Issuu

April 1996

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

Vol. 4 , No. 4

$2. 75

Racing for the Homs

Snapshot of the River's Health

By Lee Hendrix

By Reggie McLeod

On July 4, 1996, hundreds of thousands will

The most thorough study of the Mississippi

gather under the shadow of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis to enjoy air shows, ferris wheels, fireworks, food and bungee jumping. In the early afternoon, three authentic steamboats - the Delta Queen, Mississippi Queen and American Queen will blow whistles, play calliopes and dock along the cobblestone levee. To the casual observer, the brilliantly festooned steamers will provide an interesting change of pace; to the river enthusiast, it will mark the 126th anniversary of a remarkable event. In 1866, steamboat Captain John W. Cannon decided to fulfill his dream of building the biggest, fastest steamer the river had ever seen. Capt. Cannon, a southerner, wanted to honor General Robert E. Lee by naming the boat for him. This presented a problem, however, to accompany the grand

River to date reveals a complicated picture of pollutants in the water and river bottom sediments. But the study' s 140page report is not a gloom-and-doom exercise in scientific jargon; it's an attractive and accessible snapshot of the river, full of insights and interesting facts. The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected water and sediment samples over a five-year period. From July 1987 to June 1990, the research vessel Acadiana began its sampling cruises about 60 miles upstream from St. Louis and headed to the mouth of the river, including side trips on several major tributaries. However, after the Greenpeace ship Beluga released its study of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers in 1989, Senator Rudy Boschwitz, a Republican from Minnesota, pressed the USGS to extend the study to the Twin Cit(Snapshot continued on page 3)

In 1866, steamboat Captain John W. Cannon decided to fulfill his dream of building the biggest, fastest steamer the river had ever seen. opportunity. All of the top shipbuilding companies were in the North, and the name of Robert E. Lee was not exactly popular in places like New Albany, Indiana, where he had the boat built only one year after the end of the Civil War. Fearing volatile Yankee fanatics would torch anything bear(Race continued on page 4)

WHAT'S INSIDE ...

River Map Dissolved Contaminants in the Mississippi

Current Events Striped Invader, Pass the Corn

River Calendar & Almanac Crane Count, Earth Day

April 1996

BIG RIVER

Dissolved Contaminants in the Mississippi River 85°

EXPLANATION 0

100

200 KILOMETERS

100

500

200 MILES

Contaminant concentrations in tributaries

ALABAMA\

SEWAGE CONTAMINANTS 60,000

Water discharge, in cubic kilometers per year

Missouri River

•

.-----~---~---...,

Illinois River

•

Ohio River

40,000

Gulf of Mexico

INDUSTRIAL CONTAMINANTS

20,000

F. AGRICULTURAL CONTAMINANTS 10

4 .-----.,----..,.-----,

"' "'

0.12

.-----~---~---...,

NITRATE

0 .8

0.4

••

~ • I

0.6

0.4

E c

0.2

·~

0 '--- - - - ' - - - - - - - ' - - - - - '

3,000

2,000

1,000

1.2

Distance Upriver, in kilometers .~

c 0

"' "' E ~

0 0.2

E. 0.8

§ 8' t; 0

0.4

0 3,000

2,000

0.1

1,000

3,000

From Contaminants in the Mississippi River, 1987-92

2.000

1,000

Distance Upriver, in kilometers

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·5 0

iii

"'c :E 0 z"'

·~

April 1996

BIG RrvER

(Snapshot continued from page 1)

This map shows the volume of water discharged by the Mississippi River and its largest tributaries during the average year. About two percent of the average discharge comes from municipal and industrial point sources. The graphs below show the concentrations of eight contaminants along the length of the river. The data represent samples taken at 10 to 15 sites along the river on as many as 10 occasions during 1987-92 downriver of St. Louis and on three occasions during 1991-92 upriver of St. Louis. A. Fecal coliform bacteria enter the water from human and animal waste. Despite the fact that it survives only a short time in the river, the average concentrations exceed the EPA's maximum contaminant level for recreational use, 2,000 per liter, in much of the Mississippi. B. Linear alkybenzenesulfonate (LAS) is a biodegradable detergent that enters the river primarily in domestic sewage, probably indicating incomplete wastewater treatment.

