A Different Perspective on Floods and Flood Protection
by Dr. Richard E. Sparks

After a summer of bad news about damaging floods and levee decertifications, it may surprise many people that the scientists in the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center at the Lewis and Clark Community College have both good news and bad news about the 2008 flood on the Mississippi River. They also have a unique perspective on how we should be preparing for the next big flood. They will exchange their perspective and findings with many of their colleagues from the Upper Mississippi Basin in a scientific meeting on November 10th and 11th, 2008, in the Busch Center at St. Louis University.  (For more information about the scientific conference and the associated public forum, Why the Rivers Keep Rising and What We Should Do About It, see below)  A summary follows:

2008 Flood
The good news is that some valuable sport and commercial fishes are expected to produce exceptional numbers of young this year.  These fishes depend on floods to provide access to spawning and nursery areas in floodplains.  The bigger the flood, the more habitat becomes available to them.  Fish ecologists from the Confluence Field Station are currently sampling fish populations and Dr. John Chick, Director of the Field Station, will release a report in a few weeks.  Other fishes that are not caught by fishermen, such as the mosquitofish (a small fish that looks like the guppy that is sold to home aquarists), also have reproduced and are doing their part in reducing nuisance insect populations in shallow, flooded areas.  (for complete article click here) 

Successional Changes in an Ongoing Ecological Restoration at the Grassy Slough Protected Area, Illinois
by Christopher M. Welch and Anton G. Endress

Editor's Note: Christopher Welch interned with NGRREC in the summer of 2005 under the direction of Professor Anton Endress, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Professor Endress continued to work with Christopher on this project, the results of which have been accepted in the Journal of Environmental Monitoring & Restoration 4:1-10. (For the complete article click here.)

Abstract: Community structure during the first six years of habitat restoration was examined at the Grassy Slough Protected Area, a previously farmed, 1,155-hectare, historic bottomland forest in southern Illinois. The purpose of the study was to gauge the progress of successional change and the extent to which non­native species may be influencing succession at the site. We expected plant diversity, the number of co­dominant species, the proportion of perennial woody vegetation, and native richness index (NRI) to increase after five years. Data collection occurred in 2000 (one-year-old field) and 2005 (six-year-old field) utilizing a sampling scheme of 1.0-m2 quadrats randomly placed along permanent transects. Ninety-eight species were identified in 2000, and 91 in 2005. Importance values were calculated as the sum of relative frequency and relative cover.  Xanthium strumarium and Sida spinosa were the most abundant species in 2000, but abundance shifted to Conyza canadensis and Andropogon virginicus in 2005. The reduced diversity may be due to dominance of the allelopathic A. virginicus. Non-native species were a significant component initially, but dominance shifted towards native vegetation as succession progressed. Compared with earlier old field studies conducted in nearby upland fields, both diversity and the proportion of co-dominant species in this bottomland site were greater. The site is relatively young, and additional sampling will be required to assess the success of the augmented tree planting, examine the impact of seeding from nearby populations, and document the influence of non­native species on succession.

New Commander for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Visits with NGRREC Interns
by Beth Pitrolo, Council for the US Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers was well represented at the NGRREC Intern Symposium on the campus of Lewis and Clark Community College on August 5. The new District Engineer, Colonel Thomas O'Hara, was present to address the afternoon's crowd. Introducing himself as the new Commander of the St. Louis District, O'Hara stated "It is with great pride that the Corps of Engineers has been given the opportunity to partner with the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center." This summer seven interns received applied work experience opportunities with the Corps. 

"Hopefully this summer was about 'lateral thinking' and seeing how different pieces are integrated," continued O'Hara, "seeing the patterns among diverse users of the river...and in today's complicated world, making a difference means that you have to develop an ability to integrate, to 'connect the dots'...and by making the connections among history, art, politics and science you go beyond the simple technical view of individual disciplines....and to a great extent innovation comes from this recognition of patterns across disciplines..."

In concludsion O'Hara challenged the students with these comments, "I am always impressed by the energy of bright minds committed to making a difference....and I challenge you, in whatever you do, to maintain that commitment....and I leave you with a quote from Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat...

Da Vinci was a great artist, scientist, and inventor, each nourishing the other.  If you spend your whole life or your young life in a silo, you never develop the mental agility to connect the dots.....which is usually where the next great breakthrough is found."

To view the 2008 NGRREC Intern Proceedings, click here.

Illinois Natural History Survey 150th Sesquecentennial Celebration
by Bill Kruidenier

A150th Celebration Symposium will be held on September 26 in Champaign, IL for those would would like to know the status of Illinois' natural resources. There will be a variety of speakers from Illinois and beyond. Dr. David Thomas, Chief Emeritus and NGRREC ex officio board member will give introductory remarks at 9:05 am. Currently serving as INHS Director, Dr. Brian Anderson will be speaking on the future of Illinois biodiversity at 1:30 pm. The symposium will be held at the new I-Hotel and Conference Center located at 1900 South First Street in Champaign. Other speakers include Dr. John Chick, NGRREC Field Station Director in Brighton, IL. Dr. Chick's presentation on Two Great Rivers: The Mississippi and Yangtze, will begin at 2:00 pm. The symposium will conclude with a lecture from Dr. Peter Raven, Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden.

NGRREC will host a booth at the INHS Natural History Expo on Saturday, September 27. There will be numerous interactive exhibits and displays that showcase the science of the Survey. The centerpiece will be the world-renowned insect collection of Dan Capps, an insect collector extraordinaire, fresh from his most recent visit where he was featured at Walt Diseny World/Epcot Center, Florida.

To view the complete agenda please click here.

Schedule of Upcoming Events
For more information contact us:

National Great Rivers Research
and Education Center
5800 Godfrey Road, Godfrey, IL 62035
phone: 618- 468-4810
e-mail ngrrec@lc.edu

September 20, Mississippi Earthtones Festival, 9:00 am to 4:00 p.m., Alton, for more information click here.

September 20, 30th Anniversary Celebration of the Cache River Restoration. Cache River Visitors Center. For more information click here or call Tracy Boutelle at (618) 457-4183.

October 15-18, North American Association for Environmental Eduction 37th Annual Conference, Wichita, KS. "RiverXchange: Using Videoconferencing Technology to Advance Water Education." For more information contact Jessica Pascoe at jpascoe@lc.edu.

November 10-11, 8:00 am-4:00 pm.  Scientific meeting. “Finding the Balance Between Floods, Flood Protection, and River Navigation”.  Conference Center rooms in the Busch Center, St. Louis University. 

November 11,  7:00 pm, Public Flood Forum:  “Why the Rivers Keep Rising and What We Should Do About It.” Marvin and Harlene Wool Ballroom, Busch Center, St. Louis University.  For more information contact Jean Jackson at (314) 977-2205 jjacks49@slu.edu, or Barb Valentine at (314) 977-2207 bvalenti@slu.edu.