March-April 2021

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Links from the March-April 2021 issue

River Cam Philanthropist — You can watch the Mississippi from the Sawmill Museum in Clinton, Iowa, whenever you want, thanks to the generosity of a Fort Wayne man who has now sponsored webcams at three Upper Mississippi River museums. Craig Herold, formerly of Winona, Minn., is donating the webcams in memory of relatives, museum director Matthew Parbst told the Clinton Herald (1-5-21). Herold-funded webcams also watch over the river at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa, and the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minn.

 

Dirty Songs? Lewiston, Minn. — Austin, Minn., singer-songwriter Bret Hesla and the band Six Feet Deep have recorded two songs commissioned by the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) to help farmers tune in to soil health. Hesla immersed himself in the subject at farms operated by LSP members in Austin and Goodhue, Minn. “Got Cover Crops” and “Back to Soil” have accompanying videos online. Winona’s Kobi Dansingburg produced and edited the videos. There is no charge for public use of the music or videos.

 

RV Explosion St. Croix, Minn. — Sales of recreational vehicles for camping took off in the pandemic, and the industry expects sharp growth to continue in 2021 — but where will all those RVs find a camping place?

At least one Minnesota campground is adding more RV spaces. Veterans Campground on Big Marine Lake is acquiring 2.4 acres from Washington County’s Big Marine Park Reserve to get more RV camping space for military veterans.

The 30 additional RV spaces would relieve a three-year wait for the current 156 spaces. Veterans Campground is 12 miles north of Stillwater, Minn., and six miles west of Marine on St. Croix.

Once known as Disabled Veterans Rest Camp, the 69-acre Veterans Campground is run by a nonprofit for veterans and their families. The camp dates to 1926, when it was donated for World War I soldiers who lived with “shell-shock,” now known as post-traumatic stress disorder. The campground drew 35,000 visitors in 2019.

After a two-month pandemic shutdown in early 2020, RV manufacturers hustled as sales jumped six percent over 2019. This year the industry expects a stunning 17 percent rise, to more than 500,000 units.

Travelers craving a safe vacation may have trouble finding an RV camping space. Reserve early, urges Monika Geraci of the Recreational Vehicles Industry Association. Camping numbers rose in Wisconsin in 2020. Bookings for 2021 are up again, according to Craig Trost of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. Wisconsin takes reservations up to 11 months in advance.

“We do remind RV campers that our state parks do not have full water and sewer hookups, so plan ahead!” Trost cautioned.

Wisconsin RV campgrounds with electric hookups include Interstate, Willow River, Perrot, Merrick, Wyalusing and Nelson Dewey state parks and Governor Knowles State Forest.

If locked out of early reservations, keep an eye out for “last-minute cancellations,” Trost advised. Wisconsin’s campground finder is at TravelWisconsin.com. Minnesota’s is at ExploreMinnesota.com. Both Iowa and Illinois use ReserveAmerica.com.

 

Bumble Bee Spring — A Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On

To learn more about native bees and native plants, check out the beautiful and very complete book, "Bees — An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide," by Heather Holm, published by Pollinator Press, 2017. Also see https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com

 

Growing the Right Plant in the Right Place — Prairie Moon Nursery

 

Links from the January-February 2021 issue

Take a virtual trip on the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway courtesy of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

 

Follow the attempt to reel in the state fish in every state. FishAllFifty

 

Watch Shane Westen pedal down the river in a Hobie Outback Kayak.

 

Keep up on Mississippi source-to-sea paddlers with the Facebook group Mississippi River Paddlers.

 

Links from the November-December 2020 issue

Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance website

The WDNR is seeking volunteers for its self-service Adopt-a-Kiosk program for CWD testing.

———

Here's more info on River Actions's River Webinar series:
2020 Upper Mississippi River Webinar Series

Archaeologist Ernie Boszhardt will lead us on a virtual introduction to beautiful Little Bluff in Trempealeau, Wis. Sponsored by Mississippi Valley Conservancy. Discover Little Bluff

Check out Lake Pepin Alliance's membership drive.

 

Links from the September-October 20220 issue

River Action will forego its annual in-person Upper Mississippi River Conference this year, opting instead for three online webinars. Webinars will cost $10 per session or $25 for all three.

The Conservation Grazing Map helps farmers and ranchers find public lands that are available for grazing livestock. The tool is a joint effort by the MDA, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR)U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

 

•Like the overlook story in this issue? See overlook stories that we have published in the past. See all the overlooks on our Travel Map

Introduction to Overlooks 2009

Map and description of overlooks (pdf) September 2009

Lookout ! A Sampling of River Views 1993

Lookout map

Looking Down on the River—What is the highest overlook on the river? By Duke Addicks

Duke's calculations

Links from the July-August 2020 issue

Mississippi River area webcams

Headwaters of the Mississippi at Itasca State Park. (Minnesota DNR)

National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minn.

