March 1996
the monthly newsletter for people who live, work or play on the Upper Mississippi River
Vol. 4, No. 3
Upper Mississippi River Summit -
Female Eels Make Two Epic Journeys
Will Talk Lead to Action?
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
By Reggie McLeod
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Political horse trading may save the Upper Mississippi River ecosystem from collapse. Then again, it might divert the environmental community long enough for the towboat industry to push through an expansion of the commercial navigation system at the expense of taxpayers and the environment. Dozens of representatives from environmental groups, government agencies, industry and agriculture met in Bloomington, Minn., on February 1 and 2 to discuss the future of the river. "It was more high level than any m eeting we've had on the Mississippi in many, many years," said Steve Johnson,
"When the ecosystem goes down, everybody is going to notice." - Steve Johnson, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources river management supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The Corn Growers Association, MARC 2000 (towboat industry), Army Corps of Engineers, Sierra Club, Transportation Departments, Izaak Walton League and many other groups were represented. Johnson believes the time may be right to form a coop-
(Summit continued on page 2)
$2. 75
American eel" and Atlantic eel" both refer /1
to the same fish, which spends part of its life in the Upper Mississippi River and tributaries, including the Black and Chippewa rivers. The eel, which looks like a snake with fins, travels thousands of miles to get here. These fish spawn in the ocean and the young females migrate up freshwater rivers to live and grow, returning to the ocean as adults - just the opposite of the more familiar pattern of the salmon who migrate upstream to spawn. Eels are hatched in the Sargasso Sea between Bermuda and the Bahamas. The young eels migrate to freshwater rivers and arrive at our coastal waters about a year after hatching. Only the females journey up the Mississippi River and its tributaries, while the males remain near the mouth of the Mississippi River where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico.
(Eels continued on page 3)
WHAT ' S INSIDE •••
River Map River Traffic 1994 and 1995
4
International Perspective on the Mississippi River
5
Current Events Big Fish, Legless Frogs
6
Letter to the Editor Timely River Calendar
7
River Calendar & Almanac Eagle Watches, Zebra Conference
8
2
BIG RlvER
March 1996
(Summit continued from page 1)
erative movement to save the river. "It's in the navigation industry's self interest to help us solve the problem," he said. "When the ecosystem goes
Vision Statement Upper Mississippi River Summit VISION FOR THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER - To seek long-term compatibility of the economic use and ecological integrity of the Upper Mississippi River. OBJECTIVE OF INITIAL SUMMIT MEETING-To seek commitment to develop a multi-interest strategy for managing the natural resources of the Upper Mississippi River. Whereas: 1) The Upper Mississippi River is for purposes of this document defined as the main stem of the Mississippi River from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Cairo, Illinois, recognizing main stem impacts from measures taken throughout the entire 714,000-square-mile watershed; 2) the Upper Mississippi River is a multi-purpose resource recognized by Congress as both a "nationally significant ecosystem and a nationally significant commercial navigation system" (Section 1103 of 1986 Water Resources Development Act); 3) the Upper Mississippi River is important for economic and noneconomic uses; 4) the diversity of habitats and abundance of riverine life represent the ecological integrity of the Upper Mississippi River. Therefore: We are committed to: 1) collaboratively address Upper Mississippi River needs; 2) identify and prioritize issue areas in which cooperative action is most likely; 3) seek ways to remove obstacles to cooperative action within existing programs and authorities; 4) develop "interest area teams" to explore ways in which existing organizational programs, authorities, and resources can be organized for cooperative action; 5) establish and support an on-going coordinating committee to implement the above stated objectives and address issues that were beyond the scope of this initial summit meeting; 6) convene again in approximately one year to review progress and reevaluate strategies, with a progress report in six months.
