Support nature, ourselves

By Jan Glendening

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Spring has finally arrived. For many of us that means baseball, golfing, fishing, gardening, morel mushroom hunting or planting.

As we celebrate Earth Day today and begin enjoying the outdoors again, it's also timely to reflect on the challenges that our natural resources are facing. As the mother of school-aged children, I hope they will be able to experience the natural beauty of spring in the same way that I have.

As beautiful as nature is, it can also be unpredictable (extremely wet so far this April) and wild. Who could forget the 2008 floods and the damage it caused throughout Eastern Iowa along the Cedar River? Or two years ago, the summerlong Missouri River flooding? These floods not only affected people and our way of life, they also take a toll on our natural resources.

Last year, we were faced with a different problem: drought. Crops were threatened and our rivers and streams were subjected to unusual low flows. Will these extremes in weather be the realities of the future and what will we do now to prepare for this?

Engineering and technology will provide some of the answers, helping to strengthen levees and developing new types of water control structures. New strains of drought-resistant seed varieties can help lessen the impact of severe drought. But as we look for solutions, a good place to start is with nature itself.

Our “green infrastructure,” including wetlands, floodplains and healthy soil, can serve as a first line of defense to protect people and property from major flooding, as well as reducing the severity of drought. Healthy soil can hold more moisture, providing downstream protection during floods and needed moisture for crops during drought. Floodplains with abundant wetlands can absorb and help slow high water - an acre of healthy wetland can store up to 1.5 million gallons of floodwater.

Protecting and restoring our green infrastructure will not stop rivers from flooding. It will help reduce the risks to the people living and working along rivers.

And protection from floods and drought is just one of the many benefits we get from making smart, cost-effective investments in green infrastructure. Healthy land and high-quality water are the backbone of agriculture, ranching and outdoor recreation industries. They support jobs and economic activity.

Conservation programs that invest in nature are also an investment in people - in our safety, our health and our livelihoods. Keeping conservation programs strong protects the lands and waters we need for life.

This Earth Day, pledge to support nature.

Jan Glendening is director of the Nature Conservancy in Iowa. Comments: jglendening@tnc.org