Only seventy-nine large floodplain rivers are said to remain in theworld. These rivers are unique for their ability to divert seasonalfloodwaters into large wetlands, creating habitat for an incrediblevariety of plants and organisms. The Illinois River, flowing west andthen south from Chicago, is one large floodplain river that has seenbetter days. Pollution, agricultural development, and dams have wipedout much of its wetlands and wildlife over the last century. But now,an exchange with diplomats and scientists in Brazil may bring new lifeto the Illinois, and provide a blueprint for how to revitalize riversaround the region. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jesse Hardmanreports:
Transcript
Only seventy-nine large floodplain rivers are said to remain in the world.
These rivers are unique for their ability to divert seasonal floodwaters
into large wetlands, creating habitat for an incredible variety of plants
and organisms. The Illinois River, flowing west and then south from Chicago, is one
large floodplain river that has seen better days. Pollution, agricultural development, and
dams have wiped out much of its wetlands and wildlife over the last century. But now,
an exchange with diplomats and scientists in Brazil may bring new life to the Illinois, and
provide a blueprint for how to revitalize rivers around the region. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Jesse Hardman reports.
When Rip Sparks, a river biologist at the University of
Illinois, first set eyes on the Upper Paraguay River and its Pantanal
wetlands during a trip to Brazil five years ago, he was astounded.
“I talked to commercial fisherman I went to fish restaurants that were based
completely on what is harvested from the river. And this reminds me of
historical accounts of the wonderful fishery that existed along the Illinois
River”
After returning from his trip, Sparks began to compare the health of the two
rivers. But he wanted to make sure Brazilians learned from his research as
well, so he joined the Illinois Nature Conservancy in inviting
representatives of the Upper Paraguay area to see first hand how not to
treat a river.
(sound of airplane taking off)
Governor Dante Martins de Olivera, from the Brazilian state of Matto Grasso,
pauses as he looks down at the muddy brown river through the window of an
eight-seat jet airplane. Governor Dante, seated across from Biologist Rip
Sparks and Illinois Nature Conservancy officials, relaxes in his seat and
begins to tell stories of the Upper Paraguay.
(sound of Portuguese)
Dante says his river supports farmers and ranchers who understand and use
its floodplain, a system which allows excess water to expand into adjacent
wetlands.
Doug Blodgett, a Nature Conservancy biologist, draws Dante’s attention to a
large levee about five thousand feet below the plane. He explains how these
manmade earthen embankments helped to drain a portion of the river’s
floodplain for farming.
Blodgett says land protected by levees along the Illinois produce only one
percent of the state’s crops, but take up 200,000 acres, half the land
along the river’s main wetland area.
Dante nods in agreement…he says he can see, looking down at the river, how
too much habitat and natural resources have been sacrificed for farming
along the Illinois. But he warns those on board not to overreact.
“You can’t put the environment in a dome. We need to take social questions
into consideration. Create jobs and feed the people. My government has taken
this into consideration…taking care to avoid problems like you have in the
Illinois River that will probably take one hundred years more to restore”
Micheal Rueter, conservation director for the Illinois Nature
Conservancy, says his group has already begun a plan to restore wetlands by
buying up farmland along the river, and re-connecting leveed areas to the
Illinois’s natural path. But he says the plan isn’t intended to drive
farmers out of business.
“We live on a working landscape…and we recognize that we need to work with
the people who live on that landscape. To find the mix of public and private
goods that can be produced on the land.”
The pilot carrying this group of river-watchers finally lands the plane
midway along the Illinois River at a small airport in Peoria. The Nature
Conservancy has organized a lunch with local community and environmental
leaders to meet Governor Dante and discuss the restoration of the Illinois.
(sound of luncheon, Portuguese)
Dante offers to form an exchange where Illinois scientists and
conservationists can come study the Upper Paraguay and Pantanal area…and
some of his scientists can travel to the U.S. to research the Illinois
River.
He then tells a story about fishing on the Upper Paraguay.
He gets a laugh from the lunch crowd as he holds his hands a good three feet
apart…describing the fish he says he reeled in one day.
(sound of laughing)
With the help of river aficionados like Governor Dante…the Illinois will
hopefully begin to flow a little more freely, like it used to…and in turn
itself become an example for other regions in the area…of how best to treat
a river.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Jesse Hardman.