July 1996
The monthly newsletter for people who live, work and play on the Upper Mississippi River
Vol. 4, No. 7 $2.75
Urban River Cleaner But Still Not Clean
Crossing on the Charlie D.
By Marc Hequet
By Reggie McLeod
G
reat blues wing their dignified way just over treetops, in residential Twin City neighborhoods again, often alone, sometimes in aloof, distant pairs like old married people, prehistoric-looking in the distance, mysterious relics from the past plying between nesting and feeding grounds. It hasn't really been so long, only a few decades, since Ardea herodias was common in the rich backwaters where the spent Minnesota River and yearling Mississippi cleave to become the real Father of Waters, the big, broad, palisaded watercourse known as the Upper Mississippi. It was at this promising confluence that the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul prospered and grew, starting in mid-19th century. With that growth, the herons thinned out. So did other wildlife. The reason: pollution in the river, sewage in particular. The Mississippi, the Big Flush itself, seemed the logical place for human waste. Germs bloomed; oxygen content drooped; fish and the critters who ate fish fled or died.
The return of the rangy great blue heron, with its six-foot wingspan and
It didn't come easily: 10
years of torn-up streets and $332 million in Twin Cities sewer separation costs makes these herons expensive birds. fish-stabber beak, signals a cleaner river. It didn't come easily: 10 years of torn-up streets and $332 million in Twin Cities sewer separation costs makes these herons expensive birds. Are they worth it? That depends on your aesthetics. The payback goes beyond herons. With the great blues come the mayfly, hexagenia, after 30 years' absence, the startling white of egrets on the wing or wading roadside sloughs, the unmistakable flash of a bald eagle's hood as it soars over the urban river, and anglers toiling to land walleyes in view of the Twin Cities' modest skyscrapers. (Sewers continued on page 2)
S
tanding on the banks of the Mississippi River at Cassville, Wis., · the Iowa shore looks close enough to hit with a well-skipped stone. Getting your car over there is another matter, however. You have three choices: drive 32 miles upriver to the bridge at Prairie du Chien, Wis.; drive 37 miles dowmiver to the bridge at Dubuque, Iowa; or ante up $6 for the ferry, the Charlie 0., to carry you and your car across. Only a few years ago, bridges were the only way to get a car across the (Ferry continued on page 4)
What's Inside.
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River Map Fish Advisories . ........... 5 Current Events Turtle Protection, Beach Care 6 River Calendar & Almanac Edible Bugs, Catfish Festival 8