Hungry Canyons dues to rise
The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors received an update on the Hungry Canyons Alliance program at its Feb. 19 meeting.
John Thomas, representing Hungry Canyons, reminded members of the board the alliance was formed to research and implement solutions to the problem of stream channel erosion and degradation in a 19-county area of the deep loess soils region of Southwest Iowa and Western Iowa, including Montgomery County.
He added Montgomery County hasparticipated in numerous projects through Hungry Canyons, totaling roughly $1.7 million.
However, Thomas said alliance dues being paid by the county will be increasing.
“It was $2,000 annually, and that started in 2008. But we saw the writing on the wall, and saw there was not going to be enough for our operations. An increase was necessary. I wanted everyone to be aware of the reason why, and to show you the benefits of the program,” Thomas said.
County engineer Brad Skinner said it was more than just the Hungry Canyons specific projects that Thomas had assisted the county with.
“I think there are still benefits to be had from Hungry Canyons, including the educational benefits, which are very beneficial to those who haven’t seen it before. There’s a lot of community benefits on top of the projects they do. A lot of the projects we’re able to complete I don’t think we’d be able to afford to do without a program like Hungry Canyons,” Skinner said.
Thomas said there was very little chance for funding at the federal level, and he wasn’t nessesarily unhappy about it.
“It’s very complicated to get money on the federal level. State funding is much easier to manage, and our program is very simplistic, and has the least amount of paperwork he’s ever had to do. The application process is easy to complete, and is reviewed and approved quickly. An agreement is signed, and we were very hands-off while the project is underway. After it’s completed, we visit the site and conform the work was done,” said Thomas.
Moving forward, the Hungry Canyons Alliance plans to continue to protect infrastructure and prevent soil loss by providing state cost share to county governments and private landowners for streambed erosion, and continue to educate students and the public about the fragility of loess soils and river channel stability and processes.
Hungry Canyons also plans to continue cooperation with the Iowa DNR Fisheries Division and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to modify existing grade control structures to allow fish migration, and continue to provide technical assistance to for bank stabilization projects.