Big River - November 1996

November 1996

The monthly newsletter for people who live, work and play on the Upper Mississippi River

Vol. 4, No. 11 $2.75

Lessons from the Rhine

Beaver Island

By Loni Kemp

By Ed Brick

T

he Rhine River of Europe and the Mississippi River share much in common. Both drain vast watersheds containing millions of homes, businesses and farms that depend on the river for drinking water, shipping and recreation. Unfortunately, both rivers also share common problems: polluted water; frequent catastrophic flooding; loss of healthy ecosystems; and expensive control projects.

In hopes that sharing knowledge and successful strategies will benefit both rivers, the World Wildlife Fund recently hosted a delegation of 16 Americans on a week-long tour of the Rhine River. I was a member of that delegation. From the delta at the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, upstream to Germany and France, we traveled by motor coach and boat touring high-tech water control structures and nature restoration areas. Next year a group from the Rhine region will come to the U.S. to tour the Mississippi River.

The American group consisted of a

provocative mix of people working on river issues: environmentalists active in watershed management and coastal restoration; the head and two officials of the Army Corps of Engineers; state and local officials; employees of the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and a representative of the Iowa Comgrowers Association.

Our local hosts, the Netherlands chapter of the World Wildlife Fund and the Auen Institute for Floodplains Ecology of the German World Wildlife Fund, arranged tours and speakers from many agencies and organizations.

The Rhine River starts in the Alps of Switzerland and flows north, forming the border between Germany and France, then empties into the North Sea through the delta of the Netherlands. It is about one-third the length of the Mississippi, with only a fraction of its watershed area. Nevertheless the steady streams of towboats on the Rhine is extremely important to the re(The

Rhine continued on page 4)

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ntemational commerce is nothing new on the Mississippi. During pre-Columbian times the river helped link people near the Keweenaw copper mines, on the south shore of Lake Superior, with the Mayan and Aztec peoples of Central America. Earliest Europeans continued international commerce, exchanging furs for trade goods.

Around 150 years ago newer Americans and European settlers used the river to arrive at new homesteads, where they replaced the indigenous

(Beaver Island continued on page 2)

(Beaver Island continued from page 1)

people, but initially retained a subsistence relationship with the Mississippi River waters and bottomlands.

In her charming little book, Beaver Island Remembered, Kathy Flippo describes life on the island from 1840 to the present. This large island lies next to Clinton, Iowa, separated from it by Beaver Slough; just across the Main Channel from Fulton, Illinois. Flippo, a former resident, doesn't mention island history prior to the arrival of Charles and Ann Meyers in 1840, but her description of frequent high water covering the island and the resulting maple-elm vegetation complex suggest that indigenous people probably hunted, fished and gardened there before them.

Woods were cleared to provide larger farm plots and the firewood residents needed for cooking and heat. As wood supplies thinned, competition for it sharpened. The "Beaver Island War" in 1842 between Clinton and Fulton residents ended in a treaty

ILLINOIS IOWA

CLINTON

Fewer people now remember work like Flippo describes how the summer heat was exaggerated by the hot wood stove and the steam rising in the process of "cold packing" tomatoes. that apportioned woodlots to both factions.

Flippo describes the fishing and hunting that provided fresh meat, and the berry and nut harvests that added succulent seasonal flavors to the menu. Domestic pear and apple trees were cultivated because they seemed better able than other fruit trees to endure frequent flooding.

Large gardens filled out Beaver Island provisions, always including the "three sisters" - com, beans and squash - that the Indians relied on.

Shallow sand point wells provided potable water and outhouses served sanitary disposal needs. Kerosene lamps and small, gas-powered gener2

ALBANY 1 mile

ators provided light after dark until the late 1930s. Islanders had telephone service for many years before electric power lines arrived.

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Hard physical labor Typical elements of pre-World War II life in rural America come into view as Flippo describes family and friends in her personal remembrance.

November 1996

In many ways her book is a riverine equivalent of Ben Logan's The Land Remernbers, his personal memory of life on a pre-World War II, southwest~ I em Wisconsin dairy farm. Both books are important because they describe the hard physical labor that infused subsistence lifestyles then. Fewer people now remember work like Flippo describes - how the summer heat was exaggerated by the hot wood stove and the steam rising in the process of "cold packing" tomatoes.

