Mountain bikers build their own paths

By MIKE KILEN
mkilen@dmreg.com

A small group of mountain bikers didn't sit around and whine after they were booted out of Browns Woods south of Des Moines in 1996.

They meticulously built a network of dirt trails in central Iowa.

"Our state doesn't have a lot of public land so the battle for everybody to get their own is a lose-lose. The answer is in how to improve and share these trails," said Ryan Hanser, president of the Central Iowa Trails Association.

The trail work continues Saturday with volunteer trail building. The benefits will be on display Sunday, Nov. 15, during the Des Moines Dirty Duathlon race.

"People don't understand that dirt trails don't just happen if a lot of us walk in the same place," Hanser said. "Good trails don't build themselves. When built right, they last for generations and don't require a lot of maintenance. But the construction is pretty demanding."

With 50 members, CITA helped build:
- A dirt trail system in Des Moines' Greenwood and Ashworth Parks that links to adjacent Water Works Park. (Seven miles).

- Sycamore Trail on the west side of the Des Moines River north of Euclid Avenue. (7.5 miles).
- Summerset State Park off Highway 69 between Indianola and Des Moines. (Four miles).

City officials estimate the volunteers worked 350 hours in Greenwood Park alone, estimated at $70,000 of labor.

It took a lot of toil through the woods and up and down hills with fire-fighting equipment such as hoses, axes, fire rakes and tampers.

And it took expertise.

After mountain biking popularity spread from the coasts to the Midwest in the mid-1990s, Hanser said, conflict between users developed.

But proper trail design, aided by advice from the International Mountain Biking Association, helped calm the tensions.

Well-designed trails alleviate erosion and collisions with slower-moving walkers by being tight and technical, Hanser said.

City officials say the volunteers have been vital.
"These trails not only benefit mountain bikers but also anyone who wants to get up close to nature," said Mindy Moore, city park planner.

A parks department survey of Des Moines residents found that 80 percent of households rank walking and biking trails as their greatest recreation need.

Moore said plans for more unpaved trails are in the works following a study last summer on appropriate locations. A skill-building, BMX-like dirt track is in development in Bates Park.
Area mountain bikers gather for weekly rides and competitions, linked at centraliowatrails.org.

Hanser said other dirt trail networks have formed across the state, including in the Quad Cities, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Cedar Falls, Council Bluffs and Decorah, with a showcase system in Whiterock Conservancy near Coon Rapids under consideration.

"It's really about Iowans volunteering," he said.

Race Event on Nov. 15
Des Moines Dirty Duathlon. Greenwood Park, Des Moines. Sunday, Nov. 15. Registration, 10 a.m.; Beginner race, 11 a.m.; Free kids race, 12:30 p.m.; Open/relay race, 1 p.m. $25. centraliowatrails.com.
Additional Facts
How to volunteer
Volunteers are needed for trail work. No experience required; wear sturdy shoes, eye protection and bring water.

- Saturday, Nov. 7, 1-5 p.m., Greenwood Park, 4500 Grand Ave., Des Moines. (Meet at Ashworth Pool.) Rerouting trail.

- Saturday, Nov. 14. 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Summerset State Park, east of Highway 69 between Des Moines and Indianola. Building trail.

We're working vigorously to beautify where we live

April 26, 2009

We're working vigorously to beautify where we live


By ROBERT D. RAY
Former Iowa Governor

All of us tend to form our opinions of people and places based on the first visual image. This need to make a favorable first impression is essential in building local pride and in the encouragement of economic development.

The "good news" is that Iowans are putting forth a renewed effort at improving the image of where they live - and they are doing it with vigor and enthusiasm. The following are a few local examples:
- Neighborhood organizations in Des Moines are invigorated and building a great sense of pride.
- Beautification efforts are along Ingersoll Avenue.
- Landscape planters are throughout the downtown area of Des Moines.
- Beautification efforts along Fleur Drive are significant.
- Cleanup efforts by the downtown partners business area keep the area clean and free of cigarette butts.
- New signage for the city center aids residents and visitors to finding their way around Des Moines and for parking.
- Revitalization efforts are under way in the East Village area.
- Improvements have enhanced the Des Moines River Principal Riverwalk area.
- Changes and improvements to Gray's Lake have been made.
- Attractive landscaping of I-235 and changes in the appearances of bridges and overpasses are being implemented.
- Millions of dollars of improvements to the state Capitol and the landscape around the Capitol are being made.
- Expansion and interconnection of trails with neighborhoods, communities and the countryside is occurring throughout Iowa.
- More residents are participating in spring housecleaning programs by using free disposal days offered by communities.
- Hanging flower baskets and flowering areas are increasing in local communities.

