Iowa
Wetlands and
Riparian
Areas
Conservation
Plan
National Guard and local scouts
join
forces to conserve wetlands
(Camp Dodge, Central Iowa)
The National Guard members at their Camp Dodge installation just outside Des Moines in Johnston, Iowa, created an opportunity to study wetland restorations when the camp gained 60 acres of wetland and associated uplands as part of a land acquisition that boosted the post's size to 4,300 acres. The acquisition included a tiled and farmed wetland and another virtually undisturbed one that are giving researchers a chance to study how and when a restored area may achieve the same functions as an unaffected wetland in the same climate and location.
National Guard members used geologic testing to help make the decision to break the tile that drained the hydric soils of the wetland. This was done in June 1996. The following spring the wetland filled and has since established itself as a permanent wetland. The next step was to restore the vegetation of the wetland to attract wildlife. Using a Legacy grant from the Department of Defense and an Iowa State University planting plan for the wetland, a Boy Scout took on the task of organizing the restoration. Andrew Rowland, a senior at Des Moines' Hoover High School, organized 40 Boy Scouts, Explorer Scouts and other Des Moines high school students to restore the wetland vegetation for his Eagle Scout project. In May 1998, they converged at Camp Dodge to learn about wetland restoration techniques from Paul Wetzel, an Iowa State University professor, and to plant wetland plants and seeds.
Before the restoration began, baseline studies were conducted to determine what plants and animals were present so that additional species could be documented later. Now researchers from several universities are studying the vegetation, hydrology, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates as the new plants establish themselves and the soil recovers from decades of drainage and row-cropping. The Geological Survey Bureau of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources installed monitoring wells to gauge changes in the water table. To house wildlife and especially the 12 fox snakes released at the site, Camp Dodge employees filled the basement of what was a farmhouse with debris to make a place in which snakes and salamanders could hibernate.
Partners include the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Polk County Conservation Board, and Iowa State University. For their restoration and conservation efforts, the Iowa Army National Guard received the Secretary of the Army's 1997 Environmental Award for Natural Resources Conservation.
The wetlands are within Camp Dodge, where the Army National Guard, Air National Guard, Army Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Reserve Officer Training Corps and law enforcement officers train, but the wetlands themselves will not be used for training. The wetlands are not open to the public except through announced field trips. Contact Camp Dodge for more information about opportunities to visit the wetlands and other restorations in progress.
Contact: Mary Jones, Environmental Specialist at Camp Dodge
Phone: (515) 252-4648
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