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How this debate comes out will reflect the future of the river we know.
What will be the future of wildlife — including waterfowl and fish that are important to conservationists and sportsmen alike?
On the page opposite this one, our "Sunday Debate" deals with the proposal to double the length of two locks on the Illinois River system and five locks on the Mississippi between St. Louis and the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois.
In addition, there are smaller-scale navigation improvements proposed for other locations, along with some nonstructural scheduling and other strategies to allow for greater navigation efficiency.
Also proposed are environmental mitigation efforts to reduce shoreline and island erosion and backwater sedimentation.
Habitat restoration and other environmental projects are very important to the future of the river.
That's because the locks and dams that were built in the 1930s to enhance navigation permanently changed the river, preventing the normal renewing efforts of a large flood-plain river, and requiring the expenditure of large sums of money to make up for the damage done to the river by commercial and recreational boating.
On the following page, Bill Bruins, president of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, makes the case for greater efficiency of the navigation system.
He contends that farmers are losing out under the current system in which barge tows must be broken down to pass through the locks in two sections, tying up river traffic and taking more time for the grain to reach the international markets.
Longer locks would allow the tows to lock through in one piece, saving hours in the process.
Dan McGuiness of the Audubon Society in the Twin Cities makes the case for additional environmental mitigation.
He notes correctly that the Environmental Management Program, started in the 1980s to provide the money to restore the river, has never been fully funded by Congress.
Given that history, why are conservationists expected to believe the promises of greater environmental spending along with the navigation improvements?
Environmental mitigation must be a top priority in any river navigation study or plan. Repairing the damage done by our "improvements" to the natural landscape should not be an afterthought.
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