National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa

St Louis Arch viewed from Illinois. (Camera installed by the local government.)

The eagle trio near L&D 13, Fulton, Ill. (Stewards of the Upper Mississippi River Refuge)

Mississippi River Flyway Cam, Brice Prairie, Wis. (Raptor Resource Center)

Watch the river at St. Paul. (City of St. Paul)

Driftless Area Education Center at Lansing, Iowa

Dubuque County Courthouse Peregrine Falcons

 

Fishing information

Fishing information is available at “Learn to fish” on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website.

Explore fish in streams and climate data with FishVis by the USGS.

 

Links from past issues:

Paddler Sampling:

LouAnn Harris stand-up paddle— What I Learned; The Mullet

Jay Kangler - Escape with Jay videos

Max Berthou and Mark Pozlep link to Waterways Journal

Maya Dizak and Michael McGuire and The Big Wet Trip on Instagram

Dan Faust - Glory Days

Mississippi River Paddlers Facebook Group

 


From Big River

Download complete issues from 2006 and 2007 (PDFs)

Back Issues - Highlights and ordering information

Big River Online Travel Map

Stories from past issues of Big River

 

Links to more information from stories in Big River

January-February 2018

November-December 2017

September-October 2017

July-August 2017

May-June 2017

March-April 2017

January-February 2017


Links to Mississippi River Resources


Links from Reggie's Canoecopia presentation

Big River Source-to-Sea paddler page - accounts, stories and resources

Upper Mississippi River Fish and Wildlife Refuge

Corps of Engineers Upper Miss Navigation Charts

Mississippi River Paddlers (Facebook group)

Floatzilla(River Action, Quad Cities)

The Great River Rumble


 

Minnesota DNR Eagle Cam

Upper Mississippi River Restoration - Environmental Management Program (UMRR-EMP)

Mississippi River Organizations

Mississippi River Resources

Big River Travel Map

Down the Mississippi: People taking all kinds of trips down the river

Weather on the Upper Mississippi

Water levels on the Upper Miss.

90-Day Journey of a Raindrop on the Mississippi River by Gayle Harper. Blog, Surrendering to Serendipity

Download complete issues from 2006 and 2007

More Stories Published in past issues of Big River

Waiting for the Julia Belle Swain (pdf)
By John Gabbert The hard, gritty, expensive work of rescuing one of the finest steam sternwheeler packet boats ever built is nearly finished. Jan-Feb 2017

Effigy Mounds of the Wisconsin River Valley
By Sara Millhouse September-October 2016

Coldwater Cave May-June 2016
By Capt. Ted Peck

Nighthawk Twilight
By Molly McGuire July-Aug 2015

Carp Poetry Winners - July-Aug 2015

12 Great Rivertown Gardens (pdf) - May-June 2015

Where's the Carp? Commercial fishermen have noticed an overall decline in the number of common carp - May-June 2015

Sex Life of Floodplain Trees March-April 2015

Carp Catch 22 - where can you buy wild-caught smoked carp, and why isn't it at your local grocer's? (pdf) March-April 2015

When Big Mama Ruled the Rivers - the Sprague Jan-Feb 2015

River Pilgrims Nov-Dec 2014

Outdoor Dreams Come True - North America Squirrel Association Nov-Dec 2014

Mapping Time and the River (PDF) by Ryan Johnson March-April 2014

The Living Caves of Kickapoo Winters Jan-Feb 2014

Ike Hasting's and his Picket Hastings Jan-Feb 2014

CD Review: Can You Canoe? By the OkeeDokee Brothers
Reviewed by Naomi Rath

Leo and Marilyn Smith: River Dreams in Wood (pdf)
March-April 2012

Sand Dollars — Mining Frac Sand in the River Valley (pdf
July-Aug 2011

Summer of Weeds Nov-Dec 2010

Boykin Spaniels and Box Turtles July-Aug 2010

The Almost-Built Canal: Linking Lake Superior to the Mississippi  (pdf)
March-April 2010

Flood Run also PDF
March-April 2010

The Day WWII Came to Lake Pepin
Nov-Dec 2007

Iceboating on the Mississippi
Jan-Feb 2007

Look down on the river
Overlooks, lookouts, precipices and blufftop peaks

An Otter Kind of Critter

River Book Reviews

Bridges over the Mississippi

Hand-Carved Decoys (pdf)

More Stories from Big River Magazine