The work of Character Counts! has also spread into hundreds of communities and schools throughout our state, helping Iowans become the best that they can be. This reputation of a quality people is one that Iowa has and will continue to have.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation has worked to protect thousands of acres of natural lands and has encouraged recreational trail development.

The newly formed Iowa Parks Foundation is focusing on enhancing and restoring quality to our significant park areas throughout Iowa.

The county conservation boards in this state are little known or recognized, yet they are one of the most significant assets of Iowa - providing dozens of nature centers for Iowans and visitors to enjoy along with hundreds of significant park, recreation, river access sites and wildlife areas. River and community cleanups are improving the appearance of areas across the state.

Keep Iowa Beautiful is helping to encourage and support statewide, regional and community enhancement efforts throughout Iowa. The newly developed 1-888-NOLITTR (665-4887) number allows Iowans to help stop littering by reporting those they see littering from a vehicle.

As all of us improve or enhance the beauty and cleanliness of the areas around us, other things begin to happen.Pride increases in the residents, business owners and visitors. Improvements begin to show up on adjacent private properties and values increase - it becomes contagious.

The "good news" story in Iowa is amazing and it is spreading rapidly - join the effort!

Robert D. Ray was the governor of Iowa from 1969 to 1983.

Copyright ©2009 The Des Moines Register

Restoring Wetlands in Iowa Symposium

April Symposium Will Focus on Creating and Restoring Wetlands in Iowa

A two-day symposium exploring the importance of wetland restoration and management will be held April 2-3 in Des Moines.
One of the goals of the symposium is to explore options, both financially and socially, to restore wetland benefits for all parties concerned including agriculture and urban development. For instance, strategic use of state and federal conservation programs can assist landowners in maximizing unproductive land.
Wetlands are areas where water is at, near, or above the land surface long enough to be capable of supporting aquatic or hydrophytic vegetation and which has soils indicative of wet conditions. Iowa wetlands are diverse resources that include marshes, bogs, floodplain woodlands, wet meadows, low prairies and fens.

Iowa has one of the most altered landscapes in the world. Prior to settlement, an estimated four million to six million acres of Iowa were in wetlands. It is estimated that nearly 90 percent of Iowa's wetlands have been lost with only California and Ohio having lost more, according to The Iowa Wetlands and Riparian Areas Conservation Plan.

Wetlands have long been recognized for their value to wildlife, but it has only been in recent years that we've begun to understand the importance of wetlands in improving water quality for larger lakes and streams as well as reducing impacts from flooding. The restoration of wetlands provides not only environmental benefits in terms of improving water quality, but also economic benefits. In addition to hunting and fishing opportunities, wetlands are a haven for many non-game species.

Wildlife watching, particularly bird watching, is the fastest growing outdoor-related activity in the United States. Quality wildlife watching opportunities can be a boon to local economies that have wetland complexes designed to attract wildlife and, in turn, the people attracted to watching wildlife.

In recent years, the Iowa DNR has been actively working on restoring some of Iowa's largest wetland complexes. A video highlighting the DNR's efforts to restore existing wetlands, "Reviving Iowa's Shallow Lakes," can be found at:

http://www.iowadnr.gov/video/index.html

Registration: Wetlands: Reinvesting in Iowa's Natural Capital, April 2-3, 2009,*.pdf

Iowa Trust Fund for Natural Resources

Help Establish a Trust Fund for Iowa's Natural Resources

Email your Iowa State lawmakers or visit them in person in Des Moines on Feb 17

We are well into the 2009 legislative session and I want to keep you informed on the progress of the Natural Resources Trust Fund bill (SJR1/HJR1).
With your help it will pass the Iowa Senate and Iowa House early this session.

SJR1/HJR1 moved quickly through the House and Senate Natural Resource committees and is expected on the Senate floor in short order. You will need to encourage your Senator and House Representative to bring theb resolutions to their chamber floor for a vote. Please email your legislators and urge them to support SJR1 (Senate Bill) and HJR1 (House Bill)!

We still have some work ahead of us even if this passes in the Senate. The measure will need to come to a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives and be passed there.


RALLY DAY is Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - we will start at 10AM at the Wallace Building Auditorium to provide you with legislation background, comments from legislative guests and a "how-to" regarding the lobbying process prior to heading to the Capitol for lunch (an opportunity for you to invite your legislators to lunch) and begin conversations with legislators.

Join hundreds of your friends and neighbors as they take to Capitol Hill to talk with Iowa legislators about the importance of investing in our natural resources so Iowa's future generations can use and enjoy them.

What you can do:

• Plan to attend Rally Day and RSVP
• Email your legislators ahead of time and let them know you support SJR1/HJR1 and that you will be coming to talk to them. If you are unable to attend the rally, email your legislators to ask them to vote YES, when it comes to a vote.

Click here to learn more about this Trust Fund.

Questions? Contact Rosalyn Lehman, campaign coordinator or 515-202-7720.

