This is not a Sierra Club-sponsored event, but since it might be of interest to subscribers of this list, I am posting the information. Jane Clark Iowa Rivers Revival, March 4-5 www.iowariversrevival.org From Nate Hoogeveen For those of you who don't know, I'm now serving as "Water Trails Coordinator" inside the Iowa DNR, on a one-year assignment that began last October through the Americorps program. So far, this has been a great fit for a guy who loves rivers. As part of this service, I facilitated a meeting between Central Iowa Paddlers and Iowa Whitewater Coalition board members in November, in which we discussed ways in which the groups could be more effective at acheiving shared goals. One thing we agreed on was that it would be helpful to reach out to others who have reason to love rivers beyond our own selfish interests. From this was born the "Iowa Rivers Revival," a conference and retreat valuing Iowa's rivers. This has grown to include support from Iowa Environmental Council, the DNR, and Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. So what is it??? It's a weekend-long chance for all Iowans who love rivers to come together and discuss rivers over lunch & dinner, to discuss a book about Iowa rivers, to hear about riverfront economic development efforts and about watershed recovery efforts, learn about the water trails movement, to stomp their feet to the bluegrass river tunes of the Mike & Amy Finders Band, and to consider how there could possibly be a more effective constituency on behalf of rivers in Iowa. Outreach coordinator Rob Perks of American Rivers will fly in from Washington, D.C., to present to us, and Denny Caneff, director of Rivers Alliance of Wisconsin, will deliver a keynote address. All this happens at the Iowa 4-H Center near Boone, IA. To learn more, and to fill out a registration form to print and send to the Iowa Whitewater Coalition, please go to www.iowariversrevival.org. Come join the fun, and please help spread the word by downloading the flyer and posting it everywhere you can! If you have questions, call me at 515-281-3134. Sincere thanks, Nate Hoogeveen Water Trails Coordinator Iowa Department of Natural Resources - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]