down, everybody is going to notice." Many biologists warn that the river ecosystem may be at the point of collapse, largely as a result of the lock-and-dam system, which traps sediment and prevents water levels from fluctuating like they normally would. The lock-anddam system was constructed solely to increase commercial shipping on the upper river. Last summer the industry cooperated in a test on the Illinois River in which the water level was lowered. "The vegetation came out like gangbusters. In the fall it was full of ducks," Johnson said. The Corps, DNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife people are talking about trying the same thing in Pool 5 of the Mississippi, perhaps next summer. About half of the summit meeting was dedicated to forging a Vision Statement. Paul Hansen, executive director of the Izaak Walton League of America, refused to sign it. He was less than enthusiastic about the results of the summit. "Some people talked for a day. Nothing happened." He hears warnings of the river's collapse and watches studies pile up, while the situation gets worse. "We can't continue this perpetual study of the river, when scientists who know it warn of its continued decline." Massive taxpayer subsidies pay for the river's commercial navigation system, while railroads and the Port of
"Some people talked for a day. Nothing happened." -Paul Hansen, Isaak Walton League of America Duluth are underutilized, according to Hansen. He'd like to see all parties work together to save the river, but he has never seen that happen. "The Corps' Navigation Study is a fraud," he said. "Congress gave the Corps $40 million to study whether they should get another $4 billion." Meanwhile, the Izaak Walton League has hired a highpowered legal firm to seek a legal means to prevent the collapse of the river's ecosystem. Scott Faber, director of floodplain programs for American Rivers, agrees that the problems are well understood and the solutions at hand. However, we lack the knowledge of how to work together to implement long-term solutions. "You're not going to take the dams out, because taking the dams out would create a whole different ecological disaster," he said. Nearly a century's worth of sediment sits behind the dams. Releasing it would cause more damage, according to Faber.
BIG RrvER
March 1996
3
(Eels continues from page 1)
Faber believes that maintaining the water levels with dams causes most of the problems - not the barge traffic. "Even if you took all the barges off the river tomorrow, you'd still have a river in serious decline," he said. The Corps' Navigation Study is scheduled to be complete in the year 2000, one year before the River Summit's
"Even if you took all the barges off the river tomorrow, you'd still have a river in serious decline." - Scott Faber, American Rivers action plan is scheduled for completion. 'Tm not that concerned about the Navigation Plan," Faber said. He says the Navigation Study's environmental study is inadequate and will probably need to be redone, and that it will be difficult to get any large-scale expansion funded for at least a decade. We tried to contact Chris Brescia, of MARC 2000, for this story, but he did not return the phone call.
To get to our part of the river, the small eels have to get past at least twenty locks and dams - dams that limit the movement of other migratory fish like skipper jack herring and smallmouth bass. To accomplish this feat, Mark Endris, Wisconsin DNR Mississippi River Fisheries Manager - La Crosse, says, "The small eels, about 2.5 to 3.5 inches long at this point, migrate upstream at night. They can get past the dams by climbing and crawling up the sides of the dam ." Young eels also have to get around the swift-moving parts of streams that empty into the Mississippi River. Endris says, "Leaving the water by clinging to the wet grass or to the surface of the wet rocks, the eels move over land until they have passed the swift section and then enter the water to continue their upstream migration." Sometimes they travel over flooded or even dew-wet fields and turn up eventually in a pond or lake with no apparent access. The females, after becoming sexually mature at five to
"They can get past the dams by climbing and crawling up the sides of the dam."
Reggie McLeod is editor of Big River.
Bm
RIVER
Big River (ISSN 1070-8340) is published monthly by Big River, 70 1/ 2 East Fourth Street, Suite 203, Winona, MN 55987; (507) 454-5949; E-mail: bigriver@aol.com Reggie McLeod
editor/publisher
Pamela Eyden
assistant editor
Molly McGuire
assistant publisher
Mary Feathergill
bookkeeping
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POSTMASTER: send change-of-address requests to Big River, PO Box 74 7, Winona, MN 5 5 98 7. Big River, Volume 4, Number 3, copyrightŠ March 7996. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited.