C. Caffeine, after it passes through humans who have consumed coffee or soft drinks, can be used to measure how wastewater is diluted by river water. Concentrations in municipal wastewaters usually range from 20 to 300 micrograms per liter. These measurements show a dilution of nearly a thousandfold. D. Most nitrates in the river come from nonpoint sources, fertilizers applied to farmlands. Concentrations vary with the season and amount of rainfall.

ies. Soon legislators from other states joined Boschwitz. The last two years of the study included the upper river from St. Louis to the Twin Cities. The study's report, Contaminants in the Mississippi River, 1987-92, is packed with information that is easy to understand, thanks to top-notch graphs and maps accompanied by well written explanations that avoid jargon. The report not only looks at such things as PCBs and heavy metals; it also examines important considerations like the ratio of water volume and flow to population. This explains why the Twin Cities has a bigger impact on the river than St. Louis, where the river is several times larger. Contaminants in the Mississippi River also explains how geology and seasonal variations affect the river. It explores the character and contributions of the large tributaries: the Ohio, Missouri and Illinois rivers. It even explains the sampling techniques used to gather the information. Although the report claims that the river is, by-andlarge, getting cleaner, the study covered too short a span of time to gauge improvements. However, this study will probably become the benchmark to gauge future improvements. This broad-minded, wide-angle snapshot of the Mississippi provides an interesting opportunity to get to know the river better. River enthusiasts and educators should pick up a copy and use it. They will find it an entertaining page turner. For a free copy of the report contact Ed Swibas, USGS Colorado District, Box 25046, MN 415, Denver, CO 80225, or call (303) 236-4882, extension 304, or fax (303) 236-4912. Reggie McLeod is editor of Big River.

E. Atrazine is a herbicide that is routinely applied to corn fields. Atrazine concentrations vary seasonally, and occasionally in spring exceed the maximum level for drinking water, 3 micrograms per liter, between St. Louis and the Ohio River F. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is considered nontoxic, though its a good indicator of industrial contamination. Some European rivers carry concentrations four times higher than the Mississippi.

G. Tris-2-chloroethylphosphate (TCLEP) , a flame retardant used in polyurethane foam s and textiles, comes into the Mississippi almost exclusively from the Illinois River, making it a useful tracer of water from the Illinois. H. Researchers use another manufacturing contaminant, 1,3,5,trimethyl-2,4,6-triazinetrione (TIT), to trace the mixing of water from the Kanawha River, its main source, with the Ohio and water from the Ohio with the Mississippi.

BIG RIVER Big River (ISSN 1070-8340) is published monthly by Big River, 7 0 1/z East Fourth Street, Suite 203, Winona, MN 55987; (507) 454- 5949; fax: (507) 454-2133; E-mail: bigriver@aol.com; web site: http://www.luminet.net/ -big river. Reggie Mcleod

editor/publisher

Pamela Eyden

assistant editor

Molly McGuire

assistant publisher

Mary Feathergill

bookkeeping

Subscriptions are $28 for one year, $50 for two years or $2.75 per single issue. Send subscriptions, single copy orders and change-of-address requests to Big River , PO Box 741, Winona, MN 55987. Second-class postage paid at Winona, MN. POSTMASTER: send change-of-address re quests to Big River , PO Box 741 , Winona, MN 55987. Big River, Volume 4, Number 4, copyright ÂŠ April 1 996. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Printed on recycled paper.

