Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution by Gerald E. Markowitz, David Rosner. Deceit and Denial details the attempts by the chemical and lead industries to deceive Americans about the dangers that their deadly products present to workers, the public, and consumers. Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner pursued evidence steadily and relentlessly, interviewed the important players, investigated untapped sources, and uncovered a bruising story of cynical and cruel disregard for health and human rights. The two authors had unique access to materials on the inner workings of the two industries they studied. Because of their expertise on occupational health, they were asked to review corporate records of the lead industry and the plastics industry by lawyers working on class action suits on behalf of child victims of lead poisoning and workers harmed by exposure to vinyl chloride in chemical plants. The result is a chronicle of corporate malfeasance, using internal memos, letters, minutes and other corporate and industry documents.
Review of Deceit and Denial and links to full text.

"Silent Scourge: Children, Pollution and Why Scientists Disagree," New Book by University of Wisconsin Psychology Professor Colleen F. Moore
In her recently published book (Oxford University Press; 019515391X, hardback, 328 pages) developmental psychologist Colleen Moore looks at the effects of lead, mercury, noise, pesticides, dioxins, and PCBs on the developing brains of children. According to the book's web site, "Moore focuses, in particular, on the impact of these pollutants on children's psychological development --- their intellectual functioning, behavior, and emotional states. Only by understanding the impact of pollution can we prevent future negative effects on quality of life and even pollution disasters from occurring."
Children and Pollution, book web site
Purchase from Oxford University Press
Book review by Eric Ness, Grist Magazine
Bam! Popular toys may leave kids' ears ringing By Anita Clark, Racine Journal Times

MOSTLY MISSISSIPPI: A Very Damp Adventure By Harold Speakman--The charming classic of river travel now back in print! In 1925, Harold Speakman and his new wife, Frances “Russell” Lindsay Speakman, journeyed down the entire Mississippi River, from the headwaters in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, on a twenty-foot houseboat. A classic American travel narrative that captures the soul of the river, Mostly Mississippi features lyrical descriptions of encounters with archetypal characters, landscapes, and experiences. The Speakmans meet lumberjacks in northern Minnesota and Mormons at Nauvoo, Illinois, as well as roustabouts, hoboes, farmers, drifters, Southern grandees, Native Americans, collegians thirsting for the real world, and convicts. They also meet William Alexander Percy, the “Poet of the Delta”; Laura Frazer, the inspiration for Mark Twain’s Becky Thatcher; and the prototypical “lady from Dubuque” as described by the New Yorker. Illustrated by Harold Speakman’s paintings and sketches and Russell Speakman’s delightful drawings, Mostly Mississippi captures the deepening emotional bond of a newly married couple embarked on a grand adventure. Harold Speakman (1888-–1928) was a writer, poet, and artist. He wrote eight books, including the travel narratives Hilltops in Galilee (1923), Beyond Shanghai (1922), and Here’s Ireland (1925).
For more information, visit the book's webpage.

MTBE -- Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether Provision Up for Voting this Week? MTBE, an "oxygenate" gasoline additive that makes gasoline burn cleaner in the wintertime, remains at the center of a federal energy bill leglislative controversy. The additive has contaminated groundwater from leaking gasoline storage tanks in many places around the county. A bipartisan coalition in the U.S. Senate originally blocked the bill for that reason and others. However, lawsuits are pending across the country, and the debate is brewing in the nation's capital. Two sides are now at odds on legislation that would give legal protection to MTBE producers in the long-debated energy bill. To get the scaled-down $13 billion bill through its chambers, Senate Republicans have agreed to cut the protection provision from the energy bill and want to bring the legislation to a vote this week. ''I do not want to give immunity to the manufacturers of MTBE,'' said Rep. Joe Hoeffel, D-13th District. ''They need to be held accountable for contaminating drinking water across the country.'' However, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and newly confirmed Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton, both of Texas, have said they will not let the House vote on the bill without the ''safe harbor'' provision. Ethanol is offered by a number of farm states as an alternative to MTBE, yet it also carries an environmental price.

General Accounting Office (GAO) Report on MTBE Contamination From Underground Storage Tanks (.pdf)
USEPA: Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether Overview
American Petroleum Institute: MTBE Resource Center
Environmental Working Group: MTBE Contamination: Illinois sites, Iowa sites, Minnesota sites, Missouri sites, Wisconsin sites.
California Energy Commission: MTBE Phaseout in California
National Ground Water Association (NGWA) MTBE Postion Paper
American Water Works Association: Drinking Water vs. MTBE and Ethanol: And the winner is... ?
USGS: Methyl tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE) and Other Gasoline Oxygenates
Gas additive leak spurs fears in Hatfield Township Clean-air chemical's fate is subject of debate in Congress. By Pervaiz Shallwani Of The Morning Call 2/29/04

Winona Earth Day Celebration: Saturday, April 24th, 2004
UMBSN Will Gather Stakeholder Feedback and Discuss Clean Water Issues at the Winona Earth Day Celebration. The celebration will be held from 11:00am to 6:30pm at Lake Park in Winona, Minnesota. Events will include a Green Living Fair featuring presentations on Alternative Energy, Green Practices, Food Market and Local Producers Showcase, and a wide variety of Educational Booths, Procession of the Species, Silent Sports Spectacular, Locally and Nationally Known Guest Speakers, a Silent Sports Gear Swap Meet, and Live Music. The Silent Sports Spectacular will include several guided hiking, biking, canoeing, and kayaking tours of Winona's trails, bluffs, lakes, prairies, and backwaters. The Food Market and Local Producers Showcase will feature local food along with great cooking tips from French Chef Monique Jamet Hooke. Live Music will feature: The Buffalo Gals, Jack Norton, Mudcat Grant, John Bernadot, and others. Education, activities, and fun for the whole family!!
Go to Winona Earth Day.org to learn more.
Click Here to view the full Program of Events.

Chapter 57 of the Upper Basin Chronicles
Anaerobica Exotica - A Dream of the River
Laura had a bad dream. She lay wide awake, blinking at the intensity at what she had just witnessed. A lifeless river. Dead oak trees. Scarred and deeply-gullied hillside farmland. Ditch-straight creeks leveed high from dredging. Everywhere junked automobiles, abandoned in farm yards and driveways. Mercy. [More...]

Schooner Virginia's Deck Taking Shape
The Schooner Virginia shipwrights have already wrestled deck beams into place and are laying the deck itself in early January with steady progress toward the completion of the 114' x 24' x 12'3" sailing schooner. Click the photo for more construction photos. Also see the project's live web cam. The Port of Norfolk hosts the Schooner Virginia, an education-focused, community-based wooden ship project fully underway, and targeted at highlighting Virginia's economy, tourism, and culture. Will replica shipbuilding come to the Upper Mississippi River?

Corps' Upper Mississippi River / Illinois Waterway Navigation Study Gets Another Sharp Review from the National Research Council
The U.S. Corps of Army Engineers' Navigation Study received a second critical review in the most recent report from the National Research Council's transportation scientists. Samples of bold points in findings from the prepublication version summary in the table below. Read the report (45p., .pdf). Review of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Upper Mississippi-Illinois Waterway Restructured Feasibility Study: Interim Report, National Research Council, 12/5/03. (Also see the Corps of Engineers news release on the NRC report.)

Chapter 2, Findings and Recommendations

Conservation Security Program Funding Restored; Stakeholders Call for Supplement to Proposed Rules: Comment Period Ends March 2nd, 2004 On Jan. 22, the Senate restored full funding of the Conservation Security Program to nearly $8 billion beginning in fiscal year 2005. "The omnibus bill restores the funding dedicated to the Conservation Security Program in the 2002 farm bill and clears the path for USDA to carry out CSP as enacted to compensate farmers and ranchers across America for conserving soil, water, air, energy, wildlife and other resources," said Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. Harkin and many others are calling for the USDA to scrap the sharply restrictive rules proposed in December, 2003 to carry out a $41 million program. Both environmental and agricultural interests are urging the USDA to immediately issue a supplement to the proposed rules so farmers, ranchers and others will have an opportunity to comment on what USDA is considering for the final rules for a fully funded CSP.
Comments to:
Conservation Security Program Comments
ATTN: David McKay
NRCS Conservation Operations Division
P.O. Box 2890
Washington, D.C. 20013
or by email to david.mckay@usda.gov; Attn: Conservation Security Program.
Comments will be accepted for 60 days [from Federal Register publication].
CSP Proposed Rule (119p.; .pdf)
CSP Fact Sheet (2p., .pdf)
CSP Summary of Proposed Rule (13p.; .pdf)
Grassley Objects to Limited CSP Washington, DC -- by Iowa Senator Charles Grassley, U.S. Senate, 12/17/03
Rules would limit conservation program, by Philip Brasher, Des Moines Register, 12/18/03.
Conservation Security Program Page, The Minnesota Project
Proposed Conservation Security Program Rules a Dissapointment by Loni Kemp, January 7, 2004
Groups united in questioning CSP rules 2/17/0404 By Jean Caspers-Simmet Agri News staff writer

The McKnight Foundation Awards $50,000 Grant to Pheasants Forever Environmental Grant Focuses on Mississippi River Basin in Iowa and Minnesota
The McKnight Foundation has awarded Pheasants Forever, Inc. a two-year grant of $50,000. The grant will be used to promote landowner enrollment in the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (Continuous CRP). Continuous CRP enrolls small parcels of land as filter strips and riparian buffers along waterways in order to protect soil, improve water and air quality, and enhance fish and wildlife habitat. Pheasants Forever's proposal targets rivers in the Mississippi River watershed in northeastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota. Pheasants Forever's grant falls under The McKnight Foundation's Mississippi River initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to ensure that future generations of residents along the Mississippi River are able to enjoy clean water, fresh air, outdoor recreation, and beautiful scenery.

Bruce Babbitt on Balance for Rivers and Dams
A recent article in Open Spaces Quarterly by former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt (pictured at left with USGS geologist Mel Kuntz), titled, "A River Runs Against It: America's Evolving View of Dams," offers the emerging point of view on the value of free-flowing rivers. Babbitt takes the reader through the logic and the history of dam building and river restoration. "No, we're not taking aim at all dams. But we should strike a balance between the needs of the river and the demands of river users," he states. (This is a "must read" according to the Sierra Club's Dean Rebuffoni of Minneapolis, where Lock and Dam Number 1 is under scrutiny for a restoration of the once free-flowing Falls of Saint Anthony.

