Fascinating. BTW, the opening paean to the book by Anfinson can be personally explored. On Amazon.com--one new copy and 11 used are available as is the Kindle version.
Just ordered the book, Chris. I grew up in Southwest Minnesota, and everything south and west of the Minnesota River is similarly impaired. We have less livestock, but an intense love for N and P. Gross. Great work!
We took the boat trip from LeClaire to Dubuque last September and enjoyed the experience & trip but did experience low water issues. Also did see aspects of the ongoing dredging and examples of wing dams along the way. Thanks for the nicely written historical overview as well as your usual explanation based on data & science! P.S. still waiting for a copy of your book.
I know the bookstore well in McGregor! I've been buying and selling ocassionally to them for a number of years, and yes, it is a treasure even with the streets torn up! I never got to know the Mississippi all that well, but I grew up on a little hill farm above the Maquoketa River in Jones County. My old "backyard" thry tried to turn into another Lake Delhi, fortunately one farmer went to court and stopped it, but currently Conservation owns a good share of both sides of the river from Monticello down to Eby's Mill. Much of it belongs to the State, which at the moment does not bode well in Iowa with the Republicans wanting to unload property for cash. It is one of those things that isn't spoken of until they are ready to act on it, giving little time to respond. They have already, as you know, dumped the water monitoring program to keep their lies alive as truth, selling river land would eliminate acess, and probably turn some of it to development, not often a good thing for the river or the wild life. As it is the Maquoketa is becoming a tubers day trip, with coolers of beer and drunken floaters aplenty. I take it upon myself to try and recycle everything that hits the dumpster at Pictured Rocks turning beer bottles and cans into cash, scoring discarded human food to fed for my brother-in-laws chickens, and taking anything that turns up of value home with me. Being retired, it is a good gig, I don't have to justify my milage or even my time and I take between 7 to 800 dollars home each season! I water my fruit trees with bottled water I get simply to rescue the water from being turned into plastic sludge in the dump. So I have a front row seat of the degredation happening to our rivers, but doing something is much better than doing nothing at all. Still, it hurts to see how so much money is wasted satisfying the wants of those who roll around in airconditioned tailers that are more like luxury liners providing them with bigger lots and more electricity, but fewer places to really camp where solitude reigns supreme, where you can still hear a whip-r-will and not have to pick up other people's trash.
In fairness should say what comes back up Miss. river it's not grain. Fuel for transportation, coal for city electrical generating plants and much more.
Fascinating. BTW, the opening paean to the book by Anfinson can be personally explored. On Amazon.com--one new copy and 11 used are available as is the Kindle version.
Thanks for a readable and comprehensive summary!
Just ordered the book, Chris. I grew up in Southwest Minnesota, and everything south and west of the Minnesota River is similarly impaired. We have less livestock, but an intense love for N and P. Gross. Great work!
We took the boat trip from LeClaire to Dubuque last September and enjoyed the experience & trip but did experience low water issues. Also did see aspects of the ongoing dredging and examples of wing dams along the way. Thanks for the nicely written historical overview as well as your usual explanation based on data & science! P.S. still waiting for a copy of your book.
I will check on the book; sorry for the delay.
I know the bookstore well in McGregor! I've been buying and selling ocassionally to them for a number of years, and yes, it is a treasure even with the streets torn up! I never got to know the Mississippi all that well, but I grew up on a little hill farm above the Maquoketa River in Jones County. My old "backyard" thry tried to turn into another Lake Delhi, fortunately one farmer went to court and stopped it, but currently Conservation owns a good share of both sides of the river from Monticello down to Eby's Mill. Much of it belongs to the State, which at the moment does not bode well in Iowa with the Republicans wanting to unload property for cash. It is one of those things that isn't spoken of until they are ready to act on it, giving little time to respond. They have already, as you know, dumped the water monitoring program to keep their lies alive as truth, selling river land would eliminate acess, and probably turn some of it to development, not often a good thing for the river or the wild life. As it is the Maquoketa is becoming a tubers day trip, with coolers of beer and drunken floaters aplenty. I take it upon myself to try and recycle everything that hits the dumpster at Pictured Rocks turning beer bottles and cans into cash, scoring discarded human food to fed for my brother-in-laws chickens, and taking anything that turns up of value home with me. Being retired, it is a good gig, I don't have to justify my milage or even my time and I take between 7 to 800 dollars home each season! I water my fruit trees with bottled water I get simply to rescue the water from being turned into plastic sludge in the dump. So I have a front row seat of the degredation happening to our rivers, but doing something is much better than doing nothing at all. Still, it hurts to see how so much money is wasted satisfying the wants of those who roll around in airconditioned tailers that are more like luxury liners providing them with bigger lots and more electricity, but fewer places to really camp where solitude reigns supreme, where you can still hear a whip-r-will and not have to pick up other people's trash.
In fairness should say what comes back up Miss. river it's not grain. Fuel for transportation, coal for city electrical generating plants and much more.