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Iowa Conservationists Partner for RAGBRAI Riders

August 6, 2007

Panels showing Iowa’s soil loss since settlement were displayed to RAGBRAI riders at the Iowa Conservation Team tent. Julie Falcon (right), soil conservationist in Black Hawk County, discusses the panels with a rider from California on July 26 near Dunkerton.
Panels showing Iowa’s soil loss since settlement were displayed to RAGBRAI riders at the Iowa Conservation Team tent. Julie Falcon (right), soil conservationist in Black Hawk County, discusses the panels with a rider from California on July 26 near Dunkerton.

For the fifth consecutive year Iowa conservationists partnered to provide bananas, cold water, conservation-themed postcards and conservation education, all at no charge, to thousands of RAGBRAI (The Register’s Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) riders, July 22-28.

During the week, the Iowa Conservation Team handed about 3,000 lbs. of bananas -nearly 10,000- and more than 3,000 postcards were sent to locations all over the world.

The Iowa Conservation Team partnership consists of the Iowa Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS), the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship-Division of Soil Conservation (IDALS-DSC), the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Conservation Districts of Iowa (CDI) and local Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

The Iowa Conservation Team set up each day in a rural area where riders might need a break, usually on a farmer’s front lawn.

Bob Hansen, a Black Hawk County Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioner, hosted the Iowa Conservation Team on his front lawn in rural Dunkerton on Thursday, July 26. “I didn’t expect so many riders to stop at our site,” said Hansen. “It’s obvious many know the Iowa Conservation Team, and appreciate the services and conservation educate they provide.”

A representative from Iowa State University Extension’s Iowa Learning Farm shows a couple RAGBRAI riders the rainfall simulator, which shows what happens to the land when it rains. They were in Clarion on July 24.
A representative from Iowa State University Extension’s Iowa Learning Farm shows a couple RAGBRAI riders the rainfall simulator, which shows what happens to the land when it rains. They were in Clarion on July 24.

In addition to conservation-themed postcards and educational panels, the team displayed a rainfall simulator, courtesy of the Iowa Learning Farm, at its location Tuesday, July 24, near Clarion. The rainfall simulator demonstrates what happens to the land when it rains. The simulator’s oscillating nozzle can simultaneously distribute rainfall on five different surfaces. The runoff from these different scenarios is collected in glass demonstrating how various ground covers affect soil loss.

“Conserving our natural resources is everybody’s business,” said Kevin Kuhn, president of the Iowa Chapter of the SWCS. “RAGBRAI serves as a great opportunity to show what we are doing in Iowa and how important it is to continue our conservation efforts.”

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Contact:
Jason Johnson, Public Affairs Specialist
USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service
E-mail: jason.r.johnson@ia.usda.gov
Phone: 515-323-2701


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