Way to go Jim! Great story! Kendra Kimbirauskas Sierra Club 2950 SE Stark St., suite 100 Portland, OR 97214 Tel: (503) 243-6656 Cell: (503)997-7438 <mailto:[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Iowa Discussion, Alerts and Announcements [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Redmond, Jim Sent: Monday, October 20, 2003 10:40 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Loess Hills front page story Sierra Activists, My wife Barb was so moved by the award the chapter gave me at the annual dinner, she immediately contacted a reporter for the Sioux City Journal. Every Monday, the paper features a local volunteer. The picture and story on the award and the campaign to save the Loess Hills prairies took up almost half the front page. Luckily, the campaign message was highlighted in the story. Text of the story follows, but here is the link. Jim http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2003/10/20/news/local/d314d2483 a35f34286256dc500121798.txt Activist works to save prairies By Joanne Fox, Journal staff writer Jim Redmond has won an award from the Sierra Club for his conservation efforts. He is shown at the Sioux City Prairie. (Staff photo by Tim Hynds) The brilliant sun in the unblemished blue sky silhouetted Jim Redmond as he leaned over and gently touched the spindly grass in the Sioux City Prairie Nature Preserve. Glancing to the left into the 157 acres of high-relief landscape, one could almost sense "Little House on the Prairie" and envision Laura Ingalls and her dog Jack prancing down the steep incline, arms waving, jowls flapping. "We have a treasure here," Redmond said, gesturing to the nestled sanctuary, "but we're at a critical point right now if we want to preserve Iowa's last prairies." Redmond, a conservation activist, was recently presented the Distinguished Service Award by the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, an organization which promotes environmental action in the political and legal arenas. He was recognized this month for his dedicated service to the chapter for more than 20 years. Redmond has volunteered on the chapter and group executive committees, serving in positions of leadership, including currently serving as fund-raising chair, and Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Committee Chair. "Our campaign is to rescue Iowa's last prairies, the Loess Hills explored by Lewis and Clark," Redmond explained. The Loess Hills are a unique landform of windblown silt up to 200 feet high. The only places in the world where loess accumulates are in western Iowa, northwestern Missouri and along the Yellow River in China. Siouxlanders can enjoy this unique prairie in their own backyards at the Sioux City Prairie Nature Preserve or numerous other prairies throughout the Loess Hills, including Broken Kettle Grasslands and Five Ridge Prairie both in Plymouth County, and Sylvan Runkel Preserve in Monona County. Efforts to protect land are also part of an ongoing effort by the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, as a partner in the Loess Hills Alliance, a coalition of public and private organizations and landowners committed to protecting Iowa's Loess Hills. "The Loess Hills Alliance needs funds to work throughout the Loess Hills, home to Iowa's last endangered prairies," Redmond said. "The major danger is from invasive trees and other exotic plants. Mining of loess soil and housing developement are other threats." Two hundred years ago when the Corps of Discovery stood on the Loess Hills and viewed the Missouri River valley, Iowa was three-quarters prairie. Now only 0.1 percent of that remains and most of that is in the Loess Hills, Redmond pointed out. "When Lewis and Clark came out to this area, they called the hills 'bald' because they saw no trees," Redmond mused. "However, the prairie was far from 'bald,' being much more fertile than other areas in the country." He added, "It's a shame somebody didn't say at some point, 'Let's save, oh, a quarter section.' Currently prairies are the most endangered ecosystem on the planet, more threatened than rain forests or coral reefs. Redmond stressed the idea for support of environmental issues has to be at the grassroots level to be successful. "American culture celebrates the 'grassroots,' the power of many individuals to create our laws, -- kind of like Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass," said the Briar Cliff English professor making the analogy between the prairies, the grasslands and the democratic values at the foundation of our country. Money, ultimately, becomes an issue in this attempt to save natural surroundings and with budget cuts at the state level, "preserving the prairie is way down on the list," Redmond admitted. The Sierra Club is supporting the Loess Hills Alliance in its efforts to obtain state funds to manage the prairies in the Loess Hills. Two years ago, its budget was cut to zero, Redmond said. This year $200,000 was allotted, he added, which is not much in a landform of 600,000 acres. "However, if people ask their legislators to consider preserving the prairie, they may respond to a 'grassroots' plea," he said. Joanne Fox may be reached at (712) 293-4247 or [log in to unmask] Jim Redmond Briar Cliff University [log in to unmask] 3303 Rebecca St. Sioux City IA 51104 712-279-5544 712-258-8303 home - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Make your voice heard! Find out how to get Take Action Alerts and other important Sierra Club messages by email at: http://www.sierraclub.org/email - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Make your voice heard! Find out how to get Take Action Alerts and other important Sierra Club messages by email at: http://www.sierraclub.org/email