Agrarian Philosopher and Essayist
Wendell Berry Speaks Out
In Citizenship Papers (Shoemaker & Hoard; Sept., 2003) -- to date his most recent collection of essays -- writer, farmer, poet, novelist, and teacher Wendell Berry offers some of his best work. While challenging the conservation movement to find a new rural economy, he pointedly cites the global industrial economy for its rapacious treatment of democracy, the land, and the people. Berry calls for a local consumers' and small farmers' revolt to revive rural areas with a viable, sustaining economy. One of the principal essays, “A Citizen’s Response to the National Security Strategy of the United States of America” appeared as a full page ad placed by the Orion Society in the New York Times in February of this year. Wendell Berry speaks out as the conscience of rural America, an ever-hopeful agrarian, determined to do the right thing in the face of significant evidence of considerable decline in rural communities, rural quality of life, in the degradation of working lands. This book should be on the 'must read' list of every land manager in the nation.
Agrarians of the World, Unite!
Wendell Berry's vision, and how Christians should respond to it.
By Eric Miller, Christianity Today, 06/10/02
Mr. Wendell Berry of Kentucky
Internet Resources Page by Bro. Tom Murphy, Order of Carmelites
The New Patriotism Series
Orion Society; three books, two by Wendell Berry

New Upper Mississippi River Freshwater Mussel Web Site from FWS and USGS
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Geological Survey recently announced a new internet site featuring the freshwater mussels in the Upper River from among the 300 North American freshwater mussel species. According to FWS biologist Gary Wege, the site provides a wealth of information, plus pays special attention to the federally endangered Higgins eye pearlymussel (Lampsilis higginsii) and the exotic invaders, the zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha). The site offers history, ecology, current harvest and threats, photography, video and animated multimedia, posters, links, and an education section for teachers. The site also links directly to an online version of the excellent Illinois Natural History Survey manual, Field guide to freshwater mussels of the Midwest, by Cummings and Mayer. For more information:
Gary Wege, Fish and Wildlife Biologist
Ph: 612-725-3548, gary_wege@fws.gov

New Wisconsin Breast Cancer Study Cites Possible Elevated Risk for Young and/or Premenopausal Women with PCBs in Game Fish
A newly published study (abstract online at Environmental Health Perspectives) titled, "Potential Exposure to PCBs, DDT, and PBDEs from Sport-Caught Fish Consumption in Relation to Breast Cancer Risk in Wisconsin," examined breast cancer cases for women 20-69 years of age, diagnosed in 1998-2000. The found a relative risk of breast cancer for women who had recently consumed sport-caught fish that was similar to that of women who had never eaten sportcaught fish. However, it does say, "This study demonstrates no overall association between recent sport-caught fish consumption and breast cancer, although there may be an increased breast cancer risk for subgroups of women who are young and/or premenopausal," according to the abstract. The study is by Jane A. McElroy, Marty S. Kanarek, Amy Trentham-Dietz, Stephanie A. Robert, John M. Hampton, Polly A. Newcomb, Henry A. Anderson, and Patrick L. Remington (most are from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, except Dr. Anderson, who is chief medical officer with the Wisconsin Division of Public Health).

Meanwhile, Rebecca Katers of the Clean Water Action Council of Northeast Wisconsin has published a list of Breast Cancer, PCBs and Dioxin studies, some citing strong associations with breast cancer, at the Fox River Watch web site. Fox River Watch also publishes comments critical of the state's fish consumption advisories by a toxicologist under contract to the Clean Water Action Council of Northeast Wisconsin.

Lower Mississippi River Angler Seeks River Keeper Funding
Sidney Montgomery, of Tara Wildlife near Vicksburg, Mississippi, wants to be the river keeper for the Lower Mississippi River, covering the long reach from Alton, Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Montgomery, also a longtime supporter of the Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee, was recently featured in an article by Robert Montgomery (no relation) reprinted here from BASSMASTER magazine. The avid bass angler is working hard to raise the considerable funds required to start and sustain a riverkeeper project. You can contact Sidney Montgomery at <sidney@tarawildlife.com>.
Tara Wildlife www.tarawildlife.com
Riverkeeper, Inc. www.riverkeeper.org/
Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee (LMRCC) www.lmrcc.org
BASSMASTER espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster

UMBSN Releases Results of Recent Stakeholder Survey
The Upper Mississippi Basin Stakeholder Network surveyed stakeholder participants in June and July of this year. The results are available in a .pdf document (109KB). Thank you very much to everyone who completed the survey! UMBSN 2003 Survey Results.

Give Sustainable Local Farm, Forest, and Fisheries Products, Art, Photography, Writing, Music, and Donations for the Holidays!
You can use your holiday shopping dollars to build a sustainable economy in your watershed. Support the people who support sustainable land use. Where to find them? Locally-harvested Christmas trees and greenery are a great-start. [Photo of Elsie and Pearl Schuenemann of the "Christmas Tree Ship" family standing among Christmas trees for sale in Chicago, 1917. Courtesy Chicago Historical Society] Check with your local and community newspapers, your food co-op, local art tours. Call your agricultural extension agent. Check with your book store and music stores (any left?) for local writers, musicians, artists, and photographers. Recommend sustainable farm-based products and enterprises to your friends and family. Give to the organizations who support the land and water you care about. Make a donation in someone's name to a conservation, watershed, or environmental group in your area. Here are a few resources among many, many. (Part of the fun is finding these folks!)
LocalHarvest -- find organic products close to you.
Minnesota Artists Online -- McKnight Foundation Minnesota Artists Directory.
Big River Magazine -- Covering the Upper River from the Twins to the Quads.
Julia Crozier, Artist, Blue Heron Studio, Winona, Minnesota.
Bernadette Mahfood, Hotflash Designs, Winona, Minnesota.
Allen Blake Sheldon, Photographer, Trempealeau, Wisconsin; absheldon@earthlink.net.
Yarrow Brown, Artist, Winona, Minnesota.
Vera Ming Wong, vera@arakunem-arts.com; (651-246-4074).
Robert J. Hurt, Aerial Photography, Dakota, MN; archenv@acegroup.cc.
The Outside [Magazine] Canon -- A Few Great Books.
Project Art for Nature -- "collaboration of artists and illustrators from Minnesota and Wisconsin, working independently and collaboratively to create artwork which promotes stewardship of threatened natural areas in our region."

More Upper Mississippi Waterfronts as Viewed from the Big Boat -- Hannibal and St. Louis
Upper Mississippi American Heritage River Listserv [MISSRIVERL@LISTS.UMN.EDU] contributor Andrew M. Hine of St. Paul, Minnesota recently created a series of brief powerpoint (.ppt) slide presentations of photographs taken from the 21st to 28th of September, 2003 while aboard the American Queen steamboat. Mr. Hine was en route to St. Louis with his wife and her grandparents. Here are Andrew Hine's photos of these waterfronts:
Winona, MN (669KB, .ppt) La Crosse, WI (1,430KB .ppt) Dubuque, IA (1,109KB, .ppt)
Burlington, IA (1,005KB, .ppt) Hannibal, MO (275KB, .ppt) St. Louis, MO (355KB, .ppt)
Photographer Hine (36KB, .jpg) The presentations are copyrighted; please credit Mr. Hine on their use.

BASSMASTER Sees Sport Decline
Thirty-Five Greatest Threats to Fishing
This very active organization in June 2003 published a feature story alarm for its members in an attempt to counter what it believes is a serious threat to the sport -- declining participation and a host of other issues. In addition, most of the list comprises environmental problems, including public health advisories, water level manipulation during spawning seasons, climate change, runoff pollution, shoreline development, urban sprawl, factory farms, invasive plants, personalized watercraft, all among several others. See the Bassmasters feature.

Environmental Working Group Again Details Farm Subsidy Recipients Online
The Environmental Working Group (EWG), the Washington, D.C., and Oakland, California-based environmental research organization "dedicated to improving public health and protecting the environment by reducing pollution in air, water and food," again offers taxpayers a publicly available, searchable Internet database of government farm subsidy payment records. Search the EWG Farm Subsidy Database. News articles:
Big farms get bulk of federal payments (By JERRY PERKINS, Des Moines Register, 09/10/03)
Environmental group revives farm subsidy debate (By Dan Looker, Successful Farming, 09/09/03)
Web Site Helped Change Farm Policy (By Elizabeth Becker, The New York Times, 02/24/02)

"Running Pure" -- How Forests Can Provide Cleaner, Cheaper Water for Cities
The new World Wildlife Fund / World Bank report on the value of protecting forests as a means for providing cities with cleaner, cheaper water represents a real value -- "a forest protection strategy can result in massive savings." The 114 page report was released in early September by the World Bank and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-International). "There appears to be a clear link between forests and the quality of water coming out of a catchment, a much more sporadic link between forests and the quantity of water available and a variable link between forests and the constancy of flow." The extensively researched document looked at 105 large cities around the world. See Running Pure from the World Bank/WWF Alliance.

New Report Available: "Conservation Priorities for the Freshwater Biodiversity in the Upper Mississippi River Basin"
A new report, an assessment of freshwater biological diversity in the Upper Mississippi River Basin, by Roy E. Weitzell, Mary Lammert Khoury, Paula Gagnon, Brian Scheurs, Dennis Grossman, and Jonathan Higgins, and published by NatureServe and The Nature Conservancy creates a "network of areas that together represent the full diversity of target species and aquatic ecological systems, as well as the top forty-seven areas for both terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity," according to one of the authors, Mary Khoury. "[The report is for] conservation practioners and natural resource managers to guide action needed to sustain freshwater biodiversity in this national treasure." Downloadable from http://www.conserveonline.org (select browse library) and http://www.natureserve.org. Additional spatial data, species and project databases are available by request to Mary Khoury, Freshwater Ecologist, The Nature Conservancy, mkhoury@tnc.org; (312) 759-8017 ext. 16. See the report page.

Implementation Plan Released for the Regional Fecal Coliform TMDL for the Lower Mississippi River Basin
Norman Senjem of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency announced the release of the Total Daily Minimum Load (TMDL) Implementation Plan for watersheds in southeast Minnesota on October 30, 2003. Download the report. The TMDL plan is in support of the goals of the Basin Alliance for the Lower Mississippi in Minnesota (BALMM). "BALMM is a locally-led alliance of land and water resource agencies formed to coordinate efforts to protect and improve water quality in the Lower Mississippi River Basin in Minnesota." See the BALMM pages on UMBSN.

Special Report: Mother Jones
The "Ungreening of America" Examined
As the chorus of protest at the environmental policies of the present administration grows ever louder, here's a sample of such reporting from the September 2003 Mother Jones magazine, a feature that documents the shift away from the conservation ethic built in the nation since the late 19th century. See the ungreening timeline. The recent announcement of the 2003 George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service to be presented to Senator Edwardy Kennedy at Texas A&M University on November 7, makes public a schism between moderate conservatives and neo-conservatives, and impling that at least some traditional conservatives are unhappy with the conservation direction of the nation, as well. On the other hand, one of the voices of the neoconservative conservation shift is Peter Huber, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Huber wrote "Hard Green: Saving the Environment from the Environmentalists," in 1998 in response to Albert Gore's "Earth in the Balance."

Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act, HR961, Senate Committee Hearing Testimony
According to Karrie Jackelen of the office of Congressman Ron Kind on Wednesday, 9/24, "Everything went well at the Senate hearing yesterday on HR 961. Our thanks to Holly Stoerker (UMRBA) for her testimony once again. The next step is getting it on the Senate schedule." The Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act, was heard before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday, September 23. Senator Lisa Murkowski (AK) presided. Rep. Kind and Holly Stoerker, of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association, testified, as did Dr. Robert Hirsch, associate director, United States Geological Survey . Read testimony from the hearing, "Salt Cedar and Miscellaneous Water Bills." Email the Committee. Members. Rep. Kind introduced the bill in February, 2003. House co-sponsors include: Rep. Jerry Costello [IL-12], Rep. Gil Gutknecht [MN-1], Rep. Mark Kennedy [MN-6], Rep. Dale Kildee [MI-5], Rep. Jim Leach [IA-2], and Rep. Jim Nussle [IA-1]. Senator Russ Feingold is the principal senate sponsor. The bill grew out of the "Upper Mississippi Basin Stewardship Initiative," conceived by Barry Drazkowski and Rory Vose at Saint Mary's University with the support of a core development team represented by the Mississippi River Basin Alliance, American Rivers, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the University of Minnesota.

