9th Annual Project AWARE - July 9-16, 2011

This Friday (June 24th) is the deadline for 2011 Iowa Project AWARE online registration! Spots may be limited, so sign up now if you want to go on the river cleanup excursion July 9-16th!

9th Annual Project AWARE
July 9-16, 2011
Little Turkey, Turkey & Volga Rivers

Project AWARE, which stands for A Watershed Awareness River Expedition, involves hundreds of volunteers who spend their vacations working as aquatic garbage collectors - cleaning up, learning about, and exploring Iowa's rivers.

Turkey River: Paddling and picking up with Project AWARE Journey vs. Destination

This map shows the daily paddles for Project AWARE, held July 9 to 16 on the Little Turkey, Turkey and Volga rivers in northeast Iowa. (Courtesy map) By Lisa Brainard In my never-ending quest to find a super-duper trip this year (or five or six - or 26 for that matter) I'm always looking at things on the Internet, as well as picking up area tourism brochures. (Reminder: Look for our own "Destination Bluff Country" guide coming out soon - it's all color and glossy this year!) Last weekend I picked up a brochure for Fayette County, Iowa. I spent my years growing up in Fayette and Clayton counties. Well, what before my wondering eyes should appear in that brochure, but a perfect trip opportunity of the type I would enjoy! And perhaps best of all, it's in my "homelands" as I call it; the area where I grew up. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IaDNR) is offering the 9th annual Project AWARE, a volunteer river cleanup, in the Turkey River watershed July 9 to 16. That includes the Little Turkey, Turkey and Volga Rivers. If you're looking for a reasonably priced trip with periods of hard work (but a lot of fun), being on (and in) the water, camping, camaraderie, learning opportunities, sun and (did I mention?) lots of fun, this is it. Project AWARE stands for "A Watershed Awareness River Expedition." As the website states, it "involves hundreds of volunteers who spend their vacations working as aquatic garbage collectors - cleaning up, learning about and exploring Iowa's rivers." I've learned a bit about conservation work on the Root River watershed here through Fillmore County SWCD, the federal NRCS, Hiawatha Trout Unlimited group's trout stream work, the caving community, state legislative tours and more. It's pretty interesting. Add a paddling cleanup to similar education opportunities offered each day and it should be quite an event for the Turkey River watershed! Ties to the Turkey I'm really tempted to do this. Let's look at my personal history with the Turkey. (Ha, ha... that sounds like I'll be telling tales on an ex, perhaps?!?? Nope, we'll be sticking to the river this time.) The Turkey River winds through two of the towns in the Valley Community School District, both Clermont and Elgin. It also runs within a mile, tops, of the high school located between the two towns and from which I graduated. The Volga River runs through the third town of the Valley School district, Wadena (although I understand the portion to be cleaned up is farther downstream). The two chances I had to canoe the Turkey were after my junior and senior years of high school. One trip ended up at the imposing, handsome Motor Mill downstream from Elkader. The other was an upstream segment around the village of Eldorado. Even longer ago I recall riding horses with my neighbor and friend, Joyce, down to the Turkey in our rural area for a loop trip of 8 miles or so. That was a big time for us on our own. The Motor Mill will be a fabulous site to see as it's being repaired and restored. One overnight is scheduled at the Clayton County Conservation Board's primitive campground adjacent to it. (Did I mention also riding horses across the Turkey in that location on a Whistlin' Bit Saddle Club annual fall ride? I remember it was deep enough that water got into my boots.) Another Clayton County Conservation campsite will be at the Osborne Park between Elkader and Strawberry Point. I worked there the summer of 1976 as a Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) crew member. That was the summer before my senior year of high school. (Before you do the math, let me state for the record, yes, I'm an old - but active - fogey!) Other campsites for Project AWARE include two Fayette County Conservation Board parks. The one at Gouldsburg, south of St. Lucas, is nice. Another, which will host two nights of camping during Project AWARE, is the Gilbertson Conservation Education Area near Elgin. It's a lovely area where, back in my school days, our bus would run daily past the property of two Norwegian bachelor farmers (really!), who later donated the land to Fayette County for the park. It includes a nature center and hiking, mountain biking and horseback trails. It's all a cozy, contented area of northeast Iowa. I guarantee the folks are friendly and the scenery nice. More trip details Now that you've humored me by letting me take this stroll (err... paddle?) down memory lane, here are more details on the trip. The "registration" fee is the price of meals, which would be $20 a day when all meals are provided or by selecting individual meals priced at breakfast, $5, lunch, $7 and supper, $8. The use of a shuttle to move people and camping gear is highly encouraged at $20 a day on the days it's needed. And that's it, although you may need to come up with a canoe. All in all, it sounds like a pretty fun way to spend a vacation - or at least a day or two - to me. For future details - and a lot of informational pages to print out - go to: www.iowaprojectaware.com/ 2011 Project AWARE Schedule July 9-16 - 88.1 miles - Little Turkey, Turkey & Volga Rivers Saturday, July 9 Meet and greet at Gouldsburg Park. Sunday, July 10 - 12.8 miles. LITTLE TURKEY RIVER from Gouldsburg Park to Eldorado. Camp at Gouldsburg Park. Monday, July 11 - 14.9 miles. TURKEY RIVER from Eldorado to Turkey River Canoe Access. Camp at Gilbertson Conservation Education Area. Tuesday, July 12 - 12.3 miles. TURKEY RIVER from Turkey River Canoe Access to Gilbertson Conservation Education Area. Camp at Gilbertson Conservation Education Area Wednesday, July 13 - 12.7 miles. TURKEY RIVER from Gilbertson Conservation Education Area to Frieden Park. Camp at Elkader City Park. Thursday, July 14 - 13.7 miles. TURKEY RIVER from Frieden Park to Motor Mill. Camp at Motor Mill. Friday, July 15 - 12.3 miles. TURKEY RIVER from Motor Mill to Garber. Camp at Osborne Park. Saturday, July 16 - 9.4 miles. VOLGA RIVER from Osborne Park to Littleport.

