep sediment brought by the 1993 flood. Water pollution from herbicides used by urban dwellers and farmers may be stressing the plants, depleting their energy to overwinter. The 1993 flood may have stressed the plants

The pool may look empty to the human eye, but to muskrats, ducks, geese and swans it's a storehouse of food abundant with over-wintering tubers. and reduced their ability to overwinter. Extensive feeding by large numbers of waterfowl and muskrats may be stressing an already stressed group of plants. Biologists caution that speculations must be kept in perspective until all field data has been gathered and analyzed. Two predominant types of arrowhead grow in the Up-

per Mississippi River. The large-leaf arrowhead grows in one to three feet of water and has a very large, eight- to 12inch leaf; a long, two- to four-foot stem; and a golf-ball size tuber. The rigid arrowhead has a smaller leaf, shorter stem, acorn-size tuber and grows in water six inches to two feet deep. The Mississippi River historically produces exceptionally lush beds of both variety of arrowhead. During the summer the dense beds of arrowhead are an important spawning area for fish and an ideal habitat for ducks raising their young. As fall approaches, each plant produces a tuber, which holds the plant's nutrients over the winter. Once the tuber has developed, the stems and leaves of the arrowhead tum brown, become limp and sink into the water. By November areas that were full of lush green arrowhead plants all summer have become pools of open, plant-free water. The pool may look empty to the human eye, but to muskrats, ducks, geese and swans it's a storehouse of food abundant with over-wintering tubers. Swans and geese use their long necks to reach the bottom, where the golf-ball size tubers of the large-leaf arrowhead are found. Ducks, due to their smaller size, generally seek out the smaller tubers from the rigid arrowhead. The diving ducks, such as canvasback, feed in deeper water, while the puddle ducks, like the mallards, use shallow areas where tubers can be reached without diving. The health of wildlife food plants always concerns wildlife managers, because food supply is a major factor in sustaining wildlife populations. Food supplies, like the arrowhead, are an even greater concern today because wildcelery, another significant tuber producing plant, is still in limited supply due to its decline from stresses associated with the 1988-1989 drought. Biologists studying the declining arrowhead situation have an important task at hand. Wildlife managers and the public want to know why some arrowhead beds are declining and how to safeguard the remaining productive arrowhead beds. The team effort of Mississippi River wildlife managers, biologists, and the public is important not only for understanding the declining arrowhead beds, but also for ensuring the continuation of healthy wildlife populations in an ever-changing river system.

Nancy Haugen is Outdoor Recreation Planner at the Upper Mississippi Refuge, La Crosse District Office.

BIG RlvER

CURRENT EVENTS Army Corps Study

his month citizens and government officials will have an opportunity to learn about and comment on a study that may change the face of the Upper Mississippi River. The Army Corps of Engineers is in the second year of a $30-million study to determine the future of commercial navigation on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. The study will compare three possible futures for the next 50 years: keeping the current navigation system; smallscale enhancements; and large-scale enhancements. Many environmental, sporting and outdoors groups have criticized the study, saying that it was set up to justify expanding the lock system to increase barge traffic. They argue that it should also evaluate the effects of ending commercial navigation on the river and the effects of maintaining a six-foot navigation channel rather than a nine-foot channel. The current system is heavily subsidized by the federal government. Some say the subsidy amounts to about half of the costs, some say taxpayers pay more than 90 percent. The barge industry argues that tÂľe subsidies help keep grain shipping costs down, benefiting farmers and consumers. It also asserts that shipping by barge is more fuel efficient than using railroads or trucks. The Corps study will predict probable Eiffects on the economy, the environment and historic properties. Initially it was criticized for its lack of public, local government and state government involvement, so the Corps expanded the opportunity for public involvement in the process. The study area includes 29 locks and 854 miles of the Upper Mississippi and eight locks and 348 miles of the Illinois. See the Calendar on page 8 for meeting locations and times.

Does It Smell as Sweet?

he Metropolitan WasteControlCommission changed its name to Metro-

politan Council Wastewater Services. The organization maintains and operates the sewage treatment system in the Twin Cities area.

Big Sturgeon

im Bengston struggled for three hours to land a 70-inch, 94-pound, 4-ounce record lake sturgeon this summer. Minnesota's previous record sturgeon weighed a mere 92 pounds, 4ounces. Bengston, of Hinckley, hooked the giant with nightcrawlers and 12-poundtest line on the Kettle River, in St. Croix State Park, at about 9 p.m. After the fish hauled their canoe up and downstream Bengston and his partner guided the fish into shallow water at about midnight. "When my partner grabbed the fish's tail, it took a run toward shore, and I was able to get my arms around it and pull it up on land," Bengston said. The sturgeon could be 100 years old. Minnesota anglers also set new records for hybrid sunfish and black bullhead this year.

