Jane
Minor point, we have less than 0.1% prairie remaining.  So since Iowa
was approximately 80% prairie we have less than 28,000 acres.
Daryl Smith

jrclark wrote:
>
> Another sample Caucus Resolution.  I think we should support a resolution
> that protects natural areas, and Debbie agreed.
>
> Jane Clark
> [log in to unmask]
>
> Prepared by 1000 Friends of Iowa
>
> RESOLUTION #4:  Natural Areas
>
> WHEREAS, Iowa has less natural areas than nearly any other state in the
> nation, and Iowans depend on these areas for hunting, fishing, hiking and
> other types of recreation, and
>
> WHEREAS, building on wetlands and in flood plains increases the risk of
> flooding by destroying natural systems that absorb flood waters, thus
> increasing the threat to human life and property, and
>
> WHEREAS, natural areas are important for wildlife habitat, and add
> significantly to the beauty and quality of life of our state;
>
> THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT we support policies and practices that seek
> to minimize the effect of development pressure on sensitive and unique
> natural areas.
>
> TALKING POINTS
>
> When you consider the fact that agriculture is a form of development,
> Iowa is one of the most developed states in the nation.  We have very
> little wild land left.  According to the Iowa Department of Natural
> Resources, the original prairie acreage in Iowa was 28 million.  We now
> have 30,000 acres of native prairie remaining.  Iowa originally had 2
> million acres of wetlands.  Natural wetlands now number around 27,000
> acres.  (For the sake of comparison, the state has 978,500 acres of roads
> and highways, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation.)
>
> Iowa's remaining wilderness is very beautiful, and much of it is
> threatened with some type of development pressure.  The Loess Hills is
> one of Iowa's most unique natural treasures.  This type of landscape
> occurs in only one other place in the world, in China.  Yet we are seeing
> extensive erosion and loss of the hills due to different types of
> development pressure.  Trophy homes dotting the hills are an increasingly
> common sight.  Commercial pressure intrudes as well.  And business and
> government alike tear down the hills for fill dirt in various development
> projects.
>
> Over the past 15 years, rainfall in Iowa has increased 10% (perhaps due
> to global warming?).  All that water has to go somewhere.  If it can't
> percolate through a flood plain or a wetland, it keeps rolling downstream
> until it finds your town and your basement.  This may explain why
> so-called 500 year floods have become such a common occurrence in Iowa.
>
> > Please contact Kathy Beauchamp of 1000 Friends at 515- 243-8828 if you
> intend to deliver a
> resolution---she will send you an information packet on the resolutions
> and background information.
>
> > > >
>
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