Greater Blufflands Forum Planning Meeting
You are invited to join a group of motivated individuals on January 17th and 18th in LaCrosse Wisconsin to participate in an ongoing discussion of land use and resource management issues pertinent to the area known as the Driftless or Karst or Blufflands Region. This area includes SE Minnesota, SW Wisconsin, NE Iowa and part of NW Illinois. You have been selected as a leader in your region, state, or community to be invited to join the discussion.
The Driftless Area/Blufflands Region is an area rich with ecological and economic opportunities that is currently threatened by land use trends that have serious consequences for water quality of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The group will attempt to overcome the political fragmentation of this landscape by bringing together individuals from across state boundaries to identify common goals and find a unified voice with which to speak about this landscape with its unique opportunities and challenges. We expect this to lead to the development of synergies among different groups in the region. We are also hoping it will generate proposals specific to this region that can be included in plans and initiatives that are getting underway in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
The agenda for the meeting and a map of the meeting place are enclosed. This first planning meeting includes both an exchange of information among participants, and the development of a vision, goals and objectives to guide future discussions. The first day will focus on delineation of the area of interest, discussion of the concerns and challenges (including land use trends and environmental quality in the region), and an update on some of the many on-going planning activities. The second day will be a series of facilitated discussions on a variety of important first step planning issues such as vision, values, goals, and the structure of the group. We will also plan a series of Greater Blufflands Forums to continue our discussions over the coming year. Some concerns in the region that will be discussed at the meeting include the following:
Driftless Area Concerns
1. The Driftless area is a unique and distinct geologic and geographic area that borders the Mississippi River from Pool 4 through Pool 13. Unfortunately it is divided by four states and has not been recognized as a distinct, sensitive, area of importance.
2. Shallow, fractured and partially dissolved bedrock makes the area sensitive to groundwater contamination and intimately connects surface and ground water flows.
3. Since European settlement, the loss of thousands of acres of timber has drastically changed land use, soil erosion potential and hydrology.
4. For the past two decades, agricultural land has been shifting from hay and forage to increased soybean production. Thousands of acres of CRP native grassland are disappearing. These trends, which are related to a declining and consolidating livestock industry, have serious implications for the health of land and the environment, as well as rural communities.
5. Karst topography makes the region very susceptible to nitrogen losses to groundwater and surface water. An estimated ninety percent of the nitrogen lost from this area is delivered to the Northern Gulf of Mexico where it contributes to the problem of hypoxia (low dissolved oxygen and related impairments of aquatic life).
6. There is a disconnect between landowners and agency/land resource personnel.
If you’re a private landowner and hesitate to attend because of expenses, please contact Michelle Peach at 612-870-3433 mpeach@iatp.org We hope you are able to join us for this important meeting. If you are planning on attending please RSVP to Lora Friest at lora.friest@ia.usda.gov
Sincerely,
The Greater Blufflands Forum Planning Committee