(Race continued from page 1)

BIG RlvER

April 1996

inch, 300-pound frame inspired respect from crew, passengers, and business associates. It was said that when Capt. Leathers opened his mouth, he did not speak, but bellowed as a mad bull. Forever eager to uphold chivalry, he once unceremoniously removed a wealthy plantation owner from his boat out onto a remote Mississippi sandbar for the crime of insulting a lady passenger. When asked by his chief clerk why he would do such a thing, Leathers replied, "What good is it being a steamboat captain, if you can't tell somebody else to go to Hell!" By 1869, Capt. Leathers was so completely sick of hearing about John W. Cannon and the Robert E. Lee that he hired a shipyard in Cincinnati to build a boat that would be just as big and faster. It came as no surprise to anyone that Leathers named his new boat the Natchez. After all, it was the sixth boat that Leathers had named after that Mississippi town. Soon the Natchez and the Lee were engaged in mercantile competition to see which one would be the queen of the River.

ing the name of a Confederate general, he ferried the new steamer across the Ohio to friendly Kentucky before painting the name on her wheelboxes. The Lee was, in every way, the epitome of the art of steamboat building. She was as long as a football field and over 80 feet wide. This boat would not be able to run the Mississippi today because her 140-foot stacks would not fit under most of our modern bridges. There were no bridges south of St. Louis in 1866. Her paddles would not fit inside most school gymnasiums. They were 38 feet in diameter and made of solid hardwood. The wheels were turned by equally massive arms, called Pitmans, connected to pistons that lay on their sides. Every time one of those pistons cranked, it would travel ten feet. It was said that the Lee's pistons went out in the morning and came back in the afternoon. She had eight, thirtyfoot-long metal boilers to produce steam, and I would not want the job of keeping those tea kettles hot The Robert E. Lee because every day The Race they would burn 40 cords of wood - a full-time job for two strong men. For extra acceleration a side of bacon or ham, a It soon became apparent that only a head-to-head race pine knot, or alcohol was donated to the cause. would settle the issue. Potentially a dangerous and deadly enterprise, steamboat racing was technically illegal, but no The Rivalry one would try to arrest a captain on his boat, he being royalty in his own realm. Despite the fact that both Cannon and The Lee made Capt. Cannon large sums of money, runLeathers issued public denials, everyone in the river valley ning out of New Orleans, Louisiana. She was known as a knew that the Lee and Natchez would race from New Orleans "packet boat," meaning she carried both passengers and to St. Louis, a distance of over 1,200 miles. Bets were made in many types of cargo. She could hold 5,000 bales of cotton on taverns, hotels, barber shops, and even churches in the her wooden decks. People flocked aboard the Lee because it United States as well as Europe. This was to be an event to was the jet airplane of its day, getting them where they match today's World Series or Super Bowl for pageantry and needed to go in a hurry. Cabin passengers lived a royal life, notoriety. strolling about the lush carpeting, under the gilded chandeEach skipper had faith in the speed of his vessel and the liers, up the teak and mahogany stairways. The restaurant competence of his crew. Capt. Cannon, however, made some offered a menu as long as the waiter's arm. Tobacco-chewing moves to make the Lee even faster. He announced that he passengers suffered no agony, as there was a spittoon every would make no stops for any reason between New Orleans six feet on her decks. Indeed, here was a steamboat for all and St. Louis, and would take but a small complement of time! passengers aboard. He took heavy, non-vital deck fittings off The Lee's popularity fueled envy, even jealousy. Thomas to lighten her up and removed glass and shutters from selected windows to cut down on wind resistance. Some even P. Leathers, also a steamboat captain around New Orleans at said that he made crew members shave off beards and mousthis time, was not overjoyed at the Lee's success. Leathers taches and part their hair in the middle to better "trim out was a behemoth in size as well as reputation. His 6-foot-5-