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20 years of age, migrate back down the river. They join the males at the Gulf and begin their final, three-month journey back to the Sargasso Sea. The adults die after spawning. The eels in our part of the Mississippi River often grow as long as three feet and weigh three to four pounds. At one time, eels were common in this part of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. However, the population declined during the last fifty years to the point where this fish is now rare or uncommon. Catching an eel by hook and line is generally a matter of chance and usually occurs while the angler is fishing for something else. The same holds true for eels caught commercially in this part of the river. During 1974 through 1980, the commercial catch of eels in Wisconsin frnm the Mississippi River ranged from 534 to 954 pounds, butiall.\.ecent years the catch has steadily dropped for unknown,reasons, to the 1994 catch of 147 pounds. The eel is an exc,_eptionally good food fish and is frequently regarded as a luxury food in other countries. It can be prepared a variety of ways,¡with smoked eel being the most popular.
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March 1996
BIG RrvER
Upper St. Anthony Falls L&D 1 - - - - -
Anthony Falls
Wisconsin
River Traffic 1994 & 1995
Minnesota R. ChippewaR.
L&D 2 -
- L&D 5 L&D Sa-
6
Minnesota - L&D 8
Wisconsin R .
Iowa
10
Barge traffic increased a bit in 1995, especially along the stretch of the river between Iow a and Illinois. The "commercial boats" counted for the graph are nearly all towboats, but dredges and passenger boats are also included.
11
Illinois
L&D 1 2
L&D 1 3
Compiled with information from the St. Paul District and the Rock Island District of the Army Corps of Engineers.
14 L&D 1 5 20 , 00 0
18 , 000
River Traffic 1994 & 1995 1 6 , 000
14 , 000 - -4- - 1994 Rec reational Boats
12 , 000
- - - - 1995 Recreational Boats - - . - - 1994 Comme rcial Boats
10 , 000 - - + - - 1995 Comme rci al Boats
8 , 000
6 , 000
4,000
2 , 000
0 Upper LSAF St. Anthony Falls, Minneapolis
2
3 Red Wing
4
5
SA
6
7 La Crosse
Locks and Dams
8
9
10
11 Dubuque
12
13
14
15 Davenport
March 1996
BIG RrvER
International Perspectives on the Mississippi River By Jim Harrison A trip to the other side of the planet can help you see what's in your own back yard a little more clearly. The weather was in the mid-SO's in early December when seven American Midwestern river scientists arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, to present a symposium on management of the Mississippi River Basin at the Third Princess Chulabhorn International Science Congress on Water and Development: Water is Life. The congress honored the Fiftieth Anniversary of Accession to the Throne of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX). His youngest daughter, Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol, is a PhD chemist, professor, head of the Chulabhorn Research Institute and chair of the congress organizing committee. The aim of the congress was to promote the sustainable use of water resources and safeguard water quality. The meeting focused on seven rivers: the Mississippi; the Chao Phraya (Southeast Asia - principally Thailand); the Ganges and Brahmaputra (South Asia); the Jordan (Middle East); the Mekong (Southeast Asia); the MurrayDarling (Australia) and the Rhine (Western Europe). We gave presentations on the economic, engineering and scientific aspects of river management; the cultural and environmental history of the river; and the legal and intergovernmental complexities that influence management. Our team included: Nani Bhowmik, head of the hydrology division of the Illinois State Water Survey; Misganaw "Mike" Demissie, director of the office of sediment and wetland studies for the Illinois State Water Survey; Salim Rashid, associate head of the department of economics at the University of Illinois; Charles Dean, national chairman of the Mississippi River Parkway Commission; Robert Delaney, director of the Environmental Management Technical Center
Call Us for Subscriptions! If you want your own subscription to Big River or have a friend who would, we can now take subscription orders over the phone. Just call (507) 454-5949 during normal business hours. We can bill you for your subscription or charge it to your VISA or MasterCard. 1-year subscription $28 2-year subscription $50 Or mail your subscription order to Big River, PO Box 741, Winona, MN 55987.
