River recreation in Iowa received lots of attention. In addition to the $250,000 Statewide Water Trail plan that was appropriated, the DNR’s Low-Head Dam Public Hazard Program received a one-million dollar appropriation.  A new program was created called RECAT (River Enhancement Community Attraction Tourism) which received a 52 million dollar appropriation which will be administered by Vision Iowa.  12 million will be allocated the first year, and 10 million each year for the next four years.  Specific projects that can be funded by RECAT include water tails, dam hazard mitigation, whitewater courses, and riverside trails.  Other infrastructure projects that are related to rivers can also be funded through RECAT.

-- from John Wenck, IWC member, 5/19/2008

 

Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will have three funding sources that local communities can use in the creation of water trails in 2008. The Dam Safety Cost-share Program assists communities with a 50 percent cost share for safety projects at signs. It’s been a bad year for dam-related deaths – six since March in Iowa. Eligible projects include signage, portage trail construction, design for dam-to-rapids conversion and dam removal projects, and construction costs for dam-to-rapids conversion and dam removal projects. The Water Trails Cost-share program helps establish linear routes down waterways through signage, maps, brochures, portages, and good accesses. Water Recreation Access Cost-share Program funds can be used for single-accesses point construction. Water trails are also receiving attention outside the DNR through the Vision Iowa program, and the Federal Recreational Trails (FRT) grant program administered by the Iowa Department of Transportation. FRT grants are due Oct. 1! See www.iowabikes.com for details.

 

There’s increasing recognition in the Vision Iowa program that natural resources also create real tourism dollars. Through the Water Trails program, Iowa DNR is collaborating directly on two projects awarded on Sept. 12. One is the Maquoketa River Water Trail, which kicked off fundraising with a relatively minor grant from the DNR water trails program ($5,000). Vision Iowa last week added $150,000 to this project, nearly completing fundraising for the $550,000 project, which focuses on high-quality ADA river access, dam portage, parking, and informational signage at one of Iowa’s most heavily used canoeing, kayaking, and innertubing areas between Mon-Maq Dam and Pictured Rocks. Coon Rapids and the Whiterock Conservancy were also awarded $1.7 million through the Vision Iowa Program for amenities that connect a small town with a neighboring land trust. Improvements include the water trail on the Middle Raccoon River, streetscaping in Coon Rapids, birder amenties, and a visitors’ center at the Whiterock Conservancy.

-- from Nate Hoogeveen, River Programs Coordinator, Iowa DNR, November, 2007