World War II unleashed technological advances that made life easier for

The Farm House Grocery Store prospered on Beaver Island for almost 20 years, providing more and more provisions, so island residents didn't have to leave the island.

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most of us, and as a consequence we've become less oriented to the land and more to the supermarket.

Reading these books may help the young gain some appreciation for earlier times and for our modem, interdependent lifestyles.

Canned goods by mainline Beaver Island was never connected to Clinton by a bridge, nor is it today.

Small boats and ferries carried people, carts and wagons, and later, cars, back and forth. That happened more frequently as the island's population grew, and more people sought more than a subsistence lifestyle could provide.

Gus Carlson's Farm House Grocery Store illustrates the trend away from a complete life on the island toward a growing dependence on the outside world. Carlson went from being the boatman who rowed the school teacher back and forth across Beaver Slough to being a tool sharpener at "the Climax" located on the

November 1996

Clinton side of Beaver Slough. Steady, inside work did not suit his fancy, so he began to import canned goods and other necessities, which he sold over a counter on the Carlson's front porch.

Business prospered to the point where Clinton merchants put pressure on local wholesalers to not supply Gus's orders. Undaunted, he found suppliers in Chicago who gladly put his orders on Chicago & Northwestern mainline trains that passed through Clinton. Business got so good that Carlson bought the Jacobsen house and moved his grocery business there. The Farm House Grocery Store prospered on Beaver Island for almost 20 years, providing more and more provisions, so island residents didn't have to leave the island.

Carlson married a Clinton woman in 1940. He closed his island store, opened a store in Clinton and moved there himself.

A flood of change Carlson's move represented a trend that accelerated after World War II. Jobs were increasingly sought and found in cities, the expanding hubs of an emerging global marketplace. The island's permanent resident population peaked at 128 during the Depression. Flippo points to the nine-foot channel project on the Mississippi River during the 1930s as a cause of permanent population decline. In my opinion, it probably had only a small impact at best: the trend toward city life began after World War I and accelerated after World War II. As permanent residents on Beaver Island grew fewer, they were replaced by seasonal, recreational residents who commuted from Clinton, Chicago and more remote locations. The mostly German and Swedish settlers had woven a tight social fabric of friendship and shared activities. People came back to continue to enjoy old friends and old ways on their island. Even the author moved away.

She is presently a Missouri dairy farmer. She completes her book of

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personal memories and local history with a role-call of residents, dates of departure and new locations.

Changes on the Clinton side of Beaver Slough also reflect our global economy. In the 1950s I helped plumb a new washroom at the Climax Climax Engineering - while working for my uncles Joe and Maurice at Brick & Son Plumbing. Aunt Julia Brick retired from the firm many years ago. "It is all gone now," she told me when I called to check on my own grasp of local history. But it is not gone. Climax Engineering has simply joined Waukesha Motors (Wisconsin) as divisions of ABB (Switzerland). Clinton Com, also mentioned in the book, has been owned by several outside interests, and is now owned by Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), an Indiana-based multi-national corporation.

Beaver Island farm fields are now overgrown with brush and young trees; many of the old farm buildings are gone, but the apple and pear trees - still enduring high water better than other fruit trees - remain.

Turkey and deer moved back onto the island as people left. Modem concerns for "floods" have replaced the easy acceptance of "high water" that characterized the old connection residents had with the land and waters.

Flippo's book will help former residents recall how things once were on the island, and help others who weren't there sense what life on the Big River once was. ~ To order Beaver Island Remembered, send $10.25, plus $1.75 for shipping and handling, to Kathy Flippo, RRl Box 102, Morrison, MO 65061.

Ed Brick is a land use historian, consultant and civil engineer, with graduate training in water resources management. He has worked for the Anny Corps of Engineers, the University of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. His last story in Big River was "Mike Spettel's Better Bridge - Part Bridge, Part Pontoon" (December 1993).

3

(The Rhine continued from page 1)

gion. Rotterdam is the largest harbor in the world, extending for many miles out into the North Sea.

The Elimination of Nature I learned from the Rhine River that it is possible to eliminate "nature" from a major riverine system. It was channelized and separated from its floodplains for virtually its entire length, starting in the early 1800s.

