Bringing Back the Wetlands of Mitchell County

Prior to European settlement, approximately 11% of the landbrof Iowa was covered by wetlands. For the indigenous peoples of the area,brwetlands were an important food and fiber source, as well as an importantbrbreeding and nesting ground for migratory fowl and many other animals. Most ofbrMitchell County’s wetlands (and 95% of Iowa’s total wetlands) have been drainedbrin order to take advantage of the otherwise prime and highly coveted farmland (whosebrfertile soils were ironically partially built by the very wetlands that werebrremoved in the process of making the land farmable). 

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However, by removing so many wetlands from our landscape webrmay have hurt our communities in the long-term. Wetlands are an importantbrhabitat for many species of plants and wildlife. Wetlands contain a significantbramount of Iowa’s biodiversity and are home to some of Iowa’s most threatenedbrspecies like the Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid. Wetlands also function asbrnatural water filters, absorbing and removing pollutants from the passing waterbrand improving water quality downstream in the process. Wetlands also mitigatebrflood risk and intensity by slowing down and holding water moving through thebrlandscape.

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However, none of these ecosystem services and benefits arebrnews to Mitchell County residents Mike Heimer and Charlie Feldt, who have both helpedbrbring back some wetlands to the Mitchell County landscape.   

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Mike Heimer (and his father before him) has been renting andbrfarming the same acres adjacent to Rock Creek for nearly 50 years from the JohnbrHanson Trust. Though the landowners do not live locally, there is a trustingbrrelationship between the Hanson family and the Heimers which has allowed Mikebrto do some incredible restoration work in the pastureland that was adjacent tobrhis farmed acres. Back in 2009, Mike and the John Hanson Trust partnered withbrUSDA and the Mitchell SWCD to plant over 17,000 native trees and shrubs andbrestablish native prairie communities along a 1/2 mile stretch of Rock Creek to form what is one of the mostbroutstanding and beautiful restored riparian buffers in the county. In 2018,brMike added a nitrate-treatment wetland to the picture as well, as a part of thebrRock Creek Watershed Project’s effort to improve water quality and soil health.

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 The wetland is aboutbr1.5 acres and treats 250-300 acres of agricultural tile water drainage.  Mike cited his interest in promoting waterbrquality as the primary motivator for installing his wetland. On average,brtreatment wetlands in Iowa reduce nitrate concentrations by 52% in the waterbrthey treat. Before installing the wetland, Mike was very careful to check withbrthe engineers doing the design to make sure it wouldn’t back up any water intobrhis tile lines, detrimentally impacting his crop and livelihood.  After a couple years of having wetland in action,brhe hasn’t had any issues and is very happy with how it has been working. Thebrdesign of the wetland even includes a control box that Mike can use to managebrthe depth of water in the wetland in order to optimize water treatment efficacybrand ensure that water levels won’t reach a point where it backs anything upbrinto his tile lines.

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 Adjacent to the constructedbrtreatment wetland, Mike also pointed out a grass-covered area that was abrdifferent, less recognizable type of wetland called a fen. He said that walkingbrover that ground was like walking over a waterbed and that no matter how dry itbrmay be, there is always a little fresh water tricklingly out of the area. Hebrhad learned in a previous conversation with NRCS staff that the fen that he andbrthe Hanson family have there is actually very unique, there are only a fewbrother known and intact fens in the entire county.

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Mike also enjoys watching the wildlife and observing the nativebrplants that come up in the area. He laughed as he told me about the explodingbrsound of the all the frogs diving into the wetland for refuge if he comes bybrthe area in the evening or at night. Mike’s care for and intimate knowledge ofbrthe area was very clear as he showed me around the wetland and riparian buffer,brpointing out some changes in the flow path of the creek over time, callingbrattention to unique and interesting plants, telling stories of the Indigenousbrpeople who inhabited this area, and recalling all the hard work that went andbrgoes into restoring and managing this beautiful area. I asked him how often hebrspends time in the area, and he smiled and said he was he’s here every week asbrthere are always new things to see and do.

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Charlie Feldt is a Mitchell County landowner who put abrwetland in on his own land. About seven years back, Charlie was approached by abrlocal NRCS employee about potentially turning some of the undeveloped pasturelandbrat his place into a wetland. He was initially leery, but soon was fully behindbrthe idea. Charlie is a passionate hunter, fisher, and outdoorsmen, so idea ofbrhelping to provide the crucial, but too often disappearing habitat needed bybrthe wildlife of Iowa was very important and appealing to him. After a lot of time,brplanning, and work, a six-acre wetland was installed on Charlie’s land and enrolledbrin the Conservation Reserve Easement Program (ensuring that the wetland will bebrmaintained and protected for a lifetime).

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The wetland and prairie plantings surrounding the area is simplybrbeautiful. A restored native prairie surrounds much of wetland, offeringbrsplashes of color as wildflowers bloom, and habitat and food for wildlife andbrbeneficial insects.  I appreciativelybrquipped to Charlie that his land could easily be featured on the front abrcalendar of picturesque Iowan scenes.  

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Charlie loves to spend his watching the wildlife that callbrthe area home. He rattled off a long list of wildlife that he sees out therebrincluding pelicans, ducks, geese, deer, frogs, turkey, rabbits, pheasant, and swans.brHe even had an otter once (though he was not happy to see the competition forbrhis fish). Charlie has the wetland stocked with Bluegill, Bass, and Catfish andbrhe enjoys fishing on his dock or out in his boat, or sometimes just watchingbrdelighted neighborhood kids catch their first fish. He highlighted thebrimportance of kids having the opportunity to enjoy and learn to appreciatebrnature and the outdoors.

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Charlie also brought up the importance of clean drinking waterbrin his making the decision to install the wetland, noting that everyone needsbrclean water. He also happily recalled hearing from others that his wetland wasbrhelping to lower flooding risks for folks downstream. We paused for a fewbrmoments just thinking about the importance of and need for places like this forbrboth us and wildlife, before Charlie thoughtfully added, “Everyone needs tobrsomething, and I guess that’s just what I’ve been trying to do here.”