Rich Leopold, Director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, gave Iowa a B minus grade on the environmental report card he presented to 95 members of the public at Lake MacBride State Park on August 27. No one disputed Director Leopold’s statement that the grade may be inflated. What became clear is that the governor’s proposed 2010 operating budget for the department at $18.6 million is unlikely to fund the type of department that will significantly improve the grade, inflated or not.

On the positive side, the challenge of deer and Canadian geese is one of controlling over population: there are plenty, some say too many, of these species. Likewise, he reported that 50 of 132 monitored Iowa lakes have at least 3 feet of clarity. “We know how to fix lakes,” Leopold said. He also reported that the number of hunting and fishing licenses issued in Iowa is stable, while those numbers are declining in the rest of the country. So there was some good news.

Water quality seems to be Iowa’s greatest liability. One person commented that the C minus grade should be lowered to a D minus. The bellwether here is that this year’s budget cuts resulted in eliminating 6 of 13 employees involved with manure management. Combine that with high levels of nutrient runoff, unexpected releases of manure from retention ponds at confined animal feeding operations, and lax enforcement of compliance with community waste water treatment permits, and the problem will continue. One participant said that there is not the will to fix Iowa’s water problems. Leopold’s presentation suggested neither is there the money.

A resident from nearby Cottage Reserve asked about increasing the number of volunteers working to improve state parks, indicating many would volunteer. This caught Leopold off guard and his response was that managing volunteers also took money. This did not make sense, as DNR had to reduce seasonal workers by 110,000 hours this year because of budget constraints. Instead of managing seasonal workers, couldn’t staff turn to volunteers and create a permanent solution to hiring seasonal volunteers, and a permanent reduction in staff expense?

There was a lot that did not make sense in this meeting. Director Leopold is knowledgeable about the DNR and its roles and responsibilities: he was an excellent flak catcher. At the same time, my impression from the meeting was that DNR is unlikely to meet the public’s expectations, and that from ring-necked pheasant management, to water quality, to land use, to air quality, the DNR is between a rock and a hard place in enforcing existing regulations or making positive change. The Iowa DNR is subservient to the market conditions that drive agribusiness. The problems of habitat loss, excessive nutrients in the water system, confined animal feeding operations manure disposal, and mercury emissions, seem unlikely to be addressed in the near future, to the detriment of the people of Iowa.

What may get addressed are issues that get the most public attention and noise. I encourage you to let Director Leopold know what is important to you. Otherwise, we can expect more of the status quo, that is, an environment tolerant to the conditions of agribusiness, and that may not be in the public’s best interests.

Write the Iowa Department of Natural Resources at:
Richard Leopold, Director
richard.leopold@dnr.iowa.gov
(515) 281-5385
Wallace State Office Building
502 East 9th Street
Des Moines, Iowa 50319