Understanding the Neoconservative Movement; A Primer
The respected Christian Science Monitor published an overview of the neoconservative movement in the federal government in August. It covers the basic concepts, some of the history, the key figures with their brief biographies and statements, and offers expert opinion on the movement itself. Who are Irving Kristol, Norman Podhorettz, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle , Douglas Feith, Lewis Libby, John Bolton, Elliot Abrams, Robert Kagan, Michael Ledeen, William Kristol, and Frank Gaffney, Jr., and how are they shaping the national direction, anyway? Find out.
Read the Monitor's overview, "Empire builders."
Other points of view:
The Neoconservative Persuasion, by Irving Kristol, The Weekly Standard, 08/25/03
Hard Green: Saving the Environment from the Environmentalists, by Peter W. Huber, The Manhattan Institute, 04/98.
REP America, Republicans for Environmental Protection, website.
Letter to the Editor, by Malachi McNeilus, 01/11/04.

Listen
Hear the Tale of Environmental Legislation at the State Level in This America Life's "The Annoying Gap Between Theory ... and Practice" Documentary from WBEZ Radio, Chicago
"This American Life," from Public Radio International (PRI) via WBEZ every Saturday afternoon in some locales. Listen to host Ira Glass follow a Michigan state legislator in his first term of office -- a guy interested in preserving the environment for his constituents -- and what happens to a piece of pro-conservation legislation. Fascinating; in "Act Two. Detroit Is In the House. Alex Blumberg spends three days with Michigan state representative Steve Tobocman. He ran for office because he thought that would be the best way to change things for his neighborhood in Detroit. Can you change things from the inside without changing on the inside yourself? (26 minutes)"
This web site uses frames, so you need to navigate a bit to find it. Go to This American Life and the link in the lefthand column, titled, "All Episodes/RealAudio in order of broadcast," then look for 11/17/2003, "Act 2 Detroit Is In the House." Listen in Real Audio format (download help is available there). Scroll (fast forward) the player forward to about 21 minutes to hear this segment.
An Interview with Ira Glass [text] by Nathan Rabin, The Onion AV Club, 11/05/03
Profile of "America's best radio host" [text] by David Mamet, Time Magazine, 06/01

Tax Policy in States Surrounding the Chesapeake Can Contribute to the Bay's Protection; A New Report
A new study by the Environmental Law Institute, "Chesapeake 2000 Tax Policy Study," looks in depth at tax impacts on a large conservation effort. The study was funded by a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Program, and written by James M. McElfish, Jr. with research from Jeramy Alice Shays. Download the report. The study looks at the taxes in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia and then discusses these striking conclusions:
"1. Over-dependence on local real property taxes can lead to competition among local governments and encourage zoning that promotes sprawl development.
2. Non-targeted state and local business tax incentives may work against land use controls.
3. Higher taxes in older urban jurisdictions encourage a cycle of decline absent offsetting tax and reinvestment policies.
4. Tax policies can promote landowner decisions to forgo farm and forest land conversions, and support dedications to conservation uses.
5. Several miscellaneous tax provisions have the potential to operate against the achievement of Chesapeake 2000 goals."
Read the overview: Chesapeake Bay Protection Affected by Tax Law in Its Surrounding States. The Environmental Law Institute is primarily funded by AT&T.

UMBSN Comment on the Navigation Study
What’s Being Done and Who’s Doing It?
Upper Mississippi Basin Stakeholder Network director Barry Drazkowski submitted this comment to the recent public meeting of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Restructured Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway (UMR-IWW) System Navigation Study in LaCrosse, Wisconsin on October 29, 2003. "This is an extraordinary amount of money to invest in the managing of the ecological restoration portion of the plan and the implementation challenge will be in providing a Federal oversight process to guide how funds are spent. " [Read the entire statement.]

Report on the USACE Public Meeting in LaCrosse Wisconsin on the Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway System Navigation Feasibility Study
by David C. Wilson, Upper Mississippi Basin Stakeholders Network
On the evening of Wednesday, the 29^th of October, 2003, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held a public meeting in LaCrosse, Wisconsin to present the preliminary findings of their revised Navigation Feasibility Study. [Read the entire LaCrosse meeting report.]
Navigation Study Resources:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Navigation Study Website
McKnight Foundation River Politics
MARC 2000 (Midwest Area River Coalition 2000) Website
Audubon Society Upper Mississippi River Campaign
The Nature Conservancy Upper Mississippi Priority Places Conservation Study
Sierra Club Mississippi River Home Page
Illinois Stewardship Alliance Website

Bay Foundation Cites Leadership and Agriculture Problems; Calls for Enforcement Muscle on Polluters
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation recently released a new edition of its book, Turning the Tide: Saving the Chesapeake Bay by environmental writer Tom Horton. In it, one of the most successful volunteer land and water restoration organizations in the nation cites the bay's leadership, the executive council of the Chesapeake Bay Program, comprised of the governors of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, the mayor of the District of Columbia, the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, for failure to act aggressively in the last three years. "Agriculture is the biggest challenge in reducing pollution to the Bay. We are going to have to go well beyond current nutrient management strategies, and all of us are going to have to help foot the bills for farmers to do that. The cost per acre isn't much, but there are many millions of acres of the Bay's watershed in agriculture. The goal has to be clean, healthy, profitable agriculture," said writer Tom Horton recently.
Editorials: "Better Bay Governance," Washington Post, 08/25/03.
"For Bay cleanup, no more Mr. Nice Guy," Virginian-Pilot, 08/25/03.
Turning the Tide: Saving the Chesapeake Bay, Island Press (www.islandpress.org), 352 pages, $40.00 hardcover, $18.95 softcover.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation website
Map: Increasing Hypoxia: Five Decades of Trends
Map: Delivered Yield of Total Nitrogen to the Bay

Next 50 Years of Upper Mississippi River Policy and Funding Direction Now on the Table
Question the Corps - Show Up, Speak Up at the October Public Meetings
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers "Restructured Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway (UMR-IWW) System Navigation Study" rolled out its latest set of refined choices in a series of public meetings in late October. Read the October Mississippi Monitor's " Special Section: Citizen’s Guide to the Navigation Study." The locations of the public meetings included:
Saint Louis, Quincy, Peoria, Davenport, Bloomington, La Crosse, and Dubuque.
Report on the LaCrosse Meeting by David C. Wilson, UMBSN
Download the Navigation Study September Newsletter (.pdf).
Restructured Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway (UMR-IWW) System Navigation Study website.

Project Art For Nature "Close to Home" Exhibit Features Minnesota and Wisconsic Artists in Support of the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust and Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas Program
Three regional gallery venues, Upper Mississippi Basin artists from Project Art For Nature exhibited works for sale to raise funds for two conservation projects. Artists Carla Benjamin, Richard Crammer, Judy Fairbrother, Denise Friesen, Barbara Harman, Mimi Holme, Yung Jouseau, Anne Kerfoot, Wendy Lane, David Morrison, Alis Olsen, Catherine Reed (Bouteloua), Roz Stendahl, Gloria Williams, Vera Ming Wong, and Susan Bacig will show works that "highlight natural gems of, or threats to, prairie, forest, wetland or savannah." Twenty percent of the sales of the River Falls exhibit go to the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust, and 20% of the St. Paul sales go to the Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas Program (SNA). Slide show of selected works and details of times and locations.

Bioneers: Visionary and Practical Solutions for Restoring the Earth
Bioneers is a group of ecological innovators seeking restorative change for the earth. Founded by Kenny Ausubel in 1990 for educational and economic development programs in biological conservation, cultural diversity, traditional farming practices, and environmental restoration. Bioneers uses conferences, workshops, media, and model projects to get its ideas across. Its recent annual conference in San Rafael, California, and simultaneous satellite conferences with twelve other sites around the country, including one in the Upper River basin. The Fairfield, Iowa conference included sessions on:
Soils 101: Building a Productive Soil; Soils 102: Getting Balanced, Discovering Soil Nutrient Behavior; Noah’s Ark Today: Conservation of Rare Livestock Breeds; Landowner Options: Restoration and Conservation; Tours: Examples of Local Sustainability; Socially Responsible Investing (SRI); Why Grass Fed is Best – The Many Health Benefits For Farmer & Consumer; Prairie Landscaping – Living Treasure of the Midwest; Eating Locally – Lessons From France; Get into the Act: Influencial Iowa Non-profits; Community Wind Power: Making it Happen; How to Choose Green Building Materials; Genetic Engineering: How is it affecting Iowa Farms?
Bioneers Conference to focus on ecology, social solutions FAIRFIELD, IA -- By Erik Gable, Fairfield Daily Ledger, 10/14/03

Rapanos and SWANCC Resources: The Impact of the Reinstated Conviction
On August 5, 2003 the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court reinstated the wetland filling conviction of Michigan land developer John A. Rapanos on appeal. The case is closely related to Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. United States Army Corps of Engineers (often called the "SWANCC decision"). In SWANCC the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ authority under the Clean Water Act [Section 404(a); Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972] does not extend to isolated wetlands not adjacent to navigable waters. The Corps had assumed authority via the "Migratory Bird Rule," 33 CFR 328(a)(3). The Supreme Court ruling has prompted two federal bills in the present 108th Congress, one in the Senate, and one in the House that seek to restore Clean Water Act protection to isolated wetlands.
Resources:
August, 2003: United States v. Rapanos, Sixth Circuit Court Decison to Reinstate the Conviction
August, 2003: U.S. EPA Region 5 Enforcement Action Summary FY 2003 Sixth Circuit Upholds Wetlands Conviction Of Developer After SWANCC Review [scroll down] (United States v. John A. Rapanos; E.D. MI)
August, 2003: The Supreme Court's SWANCC Decision; U.S. Department of Energy
June, 2003: Hearing before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Commitee, "current regulatory and legal status of federal jurisdiction of navigable waters under the Clean Water Act." June 10, 2003
April, 2003: The Izaak Walton League; The SWANCC Decision - Conservation Issue Background Information
February, 2003: American Rivers on SWANCC and related issues. The Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM)
Search Library of Congress Thomas Database for two bills in the 108th Congress intended "to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify the jurisdiction of the United States over waters of the United States."
1) S. 473 Clean Water Authority Restoration Act of 2003, sponsored by Rep. James Oberstar, MN-8th.
2) H R. 962 Clean Water Authority Restoration Act of 2003, sponsored by Sen. Russell Feingold, WI.
January 2001: Ducks Unlimited EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - 404 Report; The SWANCC Decision: Implications for Wetlands and Waterfowl.
Association of State Wetland Managers (ASWM) SWANCC resources.

Watch Webcasts from Public Television's "The Sacred Balance" Series
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (PBS) recently provided the nation quality environmental programming in a new series hosted by scientist David Suzuki, who travels the earth reporting stories highly relevant to "exploring humanity's place in nature." The first broadcast looked at "The Journey Into New Worlds," how "science and technology have worked wonders" and incurred "terrible costs." The second episode examined "The Matrix of Life," discusses how water, air and the earth work together. Episode three, "The Fire of Creation," examines the elemental fire and how it drives the earth's carbon cycle. The final and fourth episode, "Coming Home," look at the "ethnosphere," " the web of human culture."Many of the key vignettes from the series are already available as webcasts.
See The Sacred Balance PBS portal page. Sacred Balance Webcast page. Biography of host David Suzuki; High school curriculum; Postcard page, high quality e-postcards; Kidzone page, fun activities for children.