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of the National Biological Service in Onalaska, Wisconsin; Ta Wei "David" Soong, director of the office of hydraulics and river mechanics of the Illinois State Water Survey, and me, Jim Harrison. How did our story of the Mississippi River come across in the Thailand meeting? We gained some rather sobering perspectives. We are water-rich compared to most of the heavily-populated areas of the world, both in terms of quantity and quality. In his keynote lecture, Dr. Nay Htun, United Nations Assistant Secretary General, estimated that over one billion people in the world do not have ready access to an adequate and safe water supply. The closest most of us Midwesterners have come to a water shortage is having to give up washing our cars or watering our lawns. We have political control of the entire drainage area of the Mississippi River within our own U.S. borders, including the Missouri, Ohio and southwest tributary systems. With the exception of Australia and Russia, all other major river systems are transnational, requiring extremely delicate diplomatic and political agreements between nations, many of whom are not on friendly terms. Yet, as a presenter from Egypt said, "water is so essential to all life that it is too important to fight over." Indeed, the four lower Mekong River countries - Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam - have recognized the need to share their critical water resources by negotiating a new cooperative agreement called "Spirit of the Mekong." We have heavily modified the Mississippi River' s natural systems for economic reasons, such as commercial navigation, flood control, agriculture and urban development, without adequate attention to hydrological or ecological integrity. Many other industrialized nations have done the same thing, although those with limited water supplies, like Southeastern Australia, have had to develop elaborate agreements for sharing and conserving water. Even Israel and Jordan have creative water-sharing agreements that transcend their political differences. Ironically, many emerging and Third World nations may have a better chance to succeed in sustainable, integrated management of their water resources because they have not yet engineered their natural systems beyond the point of no return. Even so, the Mississippi River system gives inspiration and hope to other nations and peoples. When we showed the newly released video, "The Mighty Mississippi - A Balance of Integrity," we realized that the big river speaks more clearly and eloquently about itself than we can. It is the greatest river in America, and one of the most diverse and productive rivers in the world.
Jim Harrison is the public affairs director of the Minnesota- Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission, the ten-member commission appointed by the governors of Minnesota and Wisconsin to study, make recommendations and facilitate intergovernmental programs on the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers.
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March 1996
BIG RrvER
CURRENT EVENTS By Pamela Eyden and Molly McGuire
Managing the Flow
W
hen the Upper Mississippi River nearly ran dry in the late 1860s, flour millers in Minneapolis discovered the importance of managing the flow of water upstream from their mills. One miller, William Washburn, bought land around Lake Pokegama and got himself elected to the U.S. Senate to push through his reservoir-building program. He succeeded. Regulating water flow has been controversial and contentious ever since. The Army Corps of Engineers manages six dams on the Mississippi Headwaters. Ottertail Power Company regulates the level of water in Lake Bemidji and produces hydropower at a dam on the Mississippi. Blandin Paper Company, Minnesota Power, Potlatch, the U.S. Forest Service and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources also control water at various places. The Mississippi Headwaters Board is encouraging these and other players to get together for the benefit of the whole ecosystem. The board convened a meeting in January to discuss the idea of regulating water flow so that it imitates nature, with the greatest amount of water flowing in the spring and summer, and the lowest amount flowing in the winter. The DNR said it was desirable. The Army Corps said it was possible. Discussions and research will continue.
