Folks: I am back...from a Colorado vacation. While gone, this LTE appeared in the Des Moines Register, on wetlands. FYI. I do not know how it was generated, but a nice letter. Letters to the Editor By REGISTER READERS 06/07/2004 Wetlands help control flooding There is no question the tiling of fields has dramatically increased their productivity. However, with flooding becoming a perennial problem, Iowans must start to investigate ways to mitigate contributing human-created factors. While wetlands and buffer strips are becoming increasingly common because of government programs, wet areas continue to be developed. As natural barriers are removed, water doesn't stop in fields and slowly seeps into the ground or evaporates. That's great for the farmer who doesn't have a pond in his field. But instead of inundating the field, the water rapidly flows through tiles into streams that pour into rivers that, with increased flows, burst their banks. More often than not, the problem isn't the amount of water, but the speed at which the water reaches rivers and streams. Studies have shown that watersheds with 30 percent wetland coverage reduce flood levels by 80 percent compared to watersheds without wetlands. Through drainage efforts, 97.5 percent of Iowa's original wetlands have been lost. Government incentive programs and conservation efforts in recent years have failed to recover the vast majority of these. Tiling is not the sole cause of flooding, only a contributing factor we are capable of controlling. Through an expansion of programs that encourage farmers to restore wetlands and the devotion of more areas to natural buffers, many of the problems created by agricultural development could be eased. -Jeremy Varner, Fayette. ___________________________________________________ Lyle Krewson 6403 Aurora Avenue #3 Des Moines, IA 50322-2862 [log in to unmask] 515/276-8947 - Ofc/Res 515/238-7113 - Cel ___________________________________________________ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp