Chair of Iowa Rivers Revival
When the Raccoon River Watershed Association formed many years ago to improve the ecological health of the Raccoon River, Jerry Peckumn of rural Jefferson was one of the organizers. It seemed natural to him. “It started when I was a boy growing up on the farm,” he explained. “I liked to hunt and fish and hike and paddle down the river. I had an outdoor ethic. I’ve always been interested in conservation. And I realized the way that I was farming, the way I still farm, was having an impact on the river, and that impact isn’t positive,” he said.
His interest grew and led him to become a known advocate for not only the Raccoon River, but for all Iowa rivers. He now serves as chair of Iowa Rivers Revival, working to increase state funding of river restoration programs.
He became active with the first Raccoon River Watershed Association (RRWA) that was organized by the Iowa Soybean Association and the Des Moines Waterworks and other groups in the late 1990s. That group disbanded and another RRWA formed under the leadership of Mike Delaney. Peckumn served on the RRWA board of directors for many years, only recently leaving that post.
He explained that Iowa Rivers Revival was the result of a meeting held about seven years ago at the 4-H camp in Madrid. A call went out to all persons who were interested in Iowa rivers. “Out of that, 12 or 15 of us decided to form an organization to educate and advocate for rivers in Iowa,” he said.
The group has obtained funding from the Iowa legislature for the Dam Mitigation and Safety program and for river trails. The dam program provides funds to remove low head dams that prevent natural spawning of fish and create safety hazards for people using the rivers. Peckumn said there are no low head dams in the county, but the North Raccoon River is marked as a river trail through the county, with signage on the river for paddlers and maps available.
In 2011 the legislature appropriated $75,000 for dam mitigation and river trails projects. The need was great enough that in 2012 and 2013, the appropriation was $1 million.
This year Peckumn and his Iowa Rivers Revival colleagues are seeking a total of $3 million, with $2 million of that coming from the Renew Iowa Infrastructure Fund (which is fueled by casino gambling revenues) for the Dam Mitigation and Safety program. “There’s a huge number of dams in Iowa that are real safety hazards for people that use a river, whether they’re fishing or canoeing or tubing down the river. People die just about every year getting caught in the undertow beneath these dams,” Peckumn said. “The demand is so great we’d like to see $2 million dedicated to that.”
The remaining $1 million would be a line item in the Department of Natural Resources budget. Of that, $300,000 would fund studies of how best to restore the health of Iowa rivers and establish a river restoration program very similar to the successful Iowa lake restoration program.
IRR explains there is difference between watershed improvement and river restoration. Watershed improvements are intended to provide cleaner water to streams and lakes. They’re important in reducing nutrients, sediment and bacteria in the water going into rivers and streams.
But many watershed plans do not provide much to address habitat loss and unstable riverbanks and riverbeds. According to the IRR website, river restoration is a complement, a companion, to watershed work.
Recent research has shown that in-channel scouring caused by water flowing too quickly, and stream bank erosion contribute more to phosphorous levels in the water than previously thought. The watershed efforts to reduce erosion in fields and to improve soil sustainability are important to achieve the goal of improved water quality, but they aren’t enough.
IRR wants the state to fund studies leading to the development of a statewide river restoration program. The program would provide a framework for targeted restoration, preservation, enhancement and beneficial use of Iowa’s rivers. River restoration includes stabilizing stream banks using natural and native vegetation to retain soil and slow the speed of water entering the streams at high water times, as well as reshaping the banks or widening the channel base to increase the volume of water the stream or river can hold.
In some cases, streams are “re-meandered”. Streams that have been straightened for the convenience of landowners may be taken back to their more natural winding path when the landowners are willing. Restoring natural curves increases capacity and slows the water, reducing flooding and sediment loss.
A river restoration program would benefit all Iowans, either directly or indirectly, including farmers, downstream communities prone to flooding, providers and users of community water supplies, and recreational users like paddlers, anglers, hikers and hunters.
Another $700,000 would be used as match funding for local groups and communities conducting pilot or demonstration projects of river restoration.
Peckumn said all Iowans should care about the health of rivers. “We have a responsibility to future generations. We shouldn’t destroy something that we can save. If the Raccoon River can be saved, we can still have mussels in it, we can still have turtles in it. People could go down the river and catch fish for their dinner if the river was clean.
“It’s part of the ecosystem we belong to. If we destroy everything, at some point the entire ecosystem might collapse, and we’ve have very little wildlife. It’s our responsibility.”
He added that some rivers in eastern Iowa have a lot of recreation, with outfitters that have 400 tubes and canoes. “We could have a lot more tourism in Greene County if we focused a little more on the Raccoon River.”
A legislative interim committee met with IRR board members, including Peckumn, in December and again in January after the legislative session began. The committee is unanimously recommending that Iowa develop a river restoration program. A decision on funding has not yet been made.
More information about Iowa Rivers Revival and river restoration is available at www.iowarivers.org.
