Letter from Governor Vilsack in response to Sierra Club's Eddyville Dunes
postcard:

December 7, 1999

On November 19, 1999, representatives of the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra
Club presented my office with a number of postcards pertaining to the
Eddyville Bypass.  Your name was among those included on the postcards.

The Eddyville bypass is a key link in the four-lane Burlington-to-Des
Moines highway corridor.  This southeast Iowa corridor is a high priority
transportation facility intended to stimulate and support commercial and
industrial development and, accordingly, regional and state economic
growth.

The state of Iowa, which includes the Iowa Department of Transportation
(DOT), is committed to finding ways to balance Iowa's need for continued
economic growth with the need to preserve and protect the environment.

Regarding the Eddyville bypass, measures have been taken to preserve
adjacent resources and mitigate unavoidable losses so that the most
critical elements of the sand dunes and wetland resources at Eddyville are
protected.  The route selected ensures protection and preservation of the
ornate box turtles and pale green orchids, along with other important
plants and animals in the area.

The Eddyville bypass segment of U.S. 63 has been under development since
1989.  Since then, a considerable amount of time has been spent conducting
the environmental impact assessments and studies of the flora and fauna in
the area.

The environmental impact assessment process and subsequent statement, has
objectively evaluated numerous alternatives as required by law.  Several
possible route locations were considered for this project.  In fact, five
possible route alternatives were included in the location public hearings.
Those routes included a no-build alternative, as well as a west, far east,
near east and revised near east bypass of Eddyville.

Each of these alternatives was thoroughly and objectively evaluated.  The
"revised near east alternative" was selected as the preferred alternative.
This alignment was accepted by the Corps of Engineers, Iowa Department of
Natural Resources, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and area county
conservation boards.

In July 1998, the Iowa Transportation Commission approved the revised near
east route as the location for the Eddyville bypass. In rendering their
decision, the Transportation Commission balanced a wide variety of input,
reviewed the impact assessments and considered overall public interest.
They considered the impacts to historical properties, archaelogical sites
threatened and endangered species, farmland, property, public safety,
noise, corridor continuity, and economic development.

The state of Iowa shares your concerns for conservation of our state's
natural areas and believes that the revised near east route for the
Eddyville bypass remains the best alternative to address those concerns.

Best Regards,

Thomas J. Vilsack
Governor

Sally J. Pederson
Lieutenant Governor

State Capitol
Des Moines, IA 50319
515-281-5211
FAX 515-281-6611

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