Landowner, government work together to restore Wapsi riverbank

QUASQUETON - A severely eroded Wapsipinicon riverbank will be restored through a cooperative effort of the landowner and state and federal agencies.

'Soil and water conservation are high priorities for me and my wife Doris,” said landowner Clayton Ohrt, who described the project and explained how it came together during a workshop Sunday afternoon held in conjunction with the annual Project AWARE river cleanup.

Ohrt, who owns 124 acres bordering the Wapsipinicon about four miles upstream from Quasqueton, said the river has eaten into the bank about 60 feet in the past 23 years.

To halt the erosion and stabilize the riverbank and nearby oxbow wetlands, Ohrt said he intends to rip rap a 550-foot-long section of bank and plant willows and native grasses on the bank above the rip rap.

Ohrt is splitting the project's cost, which is yet to be determined, with the Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Nate Hoogeveen, coordinator of the DNR's rivers programs, said the state funding was contingent upon Ohrt signing an easement that permanently restricts use of the property for grazing and raising crops.

'We can still enjoy the property for recreation, which is how we use it anyway,” said Ohrt, who expressed his gratitude to the 160 Project AWARE volunteers who removed litter and flood debris Sunday from the stretch of the Wapsipinicon between Independence and Quasqueton.

Nature still flourishes in river valleys, which makes them an important target for permanent protection, said Anita O'Gara, development director of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.

O'Gara discussed land donations, bequests, easements and other ways landowners can protect their land's natural resources.

After camping overnight in Quasqueton, the Project AWARE volunteers will resume their cleanup Monday on the stretch of the Wapsipinicon from Troy Mills to Pinicon Ridge Park near Central City.