Listen
This America Life's "Garbage" Documentary from WBEZ Radio, Chicago
For the uninitiated, here's a radio program you may not want to miss, "This American Life," from Public Radio International (PRI) via WBEZ every Saturday afternoon in some locales. This American Life is the radio documentary creation of Ira Glass, a mid-40s Baltimore native who tells some of the most fascinating stories on radio. His droll delivery has won an extensive following, considerable funding, and freedom for frank, straightforward reporting. In "Garbage," from October 31, 2003, delivered in the show's standard "four act" audio format, Ira and company talk with a New York City "sanman" (sanitation man), interview Bill Rathje of Stanford University and Richard Dennison of Environmental Defense on recycling, examine the lives of squatters who live atop rotting trash heaps in Mexico, and play the "secret recordings that ended mob control of New York garbage collection." This web site uses frames, so you need to navigate a bit to find it. Go to This American Life and the link in the lefthand column, titled, "All Episodes/RealAudio in order of broadcast," then look for 10/31/2003, "Garbage." Listen in Real Audio format (download help is available there).
An Interview with Ira Glass [text] by Nathan Rabin, The Onion AV Club, 11/05/03
Profile of "America's best radio host" [text] by David Mamet, Time Magazine, 06/01

Bill Moyers Decries Nation's Environmental Policy
In a recent interview with Grist Magazine, respected television journalist Bill Moyers of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), spoke candidly about the state of environmental policy in the nation. Here's the Grist article by Amanda Griscom, August 26, 2003:
"Bill Moyers is best known as the broadcast journalist who, for more than 20 years, has brought the public frank, soul-searching, and sometimes frightening examinations of -- well, of almost everything under the sun. On air, he's equally comfortable discussing politics or poetry, scriptures or science." [more...]
NOW with Bill Moyers PBS website.

Comments and Responses Now Available from Pool 5 Drawdown Public Meetings
Responses and public comments recorded by the Upper Mississippi River Pool 5 Drawdown Task Force were released recently by the task force chair, Tim Schlagenhaft, Minnesota DNR Principal State Planner, in Rochester, MN. [tim.schlagenhaft@dnr.state.mn.us]. Read the document (pdf, 60KB).
The meetings were held at Wabasha High School, on May 21, 2003, and at Cochrane/Fountain City High School, May 22, 2003. The Pool 5 Task Force, a state and federal multi-agency group, hosted the meetings. The task force is presently focused on studying the potential for a seasonal reduction of water level on the Upper Mississippi River Pool 5 in 2005. Pool 5 is located between Upper Mississippi River mile 752.8, Lock and Dam 4, at Alma, Wisconsin, and river mile 738.1, Lock and Dam 5, 10 miles NW of Winona, Minnesota, near Bass Camp. While the Pool 8 drawdown was called a success, local opposition, planning or low water issues forced cancellations of limited drawdowns in Pools 6, 9, and 13 this year.
"Backwater Revival," Minnesota DNR Conservation Volunteer Article on Drawdowns
News Release Announcing Public Meetings, USACE
Upper Mississippi River Water Level Management Study; USACE, a.k.a., www.drawdowns.com
Upper Mississippi River Locks and Dams; USACE St. Paul District
River drawdown ends; wildlife officials call it a success; La Crosse Tribune, September 17, 2002
Pool 6 drawdown canceled, Winona Daily News, July 11, 2003

Special Report on the Plight of the Pallid Sturgeon
The Billings Gazette ran a four-part series the week of August 18, 2003 on one of the species at the center of the Missouri River debate, the pallid sturgeon, a fish the experts say is on the brink of extinction. Read the Gazette's series, by Mark Henckel, outdoor editor, 406-657-1395, henckel@billingsgazette.com:
Part 1: Death of a dinosaur
Part 2: Sex and the lonely sturgeon
Part 3: Sparking romance in pallids
Part 4: Gambling with hatcheries and death and politics

Beach Quality Monitoring Indicates Water Problems Abound
The 13th annual beach quality monitoring report compiled by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) shows continuing serious beach water quality issues in 2002. "High bacteria levels, indicating the presence of human or animal waste, prompted 87 percent of the closures and advisories in 2002," says a report summary. NRDC compiled "Testing the Waters 2003: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches" from its own and EPA surveys. "Too much of the water at too many beaches is still too polluted with sewage and runoff," said Nancy Stoner, director of NRDC's Clean Water Project. "That means millions of American families have their beach vacations ruined when they can't go in the water. Worse yet, officials often don't warn parents when it's unsafe for their children to swim." Read the report. Read the news release.

EPA Holds National Forum on Water Quality Trading, June 22-23
While there's not much news available from the Chicago conference itself, plenty appears to be in the making with this approach to clean water. The EPA's water trading web site offers a number of links to policy and programs, including two from this region, one from Wisconsin and one from Minnesota.
First forum on water quality trading held in USA, Edie (Environmental Data Interactive Exchange, UK, 08/08/03)
National Forum on Water Quality Trading Conference
Enviromental Trading Network Web Page

Friends of the Bay: "The Battle in the Backwaters" Heats Up in St. Paul Park
A group of Twin Cities area citizens of St. Paul Park and Grey Cloud Island Township recently formed a grassroots organization "to preserve the region's quality of life." Friends of the Bay is concerned about the impact of the pending Rivers Edge Development project, and wants the developer to accept local residents' recommendations. Click the image on the left to see the group's website. For more information email the group at speakup@friendsofthebay.com. See this recent article:
ST. PAUL PARK: Development plan packs punch A savvy boxing promoter might call it "The Battle in the Backwaters." In one corner, one of the nation's largest homebuilders, hailing from Arlington, Texas, and weighing in with net sales of $6.7 billion last year. In the other, a handful of environmental groups who want to preserve what they call an environmentally sensitive bay in the Mississippi River just south of St. Paul Park. (BY DOUG PETERS, St. Paul Pioneer Press, 08/10/03

Storms' Oxygen Temporarily Reduces Gulf Dead Zone
According to Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) reseacher Dr. Nancy Rabalais, "Two tropical storms in as many weeks have mixed up the coastal waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico and disrupted the usual widespread extent of summertime waters severely depleted in oxygen...The result was a half again smaller 'dead zone' this summer than the average size for the last ten years. The size just mapped on a 6-day cruise was 8,560 square kilometers (=3,300 square miles)."
Read the complete Dead Zone news release with map and annual comparative chart from LUMCON, 07/29/03.
Rabalais: No historical dead zone. In a reply to a query about the existence of a historical dead zone, the LUMCON scientist said the dead zone is a recent phenomenon.
Page down to 2002 Dead Zone map and release.

"Don't Accost the Wide Missouri"
A plea to save one of America's great rivers
by Stephen Ambrose, 16 Feb 2000, Grist Magazine
"For more than 25 years, the Missouri River has been like a member of my family. Whether we were backpacking the Lolo Trail in Idaho, camping at Lemhi Pass on the Montana border, or canoeing through one of many thunderstorms, the Missouri River has brought my wife, children, and me together in more ways than I can measure." [Read more.] [Ed. Note: Historian Stephen Ambrose died on Oct. 13, 2002, of lung cancer at age 67. He wrote "Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West," a retelling of the story of the great discovery from the explorers' journals, and from years of traveling the route himself with family and friends. Ambrose was a member of the board of American Rivers, and had pledged $1.25 million of the book's royalties to restore the Missouri.]
Article: Family trip inspires second Ambrose to write second Lewis and Clark book, by Sherry Devlin, The Missoulian, 07/17/03.
For more on Stephen Ambrose: Ambrose website.
Map: Library of Congress; American Memory Map Collection, Search "Missouri River Watershed 1798".

Minnesota Environmental Partnership
New Campaign on Phosphorus and Contaminants: "What's In Our Water?"
A coalition of more than 80 Minnesota environmental groups, the Minnesota Environmental Partnership launched a new campaign, "What's In Our Water?" in July to raise awarness on the phosphorus pollution and lake algae relationship. What can people do? This site list several things:
* Purchase and use phosphorus-free dishwasher detergent. Ask your local store for them.
* Purchase and use phosphorus-free fertilizers. Ask your local retailer for them.
* Landscape and Lakescape to reduce phosphorus runoff.
* Join a water monitoring group and test your waters for phosphorus, fecal coliform and other contaminants.
* Maintain and update your septic system.
* Write letters. To soap manufacturers for phosphorus-free detergents. To your county board for the 0% phosphorus standard in lawn fertilizers. To legislators for support of legislation that reduces phosphorus in waterways. To retailers for phosphorus free dishwasher detergents and fertilizers. Visit Minnesota Environmental Partnership home site.

Re: In Nitrogen Denial, Upper Basin Chronicles Chapter 41
Letter to the Editor
July 9, 2003. John: I hope you don't mind a bit of hard criticism here from a fella who is involved in the American agriculture thing today, as regards your storyline on the nitrogen situation and the Hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. [Letter to the editor from Don Griffiths, Colusa, IL.]

Food: Corn Syrup and Obesity? Water Quality?
Does our nation's enormous appetite for sweet food drive the agricultural economy in a direction that increases not only obesity in the population, but also the harmful effects of erosion and nutrient loss from the land into surface and groundwaters? The first and second articles seek to understand if fructose is really the problem. The third article challenges the system's sustainability without addressing obesity. The fourth addresses the corn industry's point of view.
Blaming it on corn syrup
(Its increased use as a cheap sweetener is seen by some as responsible for soaring obesity.) "There isn't any doubt that obesity is on the rise, and it must be coming from somewhere." -- William J. Whelan, Biochemist, noting a parallel in the rise of obesity and corn syrup use. (By Patricia King, Special to The LA Times, 03/24/03)
Sweet but Not So Innocent?
(High-Fructose Corn Syrup May Act More Like Fat Than Sugar in the Body) From fruit-flavored drinks to energy bars, a huge array of sweetened foods and beverages crowds grocery shelves, vending machines, restaurant menus, school lunches and kitchens. According to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), consumption of various sweeteners, often in calorie-dense foods and drinks, has risen in the United States from an estimated 113 pounds per person in 1966 to 147 pounds in 2001. (By Sally Squires, Washington Post, 03/11/03)
Our corn-soybean system fails the sustainability test on all fronts
Present-day corn and soybean production in southern Minnesota does not appear to be sustainable from economic, environmental, ecological and sociological perspectives. Let's examine these four factors... (By Gyles Randall, The Land Stewardship Letter, v19 n4, Sept./Oct., 2001.)
CRA [Corn Refiners Association] Statement on Obesity
The increase in the number of people that are overweight, obese and/or suffer from diabetes is a serious national health concern that warrants the focused attention of national, state and local officials. The Corn Refiners Association, Inc. (CRA) supports science-based solutions that address the fundamental need to improve the nutritional intake in our diets, encourage a balanced diet and moderate consumption of all foods and beverages, and support increased physical activity. (By Corn Refiners Association, Inc. [CRA], 2003)

League of Conservation Voters Education Fund Releases 2003-2004 Briefing Books for Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin

In an effort to define the issues surrounding Upper Midwest conservation and environmental concerns, the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, an arm of the Washington, DC-based lobbying group, has issued a new set of state-based issues-related briefing books. The fund describes itself as "founded in 1985 to promote active and responsible citizenship in addressing our nation's environmental challenges."

