This is the fifteenth diary in my Expanding the National Parks System series. The previous diaries in the series are linked below
1.Alabama
http://www.dailykos.com/....
2 Alaska
http://www.dailykos.com/....
3 Arizona
http://www.dailykos.com/....
4 Arkansas
http://www.dailykos.com/....
5 California
http://www.dailykos.com/....
6 Colorado
http://www.dailykos.com/....
7 Connecticut
http://www.dailykos.com/....
8 Delaware
http://www.dailykos.com/....
9 Florida
http://www.dailykos.com/....
10 Georgia
http://www.dailykos.com/....
11 Hawaii
http://www.dailykos.com/....
12 Idaho
http://www.dailykos.com/....
13 Illinois
http://www.dailykos.com/....
14 Indiana
http://www.dailykos.com/....
This time I'm in the Hawkeye State, Iowa. Iowa doesn't have much protected land at the federal level, at 0.8%, its tied for 47th with New York, near the bottom of the country. Currently Iowa has 1 national monument, seven wildlife refuges, and one historic site. I will be proposing adding a number of monuments to Iowa's ledger.
This is the fifteenth diary in my Expanding the National Parks System series. This time I'm in the Hawkeye State, Iowa. Iowa doesn't have much protected land at the federal level, at 0.8%, its tied for 47th with New York, near the bottom of the country. Currently Iowa has 1 national monument, seven wildlife refuges, and one historic site. I will be proposing adding a number of monuments to Iowa's ledger.
Iowa
Total Area 56 272 sq miles
Land Area 55 857 sq miles
Water Area 415 sq miles
Coastline 0 miles
Additional Monuments-4
ADDITIONAL MONUMENTS-4
* Maquoketa Caves
Currently a state park, covering over 300 acres, the caves were first protected in 1921, and many of the facilities in the park were created by the CCC and WPA during the depression. upgrading it to a national monument would increase funding and visitation, and bring more money to the surrounding city of Maquoketa Estimated area 500 acres- less than 1 sq mile
* Mississippi Bluffs
protects the bluffs along the Mississippi in the states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. created during the last ice age as the Mississippi slowly cut down through the rock, the bluffs are currently at risk from sand fracking, particularly in Wisconsin. protecting the area as a monument will ensure the bluffs remain for future generations to enjoy. Estimated area 1 million acres- roughly the size of Rhode Island
* Herbert Hoover
upgrades the existing historical site to a monument. honors the 31st President, who was president when the Great Depression hit. Hoover, surprisingly is one of only 4 presidents- John Addams, Reagan, and Ford are the others- to live to be 90. Estimated area 200 acres
* Missouri River
Protects land along the river running along the western border of the state. due to the dams and locks on the river, Missouri isn't a freeflowing river like it used to be. Protecting land around it, will provide habitat for wildlife as well as give visitors areas for recreation such as camping hiking, swimming and fishing. Estimated Area 500000 acres- roughly 800 sq miles or half the size of Rhode Island
EXISTING UNITS
NATIONAL MONUMENTS-1
* Effigy Mounds Established 1949 Covers 2526 acres
Protects over 200 ancient mounds built by Native American, including many shaped like animals , such as bears or eagles called effigies. similar mounds can be found in southern Wisconsin, southern Minnesota Northern Illinois and south-central Ohio. There are three units in the monument,-North, South and Sny Magill, with Sny Magill having the most mounds -over 100- and being separated from the other units. over 80000 people visited the monument in 2011.
WILDLIFE REFUGES-7
* DeSoto Established 1958 Covers 8362 acres (in IA and NE)
located on the Missouri River bordering Nebraska, slightly more than half the refuge lies in Nebraska. DeSoto Lake, which the refuge drives its name from, makes up a good portion of the refuge. it was created as a result of an Army Corp of Engineers project to reroute the Missouri River. the refuge also contains the remains of the steamboat 'Bertrand" which sank en route to Montana in 1865. the site of the wreck was rediscovered in 1968 by salvagers, thanks to the Antiquities Act everything they salvaged was turned over to the government, more than half a million artifacts.30 species of mammals and several bird species live in the refuge , including bald eagles, red-headed woodpeckers and cardinals, and it is part of the Central Flyway.
* Driftless Area Established 1989 Covers 812 acres (In IA, IL and WI)
Straddling the borders of Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin, Driftless was set aside to conserve habitat for rare and endangered species such as the Iowa Pleistocene snail. the area was not covered by glaciers during the last ice age, leaves features that contrast with other areas smoothed over by the glaciers. plans call fr the refuge to expand to 6000 acres in areas of Iowa Illinois Minnesota and Wisconsin by 2021.
* Neal Smith Established 1990 Covers 8654 acres
The largest refuge located entirely in Iowa, the refuge is named after Iowa representative Neal Edward Smith who served in the House from 1959-95, and who was instrumental in seeing the refuge established. the refuge has a herd of buffalo- over 70 animals, and is attempting to restore the tallgrass prairie that was once common in Iowa before the state was settled and developed.
* Northern Tallgrass Prairie Established 2000 Covers 1800 acres (in IA and MN)
Preserves a remnant of tallgrass prairie in Minnesota and Iowa. Most of the refuges parcels lie in Minnesota, and Big Stone Wr in Minnesota manages this refuge. plans call for the refuge to increase in size as more land is bought.
* Port Louisa Established 1958 Covers 10800 acres (In IA and IL)
Part of the Mark Twain Wr Complex- and formerly part of Mark Twain Wr, this refuge lies mostly in Iowa but stretches into Illinois. Of the four parts -Big Timber, Horseshoe Bend, Keithsburg and Louisa, only Keithsburg lies in Illinois. Louisa is the largest of the four, just three acres larger than Horseshoe Bend.parts of the refuge were bought after the 1993 Mississippi River Flood.
* Union Slough Established 1938 Covers 3334 acres
One of only two refuges entirely in Iowa(Neal Smith is the other), the refuge is the second oldest in Iowa. the refuge gets its name because it lies on land connecting the watersheds of the Blue Earth river of Minnesota and the eastern fork of the Des Moines river. Plans call for the refuge to increase in size to 4300 acress over the next 15 years.
* Upper Mississippi River Established 1924 Covers 240000 acres (in IA, IL MN, and WI)
Spanning 4 states, this refuge is the oldest in the state and covers the most area. of the 240000 acres 51000 lie in iowa, which is second only to Wisconsin terms of area covered by the Refuge. it consists of floodplain, stretching over 260 miles, and surrounded by steep bluffs rising to 600 feet over the river. the refuge has been declared both a Ramsar Wetland and Globally Important Birding area, Plans call for the refuge to expand by at least 15000 acres by 2021.
HISTORIC SITES AND OTHER NPS UNITS-1
* Herbert Hoover NHS Established 1965 Covers 187 acres
Established after the death of President Hoover, the site includes the cottage where Hoover grew up, the church where he worshiped, his gravesite and his Presidential Library. Hoover was the fourth president to establish a library, and his 34 years as ex-president were the most at the time of his death in 1964. Over 150000 people visited the site in 2005.
And with that , my tour of Iowa is complete. Next time I'll be in Kansas chasing after Dorothy and urging her not to go down that Yellow Brick Road. As Always, comments, input and feedback are welcome.