Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Iowa wetlands for water quality

Today I will continue our efforts to promote the concept of Iowa wetlands addressing water quality in Iowa rivers and in the Mississippi Gulf. We have gotten a lot of support for a program that was started by Secy of Agriculture Patty Judge, that we continued, that promotes wetland use for taking nitrogen out of tile drained water.

This works, and is getting some recognition well beyond the borders of the state. We have some good connections with folks in Mississippi and Louisiana. We are receiving support from them to help with federal funding for the project.

The next couple days, we will be working on coordinating our efforts, to plan for the Hypoxia Task Force meeting later this year in Iowa and to work on the possibility of exchange programs between Iowa farmers and gulf shrimpers.

This program is something that could really change the landscape of Iowa and could help improve water quality in Iowa and in the Gulf.