New USGS Report Available Online
Anthropogenic Constituents in Shallow Ground Water in the Upper Illinois River Basin
This new USGS "Water Resources of Illinois" report by William S. Morrow is now available online. The report assesses ground- and surface-water quality. "Increasing urbanization throughout the United States has made the occurrence and distribution of anthropogenic (caused by humans) constituents, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and pesticides, in ground water a concern. The rapidly expanding growth in the Chicago, Ill. and Milwaukee, Wis. metropolitan areas in the upper Illinois River Basin may affect the ground-water resources of these areas." Download Water-Resources Investigations Report 02-4293.

"Lakeshore Property Values and Water Quality," Report from the Mississippi Headwaters Region
Bemidji State University has just released the online version of its important study of property values and water clarity of Minnesota lakes in the Mississippi Headwaters region. Lakeshore Property Values and Water Quality shows that water clarity has a positive influence on property prices. The research was conducted by BSU graduate students Charles Krysel and Elizabeth Marsh Boyer, and BSU faculty Dr. Pat Welle and Dr. Charles Parson. Pat Welle is a professor of economics and environmental studies, and director of the university's Center for Environmental, Earth & Space Studies. Charles Parson is a professor of geography. The study was funded by the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCMR), and directed by the Mississippi Headwaters Board, (MHB) the joint powers board of the first eight counties on the Mississippi River. Download the 58-page report.

Report on America's 10 Endangered National Forests includes Wisconsin's Chequemegan-Nicolet
According to the foreword by preeminent biologist Edward O. Wilson, "...environmental scientists continue to argue that America’s national forests are a priceless reservoir of biological diversity and an aesthetic and historic treasure. In this view, they represent a public trust too valuable to be managed as tree farms for the production of pulp, paper and lumber...Worldwide, the four horsemen of environmental ruin – habitat destruction, invasive species, pollution and unsustainable logging – have increased the rate of extinction by as much as one thousand-fold, thereby shortening the average lifespans of species by the same amount." The report, "Endangered Forests, Endangered Freedoms," developed and released by the National Forest Protection Alliance (NFPA), a coalition of 120 groups including Greenpeace USA, expresses grave concern for the present policy of national forest management. See the report web site to download the 40-page (.pdf) report.

Details on the Effects of Motorized Traffic on Aquatic Ecosystems
Steve Johnson, a river management supervisor with Minnesota DNR Waters, has lately been touting the work of a Wisconsin DNR colleague. Timothy R. Asplund's "The Effects of Motorized Watercraft on Aquatic Ecosystems" appeared in 2000, yet Johnson hopes that more people will take a look and pay attention. Asplund's thoroughly detailed report on the problems caused by watercraft, and what we know and don't know about the problems, sees a combination of no-wake zones, restricted areas, enforcement and education, and technology as contributors to the solution for the results of more and more water traffic with larger and larger engines. Tim Asplund himself recommends the March 2003 issue of Lake and Reservoir Management, the journal of the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS), and an article there on the effects on Iowa's Clear Lake. Also see the Minnesota DNR Waters website.

"The Mississippi...has become an expressway for nutrients and toxic substances bound for the sea." The Pew Oceans Commission Report
The just-released Pew Oceans Commission report, "America's Living Oceans: Charting a Course for Sea Change," pulls no punches in identifying the Mississippi River Basin (along with the Hudson, the Susquehanna, the Columbia, and America’s other great rivers) as one of several threats to the health of the nation's ocean resources. "Each summer, nutrient pollution creates a dead zone the size of Massachusetts in the Gulf of Mexico." See the article from the Des Moines Register in the News column (right). The full report represents the first comprehensive assessment of US ocean resources in 30 years. You can download or purchase the report in book form. Read the Environmental News Service article on the report, "Pew Report Finds U.S. Oceans in Crisis" by J.R. Pegg, 06/04/03.
NPR's Science Friday: Health of the Oceans. Listen online to the experts' discussion from Friday, June 6, 2003.

Report Examines Sustainability of Natural Resource Economies
A new Sustainability Institute report "provides a map of the structures that produce the behavior common to many natural resource economies — ever-increasing production leading to the traps of over-harvest, pollution, and community decline." Part of the study, the "Corn System Project," was in partnership with Minnesota-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). Other leemenets include forestry and shrimping. The completed report, "Commodity System Challenges Moving Sustainability into the Mainstream of Natural Resource Economies," is now available. Download the report; April 2003. (425 k pdf). Founded in 1996 by the late Donella (Dana) Meadows (Limits to Growth; Beyond the Limits), the Sustainability Institute's mission is "to apply systems thinking and organizational learning to economic, environmental and social challenges."

Topsoil Value in Perspective - Get this American Farmland Trust Online Animation!
American Farmland Trust's movie, "The Apple as Planet Earth," a one minute-long, auto-downloadable animation, demonstrates the value of the earth's arable land and the tiny part of it that topsoil represents. To access the movie, click on the graphic and go to the link near the bottom of the AFT's home page. Best of all, you can request a copy for use in your PowerPoint presentations via info@farmland.org. American Farmland Trust focuses on conservation easements, effective community planning, and good stewardship and conservation.

"Birds in Decline" Cited in Vital Signs 2003
The Worldwatch Institute and the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) report on Earth's "vital signs" details declining bird populations worldwide, among other equally dismal indicators. The reort cites a study by BirdLife International and states that "about 12 percent of the world's 9,800 bird species are threatened with extinction within the next century and that in the near future an additional 8 percent may become threatened." Overall, the vital sign numbers are staggering; the march toward disease, poverty, and environmental degradation continues while the gap between rich and poor nations ever widens. This just-released report, produced in cooperation with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), lists infectious diseases, wars and conflicts, illegal drugs, large numbers of refugees, and corruption as among the biggest problems facing Planet Earth. According to an article on the report by ENS (Environment News Service), the Vital Signs report notes that Michael Renner, coauthor and project director, says the buying habits of the wealthy and the inaction of political leaders are causes. See the Worldwatch Institute press release on Vital Signs 2003.

Minnesota DNR Billboards Target Trail Users via "Protect Your Privilege to Ride" Theme
In this example from U.S. Highway 61 northbound near Minnesota City, Minnesota, the message from the state DNR's spring campaign to change off highway vehicle (OHV) riding behavior reads pretty clearly. Both billboards and radio spot public service announcements (listen online) tie trail behavior to continuing use. According a DNR news release, vehicle now number over 200,000, and are expected to increase by "tens of thousands" per year.

Green Landscaping with Native Plants - EPA's Great Lakes Region Web Site
With recent warm weather and rain, the lawns of the Upper Midwest are sprouting like crazy -- along with the TV commercials touting lawn chemicals and fertilizers. In fact, much of applied suburban lawn treatments wind up in local watersheds at huge cost to the environment, and eventually to homeowners who apply them. The main photo at the left shows a green landscaping example from the Minnesota DNR, a demonstration project on urban Lake Winona (Winona, MN). Check out the fine recommendations of Danielle Green of the EPA's Great Lakes National Program Office and Dan Welker of EPA Region 3 on the how to's and why's of green landscaping with native plants. See the EPA's Greenlandscaping with Native Plants web site. Also CNN Health's story (07/17/02), "Does green grass come with health risks?"

Hegle Joins UMBSN Staff As Outreach Coordinator
Winona area resident Dick Hegle recently joined the Upper Mississippi Basin Stakeholder Network team to facilitate outreach coordination among stakeholder groups. Hegle's experience as a corporate training manager in sales and marketing organizations for several major manufacturing companies in the Minnesota and Wisconsin area. His love of the outdoors, especially golf, mountain biking, and four-wheeling, adds depth to the organization. He will be working on marketing and promotion for the UMBSN project and the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Department of Resource Analysis. You can reach Dick by phone at 507-457-8726, by fax at 507-457-6604, by email at dhegle@smumn.edu, or by mail at GeoSpatial Services, Department of Resource Analysis, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, 360 Vila Street # 7, Winona, MN 55987. You'll enjoy him as much as we do.

Anfinson's History of the Upper River Now Available
According to the University of Minnesota Press, The River We Have Wrought: A History of the Upper Mississippi by John O. Anfinson "is a landmark history of the upper Mississippi from early European exploration through the completion of a navigable channel and a system of locks and dams. John Anfinson examines how politics has shaped the landscapes of the Upper Midwest and how taming the Mississippi has affected economic sustainability, river ecology, and biological diversity." 336 pages | 27 halftones, 3 line art, 9 tables | 2003 | ISBN 0-8166-4023-8 | hardcover/jacket | $29.95.

Upper and Middle Mississippi Valley Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit Approved
According to Tony Prato (pratoa@missouri.edu, 573-882-0147), the Upper and Middle Mississippi Valley Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit has been approved by the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Council. The University of Missouri-Columbia will serve as host institution. University partners include University of Minnesota, Iowa State University, University of Iowa, Drake University (Iowa), University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University, Indiana University, University of Kansas, Lincoln University (Missouri), Southwest Missouri State University and University of Missouri-Columbia. Non-university partners include Audubon-Upper Mississippi River Campaign, Audubon Missouri, Conservation Federation of Missouri, Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. Federal participating agencies are the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and United States Geological Survey-Biological Resources Division. Contact Tony for more information, or see http://www.cesu.org/cesu/.

Wisconsin Lake Quality Monitoring via Satellite and Volunteers
University of Wisconsin - Madison remote sensing researchers and hundreds of volunteers are working together to create a significant new lake water quality monitoring tool. This view of Madison's two primary lakes, a composite of three Landsat 7 satellite images (1999-2000), clearly demonstrates the summer algae bloom there. To learn more, click on the image. Photo courtesy of Environmental Remote Sensing Center, Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.

BALMM Announces CREP Proposal for SE Minnesota
The Basin Alliance for the Lower Mississippi in Minnesota (BALMM), a locally-led alliance of land and water resource agencies working to improve water quality in the region, recently proposed a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) for the southeast part of the state. According to the group's "balmm currents" newsletter (12/12/01), "This major project proposal [will] fund the acquisition of easements for 95,730 acres of land from willing landowners in one of the four eligible categories: highly erodible land; stream corridor buffers; wetland restoration sites; and groundwater protection zones. The federal government would fund 75 to 80 percent of the project, with the state funding the remaining 20 to 25 percent through the RIM [Reinvest in Minnesota] Reserve Program." (Photo: Root River confluence with the Mississippi River, August, 1999; Photo courtesy Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.)
More information:
CREP for SE Minnesota slide show (.pdf version, 3.57 MB) (.htm version) (B&W .pdf small version 1.25 MB)
SE Minnesota CREP Announcement balmm currents, 12/12/02
SE Minnesota CREP Alert Extra balmm currents, 12/18/02
SE Minnesota CREP Overview
BALMM Information Page on UMBSN

"Censored Science" Special Reports
Des Moines Register Tackles the Agricultural Pollution Story
Iowa's flagship newspaper took on the state's largest industry recently and one of the heart of America's biggest problems — industrial level agricultural pollution. See the "Special Report Censored Science" articles on this Register page. According to the Society for Environmental Journalism, where he is first vice president, series author, "Perry Beeman has reported for The Des Moines Register since 1981. His work at The Register has included a number of award-winning investigative pieces, including a water-sampling effort that prompted the state's first comprehensive testing of state-park swimming areas. Beeman has documented widespread concerns about pollution and health threats from livestock confinements. He won a science writing fellowship at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA., in 1999, where he studied environmental science before working with scientists in the field in Brazil's Amazonia region. Beeman is a graduate of Iowa State University in journalism and environmental studies. Contact Perry, (515) 284-8538."

