"In my wildest dreams, I never thought wed be able to say we restored our 10,000th wetland," Jim Gritman said at a recent wetlands celebration in the Iowa Great Lakes area of northwestern Iowa.
Gritman, former Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (Service) North Central Region (Region), was instrumental in getting the wetland restoration program off the ground. These restorations are accomplished in cooperation with many partners under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (Plan). The Plan is an agreement between the United States and Canada, signed initially in 1986 and expanded in 1988 to include Mexico, that brings together international teams of Federal, provincial, territorial and State agencies, conservation organizations and private individuals in partnerships called Joint Ventures. The Joint Ventures work to protect, restore and enhance priority wetland habitat from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian Arctic in order to bring waterfowl and other migratory bird populations to the levels of the early 1970s. The Iowa Great Lakes are covered under the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture, which encompasses parts of Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. These areas provide the primary U.S. breeding habitat for ducks, support over 200 species of migratory birds and are considered priority projects.
The situation in Iowa is crucial. Before settlement, four million acres of wetlands covered Iowa. However, due to farming practices and development only 35,000 remain today--over a 98 percent loss of the States natural wetlands. The Service, with the cooperation of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and many other concerned organizations and individuals, have been working to restore these lost wetlands. In the past five years over 800 basins and 4,330 wetland acres have been restored.
Most of these restorations have been accomplished through the Services Partners for Wildlife Program. This program improves and protects fish and wildlife habitat on private lands through partnerships with other government agencies, private organizations and individuals, while leaving the land in private ownership. This programs overwhelming success in Iowa has been possible due to the cooperation of landowners and citizens of the area, who are committed to preserving natural resources for the future. Frank Griffith, lakeshore homeowner, understands the importance of preserving wetlands. "Its important to leave this area a little bit better than we found it," he says. "We all need to do our part to protect the great resource we have, and the cooperative effort is the best way."
It was the concern over deteriorating water quality in the Iowa Great Lakes that prompted private individuals, conservation organizations and numerous agencies to join together to protect the valuable recreational, environmental and economic resource. This concern led to the formation of the Clean Water Alliance for the Iowa Great Lakes (Alliance). The Alliance is made up of over 20 partners who work together on projects to protect and enhance water quality in the Great Lakes area. "The Alliance is a success because all involved groups supply whatever they can to each project," says Karmin Blunt, Alliance project coordinator with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. "Its a bringing together of a variety of funding sources and technical expertise."
Although clean water is the main goal of the Alliance, recent wetland and grassland restoration projects have become equally important. The Alliances efforts in making significant improvements in land practices and putting back original water storage capacity are similar to the goals of the partners involved in wetland restoration. Wetlands preserve water quality by trapping chemical pollutants, sediment and nutrients before they reach a lake system, prevent flooding, recharge groundwater systems and provide food, water and shelter to hundreds of species of wildlife. Therefore, all partners, whether they are concerned about water quality or wildlife habitat, can accomplish their goals by restoring wetlands.
The success of the wetland restoration program in Iowa set the stage for a celebration held in Okoboji, Iowa in September. A sense of pride and accomplishment filled the room at the Iowa Wetlands Celebration, which was hosted by the Iowa DNR. Over 120 people from involved agencies and organizations, along with dedicated individuals, attended the event to celebrate the Regions 10,000th wetland milestone. It was an opportunity for all involved partners to share wetland restoration ideas and success stories at the two-day program, which included a hog roast and wetland tour.
"The future of wetlands depends on the cooperation of all partners, including landowners, conservation organizations, private groups and state and Federal agencies," Richard Bishop, Wildlife Bureau Chief of the Fish and Wildlife Division of the Iowa DNR said to the celebration participants. "Cooperatively we can accomplish our goals...alone we fail."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