Resources
N
ative trees and shrubs are available from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, with costshare assistance for qualifying persons. Call (612) 296-6157 or 800-766-6000. Three new, water-quality studies help illustrate that what disappears into the soil and sewers returns to us from
our wells and faucets: A Wisconsin report on agrichemicals in groundwater found that the quality of the water has changed substantially in the past 30 to 4U"years. For copies call (608) 224-4505'. The U.S. Geological Survey examined the major aquifer in southeastern Minnesota, and in another report measured volatile organic compounds in the Twin Cities' area ground and surface water. To order, calI (303) 236-7476, ask for report 95-4115 for the aquifer study and report 95-4216 for the other. For more information call (612) 783-3100. Speaking of water quality, learn how you can prudently apply nature' s fertilizer and minimize water quality problems. Guidelines for Applying Manure to Cropland and Pasture in Wisconsin is free from county extension agents or call (608) 262-6140 and ask for publication A3392.
money it needs ($741,300) to restore and preserve important wetlands in the Quad Cities. First up is the restoration of a 50acre wetland at the tip of Arsenal Island, an important breeding area for fish, bald eagles and migratory birds. With money from the McKnight Foundation and cooperation from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, River Action plans to save the land from the consequences of river navigation.
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Also scheduled for rehabilitation are wetlands at the mouth of Pigeon Creek in Bettendorf and the Nahant Marsh, a 500-acre wetland in southwest Davenport, which has been damaged by industrial/ residential expansion and bisected by Interstate 280. The Mississippi River Basin Alliance Newsletter (Winter 1996) attributes River Action' s success to a volunteer partnership among all sectors of the greater Quad Cities, including municipal and state governments, businesses and nonprofit communities.
Pricey Rock Art Dole & Andreas
F
ississippi River navigation interests will have a new friend in the White House if Sen. Bob Dole makes his way to the top. Dwayne Andreas, chairman of Archer Daniels Midland, one of the largest grain shippers on the river, has been one of Dole's largest contributors. He donated more than $210,000 in the past decade or so, plus special gifts to the Dole Foundation, according to the Wall Street Journal (2-12-96) . Pat Buchanan, who tweaked by Dole in New Hampshire, has blasted the senator by calling him "an Archer Daniels Midland Republican. "
ifty-dollar fines for intentionally damaging natural resources in Wisconsin could become $10,000-dollar fines and nine months in jail if the state Assembly passes Senate Bill 376 this spring. For damaging rock art and archeological sites, the law could impose five-year prison sentences on top of the $10,000dollar fine. Many rock art and archeolo gica l sites, such as Gottschall Rockshelter in Iowa County, Wisconsin, which is more than 1,000 years old, have been damaged in recent years by thieves and vandals. State officials have long rued that small fines and disorderly conduct status did nothing to deter them.
Better Late Than Never
St. Croix Zebra War
M
T
he nonprofit group River Action has marshalled the cooperation and the
B
oaters in the St. Croix River will be encouraged to stay there and boat-
4.
--.J
BIG RlvER
March 1996
ers who moor on the Mississippi will be encouraged to stay out of the St. Croix this summer as the Minnesota DNR continues its battle to prevent the spread of zebra mussels. Boaters will be subject to random boat inspections on the St. Croix this summer. Boats carrying zebra mussels will have to be removed and cleaned. Zebra mussels, an alien species that wreaks havoc with natural river systems, were first found in the Mississippi in 1991. They were found north of St. Paul in 1994.
Besides the economic damage they do, zebra mussels effectively kill off native mussel species. To prevent the total and1permanent eradication of all native mussel populations, scientists working through the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee (UMRCC) have begun testing a strategy of removing native mussels to safer waters until the plague of zebras abates. First they have to make sure their strategy doesn't kill the mussels they mean to save. The UMRCC's Winter newsletter reports that mussels survive relocation quite well 95 percent of those tested did - but that many species are sensitive to the rate of water flow in their environments.
Legless Frogs
T
he Environment and Natural Resources Committee of the Minnesota House of Representatives, and the Legislative Commissions on Minnesota Resources have earmarked $201,000 for research projects investigating deformed frogs found at several sites in southern and central Minnesota. Air, water and soil pollution may be possible factors. Pesticide residues are suspect. School children on a field trip first found the frogs. They testified in support of the legislation and will be involved in the research project.