NEW CAMPGROUND TO OPEN SATURDAY AT VOLGA RIVER

A long awaited recreation facility development is now ready for park visitors. The first new campground in an Iowa state park in seven years will open at the Volga River State Recreation Area Saturday during a ribbon cutting. The ceremony is scheduled from 1:30 to 2:30 at the Meyer shelter on the lake shore/boat ramp parking lot.

The new campground was funded by a $1.5 million special appropriation of the Iowa Legislature, sponsored by Rep. Andrew Wenthe, Sen. Brian Schoenjahn, Rep. Roger Thomas, and Sen. Bill Heckroth. The campground is at the north end of Volga River with a view of the lake off in the distance.

The project began when roads for a future campground were built in 2005. In 2008, the legislature approved $750,000 to develop the campground. In 2009, an additional $750,000 was provided. Work began in July 2009 and the project will be concluded on Saturday.

“This campground was built from scratch on an old crop field,” said Scot Michelson, park ranger at Volga River. “We planted trees in the area years ago that are now 12 to 15 years old and will give this new campground a more mature feel.”

The 42 campsites all have electricity and water, and 34 have sewer connections as well. Each campsite has a fire ring and picnic table. The camp pads are level, and 11 are paved, pull through sites. There is a new shower building and non modern restroom in the new campground. In addition to the campground, a new modern restroom with drinking water is available on the lake shore at the boat ramp.

Volga River is a recreation area, which means hunting is allowed.

“We do get our share of deer hunters for the early muzzleloader and bow seasons, but the shower building will be closed for winterization by mid October. We will have the electricity on until snowfall when we will close the campground for winter due to the concern for snow and ice on the steep campground access road,” Michelson said.

Volga River has a primitive campground at the south end, which does not offer electricity, showers or flush toilets.

CONTACT: John Maehl, district supervisor Iowa state parks in northeast Iowa, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 563-920-1400 or Scot Michelson, park ranger, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Volga River State Recreation Area, at 563-920-3944.