Citizens for a Healthy Iowa

Citizens for a Healthy Iowa Citizens for a Healthy Iowa is an Iowa based 501c(4) non-profit organization.

Citizens for a Healthy Iowa works to promote sustainable public health, agricultural, economic development, and environmental policy.

There are some naturalists among "friends" of this page. A few might be interested in mussels. Iowa has lost over 99% of...
07/17/2024

There are some naturalists among "friends" of this page. A few might be interested in mussels. Iowa has lost over 99% of its mussels. People who paddle, fish or visit our streams likely know that they don't see many mussels any more. Our rivers have been very flashy for the last 40 years or so. Sand moves and covers mussels to a depth where they get no oxygen. They die. Of course Raccoons love them. Pistolgrip mussels are ENDANGERED in Iowa. Good news! I am very pleased to have found a very young Pistolgrips upstream in Harden Creek in Greene County during water quality testing . Bad news--(20 mg/l nitrate yesterday at 4 sites. Data entered on IWLA Hub) Farmer applied N accumulated during the drought. It is being washed with recent rains. DM Waterworks has to get drinking water down to 10 mg/l for public health reasons.

Pope John Paul, (1979, Des Moines, Iowa), "The land must be conserved with care since it is intended to be fruitful for ...
07/14/2024

Pope John Paul, (1979, Des Moines, Iowa), "The land must be conserved with care since it is intended to be fruitful for generation upon generation. You who live in the heartland of America have been entrusted with some of the earth's best land: the soil so rich in minerals, the climate so favorable for producing bountiful crops, with fresh water and unpolluted air available around you." I was so proud to me an Iowan in that audience at Living History Farms that day. Thanks to Iowa farmers who care for their land. Thanks to Carol Hunter. "The truth will set us free."

06/20/2024

I just tried to post this on the Iowa Division of the IWLA page. I got a notice that it goes agains their community standards. Really? Iowa Division of the Izaak Walton League of America
The Nishnabotna fertilizer spill in Red Oak, iowa has been referred to Iowa Attorney General Bird. The Iowa Division would like to see improvements in nitrogen handling so that this catastrophe does not happen again. Thanks to Department of Natural Resources director, Lyons for referring the matter to the Environmental Protection Agency. thanks to the agency for referring this to the Attorney General Bird. Iowa is experiencing high levels of Nitrate and phosphorous in our rivers and streams. Our lakes are forming too much algae and suffer from excess E-coli bacteria. The Izaak Walton League has advocated for healthy water for over 100 years. The Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area resulted from our work along with others.

06/20/2024

The picture above was from an early gathering of members of the Raccoon River Watershed Association founded in 2005. Lloyd Crim on the right was leading a prairie walk at Tipton Prairie in Green County west of Rippey. Left to right--Jim Riggs, Tim --, Mary Hays, Mr. and Mrs. Hummel, Larry Wilson. They did a lot of good over the years.

From Amy Tan's The Backyard Bird Chronicles: "In 2016 Amy Tan grew overwhelmed by the state of the world. Hatred and mis...
06/20/2024

From Amy Tan's The Backyard Bird Chronicles: "In 2016 Amy Tan grew overwhelmed by the state of the world. Hatred and misinformation had become a daily presence in social media, and the country felt more divided than ever. In search of piece Tan turned to the natural world just beyond her window, and specifically to the birds visiting her yard. But, what began as a search to find solace turned into something far greater--an opportunity to savor quiet moments during a volatile time, connect to nature in a meaningful way, and imagine the intricate lives of the birds she admired." Ring true to many of you?

06/19/2024

Friends: I am putting this photo of Dell and me on the pages I manage. Why? This is Aldo Leopold's Shack in Sand County Wisconsin. He wrote Sand County Almanac, was a leader of the Izaak Walton League and warned us about politicians getting control of departments of Natural Resources. He was so right. Nearly all avenues for protecting nature in Iowa are now blocked. However, we can still talk, meet and vote. I wonder what the reach of this site actually is. I'd appreciate any little response.
Mike Delaney

06/18/2024

The Shack. Aldo Leopold wrote Sand County Almanac. It is like a bible to me and many others who love Mother Nature. We "mess" with Mother Nature, we pay the price--long term. So, those who are interested in short term gain at the cost of our water, air, woods and wildlife are messing with Mother Nature. They jeopardize the rest of us and the future for our descendants. It seems that only the Buddhists and Environmentally Concerned get it. (Especially in my adopted state of Iowa.) Some of us are doing our best to protect what little is left of Iowa's Natural Heritage. In Iowa very few young people seem to care. Too bad. Maybe our environmentally induced high cancer rates will get some young people's attention. Too much of the Iowa economy is based on the synthetic fertilizer, corn, ethanol, CAFO, meat packing monopolies. Therefore our politicians are dependent on their money. We do still have the vote--for now.