Swainson's Hawks Die in Argentina
F
armers of new agricultural land in Argentina have been spraying heavily and repeatedly to eradicate grasshoppers. It's no surprise that they've been killing more than that.
More than 3,900 dead Swainson's hawks have been found in southern Argentina, according to a story circulated on the internet by Geoff Holroyd of the Canadian Wildlife Service. The actual number killed may be many times higher, as most carcasses are scavenged by local vultures and caracaras. Swainson's hawks are small, lightcolored hawks that breed in Canada, winter in southern Argentina, and are sometimes seen migrating through the Mississippi River valley in the fall, although they are more common in the West.
7
Canadian and U.S. universities have been working with Argentinian agencies to monitor the situation and propose alternative pesticides that do nqt affect birds, but farmers are expected to continue their spraying through early March. Cultivated agriculture is relatively new in this region of Argentina, where cattle ranches once predominated. Recent irrigation developments have encouraged agricultural expansion.
Big Fish
W
ell, at least one Mississippi River fish made it on to the list of five record-setting fish catches in Wisconsin in 1995. A Prairie du Chien angler caught an 8 pound, 4.2 ounce "saugeye," a walleye-sauger hybrid. A 3 pound, 2 ounce American eel caught in the St. Louis River (see story in this issue) also made the list, which includes 55 species. ~
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Having enjoyed several months of Big River, I would like to register a complaint. The calendar of events included each month contains interesting and useful information. However, by the time my issue arrives over half the events have taken place or it is too late to plan attendance at them. I would like to suggest that the calendar be extended to include half of the following month or run from mid-month to mid-month. Or the mailing date of Big River could be moved up by a week or two to make the calendar more useful. It is nice to have the information that the calendar provides, but it is not useful after the event has taken place. I would appreciate your attention to this problem. Sincerely, William '5teinike, Port Edwards, Wis. Our response: Good ideas! We have taken your advice and begun to extend the calendar a little further into the future . However, we often have a hard time getting people to send event information in time for us to use it. Part of the problem is that most organizations are accustomed to sending .information to newspapers and radio and TV stations, all of which make announcements daily. We need calendar information by the 15th of the month, which means we have to get it from two weeks to two months before the date of the event. We've tried to train people to send information early, but it's a difficult task. Perhaps some of them will read this letter and change ¡their ways. Another option is to check our web site (http://www.luminet.net/-bigriver/), where we update the calendar every week or two. Reggie McLeod, editor/publisher
BIG RrvER
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RIVER CALENDAR Special Events & Festivals March 1 Beginning of Minn. 1996 game and fish license year. 2-3 Eagle Watch weekend, Winona, 800-657-4972. 7-10 Sports & Travel Show, St. Cloud Civic Center. 9-10, 16-17, 23-24 Maple Syruping program, Ft. Snelling State Park, St. Paul, (612) 726-9247. 15 Minn. fish houses off the ice, north. 16 Bluebird workshop, William O'Brien (Minn .) State Park. 17 Soar with the Eagles, Wabasha, Minn ., 800-565-4158. Deck staffed Sundays through March, 1 p.m. - 3 p .m., 800-565-4158. April 12 Mississippi River Campground Opening, Thomson (Ill.) Causeway Recreation Area and Fisherman's Corner Recreation Area, Hampton, Ill., (815) 259-3628. 22 Earth Day 26 Arbor Day 26 - May 5 Minn. Archeology Week, events in Mississippi Headwaters, (218) 547-7263.
