Getting the band back together
Be a voice for Mother Nature.
Saturday was World Migratory Bird Day. Sunday was Mother’s Day. I spent a few hours on the trails to hear and see a few of the avian creatures passing through and others that may be staying to raise a family (many already are). Resurrecting a childhood interest, I brought my camera. You can find some of the photographic work product at Awestruck Nature Photos.
World Migratory Bird Day: Blue-wing warblers are increasingly making Iowa their summer home.
I was amazed by all the people whose paths I crossed, including an Italian grandma whose family was climbing the fairly challenging Calcite Trail at Mines of Spain. Reminded me of the fall “family hikes” my Dad organized for 50 years before passing away. Until Mom moved out of the home they built for retirement, chili and stew were always waiting when the motley crew returned.
On Mother’s Day, the parking lots were full (and so was the Order of the Arrow pancake breakfast at Eagle Point Park). I have not witnessed this kind of outdoor activity since the pandemic, although I suppose that sunny 75-degree weather on a Mother’s Day weekend doesn’t hurt the cause.
This inspires me to tell you a thing or two about a band that has come back together. After the November election, I landed with the Dubuque Area Land and Water Legacy as a (volunteer) director.
The Legacy is hosting its second annual Music, Art and Story Fest on Sunday, May 18, to celebrate land, water and wildlife in the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge and the Driftless area of Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.
The event at Convivium Urban Farmstead, 2811 Jackson St. in Dubuque, is from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., starting with a nature story-telling slam hosted by the Dubuque Area Writers Guild. Included will be a visit from Mark Twain and musical interludes by Addison Aronson.
The northeast Iowa musical group Big Blue Sky will perform a concert starting at 4:30. The quartet is led by Jon “Hawk” Stravers, head of the Driftless Area Bird Conservancy.
Big Blue Sky coming back to Dubuque for more on Sunday, May 18.
The fest marks the end of the 100th anniversary of the wildlife and fish refuge. The Dubuque Camera Club will display nature and landscape photographs.
The Legacy is a grassroots community organization that supports and engages in research, education, advocacy and coalition-building to protect, conserve, enhance and enjoy our natural resources. No cost for anyone to be an “ally.” (In fact, e-mail us at allies@dubuquelandandwater.org if you want to be one.)
Proceeds from the event go to the the group’s Land, Water and Wildlife Habitat Fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque. The fund is used to support projects of public entities and non-profit organizations that enhance wildlife habitat in the Dubuque area.
The wealth we have inherited in the Driftless region and from the river that runs through it are jewels that that should be protected and bequeathed to future generations to steward and enjoy. The Legacy is a platform where conservation organizations can work in coalition to achieve goals that may be difficult for any one group to achieve.
Likewise, the Legacy joins other coalitions at the regional and state level, teaming up with stakeholders for broader endeavors. The Iowa Food System Coalition is a good example. We are also looking into the Mississippi River Network.
In 2021, 59.2 percent of Dubuque County voters casting ballots expressed their willingness to pay an average of $36 a year to care for our natural resources and create new opportunities for the public to get outdoors and encounter nature. The conservation bond referendum failed by 122 votes after the local newspaper (which endorsed passage) mistakenly reported in the days before the election that the cost to property tax payers would average $36 a month.
Though conservation bond measures have passed with huge majorities in other Iowa counties, a second bite at the referendum apple does not appear to be in the offing for Dubuque. For the 2025-26 budget year, the Dubuque County Board of Supervisors approved a “lump sum” of $400,000 for projects by its Conservation Board, a mere one percent of the $40 million proposed in the referendum to implement the County’s Comprehensive Parks, Trails and Open Spaces Master Plan.
But the 2021 vote made it clear that citizens value their natural resources, want to protect and enjoy them, and will shell out the money to make it happen. The Legacy represents a private citizen effort to bring people together, keep the conversations going and advance the cause.
To start with, people can show up on Thursday, May 22, for a public meeting co-hosted by the Legacy and the Dubuque Audubon Society: 6:00 p.m. at Carnegie-Stout Public Library.
The 100th anniversary of the Upper Mississippi Wildlife and Fish Refuge is coming to an end.
The City of Dubuque is creating a new parks and recreation master plan. Our two groups are soliciting advice from members, allies and the public to assist us in preparing recommendations for the City and its consultant, Kimley-Horn. The Arizona-based consulting firm was hired by the City for $396,000 to conduct research, seek public and stakeholder input, and make recommendations to the City Council.
According to Marie Ware, Parks and Recreation Department director, the master plan will examine the quality of Dubuque’s parks, how to protect natural resources and get feedback from the community on potential gaps in service: “Where do we want to go? Where are our priorities? What would people like to see (as we) chart our future.
The Legacy already has come up with a few “framework recommendations” based on a focus group with Kimley-Horn we were invited to on March 31 at Comiskey Park. They are:
1. Consistent with the City’s commitment to sustainability, resilience and climate action, change the department’s name to the “Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation.”
2. Consistent with the City’s commitment to public-private partnerships, coordinate conservation planning, projects and activities with the Dubuque County Conservation Department and related government and non-governmental conservation groups, where appropriate.
3. Ensure that all parks and recreation priorities, plans and projects are consistent with conservation goals, guidelines, standards and plans.
4. Extend the consideration and implementation of conservation principles and planning to all City-owned properties, whether or not the properties are managed by the Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department, and to lands within the City’s extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction.
Rumor is that Mark Twain will be joining us on May 18.
Join us at Convivium on May 18 to learn a bit more. Then join us on May 22 to help us flesh out the details and fill in the blanks of our proposal.
As you may have heard, democracy is a participant sport, not a spectator sport. To make a difference, ya gotta get up, show up, gang up and speak up when and where decisions are being made.
Voices are more likely to be heard when they are amplified and singing the same tunes. How big of a band can we get together?
