This year and a half project includes development of two documents:
- The goal of the State Water Trails & Low-head Dam Safety Plan is to present a framework of guidance information for development of water trails system within the state and to determine a decision-making framework for safety mitigation at low-head dams on navigable rivers in the state of Iowa. The following inventories, assessments, and analysis are included:
- Historical Perspective
- Ecological, Economic, Recreational & Human Health Functions & Services of Rivers
- Fisheries, Wildlife & Water Quality Issues
o Environmental & Conservation Law Review
- Dam, River & Population Analysis
- The goal of the Water Trails Development Manual is to provide an on-the-ground framework and guidance information for local water trail development groups and communities. The manual will function similar to a resource plan, presenting guidelines incorporating the "science" and "design" of water trail development in the Iowa region, including:
- Relevant case studies of water trail development
- Planning guidelines for site selection and recreational river management
- Practices for streambank and slope protection, gully erosion, native plant community restoration, invasive species management, onsite stormwater management (particularly for proposed impervious surfaces), and the development of land management strategies and guidelines.
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