Meetings & Hearings
April 1 Mississippi River Coordinating
Commission, 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m., Metropolitan Council chambers, St. Paul, (612) 290-4160, ext. 227. Discussion of proposed river center collaboration between Science Museum of Minn. and the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. 11 Minn. - Wis. Boundary Area Commission, Stillwater. If you would like us to announce your upcoming event, please send us the information by the 15th of the month. Mail to PO Box 7 41 , Winona, MN 55987; call, (507) 454-5949; or e-mail us at bigriver@aol.com.
Workshops & Conferences
mission Mid-Winter meeting, Des Moines, (612) 224-9903 . 6 La Crosse River Marsh plan, public meeting, 4 p.m. - 8 p.m ., Logan High ¡school, (608) 785-2205. 5-7 Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee annual meeting, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 800-331-0445. 11 St. Croix Valley Sierra Club, Stillwater (Minn.) Public Library, 6:30 p.m., (715) 425-5807. Mississippi River Revival Public Awareness Meetings, effects of commercial navigation on the river's ecosystem, 7 p.m., 800-957-4837. 13 Lansing, Iowa, Kerndt Bros. Bank 20 Bellevue, Iowa, Community Cntr. 27 La Crosse, Cartwright Cntr., UWL
Aquatic Ecosystems and Water Quality, Chicago, Mike Murphy, (312) 454-0400 . Making Meetings Work, Mississippi River Environmental Training School for river activists, $25, 800366-4793. 19 Villa Maria, Frontenac, Minn. 26 Paul Bunyan Nature Center, Brainerd, Minn.
.;;,
30 Great Lakes Declining Amphibian Conference, Milwaukee, (414) 2782766, gsc@csd .uwm.edu . Wisconsin Angler Education Instructor Workshops, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., free, call two weeks in advance. 9 Milwaukee, Judy Klippel, (414) 527-0232 23 La Crosse, Scott Murphy, (608) 783-2820 April 6 Eau Claire, Tim Chmelik, (715) 833-7500 April 13 Madison, Eric Walser, (608) 242-5700 April 27 Spooner, Stan Johannes, (715) 635-4150
March
April
1-2 Upper Midwest Organic Farming
18-21 National Outdoor Ethics Con-
Conference, Sinsinawa Mound Center, Wis., (715) 772-3153. 5-7 International Zebra Mussel Conference, Dearborn, Michigan, 800868-8776. 14-16 The Mississippi River and Her People, University of Memphis, (817) 334-5525. 18-21 Assessing the Cumulative Impacts of Watershed Development on
ference, St. Louis, spons. by Izaak Walton League, (301) 548-0150. 25~26 Mississippi River Research Consortium annual meeting, La Crosse, Mark Sandheinrich, (608) 785-8261. May 16-18 Friends of Trashed Rivers, Chicago, spons. by Coalition to Restore Urban Waters, (312) 939-0490. July 12-13 Spirit of Survival, annual Mississippi River Basin Alliance Conference, St. Louis, (314) 822-4114.
March 1-2 Mississippi River Parkway Com-
February 1996
ALMANAC By Kenny Salwey. Pool 5A The wild untamed winds of March are upon us suddenly, as if from out of nowhere. Skunks, possums and raccoons venture forth on thawing nights in search of food, mates and freedom from cabin fever. Those feathered harbingers of spring, the Canada geese and red-winged blackbirds arrive in the great river valley via their ancient pathways in the sky. Holes appear in the black, water-covered, honeycombed ice along the backwaters. The river channel is icing out in a big way . Walleye and sauger anglers dodge mini-icebergs below the locks and dams. Someone said they'd seen a robin? Perhaps! The sun climbs higher; darkness comes later. Silver maple buds grow larger. Here and there a muskrat sits next to a hole in the ice, hunched over like a little old man, as he chews on a freshly dug rat potato. Is spring here? Yes and no! Warm south breezes and bright sunshine one day can be replaced by icy north winds and snowfall the next. Nevertheless. my friends, all the signs along this ancient waterway seem to say "Spring is coming." We answer "great balls of fire!" and throw our hats into the air with joy. It's been a long, hard winter.
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