Already an open sewer, the Rhine was totally killed off in 1986 when a fire at a Sandoz pesticide factory in Switzerland washed chemicals from the headwaters down to the gulf, killing all life in the river.

Today it is lined with double dikes, groins, power plants, and locks and dams, with dense development outside the dikes.

Already an open sewer, the Rhine was totally killed off in 1986 when a fire at a Sandoz pesticide factory in Switzerland washed chemicals from the headwaters down to the gulf, killing all life in the river.

Germany is famous for its 70-percent forest cover, but the vast majority of its trees are hybrid poplars and conifers in plantations. Little natural,

Holland actually faces a double threat, because high tides and storm surges in the North Sea cause floods as often as the river. mixed forest remains.

Because two-thirds of the Netherlands' land was "reclaimed" from below sea level, it requires constant pumping and damming at a huge cost. Virtually no natural floodplains, wetlands, forests or meadows are left

4

in all of Holland, except for a few fenced off "nature monuments." The people have little memory of native wildlife.

Europeans may have gone too far in trying to control nature, only to find out it will lash back with more frequent and higher floods; loss of numerous species, including salmon and beaver; and loss of natural areas for recreation.

Nature Restored Restoration of nature is also possible, albeit very difficult. The Rhine Action Plan, developed by an international commission, accomplished a SO-percent reduction in chemical emissions by industries and cities during the last ten years.

Life began returning to the Rhine only two years after the Sandoz spill.

The disaster galvanized public concern, leading to a commitment to get the salmon to return by the year 2000, after an absence of several decades.

Indeed, salmon have already returned to the lower section of the river.

Several model demonstrations are partially restoring floodplains to natural dune, forest and meadow ecosystems, while maintaining flood safety and shipping needs. A holistic approach uses three zones: the river channel between the "summer dikes" is kept open for navigation; the intensively developed area beyond the higher "winter dikes" is protected from floods; and floodplains between the two dikes can be restored for nature, allowing occasional inundation to sustain communities of native plants and grazing animals. The reintroduction of a family of beavers to one nature area in Holland is as unusual and exciting to them as the return of the bald eagle is to us!

Europeans are very serious about reducing nonpoint pollution. Atrazine is banned in both the Netherlands and Germany, because it was found to move from farms into groundwater and surface water.

Agricultural nutrients are aggressively managed in the Netherlands.

Every farmer with livestock must acBig River

count for manure with a nutrient budget, documenting the number of animals sold, feed purchased, chemical fertilizer purchased and cropland use. Nutrients can only be applied at rates that sustain crops. All manure must be stored under cover and must be incorporated into the soil as it is applied.

Europeans also are targeting gaseous nitrate emissions from cattle feedlots, confinement barns and liquid manure spreading as a source of water pollution. This source is almost never mentioned in the U.S. Noxious algae blooms on the coasts have heightened awareness of nutrient pollution, unlike the Mississippi's zone of hypoxia, or dead zone, lying miles out into the Gulf of Mexico, which we largely ignore.

Curiously, the Europeans expressed almost no interest in erosion control, although they spend billions on river dredging and contaminated sediment disposal. They seem to assume that erosion comes from mountains and river banks and is natural.

Similarly, they seem to have rejected upland water retention as a strategy for flood control, possibly because their denser populations make it more costly.

Double Dutch The Dutch have placed their bets on technology and there is no going back. Two-thirds of the Netherlands is below sea level. They will do and spend whatever is necessary to prevent floods from rivers or the North Sea. Netherlands means "low country," and indeed it was originally one huge coastal wetland. By 1200 the Dutch were already building dikes around the higher spots. In the 1500s they started using windmills to drain lakes created by peat extraction.

Steam pumping in the mid-1800s increased the drainage of polders, shallow lakes created by dikes both inland and out into the sea. Today pumping continues around the clock to keep cities and farms dry.

The Rhine River was channelized to protect lands behind the dikes from November 1996

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Big River Reader

An Anthology of Stories about the Upper Mississippi, from the First Four Years of Big River

NEW! Big River Reader Since Big River published its first issue, in January 1993, it has treated its readers to articles about bass and gizzard shad, piloting a paddlewheeler and living in a boathouse, ancient earthworks and collapsing bridges. Now you can enjoy a book full of our best stories. Published by Big River, 200 pages.

