EasternIowaFarmer_Fall2023
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WATERSHED<br />
timber, and the property boasts clear, cold<br />
springs.<br />
“We’re just blessed to have the opportunity<br />
to live here,” Arenz said. “It’s gorgeous.”<br />
The Arenzs’ home property is along<br />
the northern border of Jackson County,<br />
along 239th Avenue (Mitchell Mill Road<br />
in Dubuque County). Much of the land is<br />
in timber and pasture, with hayfields, crops<br />
on the tops of the hills and buffer zones by<br />
the creek.<br />
Tete des Morts Creek has cut deep<br />
valleys into the limestone bluffs over<br />
thousands of years. This highly erodible<br />
land is prone to sediment runoff. Before<br />
the watershed project, poor water quality<br />
affected fish, crayfish and other aquatic<br />
life. More than 18,000 tons of sediment<br />
went down the tiny stream each year.<br />
After the development of grassed<br />
waterways, streambank protections, grade<br />
stabilization structures, water and sediment<br />
control structures, terraces, animal waste<br />
systems, cattle crossings and fencing,<br />
brown trout and smallmouth bass are successfully<br />
reproducing in the stream, which<br />
Cynthia and John Arenz stand<br />
along a stretch of Tete des Morts<br />
Creek on their St. Donatus farm.<br />
They implemented conservation<br />
efforts, along with other farmers<br />
in the area, that helped cut<br />
sediment by more than half.<br />
EASTERN IOWA FARMER PHOTO /<br />
TREVIS MAYFIELD<br />
was taken off the state’s list of impaired<br />
waterways last year.<br />
“It sure has come a long, long way in the<br />
last 20-30 years,” Arenz said. “I remember<br />
this ground as a kid, and it’s like two<br />
different creeks from what it was 60 years<br />
ago. It’s stark.”<br />
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88 EASTERN IOWA FARMER | FALL 2023 eifarmer.com
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