Places of Quiet Beauty - Parks, Preserves, and Environmentalism

By Rebecca Conard

Foreword by Wayne Franklin

Resource protection and public recreation policies have always been subject to the shifting winds of management philosophy governing both national and state parks. Somewhere in the balance, however, parks and preserves have endured as unique places of mind as well as matter. Places of Quiet Beauty allows us to see parks and preserves, forests and wildlife refuges—all those special places that the term “park” conjures up—as measures of our own commitment to caring for the environment. In this broad-ranging book, historian Rebecca Conard examines the complexity of American environmentalism in the twentieth century as manifest in Iowa's state parks and preserves.

“Places of Quiet Beauty is a wonderfully crafted story about people and politics and how each in turn influenced the other. Rich in biographical detail, Places examines the conflicting demands that are placed on parks and the implications of the constant ebbing and flowing of public and political support. Rebecca Conard, through her wonderful mosaic of people, places, politics, and the environmental movement, reminds us that the maintenance of a strong park program depends on a constantly vigilant public and progressive and supportive legislatures. Enjoyable, educational, and highly readable, Places of Quiet Beauty helps us understand why we treasure our parks and what, in the final analysis, 'land stewardship' really means.”—Dwight T. Picaithley, Chief Historian, National Park Service

“As a result of Conard's study, Iowa will resume its rightful place as an acknowledged leader among the states in early twentieth-century park and conservation affairs. Because of the breadth of its coverage, Places of Quiet Beauty will appeal to scholars, public officials, resource managers, and civic leaders with an interest in Iowa government, politics, and resources as well as to those interested more specifically in parks.”—Susan Flader, editor and coauthor, Exploring Missouri's Legacy: State Parks and Historic Sites

“This book is much more than a historical documentary. It is a window to the past that easily opens through the author's skill and passion for her subject. The reader not only experiences the events but comes to know, in a personal way, the major characters who provided leadership in early conservation efforts. It enables the reader to understand and appreciate conservation issues over the past century and their particular relevance to today's challenges. . . . Conard is a great historian and Places of Quiet Beauty is a great guide.”—Iowa Conservationist

“Places of Quiet Beauty is highly readable, fairly presented, and impressively well researched. It should be read by scholars and citizens who are interested not only in Iowa’s state parks but in the protection of valued places all over the globe.”—Journal of American History

“Places of Quiet Beauty delivers a rich story of Iowa’s state park system from its inception to the present. . . . Well conceived and written in an engaging fashion, Places of Quiet Beauty is a significant work in a field awaiting more scholarly attention.”—Kansas History

Rebecca Conard received the Throne-Aldrich Award from the State Historical Society of Iowa in 1993.

400 pages, 25 photos, 1997 $36.00 paper, 0-87745-558-9, 978-0-87745-558-5

An Overview of Last Child in the Woods

In this influential work about the staggering divide between children and the outdoors, child advocacy expert Richard Louv directly links the lack of nature in the lives of today's wired generation—he calls it nature-deficit—to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as the rises in obesity, attention disorders, and depression.

Last Child in the Woods is the first book to bring together a new and growing body of research indicating that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional health of children and adults. More than just raising an alarm, Louv offers practical solutions and simple ways to heal the broken bond—and many are right in our own backyard.

This new edition reflects the enormous changes that have taken place since the book was originally published. It includes:

• 100 actions you can take to create change in your community, school, and family.



• 35 discussion points to inspire people of all ages to talk about the importance of nature in their lives.



• A new progress report by the author about the growing Leave No Child Inside movement.



• New and updated research confirming that direct exposure to nature is essential for the physical and emotional health of children and adults.

Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder has spurred a national dialogue among educators, health professionals, parents, developers and conservationists.

This is a book that will change the way you think about your future and the future of your children.

Click on the NPR Logo to listen to a brief interview with the author

July 16, 2008: TODAY’s Ann Curry talks with Richard Louv about ways to help your kids experience nature:

Environmental ammendment one step closer to the ballot

A constitutional amendment that would earmark a portion of state sales taxes specifically for natural resources funding won unanimous approval by the Senate Natural Resources Committee Tuesday.

The money raised from the tax would go to things like helping farmers control soil erosion, creating and maintaining wildlife habitats and maintaining recreation trails and state parks.

Senate Joint Resolution 1 would reserve 3/8 of a cent of the next sales tax increase for natural resources funding. Estimates place the revenue from such a tax increase at $150 million per year.

The proposed constitutional amendment was approved last year, so approval this year by both the House and Senate would put the issue before Iowa voters in November 2010.
But even if voters approve the amendment the legislature would have to approve a new increase in the sales tax for it to bring in any money.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said previously that he opposes the idea of altering the Constitution for this type of purpose but believes the resolution will receive overwhelming support in the legislature this year.