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Color maps describe the Upper Mississippi River from Mile 0 at Cairo, Ill., to Mile 868 at Coon Rapids, Minn., along with the lower stretches of the Minnesota River and the St. Croix River. Published by the Army Corps of Engineers, 132 pages.

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flooding and to speed water flow, but eliminating the floodplains increases the volume and frequency of flooding. Holland actually faces a double threat, because high tides and storm surges in the North Sea cause floods as often as the river. Each new flood triggers another round of investment in concrete and technology.

They accept less risk than we do, planning for one-in-1,250-year storm events for the river and one-in-10,000year events for the sea. Although floods are getting worse and global climate change will lead to rising sea levels, they really see no choice but to keep investing in safety.

The Greening of Europe In recent decades public attitudes in Europe have changed dramatically.

Concern for the environment forced major shifts in government policies.

Without compromising flood safety or navigation, ways are being found to reduce impacts on the ecosystem and bring back nature. This seems to 11 be accepted by all sectors.

Environmentalists feel that overproduction of food is a problem, and that 20 to 30 percent of Dutch farmland is marginal, due to increasing water levels, saltwater intrusion or historically poor soils. Some of this marginal land may eventually be purchased for nature restoration, allowing wetlands, floodplains and wet meadow ecosystems to be reestablished. Some people worry that this may lead to the loss of rural culture and food self-sufficiency.

If the Dutch have raised food for 500 years on drained lands, is that sustainable? We tend to measure sustainability generation to generation, and on that criterion they may have succeeded. Now it appears that such farms have become marginal, dependent on constant investments of energy, chemicals and water control, and threatened by rising sea levels caused by global warming.

Europeans may have almost eliminated nature, but they do beautifully at controlling development. They know how to keep their towns vital, November 1996

Drawing Down the Pools

By Reggie McLeod

L

owering the water levels in pools 24, 25 and 26 of the Mississippi River has benefitted wildlife without hurting shipping, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.

"They [lockmasters] took great pride in environmental pool management, because they see something great coming out of it," explained David R. Busse, senior water control manager at the Corp's St. Louis District.

During the last three summers lockmasters have lowered water levels on the downriver end of the three pools, which stretch from Hannibal to Clarksville, Mo., by as much as two feet for as long as 30 days. Places that had been mud flats or mucky bottoms sprouted thick plant cover. Increased plant cover provides food and shelter for wildlife and helps keep the water clearer.

Because of the large volume of water flowing in that part of the river

historic and beautiful. Towns are compact with virtually no sprawl.

Gardens are a universal hobby. Bikes are widely used, cars are discouraged from cities, and the streets are for people. Even the famous German autobahn is lined with trees and shrubs, for noise control, virtually its entire length.

There is much we can learn from the Rhine River, both by good and bad example, if we pay attention. ill!

Loni Kemp is Senior Policy Analyst for the Minnesota Project, where she works on water quality and sustainable agriculture issues. She lives with her family in rural Canton, Minnesota, on a tributary of the Root River.

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and the sophistication of water control techniques, lockmasters could lower the lower part of the pool and still maintain at least nine feet of water in the Main Channel.

Busse and Claude N. Strauser, chief potamologist at the St. Louis District, discussed the drawdowns at a public meeting in Winona, Minn., on October 10. The meeting was hosted by the Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission.

They said they hope to experiment with the timing of the drawdowns next year. Longer drawdowns may give slow growing plants an opportunity to grow above the normal water line. Grasses, for instance grow about a foot in 20 days. So a two-foot drawdown for 20 days does not allow the grass to grow tall enough to survive when the water level is restored. An earlier or later drawdown may encourage different plant species to grow.

(Drawdown continued on page 7)

Big River Big River (ISSN 1070-8340) is published monthly

by Big River, 701/2 F.ast Fourth Street, Suite 203, Winona, MN 55987; (507) 454-5949;fax: (507) 454-2133; e-mail: bigriver@aol.com; web site: http://www.luminet.net/-bigriver.

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Big River, Volume, 4, Number 11, copyrightŠ November 1996. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Printed on recycled paper.

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Current Events ~

By Reggie McLeod

Wisconsin Gator Mazomanie, Wis. -A fisherman on the Wisconsin River snagged an alligator near Ferry Bluff on September 7, and a canoeist photographed it, according to an article in the (Spring Green) Home News (9-18-96).

