Dubuque Telegraph Herald. March 22, 2024.
Editorial: Upper Mississippi refuge has been protecting Driftless region for a century
Happy 100th birthday to the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge and its century of conservation efforts.
It was in 1924 that Congress passed the Upper Mississippi River Wild Life and Fish Refuge Act, which authorized the acquisition of land for a refuge between Rock Island, Ill., and Wabasha, Minn.
A century later, the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge stretches 261 river miles and covers 240,000 square miles of Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The refuge hosts more than 3.7 million annual visits for hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and other recreation.
More than 300 types of birds migrate through the refuge, from pelicans and tundra swans to piping plovers and bobolinks and about 50% of the world’s canvasback ducks. It provides habitat for 51 mammal species, 42 types of freshwater mussels and more than 100 species of fish.
If you’ve taken in the view of bald eagles around locks and dams, such as in Dubuque and Bellevue, Iowa, when the river is frozen during the winter and the only open water to be found is near the dams, you’ve got the refuge to thank. In 1972, there was only one bald eagle nest in the refuge. Today there are 350 to 400 nests each year. Over the years, the refuge has worked hard to combat challenges, such as drought, flooding and erosion, as well as invasive species like zebra mussels, silver carp and burr cucumber.
A toast to the refuge and its care and conservation of one of the region’s the most precious resources.
It’s always great to see federal money flowing into the tri-state area to support worthy programs. Such was the case last week with multiple local projects slated to receive funding with the passage of the federal appropriations bill. The package includes more than $6.5 million in funding for various projects and initiatives across the tri-state area.
Among the local organizations receiving funding is Four Mounds Foundation, which received $1 million for its Housing Education and Rehabilitation Training (HEART) Building Dubuque Program, in which youth participants can earn a high school diploma while gaining construction experience restoring homes in Dubuque. The nonprofit began offering adult programming in 2019 and has served more than 100 adults since that time, including 60 in 2023.
Additionally, Lancaster, Wis., received $1.125 million in federal money for a renovation project at its fire station designed to make the station compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, along with a new roof and mechanical and HVAC system upgrades.
From another federal pocket came a $2 million grant for the city of Dubuque and East Central Intergovernmental Association to support a future phase of the city’s Smart Traffic Routing with Efficient and Effective Traffic Signals — or STREETS — project, which seeks to develop a smart traffic management system for the city.
Here’s to federal partners helping local communities make positive changes.
A facility resulting from the aid of a 2022 federal grant that opened in Platteville, Wis., this week will provide a much needed “home” to some of southwest Wisconsin’s most vulnerable women.
Family Advocates this month began their move to a new 14,000-square-foot building at 305 Eastside Road in Platteville. The organization serves victims of domestic and sexual violence in Grant, Lafayette and Iowa counties. The new 10-bedroom building will replace the nonprofit’s former shelter, which had seven bedrooms and less than 4,000 square feet of space.
Family Advocates broke ground on the new building last May. The $3.6 million project was funded in large part by a $3.5 million federal grant awarded to the city of Platteville in 2022.
This new facility should help address the great need in this area for the domestic violence shelter, which has had to turn hundreds of people away in past years. Congrats to Family Advocates staff on their new healing home.
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