Fun Things to DoYou can order a free Wisconsin state parks visitors guide by calling 1-800-978-8008. Order the free Illinois State Parks Magazine by calling the Illinois DNR at (217) 782-7454, or write the DNR, Clearinghouse, Room 500, 524 S. Second St., Springfield, IL 62701-1787. A DNR toll-free number offers information about southeast Minnesota resources and outdoor recreation. For state parks and forests campground maps, boating safety packets, and answers to your questions, call 1-888-646-6367. Three Rivers Park District in the Twin Cities offers numerous nature programs thoughout the year. Call (763) 559-6769 weekdays for Seasons, a free calendar and guide. A 12-page spring guide to Iowa fishing, hunting and wildlife is available from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Contact an Iowa conservation officer or write Editor, Iowa Fish and Wildlife News, at 900 E. Grand, Wallace State Office Bldg, Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0034. River-related PublicationsDownload the Ecological Status and Trends of the Upper Mississippi River System 1998, a report of the long Term Resource Monitoring Program, US Geological Survey, from the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center. The McKnight Foundation, with the Freshwater Foundation, has a report, "The Mississippi River in the Upper Midwest: Its Economy, Ecology, and Management." Illustrated, 78 pages, free, (612) 333-4220. The Adopt-A-Stream Foundation operates out of the Pacific Northwest, but offers several helpful handbooks and educational materials that could be used for any stream and wetland conservation effort. Call (206) 316-8592 for a catalog and more information. River Network publishes a handbook for new river and watershed organizations. Starting Up is available for $25. It also offers the 1996-1997 River & Watershed Conservation Directory, a guide to organizations and key government agencies for $5. Write River Network, PO Box 8787, Portland, OR 97207-8787, or e-mail: rivernet@igc.apc.org , or call (503) 241-3506 for a complete catalog. The Scientific Assessment and Strategy Team (SAST) has published the third volume in its series on the ecology of the Upper Mississippi, Illinois, and Missouri rivers. For a copy of Overview of River-Floodplain Ecology in the Upper Mississippi River Basin, contact the Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328. Silenced Rivers: The Ecology and Politics of Large Dams, by Patrick McCully of the International Rivers Network, is a critique of the global dam industry. To order the $25 book, call (510) 848-1155. Legacy, a new quarterly newsletter on sustainable development, is published through the Minnesota Sustainable Development Initiative. Call Minnesota Planning at 1-800-657-3794, or reach the Web site at http://www.mnplan.state.mn.us. Educational ToolsThe Izaak Walton League of America has a stream monitoring guide for science fairs or community stream projects. For the Science Project Guide for Students, send $3 to Stream Doctor Project, 707 Conservation Lane, Gaithersburg, MD 20878-2983. The Rivers Project at Southern Illinois University has developed six high school curriculum guides, stressing hands-on experience and community projects in river chemistry, geography, earth science, math, language arts and biology. Call (618) 692-2446, email rwillia@siue.edu . Educational displays about water quality are available for loan through several Wisconsin sources. Table-top and standing units illustrate pollution, waste storage, gardens, erosion control and other watershed issues. Call (608) 263-4720. Check out Hamline University's Center for Global Environmental Education Rivers of Life: Mississippi Adventure program. International Rivers Network (IRN) has developed a popular River of Words curriculum, with a 40-page Teacher's Guide full of activities, resources and ideas. Call (510) 848-1155 for details, or visit the IRN's Web site. The Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance offers a wealth of resource packets for environmental educators. Call 1-800-657-3843. Maps & CalendarsA free guide to the 72-mile Mississippi River corridor through the Minneapolis/St. Paul area is available from the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. Call Mary Maule at (612) 290-4160, ext. 231. The Minnesota County Biological Survey has published maps of natural communities and rare species of Winona and Houston (Minn.) counties for use in planning and conservation. Accompanying booklets are available at local libraries. Call (612) 296-9782 or e-mail: carmen.converse@dnr.state.mn.us. A calendar of free Wisconsin wildlife watching events, including guided birdwatching tours, naturalist programs and wildlife clinics, is available from the Wisconsin DNR. Call (608) 264-8528, or stop by any DNR regional office or state tourism center. For more detailed descriptions of all the sites, the DNR offers the Wisconsin Wildlife Viewing Guide for $10.65 at bookstores or at the above number. The Audubon - Upper Mississippi River Campaign has published a series of six, full color, illustrated maps that show the best places to bird in Minnesota along the Mississippi River -- from the headwaters at Lake Itasca to the Minnesota / Iowa border. Maps are free to the public. Contact Bonnie Koop at (608) 786-3473 or bkoop@audubon.org . Other River InformationNon-scientists and scientists alike are urged to report sightings of malformed amphibians. Call 1-800-238-9801 or report sightings directly to the frog web. The Wisconsin DNR and University Extension have numerous resources about urban runoff and stormwater management. Learn about booklets, school programs, and videos available by calling 1-800-362-7253 or (608) 266-6790. Learn about water-healthy ways to manage your yard from the Extension's series on yard care and the environment. To order booklets on wise weed control, fertilizing, watering, natural shoreline landscaping and more, phone (608) 262-3346. A fact sheet on urban runoff with tips on how to reduce the pollutants and sediment that often accompany stormwater down the drains is also available. The Nonpoint Source Directory is available from (317) 494-9555 for a small charge. Published by the Conservation Technology Information Center, the directory lists nonpoint source pollution contacts by state and region. Wisconsin fish consumption advisory Minnesota fish consumption advisory The National Listing of Fish Consumption Advisories The Mississippi River Basin Alliance is on the Web at http://www.mrba.org. Check it out for information about member organizations and river issues. Youth groups in Wisconsin can now join others around the country and Give Water A Hand. The environmental stewardship program helps young people engage in community service and help improve local water resources. For more information contact county extension agents, (608) 262-3346, or call 1-800-WATER20, or find more on the Web at http://www.uwex.edu/erc/gwah/. Want to visit a place where you can find zebra mussels, Eurasian ruffe, sea lamprey, spiny waterfleas and a bunch of other invasive species? Just go to the Sea Grant Nonindigenous Species Site .The site is a cooperative effort of several Sea Grant Programs in the Upper Midwest. The St. Paul District of the Army Corps of Engineers has a Channel Maintenance Management Plan, a long-term guide for its channel and harbor maintenance operations. The plan addresses where dredge material will go and different dredging processes, and it has aerial photo maps of dredge material in Pools 1 through 10. Contact Daniel Krumholz or Steven Tapp at the Mississippi River Project Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 431 North Shore Drive, Fountain City, WI 54629-0397, or call (608) 687-3011. Monitoring Sustainable Agriculture with Conventional Financial Data, published by the Land Stewardship Project, is a guide to evaluating the sustainability of a farming operation by using certain simple indicators. Written by economist Dick Levins, the 30-page, $7 book explains the principles of sustainable agriculture. Call (612) 653-0618. Two research reports on waterways and business are available from the Maritime Administration. The first analyzes the impact of the 1993 Upper Mississippi flood on the barge industry. The other looks at land use conflicts created by redevelopment. Call (703) 487-4650 and ask for PB96-16360 for the flood report and PB96-188396 for the land use report. Web addresses for special interests:Federal Duck Stamp Program: go to the US Fish and Wildlife home page, then choose Duck Stamp Program. |
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