The alligator got away and was last seen heading downstream, toward the nude beach near Mazomanie. The article did not give an estimate of the reptile's size, but it was nude.

High Snag Bettendorf, Iowa - Usually the Lucky Indy Casino lowers its stacks before it goes out on a river cruise, but she was stacked on October 11 when she disembarked for the last cruise of the season. Those decorative stacks took out two high-voltage lines. No one was injured, and the boat was not damaged.

The stacks were raised because several historic riverboats were in the Quad Cities at the time for the Big River Rendezvous.

Depot Disposal Savanna, Ill. - When the Savanna Army Depot closes in the year 2000, 9,500 acres of its 13,000 acres will come under the control of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This fall state and local governments are figuring out who gets what part of the other 3,500 acres, according to articles in the Dubuque Telegraph Herald (1010-96 and 10-18-96).

The depot includes 13.5 miles of Mississippi riverfront, large areas of islands and backwaters, and 68 miles of railroad track A business group expressed an interest in developing an international shipping port and railway hub there.

The Illinois Department of Correc6

tions would like 100 acres set aside for a possible medium-security prison. Highland Community College

The depot includes 13.5 miles of Mississippi riverfront, large areas of islands and backwaters, and 68 miles of railroad track. and the Jo Daviess/Carroll Area Vocational Center have asked for space.

Two local agencies have asked for a place for housing and job training for disabled people.

The Savanna Army Depot Local Redevelopment Authority hopes to finalize plans for the land by December 18.

Six On, Six Off, Zzzz Six-hour watches alternating with six hours off have been the traditional work schedule on ships and towboats for a long time. Now a consulting firm warns that six on, six off adds up to a sleep deficit, according to an article in the The Waterways Journal (9-3096).

"Failure-induced human error, inattentiveness and failures of cognitive reasoning cause 80 percent of all transportation accidents," William G. Sirois, of Circadian Technologies Inc., told the Greater New Orleans Barge Fleeting Association's River and Marine Industry Seminar on September 20.

The consulting firm studies and gives advice regarding fatigue and error in around-the-clock work situations.

The six-hour watch schedule makes it difficult for workers to get enough sleep and often leads to sleep deprivation.

"Unless the problem of impaired alertness is directly addressed, it will

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continue to generate the enormous risks, operating costs and liabilities that we have been financing for as long as there have been ships at sea and barges on the rivers," Sirois said.

Another article in The Waterways Journal (9-23-96) notes that towboat workers suffered the highest fatality rate in the maritime industry for the 10-year period from 1985to1994. The rate of 68 per 1000,000 is even higher than commercial fishing, which is often believed to be the most hazardous maritime work Deckhands have twice the fatality rate of other crew members, and deckhands under 24 with less than three years of experience suffered the highest rate.

Toxic Info Wisconsin - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wants to make it easier for citizens, groups and businesses to get information from Wisconsin's 1995 Toxics Release Inventory, which tracks the release of toxic chemicals.

Wisconsin businesses reported releases of 132 million pounds of toxic chemicals in 1995, five-percent less than in 1994. About 32 million pounds were released into the air, water or land. The other 100 million pounds were transferred to municipal sewers or to facilities for recycling, energy recovery, treatment or disposal.

For more information contact Wes Taylor, (608) 264-6043.

Protect the Water Minnesota - Minnesotans are most concerned about protecting lakes and rivers from animal and human waste, unlawful dumping and littering, according to a survey by the Department of Natural Resources.

The survey, which was sent to 1,000 randomly selected residents, found that effective management of the state's forests was the second

November 1996

(Drawdown continued from page 5) highest concern.

A majority of respondents believe that all boat operators should be licensed, and many would like to see more restrictions placed on personal watercraft.

transported by frog-eating birds, such as egrets. Fluke larva burrow into soft polliwog flesh, especially into the spot where the legs are about to develop, and form hard cysts, according to Charles Dailey, of Sierra Community College, near Sacramento.

Jiggling Bridge Wabasha, Minn. - Last winter a doctor driving across the Wabasha bridge on a windy day noticed that it was vibrating about 120 times a minute and moving as much as six inches, according to an article in the Winona Daily News (10-8-96).

