By Steve Weisman
Outdoor Editor

(photo by Steve Weisman) Keynote speaker shares his thoughts on how we all get called on to become environmentalists at one time or another.

What a wild ride 2023 has been when it comes to our weather patterns. Across the United States, we’ve had flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes and drought. We’ve become a country with wild weather swings and extremes.

Just look at our moisture patterns here in the Iowa Great Lakes area. Remember last spring when the runoff from the winter snows helped get our lakes throughout northwest Iowa up to pretty much full or even running over. That also gave us a good start for the farmers and their spring planting.

Over the summer, however, except for little pockets, we turned dry with much of Iowa slipping into some form of drought. The latest drought monitor for Iowa (December 7) shows extreme northwest Iowa, which includes the Iowa Great Lakes Area as being in the abnormally dry stage, which is about the best there is in the state. Meanwhile, just to the east and south, the monitor shows a moderate drought. However, much of the rest of Iowa is in either a severe or extreme drought level.

Thanks to drought resistant seed, the corn and bean harvest seems to have been better than expected. The fall has been incredibly dry, the temperatures relatively mild and the lakes either wide open or just somewhat frozen. In early fall, some of the area received up to five inches or so of moisture, but that was spotty at best.

Interior rivers across the state are abnormally low, as are lakes across much of Iowa. Here is a look at where we are at in the Iowa Great Lakes as of last weekend.

Big Spirit is nearly 14 inches below the spillway, while the Okobojis are nearly 7 inches below the Lower Gar overflow.

Here are a couple of extremes. In July of 1993, Big Spirit was 69.4 inches higher than now, which was over 55 inches over the spillway. Even as recently as July 4 of 2018, Big Spirit was 35.5 inches about current levels or 21.5 inches over the spillway.

As for the Okobojis, the high-water level of July 1993 waw 62.4 inches higher than now or 55.4 inches above the overflow. Looking at 2018, the Okobojis were 37.8 inches above the level right now or 30.8 inches below that of 2018.

Those were incredible extremes of high-water marks. At the same time, we’ve had drought situations where the lakes have been significantly below crest. It just shows that we should never say never when it comes to our climate.

Itching for ice fishing and winter sports

As much as we are enjoying this mild weather, there is also a group of folks who can hardly wait for ice and some snow. I guess I would consider myself one of these people. Normally I would be ice fishing by now, but that’s not happening yet. Certainly, snowmobilers and cross-country skiers are becoming impatient, too.

At this point, I stress patience when it comes to the ice. Don’t jump the gun. Make sure there is at least a good four inches of solid ice before venturing out.

Food for thought

The end of the year is always a good time to reflect on the past year and to make decisions on what we want to accomplish and/or change in the new year. One thing I encourage all of us to do is to improve our stewardship of water and land. For those who attended the 2023 Okoboji Blue Water Festival, the 30+ groups/individuals along Exhibitor’s Row that shared ideas on clean water, the clean water kids’ activities, the clean water panelists and the keynote speaker (Jon Bowermaster)…gave us all opportunities to broaden our clean water knowledge.

As the panelists answered a series of questions, and some of them tough and controversial to an extent, they all agreed that NOW is the time to make a true difference in water quality. They also believe that people need to educate themselves, share their passion for clean water, tell their stories, and finally, if they truly want change, to get their message out to their legislators.

Moderator Joe McGovern ended the discussion with this, “It is our duty to educate ourselves and to learn more. When it comes to clean water, we can never give up!”

Accidental environmentalists

Bowermaster, a world-renowned writer, filmmaker and adventurer, and a six-time grantee of the National Geographic Expeditions Council, shared that his “beat” as a writer has become the four corners of the world. It really comes down to the fact that “everything in the world is water related.” He also noted, “Most people who become involved in a clean water issue become accidental environmentalists. They never planned to get involved until the issue came near to them.”

Yes, we are

That point really hit home to me. As clean water issues have developed in the Iowa Great Lakes, people, who never dreamed of being environmentalists, I like to refer to us more as conservationists, have stepped up to defend our lakes from exotics that have been brought into our lakes. Individuals have become part of groups to address these issues, have volunteered time and an incredible amount of money has been raised and donated!

Over the past few years, I’ve worked with several lake protective associations on a wide range of clean water efforts and found it to be rewarding as success has been achieved. As always, there is power in numbers!

At the same time, as individuals we can do things around our home and with our families:

• using environmentally friendly fertilizers
• not blowing grass clippings into the road so it can go down the storm drain during a rain event
• not wasting water in the home and overwatering our lawns
• modeling good conservation practices with youngsters and helping them understand the importance of clean water and good conservation practices
• taking care of our trash and not letting it blow out of the car or boat/even worse leaving trash in the parks and on the lakes where we recreate

Hopefully, we all work on our efforts of changing accidental environmentalists/conservationists to purposeful and dedicated environmentalists/conservationists.