April 1996

BIG

RlvER

the accolades of the nation and lots of business, because evthe vessel." eryone would be wanting to ride on or ship their freight on At any rate, on June 30, 1870, a cannon was fired at the the rompin', stompin' Bobby Lee, the fastest boat on the wharf in New Orleans and the race began. The Robert E. Lee river. Probably, however, the most cherished prize was a set took the lead immediately and stayed ahead of the Natchez of gilded deer antlers that they proudly displayed on the past Baton Rouge, Natchez, Vicksburg, Greenville and MemTexas deck, the deck below the pilot house. The antlers were phis. Late on the night of July 3, the Lee arrived at Cairo, the championship belt that they would hold until another Illinois, where the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers come tosteamer bested them and "grabbed the horns away." gether. A small steamer ferried assorted supplies and two very important people out to the Lee. They were upper river pilots whose specialty was running the "graveyard stretch" The Wake of river up to St. Louis. They knew the rocks and shoals that It is a sad but fitting epilogue that in less than 15 years, had wrecked so many steamboats well enough to say that neither the Lee nor the Natchez was still running the river. they could run this stretch on a night that was "as dark as The Lee caught fire the inside of a cow." and burned up with Their prowess was the loss of 30 people, vital that night beand the Natchez was cause a heavy fog had retired and used as a shrouded everything wharfboat. Poor but the tops of trees Capt. Thomas P. along the river's j Leathers met an unbanks. I usual fate for a riverWith the two man. He was run upper river pilots over by a hit-and-run aboard, the Lee slowly bicyclist on St. paddled up the river Charles Street in New as all available eyes Orleans and died of peered through the complications. All gray mist. The pilots involved in this hishad no sonar, radar or toric race, however, ship's radio at their The Natchez basked in the warm disposal as modern rays of fame for many years. For the Robert E. Lee and her navigators do. However, what they did have was a memory crew it was especially sweet and enduring since their time of finely honed by years of painstaking effort. They would three days, 18 hours and 14 minutes has not been beaten by a blow the steam whistle, attentively timing the interval until boat of her size to this very day, 126 years later! the echo returned from both river banks, to judge their approximate position. They had studied items such as the bark Lee Hendrix, a former school teacher, works as a pilot for the Delta of a dog; and although they could not see farmer Brown's Queen Steamboat Company and when shoreside works as a story yellow dog, they knew the bark of that dog and could pick it teller in the St. Louis area. His last story for Big River was "Sharout from any other dog in the world. Soundings were taken by means of a "lead line" which was a rope marked along its ing a Passion for the River" (July 1995). length by pieces of leather and fabric so that every depth had its own particular name and meaning. These soundings were passed along from the boat's bottom deck (forecastle) up to the pilot house by voice. It must have been an eerie, musical Call Us for Subscriptions! experience to hear the cries of "mark one," "half-less twain" If you want your own subscription to Big River or and "mark twain" sung up to the pilot's ears through the fog have a friend who would, we can now take subscripbelow. tion orders over the phone. The St. Louis levee was a vastly different place on the Just call (507) 454-5949 during normal business hours. morning of July 4, 1870, as the Robert E. Lee steamed in to We can bill you for your subscription or charge it to your victory, about five hours ahead of the Natchez. There was no VISA or MasterCard. Gateway Arch, no Eads Bridge, not even a McDonalds or 1-year subscription $28 Burger King. There were, however, dozens of other steam2-year subscription $50 Or mail your subscription order to Big River, PO Box boats and thousands of wildly cheering onlookers. 741, Winona, MN 55987. What did the Lee and Capt. Cannon win? Well, certainly

April 1996

BIG RrvER

CURRENT EVENTS By Pamela Eyden, Molly McGuire and Reggie McLeod

The Striped Invader

n past issues of Big River we have reported on the damage zebra mussels do to underwater equipment, lock chambers and water supply intake valves, but now the story is more serious: they're damaging boats and fishing tackle. Anglers have reported lines cut by the mussels' sharp shells. Last year at least five private recreational boats on the Upper Mississippi River suffered damage when zebra mussels clogged their engine cooling systems, according to a story in Zebra Mussel Update (January 1996).