Thirty Years of the Clean Water Act
Here's a roundup of stories and sites celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, enacted on October 18, 1972. While the act draws both praise and criticism, and calls for its overhaul for stricter and more lenient standards abound, conventional wisdom expresses significant concern for the state of our water.
Year of Clean Water Proclamation, President George W. Bush, 10/18/02
Clean Water at Risk A 30th Anniversary Assessment of the Bush Administration's Rollback of Clean Water Protections, Natural Resources Defense Council, 10/18/02
Troubled waters remain by DENNIS LIEN, St. Paul Pioneer Press, 10/18/02
Majority of companies, waste treatment plants exceeding EPA pollution permits, study finds, by JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/17/02
Students mark clean-water milestone, by MELISSA MYERS, Des Moines Register, 10/19/02
Opinion: The Clean Water Act at 30, Editorial Board of the NY Times [registration req'd.], 10/22/02
EPA Celebrates 30th Anniversary of Clean Water Act, U.S. EPA site, 10/18/02
USGS National Water Quality Monitoring Day, 10/18/02
What's In Your Water? National Water Monitoring Day, Earth Day Network, 10/18/02
October 18: The 30th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, American Rivers, 10/18/02
Six Principles For A Stronger Clean Water Act, U.S. PRIGonline
Welcome to the Year of Clean Water Website, YOCW 2002
Reports of the Water Science and Technology Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences

"Tread Lightly!" Educates the ATV Market
The former U.S. Forest Service educational program founded in 1985, recently turned private non-profit organization, works to promote responsible motorized use of the land. Tread Lightly! is "dedicated to empowering generations to enjoy the outdoors responsibly through education, restoration and research." Individuals and organizations can join Tread Lightly! at various levels. See Tread Lightly! Ad Guidelines and Responsible ATV Riding links.
As off-highway and all-terrain vehicle dealers rush to sell inventory for hunting season, and ahead of coming snows, we also took a look at manufacturer's web sites for safety and environmental links, and at state agencies, and industry sites, also. After you see those heart-thumping tv commercials, take a few minutes to see who's thinking about safety and environmental impact. Some of these leading manufacturers, but not all, support the Tread Lightly! organization.

Report: "Climate Change & The Financial Services Industry"
The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) Finance Initiatives Climate Change Working Group released a report October 7 at the Swiss Re Greenhouse Gas conference in Zurich, Switzerland, from a study on the effects of climate change on insurers. According to the report, "Worldwide economic losses due to natural disasters appear to be doubling every 10 years and, on current trends, annual losses will reach almost $150 billion in the next decade." Download the PDF documents, a CEO briefing and both modules of the full report at the UNEP FI web site. See the news story, "Climate Related Perils Could Bankrupt Insurers."

Nonpoint Source Farming Practices Cited as Ocean Pollution
Meeting this week in a public regional session in Chicago, the United States Commission on Ocean Policy just released its midterm report, "Developing a National Ocean Policy" (pdf, 480k; 9/17/02) that points to urban, farm, and air pollution as principal nonpoint sources damaging the oceans, and especially the nation's coastal waters. Established by the Oceans Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-256), and headed by respected Admiral James D. Watkins (USN) Ret., the commission will make recommendations to the President and Congress on a national ocean policy. You can see Admiral Watkins' brief comments at the commission's web site. Read the Great Lakes regional meeting agenda, now in session, September 24-25, 2002. William F. Hartwig, regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will participate in the Chicago meeting. The commission will issue its final report in June 2003. Read the AP story, "Panel Says Health of Seas in Peril."

Upper River Management and Program Structure Diagrammed for Fremling's New Book
To support a new book by Calvin R. Fremling, biology professor emeritus at Winona State University, the Upper Mississippi Basin Stakeholder Network staff created an organization chart/flow diagram. Dr. Fremling's book, “Immortal River: The Upper Mississippi in Ancient and Modern Times,” will be available in 2004. Early readings make it plain that the veteran biologist and principal Upper Mississippi River researcher will offer unique and valuable insights on one of the earth's major river systems. If you think the management and programs structure on the Upper River is complex and difficult to understand, we believe you're right. The chart attempts to balance complexity and comprehension. We appreciate your feedback and comment. Email or fax us via 507-457-6604. Open or download the letter-sized diagram (pdf, 77K, v083002, requires Adobe Acrobat). See a list of acronyms and abbreviations used on the diagram. Many thanks to reviewers, including Barbara Naramore of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association (UMBRA).

A Carp in the Chops No Fun
Wendy Martin, of the Mason County Democrat in Havana, IL, alerted us to Rich White, an Illinois River boat tour guide who was hit hard in the face recently by a leaping Asian carp -- right between the eyes. "It didn't blacken my eyes, but it sure hurt," Rich said recently. Family from Holland traveling with him that day wanted to film the encounter for "funniest videos." Rich, who has been hit several times, has learned to duck. "You can hear them break the water," White said. "These go up to about 8 pounds," he said. "Bigger than that, and my dad's .069 [commercial fishing] net won't hold them. They tear right through it." The exotic carp, in schools, and frightened by passing boats even at low speed, leap high into the air, into people, and sometimes, into the stern bilge. Notice the near carp over the boat wake, and another flying in the trees to the left of Rich's cap. Rich holds one that hurtled into his flatboat . Photos (click for a larger images) by Bob Martin, photographer for the Mason County Democrat, used by permission. For the Illinois River (and leaping carp) tour, you can reach Rich White at (309) 543-2049.

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) Violators Highlighted
The Sierra Club compiles feedlot point source polluters in this controversial report titled, "The RapSheet: Convictions, Fines, Pollution Violations, and Regulatory Records on Animal Factories."
New York Times article:"Feedlot Perils Outpace Regulation, Sierra Club Says."
View the report by state.
The "Ten Least Wanted," and their environmental (or home) web pages: Buckeye Egg Farm (no home page available); Cargill's Environment Page; ConAgra's Environment Leadership Initiative Page; Premium Standard Farms' (PSF) Environment Page; (DeCoster; no home page available); Foster Farms' Home Page; Sand Livestock Systems, Inc. Home Page; Seaboard Farms' Home Page; Smithfield Foods 2001 Environmental Report; Tyson Foods' Home Page and its Nature's Farm Organic Chicken brand.
Feedback to UMBSN: Robert R. Broz writes: "I found the information useable but as in many cases, some of the facts have been distorted by the Sierra Club." More...

Special Report: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by the Washington Post
Here's a comprehensive look at the 200 year-old agency and its attempts to reform itself while critics and defenders in Congress prepare to do legislative battle over the future of the 35,000 employee agency. Go to the Post's special report.

UMBSN Seeks Conservation Success and Rural History Stories
The Upper Mississippi Basin Stakeholder Network is now offering quality embroidered t-shirts and caps to contributors who submit 200-250 word stories. Here's how to get a cap or t-shirt. Read contributors' conservation success and rural history stories.

"The Farm Bill, Wildlife and Bobwhite Quail in Specific"
The Missouri Dept. of Conservation Private Land Services Chief delivers a message the Bobwhite Quail as the flagship species representing wildlife conservation on agricultural lands. (from the Farm Bill Network email list, http://www.fb-net.org/e-list.htm).

"Scorecard" Site Tallies Environmental Health
See "Scorecard," a leading environmental web site tallying the health of your neighborhood and county based on state and federal databases from environmental defense.

Leopold's Coon Creek Revisited
See "Utilizing GIS for Mapping Reforestation of an Agricultural Landscape, 1939-1993, in Coon Creek Watershed, Wisconsin," a GIS look at woodlot changes in the watershed where Aldo Leopold worked in the early 1930's. Saint Mary's University of Minnesota graduate instructor Roldan details her research project on forest land cover changes since Leopold's time there.

Audubon Looks at Changes in Upper Basin Agriculture
"The Changing Face of the UMR Basin, Agriculture: Selected Profiles of Farming and Farm Practices, a report by the National Audubon Society's Upper Mississippi River Campaign, provides valuable insights into the brave new world of agriculture in the Upper Midwest. The report is in two PDF files. One is the report itself (10 mb file), and another contains the map overlays referenced in the report. Get the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Holistic Overview of the Upper Mississippi River
Ecological, Economic, and Institutional History of the Upper Mississippi River, by Dr. Calvin Fremling, Winona State University Biology Professor Emeritus, and Barry Drazkowski, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota.

Extended Deadline to June 3, 2002
Call for Papers from the Soil and Water Conservation Society
Changing Faces of Conservation and Agriculture-the Future of Working Lands, a Conference of the West North Central Region of the Soil and Water Conservation Society at the Holiday Inn Airport, Moline, IL - Abstracts are being solicited for concurrent session and poster session presentations for the conference, October 8-10, 2002. The conference will examine how the changing faces of agriculture and conservation affect working lands in the United States, particularly in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. For specific information about abstract submission, visit the website at www.iaswcs.org/west_north_central.htm. See the draft program.

Thomas Nast Flood Cartoon
Also notable, Ding Darling's predecessor Thomas Nast published a Mississippi River cartoon in Harper's Weekly on May 13, 1882, "The South Asking the Federal Government's Protection from the Unruly, Overflowing Monster Mississippi." An excellent short history is included.

Twin Cities Mississippi Riverfront Online Forum
The Mississippi River is the "lifeblood" of the Twin Cities. But it's come under increasing pressure from many directions in the past few decades. What will become of the river in 20 or 30 years, or 100 years? The Metropolitan Council hosted an "online-only" discussion from March 13-31 in connection with the Mississippi Riverfront Initiative. The project is bringing together all the riverfront communities between St. Paul and Hastings, plus organizations, nonprofits and individuals to discuss the river corridor, riverfront development, transportation and environmental issues, river access, historical and cultural preservation, and related concerns. You can join the discussion, too. Go to http://www.metrocouncil.org/planning/river/intro.htm. The Forum closed March 31, but is available for review.

Farm Service Agency Seeks Comment
The FSA is accepting comment on progam EIS for CRP, ECP, CREP, and GRP until May 30, 2002.

NRCS Conservation Technical Assistance Receives a Resounding Vote of Confidence from Landowners
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) shows that farmers and ranchers are happy with the conservation technical assistance (CTA) they get from the NRCS and conservation districts.  CTA received a satisfaction index of 81 out of a possible 100, 10 points higher than Americans rate private sector services, and 12 points higher than the index for Federal government services. CTA received a trust index of 90 out of a possible 100.  Check out Customer satisfaction with CTA.

Wisconsin NRCS Announces Signup for Farmland Conservation Program, July 1 - July 26, 2002.
According to a news release the Wisconsin office, "The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service has announced the statewide signup period for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program will open July 1 and continue through July 26, 2002 at all USDA Service Centers in Wisconsin. The program, called EQIP, provides cost sharing to help farmers with conservation practices. Approximately $1.9 million is available for this signup." Read the complete release.

Mississippi River Relief - Big River Cleanup, June 22 - 30, 2002
A collaborative effort by several Mississippi River interests groups and corporate sponsors promises to turn out large numbers of volunteers onto the Minneapolis - St. Paul Mississippi River corridor beginning Saturday. Download the event PDF brochure. For other river news, see Big River with a new issue about to hit the street.

Prairie Chicken, Passenger Pigeon, Bobwhite Quail
Sky Is Falling on Prairie Chicken, Sacrifice of a Rite of Spring
CASSODAY, Kan. — A roadside sign proclaims this town the Prairie Chicken Capital of the World. But the prairie chicken is experiencing a catastrophic decline here in the Flint Hills, the core of its range. (By E. VERNON LAUX, New York Times [registration req'd], 5/28/02)
Passenger Pigeon article; Smithsonian Institution Encyclopedia
"The Farm Bill, Wildlife and Bobwhite Quail in Specific"
The Missouri Dept. of Conservation Private Land Services Chief delivers a message the Bobwhite Quail as the flagship species representing wildlife conservation on agricultural lands. (from the Farm Bill Network email list, http://www.fb-net.org/e-list.htm).