Environmental Barges

arge transportation provides many environmental advantages, compared to railroads and trucks, according to a new publication. The strongest argument for barges is energy efficiency. Water transportation consumes much less fuel to carry bulk cargo. Specifics vary widely, in part because pushing barges is much more efficient in some situations, as on the lower Mississippi, where there are no locks and one tow can push more barges. However, averaging the results of 12 studies comparing rail and water efficiency showed that it took 433 BTUs to ship one ton one mile on water, while shipping by rail consumed 696 BTUs. Trucks consume at least five times as much fuel as a tow to move a ton of freight one mile. Environmental Advantages of Inland Barge Transportation, as the title states, looks only at the positive side of barge

November 1994

transportation. The report was prepared by the Office of Market Promotion at the Maritime Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Two of the four advisory committee members represent the barge industry. Studies sponsored by the industries were often cited. Several recent studies critical of commercial transportation on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers were not included in the report. However, in addition to its presentation of a solid case for barge fuel efficiency, the report presents good arguments showing that barge shipping reduces noise, pollution and congestion on highways. It also presents a case for safe handling of materials. "A 1988 study-and a 1993 update - of tank barge movements on the Upper Mississippi River, prepared by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, show that barges are responsible for fewer and smaller river spills than other modes or fixed facilities, and pose little threat to the riverine environment in Minnesota. Spills from commercial navigation activities accounted for only 1/2 of 1 percent of the total spills into the river. During the five-year (1988-1992) study period, the towing industry handled 4.9 billion gallons of liquid cargo; the amount spilled represents .0007 of 1 percent of what was handled." For a copy of the report call the Maritime Administration, (708) 298-4535 or write to it at 2860 S. River Rd., Suite 185, Des Plaines IL 60018-2413.

Detour, Please!

here's lots of wildcelery and other food plants growing in Lake Onalaska this year, and wildlife managers expect that large numbers of geese, ducks and swans will be stopping in to rest and eat it on their way to warmer climes. To prevent unnecessary disturbance to the birds, which depend on their stopovers to regain strength and weight, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has established a "voluntary waterfowl avoidance area" in the lake. All boaters using Lake Onalaska for fishing, sailing,

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November 1994

cruising or other activities are asked to stay away from the areas marked with white buoys from October 15 through mid-November.

No Better Than Average

ournament anglers hook as few fish as other anglers and release more, according to a study done by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. In recent years, fishing contests and tournaments have been suspected of causing the decline of many types of fish, including bass, walleye, pike and other panfish. After examining three years of records from about 250 tournaments in all parts of the state, the department concluded that fewer than 25 percent of the tournament anglers weigh in a limit and more than 25 percent catch nothing at all. Between 96.1 percent and 98.7 percent of the fish caught were released .

Invasion of the Alien Mussel

ebra mussel numbers dropped dramatically this summer on a stretch of the Illinois River near Grafton, Ill. Where, in 1993, researchers found densities of 61,000 mussels per square meter, this year they found 4,000 per square meter. The drop has not been explained. On the other hand, the little mussels were found this summer in a place no one imagined they could live-in golf course irrigation ponds full of chlorinated water. The ponds are on Chicago's north side, more than three miles from the Lake Michigan water intake. People used to think that chlorine' was effective against the mussels. Zebra mussels were also found attached to the engine of a boat docked on the St. Croix River at Hudson, Wis., in September, prompting new warnings for boat owners to keep a lookout for the small mussels, which are always looking for a free ride. They may be found on boat engines, hulls, docks, rafts and other equipment. No one knows for sure how to protect the 40-some species of native mussels from the zebra mussel invasion, or if it's even possible, but the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee

wants to try. It is looking into the idea of moving threatened populations of native mussels to special holding and propagation facilities. The National Fish Hatchery at Genoa, Wis., has been proposed as a good place to keep captive populations of zebra-free native mussels until it's safe to reintroduce them to the river. The UMRCC is asking for approval from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The committee is also pushing for a national task force to coordinate mussel research in rivers. Most of the research has been done on mussels that live in lakes, not rivers. Meanwhile, industry groups are opposing the Fish and Wildlife Service's nomination of five freshwater mussels to the endangered species list, and two species to the threatened species list on the Apalachiacola, Chattahoochie and Flint Rivers and their tributaries in the South. The Tri Rivers Waterway Development Association opposes the listing because it would affect commercial navigation on the rivers, as well as the timber, gravelmining and poultry industries; farmers; railroads; and hydroelectric power.

What's Your Hurry?

oat sales are booming, marinas are growing and rivers are becoming more crowded, especially on weekends and holidays. To maintain public safety, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is considering changing the current speed limits for boats on certain stretches of the Lower St. Croix River. The DNR is asking for public input about the slow speed zones, which would be in effect from noon until sunrise of the next day on Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, from May 15 through September 15.

Locks to Close Temporarily

he Army Corps of Engineers sent notices to tell commercial shippers and recreational boaters on the Illinois River that they may have to change their plans next summer when four locks on the Illinois Waterway close for repair. The locks at Lockport, Joliet, Morris and Marseilles, Illinois, will be closed to all

navigation traffic - barges, boaters and everyone else - for two months beginning in July 1995. Closing the locks is necessary to remove deteriorated concrete from the lock walls, resurface them and replace the miter gates. Locks on the Illinois Waterway were built in the 1930s, with a projected life span of 50 years. The rehab job to the four locks will cost an estimated $27.2 million.

