By Blake Jackson
The Wisconsin Wetlands Association (WWA) recently joined the Coon Creek Community Watershed Council (CCCWC) and neighbouring partners in the Driftless Area for a two-part series focused on watershed management and networking.
The events, held in northeast Iowa in June and southwest Wisconsin in September, featured field tours that explored innovative and traditional methods for reducing flood impacts - or as locals describe it, “making running water walk” in the Coon Creek Watershed.
WWA participated alongside farmers, engineers, conservationists, and community members to discuss the ongoing challenges of flooding in the region and to exchange knowledge across state lines.
The first event in Iowa included visits to sites around Postville, West Union, and Elgin, where participants learned about regional strategies for flood management. Highlights included demonstrations by the Iowa Flood Center on monitoring, mapping, and forecasting flood events, a restoration project on the Yellow River, and innovative on-road structures that serve as alternatives to traditional culverts. These embankment-style structures act as dams, temporarily holding and slowly releasing stormwater to reduce flood intensity.
The second part of the series brought Iowa attendees to Wisconsin. Monroe County opened the event with a presentation on the Little La Crosse Watershed Infrastructure Resiliency Initiative, a project using federal transportation funding to assess flood vulnerability and strengthen both roads and aquatic ecosystems.
Later, participants gathered at a multi-generational farm before joining a field tour highlighting the region’s long history of agricultural, soil, and water conservation efforts. The tour also included a visit to two PL566 dams that failed during the devastating 2018 flood.
“Flooding is traumatic; it has happened, it’s been happening, and it will keep happening,” said Dave Hettenbach, Vernon County Conservationist. “We can use our shared experiences and stories along with data to make decisions about how to manage going forward.”
WWA expressed enthusiasm for the growing regional collaboration around watershed-based flood resilience, noting that such exchanges strengthen understanding and advance long-term solutions for managing flooding in the Driftless Area and beyond.
Photo Credit: pexels-ron-lach
Categories: Wisconsin, General