AUSTIN CHAPTER 10
IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE OF AMERICA
Purple Martin Project Takes Flight
With Bob Goetz's enthusiam and passion, the city of Austin had more purple martins in 2006.
Bob, Chapter 10 Vice-President, gave a presentation about the plight of the purple martins in Austin at our April 2006 chapter meeting.
Chapter 10, along with Austin Audubon, Dave Crandall, Kyle Klaehn, Terry Dorsey, and the Austin Park & Rec provided financial
support, manpower, housing, and location assistance. The houses are located at East Side Lake and Horace Austin Park near downtown
Austin and the Cedar River. For more information on this project, contact Bob Goetz at 437-4608.
Shoreland Restoration Project
Chapter 10 donated $1,000 to assist the Austin Park & Rec Department in restoring the shoreland
along the Cedar River and Whittier Park. The Mower County Soil and Water Conservation Department was the lead agency in the
development and restoration efforts.
High School Environmental Classes
Chapter 10 has supported the Austin High School Environmental Studies classes by funding field
trips to the Hormel Nature Center, providing stream study supervision and scientific water quality equipment. This meshes well with
the Ike's environmental and water management philosophy.
Sixth Grade Education Projects
Each fall, Chapter 10 funds a 6th grade program called Wet Bugs. The students learn about
the various water insects in a general presentation at school, then students go to the Hormel Nature Center to wade in Dobbins Creek
and collect insects they've learned about in the classroom. In addition, students perform water quality analysis of Dobbins Creek.
Non-Point Source Pollution
Leo Reding, legislator and Chapter 10 member, helped pass legislation to have water pollution
fines returned to Mower County. This funding was used by Chapter 10 to create a Non-Point Source Pollution Pilot Project. With the
guidance of several Ike's members, an education program was developed in the 4th grades in Mower County. Nine learning station models
consisting of plexiglass cubes, each showing an aspect of non-point pollution were used in the 4th grades. Storytellers illustrated
aspects of non-point pollution. These cubes could be placed next to each other to show a larger countryside view of these pollution
problems. This program generated continued interest in the project and other cities later commissioned development of similar learning
stations. They continue to be used throughout the Austin school system. In 1991, the NPSP Learning Stations and hands-on program were
on display and demonstrated at the 20th Annual Conference of the North American Association for Environmental Education held in St.
Paul.
Mower County Fair
Chapter 10 has been involved with the Game and Fish Building displays at the Mower County Fair since the
late 1920's. The Ikes provide supervision, technical support, and educational materials during the fair.
In 1999, Chapter
10 spearheaded a $13,000 project that replaced all fish display tanks and electrical service and wiring at the Game and Fish
Building.
Cedar River Water Monitoring for E-Coli Bacteria
In 2007, Austin Chapter 10 led by Larry Dolphin in association with the Cannon River Watershed Partnership, began collecting water
samples on the Cedar River north of Austin to test for E-coli bacteria.
Samples were collected upstream of housing
developments, next to developments, downstream and if a straight pipe was found at the source. Samples upstream had
e-coli levels at the state's minimum for water quality standard. Those taken next to developments had levels up to three times
higher than the standard and those taken right at the end of a straight pipe were off the chart.
Larry took these findings
to the Mower County Board and asked them to enforce existing clean water laws in regards to straight pipes and sewage pollution in
the Cedar River. The County did cite offenders and the City of Austin is currently in the process of annexing this development
to tie them into Austin's waste treatment system.
Minnesota Public Radio wrote an article on E-coli pollution in the Cedar River
and our sampling project, click on the link for more information:
Cedar River, North of Austin, MN. Photo taken by Al Layman, 2008.