June 6, 2003: Ed. Note: EMP was refunded following a campaign in part outlined in the next two items below. See the Winona Daily News article.

Massive Cuts in 2003 EMP Budget Pending
According to a recent news release from the Wisconsin DNR, the program with acclaimed successes in habitat restoration projects on the Upper Mississippi River is in definite peril under the present federal budget proposal for 2003: "Mississippi River Habitat Restoration and Monitoring Program Faces Massive Budget Cuts The federal budget proposal for 2003 will reduce funding of the Environmental Management Program (EMP), the premier habitat restoration and monitoring program for the Upper Mississippi River, by a massive 40% from the 2002 budget. This program, administered through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has been responsible for well known and highly acclaimed habitat projects such as the Pool 8 Islands Phase I and II, near Stoddard, WI. Habitat projects such as these have helped to restore or improve roughly 68 thousand acres of fish and wildlife habitat on the Upper Mississippi River System." More...

From the office of Minnesota 1st District U.S. Representative Gil Gutknecht:
Letter to U.S. House Appropriations Committee Leadership on EMP Funding from Upper Mississippi River Representatives

Declining EMP Funding Concerns on the Rise
Concerns about a smaller Upper Mississippi River Environmental Management Program (EMP) appropriation in the Water Resources Development Act of 2003 are increasing with fears about lost projects and jobs now beginning to surface. An article in the Lacrosse Tribune pointed to the problem in July. Washington sources say appropriators and people in DC aren't hearing about EMP and its grassroots beginnings. Supporters urge constituents to provide facts on losses with reduced funding, any recent news articles, data from the National Academy of Sciences, and possible lost job and lost project impacts. Concern from Dan McGuiness, director of National Audubon's Upper Mississippi River Campaign, and Robin Grawe, of the volunteer Mississippi River Citizen Commission, urge letters to congressional appropriators right away. Here is the list of river state congressional appropriators. Also, the McGuiness letter, and other possible sample letters.

EPA's Watershed Initiative Requests Nominations
The EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds just released a fact sheet announcing its request for nominations via state governors or tribal leaders, due November 21, 2002, for the new Watershed Initiative in which about 20 watersheds will receive funding for innovative programs. The collaborative nature of the program suggests partnerships with such entities as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to Beverly Getzen, Interagency Coordinator for the Corps, beverley.b.getzen@usace.army.mil.

In Memoriam: Paul and Sheila Wellstone
Agriculture, the environment, and the people who care about those issues lost irreplaceable friends when Paul Wellstone, his wife, Sheila, daughter, Marcia Wellstone Markuson, campaign workers Mary McEvoy, Tom Lapic, and Will McLaughlin, and pilots Richard Conry and Michael Guess died in a plane crash on Friday, October 25 near Eveleth, Minnesota. Paul and Sheila worked tirelessly on issues important to people in the Upper Midwest. Paul campaigned, indeed cut his political teeth, working to save farmland and the quality of the environment. The League of Conservation Voters gave him 100% ratings in most years. Sheila devoted herself to the issue of domestic violence, protecting women and children, and families. Together, they made a huge difference through their love of people, and the land and water.
Tribute to Paul Wellstone, Successful Farming
News and editorial coverage
Wellstone For Senate 2002 Site

Upper Midwest Founded CROPWALKERS Feed the Hungry
Many, many ears of Upper Midwest corn have supported the 35 year-old CROP WALK program of Church World Service (CWS). CROP Walks, started in Bismarck, ND in 1947, continue to get people walking to raise funds to feed the hungry via food pantries in the U.S., as well as donations for Afghanistan and Pakistan. CROP/CWS also promotes sustainable development and AIDS relief in Africa. CROP stands for "Christian Rural Overseas Program," and in some communities, for "Communities Reaching Out to People." For a walk near you...

"Nature's Revenge: Louisiana's Vanishing Wetlands"
In concert with Bill Moyers of PBS, Daniel Zwerdling of National Public Radio's documentary division has created a powerful new documentary on the degradation of the Mississippi River estuary. See the web site to listen to the one hour documentary. "Every year, a chunk of land almost the size of Manhattan turns into open water in Louisiana. After decades of ignoring warnings from scientists and environmentalists, the state's business leaders are taking notice because they say this could doom the state's economy and threaten vital American industries like seafood, gas, and oil. Louisiana is getting ready to go to Congress with a bold and expensive plan to unleash the Mississippi to restore the wetlands - and they want you to help pay for it."

"The Disappearing Delta," NOW with Bill Moyers on PBS
In concert with American Radioworks (NPR), the Public Broadcasting System's NOW program presents the story of "The Disappearing Delta" in two parts: On Friday, September 6, 2002, at 9 P.M., (see NOW archive) PBS ran, "Losing Ground," on how "one of the biggest civil engineering projects in U.S. history — the levee-ing of the Mississippi River — has brought Louisiana and the nation to the brink of what could be the most costly environmental disaster in history." On Friday, September 20, 2002, at 9 P.M., on PBS will air "The Sinking of New Orleans," in which NOW with Bill Moyers returns "to examine another ominous effect of this crisis — the risk that a massive hurricane could drown New Orleans." Check your local PBS online schedule listings for possible re-runs and the next segment, or watch online via the NOW archive, where the show will appear soon.

World Summit on Sustainable Development Concluded
News sources on the summit:
Johannesburg Summit 2002 – World Summit on Sustainable Development UN Site
World Summit on Sustainable Development, NPR's World Summit Web Site
Daily Summit Full Coverage, BBC News World Edition
World Summit Daily Updates, Worldwatch Institute
World Summit Overview, Several Stories; UN News Yahoo!
U.S. aid to farms harms Africa, [Canada's] PM says, Toronto Star
Earth Summit Deal Snagged on Women's Rights, NY Times (registration req'd.)
To save the planet, first get an interpreter, Christian Science Monitor

USDA Economic Research for 2002
The Economic Research Service (ERS) is the main source of economic information and research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Here is their Agricultural Outlook for for U.S. Agricultural Trade, May 31, 2002 in PDF form. Here is another report on Agri-Environmental Policy at the Crossroads: Guideposts on a Changing Landscape in PDF form. See the  Economic Research Service (ERS) web site.

FAPRI Preliminary Farm Bill Analysis
The Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) offers several comprehensive publications on agriculture issues and markets, both in the U.S. and globally. Go to the FAPRI website. 

Farm Bill Forestry Summary
The Pinchot Institute recently summarized the 2002 Farm Bill forestry provisions. See the Farm Bill Network or the Pinchot Institute.

Two USDA Units Proposed Shifted to Homeland Security
According to a document available on the Department of Homeland Security website, the USDA's Plum Island Animal Disease Center would be part of the department's "Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Countermeasures" division under the reorganization announced by President George W. Bush on June 6. In addition, the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service would report under "Border and Transportation Security." See the document at the Department of Homeland Security's website at whitehouse.gov. The changes are subject to congressional approval.

Coast Guard Drafts Rule For Mississippi/Missouri River Nuclear Power Plant Permanent Security Zones
This draft document describes proposed security zones controlled by the Captain of the Port, St. Louis Area, US Coast Guard 8th District. Temporary rules now in place expire June 15, 2002 for areas around the Quad Cities Generating Station, Cordova, Illinois; Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Facility, Welch, Minnesota; Clinton Power Station, Clinton, Illinois; Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Station, Fort Calhoun, Nebraska; and the Cooper Nuclear Station, Brownville, Nebraska. The final rule will appear in the Federal Register and via a Broadcast Notice to Mariners from the US Coast Guard (USCG). See the Office of Boating Safety web site. Also, you can download, print, and build a color paper model (PDF) of the recovery helicopter, the HH-65 Dolphin, from the 8th District web site download page. HH-65 data sheet.

"The Internet as Environmental Activist"
In this article, the director of the Internet and Conservation Project at the Taubman Center for State and Local Government at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, James N. Levitt, predicts an upsurge of environmental awareness as a result of the internet.

NRCS Conservation Technical Assistance Receives a Resounding Vote of Confidence from Landowners
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) shows that farmers and ranchers are happy with the conservation technical assistance (CTA) they get from the NRCS and conservation districts.  CTA received a satisfaction index of 81 out of a possible 100, 10 points higher than Americans rate private sector services, and 12 points higher than the index for Federal government services. CTA received a trust index of 90 out of a possible 100.  Check out Customer satisfaction with CTA.

National Coastal Condition Report
Some U.S. Coastal Waters Deemed Unfit, While the Missouri is Endangered from Hypoxia (hypoxia@iatp.org ) (mmuller@iatp.org) Wed, 10 Apr 2002 A new federal "report card" confirms the declining quality of U.S. coastal waters and the threat that this trend poses to both humans and marine life. A National Academies report calls for a national strategy to combat nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in coastal waters. The overabundance of these nutrients - often from agricultural runoff, sewage treatment plants and fossil fuel emissions - is causing serious environmental damage on all of the nation's coasts, says the Academies report. The federal National Coastal Condition Report: http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/nccr. The Academies report, Clean Costal Waters: http://books.nap.edu/catalog/9812.html?do_ph20.

NRCS Midwest Regional Report
"2001 Midwest Region Report [on] Natural Resources Conservation Activities" (4.6MB PDF). Saint Mary's University gets a mention for Upper Basin Stewardship Initiative activity.

Upper Basin Cultural Research
The Great Lakes Archaeological Research Center in Milwaukee Wisconsin is developing a cultural resources management strategy for the Upper Mississippi River Valley and Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge on behalf of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Researcher Katherine Rognsvoog is the project leader.

MPR Looks at Minnesota Rivers
Minnesota Public Radio's series Changing Currents offers (in archive) an excellent audio look at the rivers of Minnesota and how they are faring and changing. You can add your group's perspective to the discussion in an online "civic journalism forum."

Corps Releases New Draft Navigation Study
US Army Corps of Engineers releases draft "Interim Report for the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway Restructured System Navigation Feasibility Study, May 10, 2002. Read report (4.5MB PDF). See the USACE Navigation Study web site.

Draft Navigation Study Pool 1 and 2 Planning Documents
Read draft pool plan visions for Pools 1 and 2 from the US Army Corps of Engineers navigation study folks. Download the .zip file with three Word documents.

Hypoxia (Dead) Zone Now Larger than New Jersey
According to a news release from Chief Scientist Nancy Rabalais of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON), the zone of low oxygen content (<2.0mg/L) in the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the Mississippi River has increased again this year, and now surpassed the size of the state of New Jersey, and is approaching the area of the state of Massachusetts. Read the complete press release. [Ed. note: Much of the hypoxia zone is attributed to agricultural runoff from the Upper Midwest.] (Page Up to 2003 Hypoxia)

Trade Nutrients, Improve the World
Nutrient Net, a nutrient trading demonstration website, sponsored by the World Resources Institute, provides Information on nutrient trading, buying and selling nutrient credits, and tracking the nutrient credit market.

Driftless Region Watershed Project
The "Driftless Area Initiative," recently extended its area of watershed concern into the Chippewa basin and parts of the 104 watershed area, as well. See the interim home page for an emerging organization of professional conservationists, volunteers, and concerned citizens in the Upper Basin's Driftless Region.