"Two engines were wrecked completely. Three others experienced overheating, but suffered no damage. Another boat that came up river from Iowa had so many zebra mussels on the outdrive it couldn't be turned to the right," said John La Roque of Northport Marina in Alma, Wis. Zebra mussels are colonizing the Upper Mississippi at a rapid rate. First found at La Crosse, Wis., in 1991, the

Meanwhile, scientists on the lower Illinois River are still puzzling over the sudden drop in the number of mussels there. highest densities today (5,400 per square meter) are found at the northern end of Lake Pepin, near Red Wing. Meanwhile, scientists on the lower Illinois River are still puzzling over the sudden drop in the number of mussels there. Divers this fall found no mussels at all in areas where they were once abundant. Divers filled five, one-gallon buckets in five minutes in 1993, one bucket in five minutes last summer and zero buck-

ets this fall. Scientists suspect that sporadic episodes of poor water quality, especially low dissolved oxygen and heavy silt, may be responsible. Examination of a few dozen carp stomachs last summer showed that they do dine on the inch-long mussels, but it's too soon to tell if carp, another exotic species, might be useful in controlling zebra mussels.

Feathered Friends • The sudden winter storm that struck the Midwest in late March killed about 1,200 migrating sandhill cranes near the Platte River in Nebraska. Great numbers of the cranes hang out near Kearney, Neb., resting before they continue their journeys to their nesting grounds. High winds and freezing rain caught many cranes in cornfields far from their sheltered roosting places in the river bottoms. • Not too many years ago, people who thought they saw wild trumpeter swans were probably wrong, but not so anymore. Minnesota's swan restoration program has been declared a success. The flock now consists of about 350 of the big, elegant, white birds. • Look for the Wild Bird Food Conservation Program logo on bags of bird food if you live in Minnesota and want to support habitat restoration programs. Thirteen bird food companies have signed up to donate $2 per ton of bird food sold in the state.

Cleaning Out Backwaters

ooking for a way to "manage sediment" and "restore some of the predam resource conditions" on the Colorado River, the Bureau of Reclamation

released a flood of water from Glen Canyon Dam in late March. High waters were expected to scour sand deposited on the river bottom since the dam was built, and put it back up on the river banks where it can be useful to plants, animals, river runners and campers. The flood was also expected to clean sediment from backwater areas, restoring valuable fish habitat. Built in 1963 to provide electrical power and a way to control water, Glen Canyon Dam put a stop to the annual flood of Rocky Mountain snow melt that raced through the Grand Canyon each spring at an average 93,400 cubic feet per second. The planned release of water amounted to half that. The flood in March was just a test, heavily monitored by a fleet of hydrologists, engineers and biologists. They hope to learn how floods affect physical, chemical and biological processes in the river. Floods may turn out to be a solution to the problems caused by dams. (Never mind the irony of the fact that many dams have been built to control floods.) Meanwhile, the Worldwatch Institute, an independent research organization, predicts that in the next century we will regret having built so many dams, irrigation and flood control systems. Their latest report, "Imperiled Waters, Impoverished Future," concluded that such projects have actually increased the frequency and severity of floods on such rivers as the Rhine in Europe, and the Columbia and Mississippi in the U.S.

Talking Old River

emember what the Mississippi River was like before they built the locks and dams? If you do, the MinnesotaWisconsin Boundary Area Commission would like to hear your story. It wants to record stories about the old river to preserve them for future river lovers. It also wants to present the information to Con-

April 1996

gress in a companion report to the Army Corps of Engineers' Navigation Study. For more information contact Dan McGuiness, Minn.-Wis. Boundary Area Commission, 619 Second St., Hudson, WI 54016; (715) 386-9444 or (612) 436-7131.

Pass the Corn

erhaps towboats will be pushing corn upriver this summer. The nation's corn supply has fallen to its lowest level in 60 years. Shortages this summer could force farmers to sell livestock before they are ready for market. Meanwhile, corn future prices are hitting new highs.