Minnesota Department of Transportation engineers inspected the bridge within the hour and found it twisting about one inch. The bridge was not damaged, but they decided it needed more bracing. A $43,000 repair will add 40 horizontal beams to the bridge in November, and reduce traffic to one lane.

The 10-year-old bridge replaced a very old one that wobbled and shook a lot.

Extra Frog Legs Since school children in Minnesota discovered a bunch of deformed frogs near the Minnesota River, researchers have discovered them in several other places, including Wisconsin and Missouri. The most common deformity is extra legs.

Scientists have been looking at pesticides, other chemicals, radiation or ultraviolet light as possible causes.

Now a biologist in California suggests that the deformities may be caused by a parasitic fluke, or flatworm, according to an article in the San Francisco

Examiner.

The flukes live in snakes and are

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the l3ig 19ver. on the Web .

Ollr World Wide Web 'site includes stories from past iss~es bf Big River, an updated River Calendar and Ijnks to other interesting resouri::es.

Big River Anthology With four years of newsletters under our belt, Big River has published an anthology of 60 articles from past issues. Big River Reader includes stories about wildlife, history, ecology and, of course, working, living and playing on the river.

The stories that made it into the book are the timeless ones, the ones that you'll want to read again and again. You may also want to share these stories with a friend.

The softcover book is 200 pages long.

For a copy of Big River Reader, send $15.95 (plus 6.5% sales tax for Minnesota residents) and $1.50 for shipping and handling to Big River, PO Box 741, Winona, MN 55987. You can place Visa or Mastercard orders by phone during normal business hours at 1-800-303-8201.

Boathouse Agreement Closer Winona, Minn. - The Winona Boathouse Association (WBA), the City of Winona and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) appear to be close to an agreement that will allow the boathouses to remain on Latsch Island, according to an article in the Winona Daily News (9-26-96).

About 100 boathouse owner currently pay the city annual fees of about $90 to $140 to moor to the island. About 26 of the boathouses are occupied year around.

The agreement would have the WBA incorporate and lease part of the island from the city. ill!

http: I /www.luminet.net/'.::-bigriver "0

November 1996

Farther upriver the flow is smaller, so the water level cannot be lowered much without affecting the navigation channel. Gretchen Benjamin works for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and chairs the Interagency Water Level Management Task Force, which is studying the feasibility of trying a large-scale drawdown in Pool 8 (La Crosse to Genoa, Wis.).

The team is trying to estimate the ecological, economic and social effects of a one-foot drawdown, a three-foot drawdown and opening the dams entirely for between 45 and 75 days.

Extra dredging could keep the navigation channel open during a onefoot or three-foot drawdown, but an open-channel drawdown would stop shipping, Benjamin explained at the meeting.

On the upper part of the Mississippi, sediment and muck are filling in backwaters. Many areas that used to be full of plants and wildlife are now muddy, shallow lakes without many fish or birds. Biologists expect a drawdown to encourage plant growth and improve river wildlife habitat.

The team is scheduled to release its report this fall.

Out west new water management techniques appear to be working, according to articles in River Crossings (Sept./Oct. 1996).

On Nevada's Truckee River the water level was lowered one inch per day during the last two summers to encourage cottonwood saplings to colonize the banks.

The water level in California's second largest lake, Mono Lake, dropped 45 feet from 1941 to 1982, because of water diverted to Los Angeles. Since a 1994 ruling to reduce the diversion, the lake's level has risen six feet, and it will get enough water to raise it another 12 feet.

The state's Water Resources Control Board has broadened its definition of "public trust'' to include fishing, recreation, aesthetic and ecological values. ill!

Reggie McLeod is editor of Big River.

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Special Events & Festivals November 21-24 Holiday Fair & Craft Show, La Crosse, Wis., 1-800-658-9424. 22-24 Fantasy of Lights, Clinton, Iowa, (319) 244-3535.

23-Dec. 1 Festival of Trees, Davenport, Iowa, (319) 324-FEST. 24 Christmas Fair, Bellevue, Iowa (319) 8725830.

28-Jan. 1 Holiday Lights Display, Riverside Park, La Crosse, Wis. 29 Christmas Candle Walk, Cable Car Square, Dubuque, 1-800-798-8844.

29-30 Holiday Arts & Crafts, City Hall, Marquette, Iowa, (319) 873-3521.

