(Spirit Lake)– A proposal by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to downgrade the classification of some rivers and streams is drawing opposition from some environmentalists.
The DNR’s Environmental Protection Commission is meeting this week to consider the new classifications.
Steve Anderson, former Coordinator of the Iowa Great Lakes Cleanwater Alliance who’s now an urban conservationist for the state, says Mill Creek south of Milford is among the streams the DNR is proposing to lower the classification on. It means it wouldn’t be offered the same level of protection from pollution as other rivers and streams with the higher classification levels.
Anderson says the DNR based its recommendation on a survey of recreational uses. He claims the recreational use on Mill Creek is much higher than the DNR says it is.
Anderson is also questioning the rationale of the DNR’s proposal to downgrade only that part of Mill Creek from the Iowa Great Lakes outlet to County Road A-34. The stretch of the creek from A-34 to where it empties into the Little Sioux River would maintain it’s current classification.
The Dickinson County Board of Supervisors and city of Milford have signed off on letters urging the DNR to continue the higher classification on all of Mill Creek.