Eye in the Sky

hen a three-mile-long oil sheen showed up at Lock and Dam 8 recently, Steve Lee of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) got on the Internet and downloaded several aerial photographs of the area from the Home Page of the Environmental Management Technical Center (EMTC). The photographs helped the DNR, Coast Guard and MPCA interpret traditional maps and charts. That's one of the assigned purposes of the mapping project, which includes aerial photographs of uses quadrangles in six states, maps and information on sensitive areas of the river, public water intakes, marinas/ramps, potential spill sources, locks and dams, and tribal lands. "Had this been a major spill, the sensitive area data, maps and aerial photographs would have been invaluable," said Lee in a story in the River Almanac (Jan. 1996).

Driver Overboard

ast year's tally of reported boating accidents in Wisconsin tied the

BIG RlvER

state's record of 231, set in 1988, although there were fewer fatalities in 1995 (15 people) than the year before (19). Not bad, considering that federal safe boating funds were cut by a third in 1992 and never restored, while the number of recreational boaters has increased each year. With fewer boat safety patrols on the water than there were in 1991, law

They target drunk drivers, by far the most deadly threat on the water, and places where a lot of different kinds of boats and activities are going on at the same time. enforcement people have had to adopt new strategies. They target drunk drivers, by far the most deadly threat on the water, and places where a lot of different kinds of boats and activities are going on at the same time. The biggest increase in boat registrations was for "personal water craft," also known as jet skis.

River Resources • Anyone bound for Iowa this summer will find two new free booklets helpful. For the Iowa Camping & Outdoor Guide, call 1-800-345-4692. Order a cookbook/ tourist guide from the Eastern Iowa Tourism Association by calling 1-800-8913482 or (319) 472-5135. Ask for Recipes for Fun, 1996 Visitors Guide/Calendar of Events. • Planning to angle in the sesquicentennial state? Dial 1-800-ASK-FISH (275-3474) for up-to-date information on everything fishy in Iowa. • An updated Sea Grant Mussel Report, packed with research reports, outreach projects and resources is available for $5.00 from Ohio Sea Grant, (614) 2928949. Also available: free fact sheets on exotic species.

• The Wildlife Information Line at the Bell Museum of Natural History will answer your nature questions. Monday through Friday, (612) 624-1374. • Attention armchair barge watchers: The Army Corps of Engineers' Navigation Information Connection on the world wide web reports tow locations in pools and locks. Go to http:/ I www.ncr.usace.army.mil/ navda ta I vessels.htm and select a location. • When you can't actually be there, visit the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge at http:/ /www.emtc.nbs.gov I umr_refuge.html • Mississippi River Tours out of Lansing, Iowa, offers a variety of river experiences for small or large groups. Call (319) 538-4159. • The American Canoe Association offers manuals, videos, and services for paddlers. Call them at (703) 451-0141.

Pepin Iced In

ore than 18 inches of ice in parts of Lake Pepin will probably delay the beginning of the shipping season upriver until at least mid-April. This will mark the latest opening of the navigation season in the Twin Cities in at least a couple of decades. Barges usually bash their way through Lake Pepin's ice in mid- to lateMarch. ~

Visit the Big River on the Web Our world wide web site includes stories from past issues of Big River, an updated River Calendar, River Forums and links to other interesting resources. http://www.luminet.net/-bigriver

