A 70½ Birthday Gift to Iowa's Water

I turned 70½ today.

No presents, please, but I care deeply about Iowa's water quality and protecting the rivers, lakes and drinking water we all depend on. So I'm using this birthday milestone as an excuse to raise $500 for Prairie Rivers of Iowa.

My relationship with Prairie Rivers goes back to around 2002, when I was involved with the Ioway Creek watershed coalition. I helped lead a couple of public paddles down Ioway Creek and was amazed by the interest.

My interest in water quality had started a little earlier, when I became an IOWATER volunteer. IOWATER gave ordinary people a way to learn about and keep an eye on the condition of Iowa's streams. That worked for me.

I'm now in my fourth year as a Prairie Rivers board member. I was asked to join by a community member I had a great deal of respect for, who had founded Prairie Rivers when it was still funded through USDA's RC&D program. I couldn't say no.

A lot has changed in those 20-some years, but my interest in and understanding of water quality has only increased.

So rather than asking for birthday presents, I'm asking people who would like to celebrate with me to help raise $500 for Prairie Rivers.

If you've seen some of my recent posts, you already know why this matters to me.