A series of small communities linked in a 52-mile stretch of the lower Des Moines River used Project AWARE as an opportunity to give back to the river that historically brought them commerce and connection.

Volunteers leverage a dumpster removed from the Lower Des Moines River to move it to a collection site. (Photo courtesy of Rod Schreck)

Project AWARE (A Watershed Awareness River Expedition) is an Iowa DNR program organized by Lynette Seigley that each year chooses a section of an Iowa river to help clean. The 2016 event brought together 329 volunteers to remove garbage from the section of the river in the southeastern corner of the state.

From July 11 - 15, 40 tons of abandoned household, automotive and other assorted trash were removed from the Des Moines River from Wapello County to Lee County.

Stewardship

A community of environmental stewards from as far away as Sweden, from many states and from the villages along the route was instrumental in its success as were event staff and Hygienic Laboratory limnologists Seth Zimmermann, Kyle Skoff, Travis Morarend, Mark Johnston and Mike Birmingham.

First-time participant Donna Jeffrey lives near the “put-in-point” at Eldon. She helped plan the event and was part of the first day clean-up team because, “Litter is my pet peeve,” and because she believes that the most important part of Project AWARE is “getting litter out of our rivers.”

Likewise, naturalist and educator Brittney Tiller from neighboring Jefferson County said that the event gives people a view of the amount of trash and environmental stress on Iowa rivers.

“People see erosion first hand,” Tiller said. “They have a connection with the river. You don’t protect what you don’t love.”

Bringing river towns on board

Van Buren County hosted the largest portion of AWARE where the Des Moines River flows border to border on a diagonal slant. Keosauqua (pop., 1006) is the largest town in this part of the county and home to Stacey Reese. An active part of the planning team, Reese is the Executive Director of the Villages of Van Buren, a historic site consisting of 12 communities many of which are river towns along the AWARE route.

She was a primary contact for local towns that provided food, facilities and personal care products for the event that Iowa DNR says “isn’t for the person who’s afraid to get a little dirt under his or her fingernails.”

“We greeted the volunteers each day (of the event) at each access point with fresh-baked cookies, cold bottled water, local information and friendly faces,” Reese said. “A big hit were the ‘Hospitality Baskets’ loaded with bath essentials that we provided in each of the shower houses at the campgrounds in Van Buren County.”

Tom O’Donnell and his wife Paula Mohr joined the AWARE team Monday night in Eldon, in time for the nightly lecture about the archaeology of the Iowaville Indian Village and the history of the Ioway Indian tribe.

Cheri Haury-Artz of the Office of the State Archaeologist spoke about “Iowa’s Archaeological Timeline” and “Mormon Trails along the Lower Des Moines River,” as well as leading a tour of the Bonaparte Pottery.

“Too often I find myself picking up a few plastic bags and feeling completely defeated by the quantities of trash I see along the rivers and roads; too much for an individual to deal with,” Haury-Artz said. “As a community working together, Project AWARE really makes a difference.”

‘Paying for the privilege’

Tuesday and Wednesday, O’Donnell and Mohr were part of the water caravan, picking up some of that trash.

“People on the project are amazingly dedicated,” O’Donnell said. “We saw folks who lashed huge objects like sewer pipes and car parts to their canoes. Many of them worked hard to dig out trash and refuse, getting filthy and wet in the process.

“A lot of folks wouldn’t do this for pay. These people were doing it for free and even paying for the privilege.”

Thursday, Mohr and O’Donnell opened their home – an 1860s schoolhouse along the AWARE route in Bentonsport – for tours by event volunteers.

“The Des Moines River is a major part of what makes Van Buren County attractive to tourists, hunters, anglers and a surprising number of people who are choosing southeast Iowa as their retirement home,” O’Donnell said. “We wanted to do our part to clean up the river and make it more inviting and beautiful.”

Pride along the river

The take-out point for the 2016 Project AWARE was near Croton at the northern part of Lee County. Tom Buckley represented the Lee County Conservation Board (LCCB) and led the removal and collection of scrap metal for the entire week. For the week, more than 20 tons of scrap metal were recycled, generating $1,600 in revenue earmarked to improve one of the Conservation Board’s boat access areas on the Des Moines River.

“Project AWARE is an excellent program to involve people at the hands-on level and to reward those people with the visible accomplishments of a cleaner river at the end of each day,” said Buckley, a longtime user of the Des Moines River.

“The impact on those who use and view the Des Moines River on a daily basis is not only a nicer river to visit but an increased pride of living along one of Iowa’s more beautiful natural resources.”

The Hygienic Laboratory is a sponsor of Project AWARE, which in 2009 received the U.S. Department of the Interior’s “Take Pride in America” award in recognition of AWARE’s stewardship efforts.