Biz Buzz: Eastern Iowa Airport launches conservation initiative

The landscape underneath the planes flying in and out of the Eastern Iowa Airport will begin to change next year, thanks to a major conservation initiative that will bring native prairie strips and tall perennial grasses to some of the airport's 2,000 acres of corn and soybeans.

Iowa State University and the University of Iowa will help the Cedar Rapids airport tackle the conservation initiative, designed to reduce nutrient loss from farming and boost environmental sustainability. The airport's land, one of Linn County's largest farms, sits at the top of the Cedar and Iowa river watersheds, officials said.

Iowa State plans to expand its STRIPS program, a project that has farmers converting about 10 percent of row-crop land to native prairie strips to reduce nutrient runoff. And the airport will plant a large perennial grass called miscanthus on about 64 low-yielding acres. The grass will be used at the University of Iowa's electricity plant to replace the some of the coal and natural gas needed to power the campus.

Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett said the project combines the efforts of conservation leaders, farmers and landowners to help Cedar Rapids improve its water quality and help the state reduce the nitrogen and phosphorous that's blamed for helping to contribute to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

It's the second significant conservation project the eastern Iowa city has announced. Last month, the federal government said Cedar Rapids will receive about $2 million for upstream conservation. The efforts, matched by $2.3 million locally, are expected to help reduce nutrient runoff and prevent extreme flooding that caused billions of dollars in damage in 2008.

Cedar Rapids' effort comes as leaders, residents and farmers across the state are debating the best way to address nitrates and phosphorous in Iowa waterways.

The Des Moines Water Works is deciding whether it will sue three rural counties in northwest Iowa. The utility claims drainage districts there are contributing to high levels of nitrates in the Raccoon River, one source of drinking water for 500,000 residents in central Iowa. The agency, which notified the counties last month of its intent to file a lawsuit against them, has struggled to meet the federal requirements on nitrate levels.

Utility leaders have criticized the state's nutrient reduction strategy, saying it has been ineffective in hitting goals to reduce total nitrogen and phosphorous leaving the state by 45 percent. The strategy is voluntary, with no deadline for hitting the goals.

Officials said energy crops like miscanthus and native prairies are an effective tool in reducing nutrient and soil losses.

From 2007 to 2012, the STRIPS program — formally, Science-based Trials of Rowcrops Integrated with Prairie Strips — reduced total phosphorus and nitrogen exports by 85 percent to 90 percent when compared to the losses from traditional row-crop, no-till watersheds, officials said. The program was first tested at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in central Iowa.

The airport will have conventional crops planted in half of a 100-acre section and use STRIPS in the other half to test its effectiveness.

Officials expect similar results from mescanthus, a 12-foot-tall crop that grows annually for 15 to 20 years, requiring little fertilizer and pesticide.

The University of Iowa wants to use the perennial grass to help fuel its power plant. The university seeks to generate 40 percent of its power from renewable energy sources by 2020. So far, it's successfully used oat hulls from local cereal producer Quaker Oats to help produce electricity.

BIRTHDAYS

Designer and downtown rehabber Kent Mauck turns 56 on Tuesday. On Thursday, Reo Menning, executive director at Metro Waste Authority, will be 45, and Edgar Bittle, retired from the Ahlers & Cooney law firm, will be 73.

Sharing a birthday on Friday are dentist Douglas Hutchison, who will be 61, and Kristine K. Houston, director of administration and finance at Iowa Public Television on Friday, who turns 54.

Weekend birthdays include Kemin Industries founder R.W. Nelson, 88, and Sherri Traviss-Pike, CEO of Traviss Audio Video, 60, on Saturday. Celebrating on Sunday are Polk County Supervisor Angela Connolly, 61, and talk show host and former state representative Ed Fallon, 57.

Paul Stewart, pastor of the The Gateway Church, turns 36 on Monday.