Field of Dreams Watershed & Water Trail – If You Build It, They Will Come! Stream Restoration, the Iowa DNR River Restoration Toolbox and a Vision for Change!
Judith E. Joyce, PWS
Reid Stamer, PWS
Impact7G
Coralville, Iowa
Authors: Judith E. Joyce, PWS and Reid Stamer, PWS, Impact7G
The “Field of Dreams” Watershed comprises the headwaters of the North Fork Maquoketa River (HUC 10 0706000608) and encompasses the City of Dyersville and the City of Cascade, Iowa. Within the watershed, reaches of Bear Creek, Hewitt Creek and the North Fork Maquoketa River are included on the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Impaired Waters List. The City of Dyersville, home of the Field of Dreams movie site, is leading efforts to improve the water quality of its streams while providing economic development opportunities throughout the watershed. The vision plan unites public and private partners with the mantra “If you clean the water, they will come”! The confluence of outside the box funding along with the implementation of the Iowa DNR River Restoration Toolbox (IRRT) provided the framework needed to throw the first pitch by addressing water quality concerns and improve river access to bring the community back to the water. Having an industry standard, like the IRRT, associated with some professional qualifications has resulted in a higher level of assessment and better designs allowing the reviewer to be more comfortable with stream restoration as a water quality practice
In the batting lineup, the leadoff practice features stream restoration along Bear Creek. Like many Midwest urban streams, reaches are degraded, entrenched and are disconnected from their historic floodplains with relatively low-valued riparian vegetation dominated by highly invasive species. These degraded stream systems strike out due to poor water quality caused by excessive loading of sediment, nutrients, bacteria, and thermal pollution. Restoration systematically modifies the physical, chemical, and biological conditions to create an ecosystem trajectory toward a higher-functioning natural ecological processes and services. Homerun community benefit includes welcoming aesthetic providing wild places to recreate, unplug and connect with nature!
Groundbreaking initiative, like this, are needed to meet Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategies goals. Discussion includes rural/urban interface stream restoration, associated water quality practices, lessons learned and the pros and cons of having a standard river restoration toolbox.
Judith Joyce & Reid Stammar at the “Field of Dreams” Watershed.
About Judith E. Joyce, PWS
Judith E. Joyce has over 25 years of experience in managing and completing environmental projects. Judy is a geomorphologist and a certified Professional Wetland Scientist with experience in hydrology, wetland science, and soils. She specializes in watershed planning, stream assessments, soil characterization, plant identification, and hydrological studies throughout the Midwest. Her passion has always been to find ways to bring nature back into our communities. Her designs achieve this goal by not only incorporating nature play areas, but also by utilizing a variety of outside the box funding sources and partnerships
About Reid Stamer, PWS
Reid Stamer grew up in Eastern Iowa, stomping around in creeks and marshes. Later, Reid transformed his love for all things muddy into a career focusing on water resources. As a Restoration Ecologist and Professional Wetland Scientist he has experience in stream assessment and design, wetland delineations, natural areas management, and water resource policy. Outside of work you can find him in his garden or on the trail with his wife and dog.