This week’s On the Radio segment covers a recent river project over in Delaware County. Listen to the audio below, or continue reading for the transcript.
Environmental experts say the proposed renovation projects on the Maquoketa River, located in Northeast Iowa, will benefit all.
This is the Iowa Environmental Focus.
Leaders of the project plan to remove the obsolete Quaker Mill dam and rebuild a breached levee above the dam. The goal of the reconstruction is to return the river back to its original bed. This is expected to greatly improve recreational opportunities and water quality.
According to Nate Hoogeveen, director of river programs for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, these river improvements will make this one of the state’s finest stream sections.
The Quaker Mill levee was damaged and rebuilt in the 2008 flood and damaged again in the 2010 flood. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awarded Delaware County a $67,000 grant to help restore the Quaker Mill section of the Maquoketa River.
Congratulations Delaware county, Iowa DNR, and the Hawker family for their support of this important project.
To learn more about rivers in Iowa, visit iowaenvironmentalfocus.org.
From the UI Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research, I’m Jerry Schnoor.