BIG RlvER

RIVER

cALENDAR

Special Events & Festivals April 12 Mississippi River Campground Opening, Thomson (Ill.) Causeway Recreation Area and Fisherman's Corner Recreation Area, Hampton, Ill., (815) 259-3628. 14 Beach Walk, West Coon Rapids Dam, 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., (612) 4248172. 20 River Clean-up, Bellevue, Iowa, 9 a.m. - 12 noon, (319) 872-4885. 20 Sandhill crane count, Trempealeau, Wis., 5:30 a.m. - 7:30 a.m. Informational m eeting, April 9, 7:30 p.m., Tre (ealeau Hotel, (608) 534-6898. 22 Earth Day 26 ArborDay 26 - May 5 Minn. Archeology Week, events in Mississippi Headwaters, (218) 547-7263. May 2-5 Festival of Nations, St. Paul, (612) 647-0191. 3-5 Dutch Days Festival, Fulton, Ill., (815) 589-2310. 4 City-wide garage sale, Bellevue, Iowa, (319) 872-5830. 4-5 Pow Wow, Winona, (507) 457-5235. 4-5 85-mile garage sale, twelve Lake Pepin villages. 5 Mississippi Music Fest, St. Cloud, Minn., Riverside Park, (612) 255-2205. 11 Minnesota fishing opener 11 Trempealeau (Wis.) bike tour, (608) 534-6780. 11-12 Take a Mom Fishing, Minnesota 17-19 Dubuquefest, (319) 583-2296. 18 Front Porch Festival, Hastings, Minn., (612) 437-9855. 18 Savanna (Ill.) Summerfest, (815) 273-3754. 18-19 Art in the Park and Craft Fair, Clinton, Iowa, (319) 259-8308. 23-26 Sunfish Days, Onalaska, Wis., (608) 783-0440. 25 Discover the River, Bettendorf, Iowa, (319) 359-7531. 25 Scott Cty. Sesquicentennial parade, Davenport, Iowa, 1-800-747-7800. 25-27 Arts and Crafts Festival and Flea Market, Marquette/McGregor, Iowa, 1-800-896-0910.

West Coon Rapids Dam programs, Brooklyn Park, Minn., (612) 4248172. 11 Spring floodplain forest, 1 p.m. 12 River critters, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. 19 Warbler walk, 1 p .m. & 2:30 p.m. 26 Wild edible weeds, 1 p .m . - 4 p.m. 31 Songs of the river, 7:30 p .m. August 4 -17 Iowa 150 Mississippi canoe trip, pre-register by May 1, (319) 652-5229.

Meetings & Hearings April 8 Wis. DNR fish and wildlife rules hearings, 7 p.m., (608) 266-0580. Buffalo, Alma area school gym Crawford, courthouse, Pr. du Chien Grant, Winski! Elementary, Lancaster La Crosse, Central High School Pepin, Government Center, Durand Pierce, Hillcrest Elem. , Ellsworth St. Croix, American Legion, Baldwin Trempealeau, courthouse, Whitehall Vernon, courthouse, Viroqua 11 Minnesota - Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission, Steamboat Inn, Prescott, Wis., 11 :30 a.m. - 3 p .m. Luncheon for Rep. Steve Gunderson, 12:30 p.m., $8, (715) 386-9444 or (612) 436-7131.

April 1996

11 Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board, Sauk City, 1-800-221-3792. 19 Dubuque Audubon Society, summer bird identification, 7 p.m., Grandview Methodist Church. 23-24 Interagency River Resources Forum, La Crosse, (608) 687-3011. May 30 Conservation easement forum, Minn. Land Trust, Minneapolis, (612) 522-3743.

Workshops & Conferences April 15-20 "Watershed: A National Celebration of Writers, Nature and Community," environmental/ literary conferen ce, Washington D .C., (212) 7445382. 18-21 National Outdoor Ethics Conference, 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. June 8-12 Watershed '96: Moving ah ead together, Baltimore, 1-800-6660206. July 12-13 Spirit of Survival, annual Mississippi River Basin Alliance Conference, St. Louis, (314) 822-4114.

ALMANAC By Kenny Salwe y, Pool 5A It feels good to sit on a driftwood log and enjoy the warm sun and gentle breezes. The last vestiges of winter disappear from the river a little each day. Bald eagles perch in high treetops watching for fish . Crows caw bac k and forth as they join the springtime c le an-up crew. Fish , fro gs, turtles and othe r c ritters that didn 't make it through the winter are soon eaten with much gusto. Northern pike are spawning in weedy lakes and bays, while male muskrats swim along the slough banks, their long prime guard hairs glistening in the sun as they look for floating logs upon which to deposit their mating musk. Male beavers build "scent mounds" on island points to mark their territory and attrac t mates. The c ircle of life has t urne d once again . As we ponder the c oming of spring, we cannot help but conclude that our own spirits are being recharged as well. We definitely need the big river, the wild things found there and the coming of spring. Agreed. my friends? ~