Court Supports Fish Bypasses

isconsin may be able to require fish bypasses at 82 hydroelectric dams in the state following a ruling by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court ruled that the federal Energy Regulatory Commission can order structural changes in dams without waiting for license renewal, according to an article in The Country Today (9-21-94). Dams can prevent fish from following their normal migration patterns (see Big River July 94). By doing this dams reduce the number of fish in a river or even exclude them from parts of rivers. Bypasses, which are costly to build, allow fish to swim around or over dams.

Environment+ Jobs

tates with the strongest environmental policies also offer the best eco nomic environment, according to a new study by the Institute for Southern Studies, in Durham, N.C. The study, "Green & Gold," rated each state by 20 economic categories, including average annual income, job opportunities and business start-ups. It also rated 20 environmental categories, including energy consumption, pesticide use and spending on resource protection, according to an Associated Press story in the Wisconsin State Journal (10-12-94). The study found a strong corre.>pondence between "green" and "gold" scores. Vermont scored first in the green category and third in the gold. Louisiana ran last in both. Wisconsin ranked ninth in the gold and sixth in the green. Minnesota: second in gold, seventh in green; Iowa: 15th in gold, 22nd in green; Illinois: 29th in gold, 34th in green.

BIG RlvER

RIVER CALENDAR November Special Events 5-6 Winona Wildlife Art Exposition, sponsored by the Winona Wildlife Foundation, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., $1, Elks Lodge Hall, Winona. Call (507) 452-2272. 5-6 Swan Watch, coordinated by the Winona Convention

and Visitors Bureau with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Winona. Slide presentation Nov. 5, 7 p.m., Riverport Inn, free. Buses to view swans leave Riverport Inn Nov. 6, noon and return 4:30 p.m., $5 adults, $2 children under 12, reservations encouraged. Call (507) 452-2272 or 800-6574972.

through Jan. 8, 1995 Display of wildlife stamp contest entries, including top entries from Minnesota's first Junior Duck Stamp competition, sponsored by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bell Museum of Natural History, Minneapolis, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Tues. - Fri.; 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sat.; noon - 5 p.m. Sun. Call (612) 624-7083. through Feb. 14, 1995 Magnificent River: The Mississippi from Minnesota to Missouri, photographs, artifacts, interactive exhibits and two full-sized boats, Putnam Museum of History and Natural Science, Davenport, Iowa.

Workshops & Conferences 3 Linking Global Trade and the Environment, U. of Minn.-

St. Paul, $20. Call D. O'Riley, (612) 624-3235. 4 Contaminated Sediments Workshop, Coast Alliance, Madison, Wis. Call Annie (202) 546-9554.

13-16 Dredging '94, International Conference on Dredging

and Dredged Material Placement, American Society of Civil Engineers, Buena Vista, Fla. Call Russell K. Tillman (601) 634-4201. 14-16 Watershed WISE: A Workshop on Watershed Protection, Grand Junction, Col. Call Susan Foster, (303) 4993647. 19 Minnesota Environmental Education Conference, Park Inn, Alexandria, Minn. Call Pam Landers, (612) 282-5788. 29-30 Management of the Upper Mississippi River Basin:

Current Issues and Future Options, sponsored by the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association, MinneapolisSt. Paul Airport Hilton. Call (507) 224-2880.

Meetings 1 Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission, St.

Croix River Regional Committee meeting. Call (715) 3869444 or (612) 436-7131. 10 Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission,

November 1994

Mississippi River Regional Committee meeting, Winona. Call (715) 386-9444 or (612) 436-7131. 10 Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board, monthly meeting, 5 p.m., Blue River, Wis. Call 1-800-221-3792 or (608) 739-3188. 14 Sierra Club, St. Croix Valley Interstate Group, monthly meeting, 6:30 p.m., Stillwater (Minn.) Public Library. 29 Weaver Bottoms Enhancement Project, public meeting, 7 p.m., Winona Technical College, Winona. Call Army Corps of Engineers, (608) 687-3011, or Fish and Wildlife, (507) 452-4232.

Dec. 6-7 River Resources Forum, interagency meeting, Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Bloomington, Minn. Call (608) 687-3011. Upper Mississippi River - Illinois Waterway System Navigation Study, public meetings (see Current Events, page 6). Call 800-872-8822. Nov. 7 St. Louis Airport Hilton, St. Louis, 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. Nov. 8 Pere Marquette Hotel, Peoria, Ill., 7 p.m. -10 p.m. Nov. 9 Bismark Hotel, Chicago, 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. Nov. 10 River Center, Davenport, Iowa, 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Nov. 14 Drovers Holiday Inn, South St. Paul, 7 p.m. -10 p.m. Nov. 15 Holiday Inn, La Crosse, 7 p.m. -10 p.m. Nov. 16 Best Western Midway Hotel, Dubuque, 7 p.m. lOp.m. Nov. 17 Best Western Des Moines International, Des Moines, 7 p.m. - 10 p.m.