30-Dec. 1 Christmas Open House, Guttenberg, Iowa, (319) 252-2068.

December 7-8 Fulton (ill.) Hometown Christmas, (815) 589-4763.

Ongoing through March Eaglewatch, Wabasha, Minn., city deck staffed Sundays 1 p .m. 3 p.m., (612) 565-3918. through Nov. Swan Watch, Rieck's Lake, Alma, Wis., observation deck staffed weekends and most weekdays 9 a.m. until dusk, (608) 685-4249.

Saturdays through Dec. 28 Fly with the Falcons, Bell Museum, Minneapolis, (612) 624-7083.

Meetings & Hearings November 11 St. Croix Valley Sierra Club, 6:30 p.m., Methodist Church, Greeley at Myrtle Streets, Stillwater, Minn.

Meetings?

Celebrations?

Send us your special calendar events.

Mail to: Big River, PO Box 741, Winona, MN 55987, or e-mail to: bigriver@aol.com

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14 Minn. - Wis. Boundary Area Mississippi Regional Committee, Hastings, Minn., (612) 436-7131.

18 Mississippi Headwaters Board Advisory Committee, Walker, Minn.

Public hearings, Twin Cities regional growth and water resources management, (612) 291-8140.

19 Metro Council Chambers, Mears Park Center, St. Paul, Minn., 2 p.m. - 5 p.m., continued at 6:30 p.m.

20 Burnsville City Hall, 6 p.m.

20 Oakdale City Hall, 6 p .m.

20 New Hope City Hall, 6 p.m.

Public meetings, Minnesota DNR fishing regulation changes, all 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m., (612) 345-3365.

12 Trout season in Foster Arend Lake, Rochester Community and Technical College.

13 Whitewater watershed winter fishing, Whitewater State Park Interpretive Center.

14 Bass in the Zumbro River, Mazeppa City Hall.

December 3-4 Army Corps of Engineers River Resources Forum, Bloomington, Minn., (608) 687-3011.

5 Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission, Red Wing, Minn., (612) 4367131.

Workshops & Conferences November 9 How to Build a Sustainable River or Wa-

tershed Organization, River Alliance of Wisconsin (608) 257-2424.

9-10 Land Stewardship Gathering, Camp Omega, Waterville, Minn., (612) 653-0618.

13-16 International Symposium on Lake, Reservoir and Watershed Management, Bloomington, Minn., (303) 781-8287.

15-16 Pathways to the Future, Minnesota blufflands planning conference, Winona, Minn., (507) 643-6765.

18-20 Upper Mississippi River Geospatial Workshop, La Crosse, Wis., Frank D'Erchia, (608) 783-7550.

21-22 Midwest Area River Coalition (MARC) 2000, annual meeting, St. Louis (Mo.) Airport Marriott, (314) 436-7303. m

Send Us Your River Notes Share sometillng you learned from the river with other Big River readers.

Tell us in 200 words or less about your favorite spot, an unusual experience or a river issue that's on your mind. If we pick your piece to publish in our "River Notes" column, you'll receive instant fame as well as your oW1l Big River mug.

Send your insights and stories to, River Notes, Big River, PO Box 741, Winona, MN 55987 or fax them to (507) 454-2133. Please include your name, address and a phone number where we can reach you during the day.m

November Almanac The November wind sends clouds, chasing each other, tumbling across the steel gray sky as if in a hurry to go somewhere. Whitecapped waves relentlessly pound the shores and islands of the big river. The restless and angry waters seem ready to sweep away all traces of summer, and indeed they do. Duckweed, driftwood and fresh beaver chewings are driven into every nook and cranny of the backwaters by the fierce northwest wind and the waves that it creates. The diving ducks are following the big river now.

Canvasbacks, redheads, lesser and greater scaup congregate in large rafts in shallow, open water seeking the wildcelery beds that lie beneath the surface. Tundra swans and Canada geese keep the river alive with their cries and the sound of their wings. Walleye and sauger anglers gather downstream from the locks and dams, their boats bobbing about in the wind and swift currents. Towboats push their cargo up and down river with more urgency every day. Winter is coming - take heed. Ah, and take heed we must, for to ignore the signs the big river sends is foolish, and the foolish will not survive the white winds of winter to come. m

Big River

November 1996

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