Opinion : 'WILD” LANDS CAN BE RURAL OR URBAN

Centuries ago, “wild” prairies, wetlands, forests, and savannas soaked up water, holding it on and in the land like a sponge. Floods were rare. 

Now - with expanses of crop fields dotted by cities, farmsteads, and roads – no one expects Iowa to revert to a “wild” landscape. But farmers, governments, and urbanites are finding innovative ways to restore some of that flood-mitigating “wildness.” 

For example, the Indian Creek Nature Center in Cedar Rapids sends almost no runoff into Indian Creek from its buildings, walkways, or parking lot, said center director Rich Patterson. Water from the parking lot soaks into the ground after entering a bioswale. Water from the center’s roof funnels into a wetland, which doubles as a septic system. And water seeps into the soil through permeable pavement around the center. 

Ironically, the main benefits accrue downstream, where residents see more stable flows and less flooding. Meanwhile, water from upstream caused $250,000 in damage in 2008, when floods inundated the center. Floodwaters also damaged the facility in 1993 and 2009. 

Even individuals can help mitigate floods, Patterson said. Rain barrels can capture runoff from rooftops, saving sometimes-scarce water to use on gardens or lawns.  

Homeowners may use rain gardens in landscaping and to retain precious water. Water from downspouts or sump pumps is diverted into a basin of permeable soil planted with moisture-loving native plants. Microbes in rain gardens break down pollutants, thus cleansing the water. www.rainscapingiowa.org 

But it takes healthy soil to absorb water, whether in rain gardens, urban lawns, or crop fields, noted Wayne Peterson, urban conservationist for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Lands Stewardship. “Soil quality degradation is a major cause of our landscape’s reduced hydrologic capacity,” he wrote in A Watershed Year: Anatomy of the Iowa Floods of 2008. 

 “Therefore restoring soil quality needs to be a key strategy for helping landscapes hold and infiltrate more rainfall,” he said. “Instead of creating compacted green space that generates runoff, we need to create lawns that can infiltrate runoff from nearby impervious surfaces.” 

Some cities, such as Ames, require soil quality restoration in new developments. This might involve deep tillage to break up compaction, and adding compost to increase organic matter. 

Many county conservation boards protect “wild” land as open spaces or wildlife areas. Mitchell County recently restored a wetland complex on the 200-acre Brownville Wildlife Area. The wetlands will slow, store, and purify runoff from 1,545 acres of cropland in the watershed, which drains into the Cedar River.  

Milt Owen, director of the Conservation Board, said the county also has acquired 160 acres near where Rock Creek enters the Cedar. He plans to reestablish 100 acres of prairie and seven acres of wetlands to protect Rock Creek – a prime smallmouth bass stream.  

The Hardin County Conservation Board, partnering with a private landowner, the Iowa DNR, and Pheasants Forever, has protected 79-acre Pintail Wetlands, near Ackley. The land slows runoff into Beaver Creek, a Cedar River tributary. 

The Linn County Conservation Board considers the Cedar River Greenbelt a protection priority. The board manages over 1,500 acres in the Greenbelt, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources controls additional floodplain. 

Black Hawk County manages almost 8,000 acres in the watershed. Some sites include: the 40-acre Schaefer Natural Area near Gilbertville; the 575-acre West Fork Management Unit, with Thunder Woman Park, the Turkey Ridge Wildlife Area, West Fork Access, and Fisher Forest; and wetlands at Klima Wildlife Area east of LaPorte City and Hickory Hills Park north of Dysart. 

Vern Fish, director of the Black Hawk County Conservation Board, said public lands in the Cedar watershed may have slowed runoff or allowed 2008 floodwaters to spread out enough to have reduced the flood levels in Cedar Rapids by at least one foot. An Earth Economics study calculated $548 million to $1.9 billion in benefits, including flood control, from natural areas in parts of the watershed above Cedar Rapids. 

Even crop fields have the potential to become more “wild.” Some farmers plant cover crops to keep fields green all year, instead of leaving land bare after harvest in October until planting in spring. 

Iowa State University researchers have integrated “wild” lands into conventional crops. Narrow strips of prairie vegetation between plots of corn or soybeans increase water storage, reduce runoff and erosion, and capture nitrogen and other nutrients. Prairie strips also provide wildlife cover in fields that otherwise offer almost no habitat.