What's on my mind? I wonder if Dave Creators will show up at our Carp and Gar competition tomorrow at Gray's Lake again ...
06/14/2024

What's on my mind? I wonder if Dave Creators will show up at our Carp and Gar competition tomorrow at Gray's Lake again this year. He has won first prize many times. Above was his first win with a 31 inch Buffalo. He had a 30" Carp in 2015. A 30 " Carp won first prize last year. Hope to see you tomorrow at the beach.

Izaak Walton League cleans up Des Moines River--2011.Blast from the past! Tom Hadden asked for help getting trash out of...
06/14/2024

Izaak Walton League cleans up Des Moines River--2011.
Blast from the past! Tom Hadden asked for help getting trash out of the DM River. Steve Roe, Don Propst and a few others got tons and tons of rerod and other stuff out of the river. It was a trickle due to shutting off flow from Saylorville and opening up Scott Street dam. Good news: Thousands of mussels of six or more species were in the DM. The Ikes have done good work.

I am hoping to use this page to promote conservation of Iowa's natural resources. I am not sure who might be visiting th...
06/14/2024

I am hoping to use this page to promote conservation of Iowa's natural resources. I am not sure who might be visiting this page at this point. Citizens for a Healthy Iowa was created by: Steve Roe, Rob Davis, me and others many years ago. We need public concern about our: soil, air, water, woodlands and wildlife more than ever. Say, "Hi" if you see this and love Mother Nature.

05/29/2024

What's on my mind? Wrote this to the DMR. See today's (5-29) paper.

Dear Editor:

Iowa’s extremely rich culture is being lost. Think of the knowledge that exists in the minds of our elderly in nursing homes. Think of the ignorance that is evident in so many of our children about food and nature. Video games, movies and junk television do not pass on how to live on the land that is Iowa. Humans have flourished in this state for ten thousand years. Immigrants arrived with axes, shovels, seeds, animals and guns. They survived, then flourished. An amazing combination of great soil, abundant water and plenty of sun created surplus food, wood, fiber. They exploited coal and wood for energy and limestone and clay for construction. Kaleb Wyse is using social media to facilitate the preservation and distribution of bits of what remains of that culture of sustainability and self sufficiency. No one knows how long industrial agriculture can endure without massive subsidies and friendly policy makers. However, many do know that those who built Iowa did so with very little capital, a few tools, practical knowledge and hard work. Families once worked with Mother Nature and enjoyed property. Is it possible again? Sure it is! Some Iowans continue that way of life today. Looking at the appeal of the Wyse Guide to hundreds of thousands of followers it appears that some of our young people want more out of life than commercialized entertainment. Good!

Hog manure ruins our waters. Chris Jones was interview by Ben Keefer on public radio's River to River today. The nitrate...
03/14/2024

Hog manure ruins our waters. Chris Jones was interview by Ben Keefer on public radio's River to River today. The nitrate problem was thoroughly discussed. All calls were constructive. There will be push back on our public radio station. Please increase your support for 640 a.m.
Sent this to the DMR today: Food System Barons take a hit

According to an article in the Des Moines Register in the early nineties cited by Austin Frerick in his new bool Barons: Money, Power and the Corruption of America’s Food System a farmer said, regarding hog confinements, “Why are they trying to promote something that will both hurt the environment and sell our young people into lives of indentured survitude?” Bringing industrial hog production to a state with great soil, massive corn production and plenty of water made perfect sense to many Iowans at the time. Who could imagine that the Supreme Court decision to allow corporations to buy our politicians would lead to such corruption and destruction of Iowa in just 30 years. Rural people have left for the big cities, Iowans who value nature have left in disgust. The public has fought to protect themselves from the smell, disease and pollution that has been the result of CAFOs. Nearly all public power centers have been captured—even county governments were stripped by the Iowa legislature of their power of CAFO destruction. While all aspects of our Natural Heritage are being assaulted by the current class of legislators in power the market place may be of some help. Without massive subsidies at the federal and state level our current monopolized food system cannot endure. Iowans now must brace themselves for the demise of the pork industry in Iowa. Tyson’s closing in Perry is the dramatic beginning of economic disruption in Iowa. Donnelle Eller gave us the news about losses of $32 per pig in 2023 and $18 per head in 2024. Obviously change is coming. I doubt Biden will do what Trump did with his $40 billion bailout of farm industries. With ethanol facing problems and industrial pork taking a hit, King Corn may be vulnerable to some sustainable ideas about our food system.

(Eddie and the Nuthatch--for fun!)

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