Watershed Studies at Indian Creek

IWR Shared Vision Planning experts facilitated the first Indian Creek Pilot Study Workshop. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, The Nature Conservancy, and Iowa Department of Natural Resources are facilitating the process as a component of the Iowa-Cedar Rivers Basin Comprehensive Planning Process.

The purpose of the Indian Creek pilot study is to convene a stakeholder-based process for creating a vision for the future, establishing objectives, evaluating alternatives, and considering climate change uncertainties. At the end of a successful process, participants and study leads will have a clearer understanding of the issues in the watershed, the range of stakeholders' preferences, the benefits and costs of a range of alternative actions and policies, the uncertainties associated with climatic changes, and knowledge gaps and priorities for further investigation.

The pilot study is a component of a larger effort to develop a Comprehensive Plan for the Iowa-Cedar River Basin and the Upper Mississippi Basin. Lessons learned during the study will inform future pilot studies in other basins that include climate change uncertainties. The Indian Creek Watershed was chosen due to the local interest in the topic, the large amount of watershed information available, recent number of floods in the area, and because of its rural and urban interface that encompasses many land uses.

The study is one of several pilot studies this year that will include an assessment of risks of future climate change to a designated area. Stacy Langsdale, a Shared Vision Planning expert with IWR's Conflict Resolution & Public Participation Center, is facilitating the workshops. The Indian Creek Pilot Study Workshop was held January 26, 2012.

Learn More:
Iowa-Cedar Watershed Interagency Coordination Team Website  (pdf, 609 KB)