The following is a press release from the Minnesota River Watershed Alliance.

Passion for something or a place isn’t always that easy to come by. That isn’t the case when you are talking to Del Wehrspann about the Minnesota River. Del arrived in the Montevideo area in 1968 searching a new to put down roots.
“We wanted to get away from the Iowa farm I grew up that had turned into a biological desert,” Wehrspann related “even though it was producing a lot of crops.”
A cattle buyer by trade, Del has always felt a deep connection to the Minnesota River and a desire to learn more about this resource.  He was one of the hand-full of local people who helped form and develop the nonprofit organization Clean Up the River Environment (CURE) to bring concerned citizen’s together and organize activities for improving water quality.

In 1992, Wehrspann referred to the Minnesota River as “the canary that is lowered into the mine to see if there are problems.”  Over the year he has brought attention to the river through his involvement in CURE and by his own personal actions.  This has included hosting an annual catfish invitational on the river for both citizens and natural resource managers and restoring former cropland back into native prairie and wetlands.

“The first thing I did was restore this wetland, broke the tile, and I feel probably the best about this than anything that we’ve done,” Del quietly spoke.  Called Curley’s Prairie after one of his favorite dogs, Wehrspann planted native grasses along with trees and shrubs to hold the soil on the ground and keep it from washing into the Minnesota River.

To see Del’s eyes light up go for a ride with him as he points out why wetlands are important for the landscape and the community.  “Here is a wetland that was planned to be drained because the county owned it and because it had no significant value as a wetland,” states Del.  “It wouldn’t grow corn and you couldn’t build a house on it.  But look what’s here, look at the geese on the wetland, look at the big motel on the other side of the wetland, overlooking the wetland, look at the bicycle trail along the wetland.  This is what they could not see.”

One of the best places for Del to be is on the Minnesota River as he relates his feelings about the natural environment around us.  “You don’t have to take it all.  You can’t take it all.  Just because you aren’t getting anything you can eat or wear.  There is tranquility, the spiritual rebirth that I get every time I go on the river, and I don’t know how you can put a price tag on it.”  

Del Wehrspann’s experience with the Minnesota River is one of the stories you will find on the Minnesota River Interactive Web Site.  This web site has been developed to tell the stories of long-time residents of the Minnesota River Watershed.

Go for a tour of the Minnesota River Basin by clicking on the “Minnesota River Interactive Web Site” at http://mrbdc.mnsu.edu/mnbasin/interviews/interviews.html.  Hear the voices of long-time residents and see what gets them excited about this natural environment.  Each interview features video clips, maps, photos and an interview transcript.  

Other aspects of the “Minnesota River Interactive Web Site” include a place to explore the impaired waters in the Minnesota River Basin using an interactive map.  Find out what rivers, lakes and wetlands have been assessed and are now on the Federal government’s impaired waters 303(d) list.  There is also a chance to see many tributary confluences with the Minnesota River from historical photos, and 360 degree panoramic photos.  Through the use of the Google Earth Flyover program, people can also get a bird’s eye view flying the river valley.

More on the “Minnesota River Interactive Web Site” will be featured in future issues of the Minnesota River Minute.

The Minnesota River Minute highlights what is happening across the Minnesota River Watershed, courtesy of the Minnesota River Watershed Alliance.  This regular feature covers various aspects of the watershed including current events, history, natural characteristics, and much more.  Look for it in your local paper.

The Minnesota River Watershed Alliance (Watershed Alliance) is an organized network of citizens, public agencies and private organizations dedicated to communicating the benefits of an ecologically healthy Minnesota River Watershed to others and are actively working toward its improvement and protection.  The Watershed Alliance meets four times a year and encourages landowners and recreational users of the river to be part of this effort.