Letter to the Editor
A former Iowa farmer responds to the Hog Summit in Clear Lake, Iowa.

Urban Storm Drain Stenciling on Minnehaha Creek
Volunteers stenciled urban streets near storm drains along the Minnehaha Creek Park in South Minneapolis on Wednesday evening, June 19th.. Distinctive white (with three fish) stencils, saying "Please! Don't Pollute! Drains to River" remind people that water from their lawns, sidewalks, alleys, and driveways all runs downhill to the creek and the river. In addition, Friends of the Mississippi River volunteers hung doorknob flyers throughout neighborhoods along the extensive Minnehaha Parkway. Areas of West St. Paul, South St. Paul, and Inver Grove Heights are also targeted this year. For more information, contact Katie Galloway, 651/222-2193.

Pesticide Detection Tops BALMM Agenda
"The detection of the commonly used herbicides atrazine, metolochlor and metribuzin in groundwater as a result of normal use of these products is leading to the development and promotion of best management practices to minimize impacts on groundwater, according to "balmm currents," newsletter of the Basin Alliance for the Lower Mississippi in Minnesota. MPCA staff are looking at stream monitoring data, which shows atrazine concentrations above state water quality standards at times, and a possible Total Maximum Daily Load study for atrazine. See "balmm currents" newsletters.

"Ecological Farming" World Summit Policy Brief
The United Nations hosts the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, August 26 - September 4, 2002. In preparation, the Worldwatch Institute is issuing policy briefs on key issues. Here's "From Rio to Johannesburg: Ecological Farming — Reducing Hunger and Meeting Environmental Goals," by Brian Halweil, June 11, 2002..

Sustainable Lawn Care Growth
The University of Minnesota's Sustainable Urban Landscape Information Series (SULIS) offers a comprehensive Sustainable Lawn Care Information Series. While the 2002 Minnesota Legislature passed a phosphorus-free lawn fertilizer bill effective January 2004 in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area, the site does not yet reflect that new information. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Master Gardeners' 2001-2002 slogan is "Clean Water or Green Water."

Chad Pegracke: More Than "Dude Over Troubled Water"
Check out Outside Magazine's in-depth profile of the Mississippi River trash crusader Chad Pegracke and his Living Lands and Waters organization. The river "dude" won the nation's most prestigious public service citation, a Jefferson Award from the American Institute for Public Service, last May along with Rudolph Giuliani, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Lilly Tartikoff. U.S. Justice of the Supreme Court Sandra Day O'Connor presented Chad with the "Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Individual Thirty-Five Years or Under" for his service cleaning the waters of the Mississippi, the Illinois, the Ohio, and the Missouri Rivers.

Corps Releases New Draft Navigation Study
US Army Corps of Engineers releases draft "Interim Report for the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway Restructured System Navigation Feasibility Study, May 10, 2002. Read report (4.5MB PDF). See the USACE Navigation Study web site.

Grand Excursion Momentum
The "Grand Excursion 2004, America Celebrates the Mississippi River," a summer-long series of events that commemorates the 150th anniversary of a grand tour of the nation's greatest river, is (a-hem) picking up steam.

Listen: A Riverboat Captain and a Ranger, Lives on the River
Hear an August 1 (Hour 2) Voices of Minnesota broadcast from Minnesota Public Radio's Midday program with interviews of longtime riverboat captain Bill Bowell, and National Park Service Ranger John Anfinson. Also See MPR's Changing Currents page on river issues.

NE-MW Institute Posts "New Directions in Farm Policy"
The most recent edition of the Northeast-Midwest Institute's Economic Review is now online. It looks at the 2002 farm bill and future of environmental stewardship, local and regional food production, and new agricultural products and markets, including renewable energy. Also read about "Controlling Mercury," "Blocking Invasive Species," "Manufacturing's Emerging Trends," "Cleaning Brownfields," and "Removing Barriers to Electricity Innovations." See New Directions in Farm Policy.

Ambrose and Brinkley Publish "The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation"
Historians Stephen Ambrose and Douglas Brinkley, with National Geographic photographer Sam Abell, have released a new river book by National Geographic Books. "Variegated and ruminative about the Mississippi's physical and literary centrality to American history, Ambrose and Brinkley's exploration will justly attract great attention," writes Gilbert Taylor of the American Library Association's Booklist. You can meet Doug Brinkley on Tuesday, October 22, 2002, in the Twin Cities at one of these locations.

Election Results Listed by League of Conservation Voters
Following the Tuesday, November 5th, election, the League assessed races where conservation-supportive candidates won and lost. Its "Dirty Dozen" list looks at how the least supportive candidates fared. The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) issues its National Environmental Scorecard prior to each major election for members of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives by state and district. You can download the complete 2002 pre-election environmental scorecard (PDF; 97K).

Book Review
Founding Fish by John McPhee -- Most Savory
Author John McPhee's new book on the American shad Alosa sapidissima (most savory) will give fishermen and women, and fish feasters alike, a treat of the history, biology, anatomy, ecology, and prospects for North American's premier (he believes) anadromous fish. You will spend time fishing with McPhee on both the native east coast, wading and canoeing the Delaware, and on the west, where the American shad arrived by train in 1871. You will also meet a few shad ichthyologists (with a sturgeon story or two) and many a shad and fishing characters whom only the master can describe. According to his publisher, "John McPhee is the author of 26 books, including Annals of the Former World, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize in 1999. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1965 and lives in Princeton, New Jersey

River Refuge: Interviews on Online Radio
Minnesota Public Radio's Midmorning Program broadcast live interviews Friday, April 25th, with Don Hultman, USFWS manager of the Upper Mississippi Wildlife Refuge (9 a.m.), and birding expert Carol Schumacher (10 a.m.) with host Katherine Lanpher from the Acoustic Cafe in Winona. Drop in at 2nd and Lafayette in downtown Winona, Minnesota. Listen to the program archive via the web from the link above. (You'll need the RealAudio player version 8 or newer. The RealPlayer takes about five or more minutes to install, depending on your connection speed. You can easily opt out of the paid player for the free version toward the end of the installation.)

Earth Day 2003 Resources
On April 22, 2003, National Public Radio (NPR) and the National Press Club featured a live address by former Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, the "Father of Earth Day." Minnesota Public Radio's Midday Program. This program will also be available in online audio archive if you missed it.
Here are a few of many Earth Day worldwide web resources to help you celebrate its 33rd anniversary:
Earth Day Network, "an alliance of 5,000 groups in 184 countries working to promote a healthy environment and a peaceful, just, sustainable world."
Environmental News Network
Biography of Wisconsin U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day.
Gaylord Nelson page from Wisconsin's Environmental Education for Kids.
Federal Earthday.gov site. NPR's Bob Edwards spoke with Senator Nelson on April 2,20021 on Morning Edition (online audio). Wisconsin Public Radio host Larry Meiller spoke with Sen. Nelson on March 6, 2003 (online audio).
PBS recently featured Walter Cronkite narrating a televised series on the real potential for the world's most devastating environmental disaster: "Avoiding Armageddon. Our Future. Our Choice." Follow the link for online replay.
Earth Day Event in Winona, Saturday, April 26 12:00 to 4 p.m. at Lake Winona's Lake Park Lodge.

Stewardship Initiative Passes U.S. House as The Upper Mississippi Basin Protection Act, H.R. 961
April 16, 2003: According to Wisconsin Rep. Ron Kind's office, the bill is now in the U.S. Senate's Committee on Energy and Natural Resources where it was reported favorably last year. The bill has the support of both Wisconsin Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl. Work continues toward hope for passage in the Senate by unanimous consent. Read a letter of support to Senator Richard Durbin (IL) from the Mississippi River Citizen Commission. For more information...

March 28,2003: From UMBSN director, Barry Drazkowski: "I want to express my excitement over the passage of HR 961. We have worked long and hard for this day, ever since Rory Vose and I wrote the Stewardship Initiative in 1997. It is very exciting. I will like to pass on Saint Mary's University president Brother Louis DeThomasis’s continued support for the bill, and for Saint Mary’s role in its implementation. We sincerely appreciate the significant effort of Rep. Ron Kind of Wisconsin, and Rep. Gil Gutknect of Minnesota, as well as the other Upper Midwest co-sponsors, including Jerry Costello of Illinois, Mark Kennedy of Minnesota, Dale Kildee of Michigan, and Jim Leach and Jim Nussle of Iowa." H.R. 961 bill must now pass the U.S. Senate and be signed by the President to become law. Follow the bill's progress by searching "H.R. 961" at http://thomas.loc.gov/.

Congratulations to Malacologist Marian Havlik!
We can almost hear the bivalve applause as the Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society (FMCS) presented the William J. Clench Award to Marian E. Havlik, Malacological Consultants, La Crosse, WI, at the 3rd National FMCS Symposium, March 18, 2003, in Raleigh, NC, "in grateful recognition of her longstanding commitment to the mussel fauna of the Upper Mississippi River system in the form of surveys, publications, and unwavering advocacy for this important national resource".

Spring Wind: "In a mucked up lovely river..."
Songwriter Greg Brown, who lives in the Des Moines River watershed in southeast Iowa, writes compelling folk songs that get right to the point. "Spring Wind" from his 1992 "Dream Café" album not only decries the sadness of a broken relationship, but also the river pollution that separates him from good fishing.

In a mucked up lovely river,
I cast my little fly.
I look at that river and smell it
and it makes me wanna cry...

Greg's latest albums are "Milk of the Moon" and a benefit anthology of his songs by women artists, "Going Driftless," both released in 2002. Royalties for "Going Driftless go to The Breast Cancer Fund of San Francisco. He expects to release a new album this spring.

Book Review
Water Wars: Drought, Flood, Folly and the Politics of Thirst by Diane Raines Ward
This worldwide overview of the few successes and a number of failures of large scale water projects details the monumental human effort to control water in modern times. It foretells a looming crisis and the pending struggle between the water haves and the have-nots. From the lowlands of Zeeland and the Everglades to the highlands of the Nile and the Tennessee, Ms. Ward writes from a first hand interview perspective, and provides a good gateway read to on the most critical environmental issues of the new century.

Web-cast "Shorebirds On The Move...Come Migrate With Us"
According to Hilary Chapman, Shorebird Sister Schools Program Coordinator, sssp@fws.gov, you can see the webcast online (through the end of the school year) at http://www.efieldtrips.org/shorebirds/. Learn shorebirds and their migrations!

International Migratory Bird Day, May 11
According to Bonnie Koop of the Audubon Society, birders all over the upper Midwest gathered last weekend to celebrate the migratory birds of the Mississippi River flyway, one of the most important migratory bird paths in the western hemisphere. Click on the web site image to go the the festival site, or on these other migratory bird links:
International Migratory BIrd Day
USFWS International Migratory Bird Day
Smithsonian International Migratory BIrds

HECUA's New Semester Program Launched: "Environmental Sustainability: Science, Politics and Public Policy"
The Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA, http://www.hecua.org/), a consortium of 15 Midwest colleges and universities that provides off-campus study programs, has launched it's interdisciplinary watershed science program, "Environmental Sustainability: Science, Politics and Public Policy." Targeted at college sophomores, and beginning this fall, [the] "Program focuses on the social and economic underpinnings of conflict over natural resources and environmental quality." Contact Joe Underhill-Cady at cady@augsburg.edu or 612-330-1312, or see the program website, http://www.hecua.org/programs/epsd/, for more information.