Water is life. Knowledge is power.
The Iowa Environmental Council is working to improve water quality in Iowa’s lakes, including West Okoboji Lake, shown here. (Photo by Perry Beeman/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Iowa’s work to clean polluted waterways is so slow it will take as much as 22,000 years to meet some of the goals in the state’s voluntary plan, the Iowa Environmental Council reported.
… [more…]The nonprofit’s latest review of the state’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy — the
What do you do when 6,000 acres of your favorite place disappear?! When the lake you love becomes an endless expanse of floating green ferns? Fear not: with the power of community and a few underappreciated insect superheroes, not all hope is lost!
Strap in! On this edition of Saturdays Around the World , we’re headed out for a wild ride to investigate the happenings of Caddo Lake in Texas. … [more…]
Want to improve water quality on your lake? Why not prevent overland flooding and erosion and help your forests at the same time? Here are 6 simple things you can do at the cottage to be a hero.
1. Never put soap in the lake.
Soaps add phosphorus to the water, which, along with fertilizers and poorly maintained septic systems, can lead to excessive plant growth, unhealthy blue-green algae build … [more…]
Photo: Site of the Brian Head wildfire in Utah still showing clear impacts more than a year after the fire Image Credit: arbyreed (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). Article: Maina, F. Z., & Siirila‐Woodburn, E. R. (2020). Watersheds dynamics following wildfires: Nonlinear feedbacks and implications on hydrologic responses. Hydrological Processes , 34 (1), 33-50. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13568
For people in the western United States, images of devastating wildfires have become a terrifyingly familiar … [more…]
Photo: As part of wetland restoration in New Jersey, teams intentionally added sediment. These additions to a degraded coastal marsh improved conditions for plant growth. Credit: Tim Welp/Christine VanZomeren
Wetlands are fun places to get muddy, enjoy the outdoors, and listen for birdsongs. They provide important habitat for wildlife, and for recreation. You’ve likely seen wetlands on the fringes of lakes, on river floodplains, along the coast, and anywhere else … [more…]