Please post a comment or send an e-mail if I’ve left out anything important.

I included events from early next week in case I am late getting my weekly calendar posted.

Saturday, October 4:

The Iowa Democratic Party’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner will be held in Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines beginning at 7 pm. Al Gore will be the featured speaker. Tickets are available at www.iowademocrats.org or by calling (515) 974-1691. You can also get tickets that do not include dinner.

Capital City Pride events will be held on October 4 and 5 in Des Moines. For details about the schedule and volunteer opportunities, go to www.oneiowa.org.

There will be a Prairie Seed Harvest at Marietta Sand Prairie State Preserve, near Albion in Marshall County, Oct 4, beginning at 1 p.m. All ages are welcome to help hand-harvest native prairie seeds on the preserve, to be planted on a recently-acquired addition.  Learn about prairie from your fellow volunteers, many of whom will be prairie experts. This is a casual day: drop in and stay as long as you like. For more details, contact the Marshall County Conservation Board at 641-752-5490.

Sunday, October 5:

From Bruce Braley’s office:

“Bruce, Blues, and Barbeque” Waterloo Event this Sunday

WHO:             Bruce Braley with Keynote Speaker Senator Tom Harkin

WHAT:             Congressman Bruce Braley will host his fourth annual fundraiser, “Bruce, Blues, and Barbeque,” in Waterloo Sunday afternoon.  The fundraising event is open to the public and features Sen. Tom Harkin as keynote speaker.  Ticket prices are $30 for adults, $50 per couple, $75 per family and $15 for students with an ID.

WHEN:             SUNDAY, October 5, 2008

                        3:00pm to 4:30pm

WHERE:             Rotary Reserve Lodge

5932 N. Union Road

Cedar Falls, Iowa

Rob Hubler will attend the Harrison County Democrats Fall Rally, at 4:00 pm at the Fairgrounds, Missouri Valley

Capital City Pride events continue in Des Moines.

From the Iowa Environmental Council’s calendar of events:

 Farm Crawl 2008

October 5, Central Iowa

Enjoy a leisurely autumn day, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., “crawling” between six unique small-family farms in south-central Iowa – one hour south of DM Tour the farms, visit the animals, meet the farmers, sample the goodies, purchase locally grown products and have fun in the beautiful Iowa countryside. While at the farms, enter to win a basket of goodies assembled with wonderful items from each farm. Visit the Farm Crawl 2008 website at http://www.farmcrawl.com to learn more about the farms.  A map can be found at http://www.farmcrawl.com/maps….

Submitted by Matt Russell

* * * * * * * * * *

Bike Ride and Trail Celebration

Celebrate a new trail segment: Join us on Sunday, Oct. 5 for a bike ride and celebration of progress being made on the Ankeny-Woodward Trail. Riders should gather at the Ankeny trailhead at 11:30 a.m. The free, 12-mile ride (one way) begins in Ankeny at noon and ends at the Heart of Iowa trailhead in Slater.  There, at 2 p.m., riders and others can enjoy a program, entertainment, refreshments and door prizes. Riders should gather in at the Ankeny trailhead at 11:30 a.m. This ride covers part of 18 miles of newly paved trail between Ankeny and Madrid. If another $1 million can be raised in time, partners can complete the final four miles to Woodward (including a spectacular ½-mile bridge) by 2010. For details or directions, visit www.inhf.org.

Submitted by Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation

Monday, October 6:

Rob Hubler will attend Dinner with the Optimists at 6:30 pm at the Oasis, Glenwood.

Becky Greenwald will speak to the Fort Dodge Rotary Club from 12pm – 1pm at the Starlight Motel in Fort Dodge.

Greenwald will also be on WHO Radio 1040 AM from 7pm – 8pm.

The Sustainable Funding Coalition is holding a candidate forum at 6:30 pm in the Mason City Public Library. Background:

The Sustainable Funding Coalition, a diverse group of Iowa organizations (including Environment Iowa) that works for expanded, reliable, protected environmental and conservation funding, is sponsoring a series of candidate forums on the proposed Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund, the fund supported by Environment Iowa’s Water Land and Wildlife Campaign.

We hope that you can take the time to join us — it is important that the community comes out in support of the Trust Fund to show our elected officials and candidates that this is a priority for Iowans.

Whether or not you can attend this event, please considering inviting your state legislators — and letting them know you support this measure.

About the Trust Fund

The proposed Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund would provide a permanent, reliable, protected funding source to support efforts to improve and preserve Iowa’s water quality, soils, wildlife habitat, and outdoor recreation opportunities. Environment Iowa members lobbied hard last spring to pass this through the legislature.  Now the legislature must pass it a second time before we can move to a vote of the people in November 2010.

About the Forums

Ten candidate forums scattered throughout the state provide a chance for citizens and legislators/candidates to discuss this legislation together. Please consider attending the forum nearest you to learn more about this proposal, show your legislators/candidates that Iowans care about conservation funding, and promote passing the needed legislation during Iowa’s 2009 legislative session.

How to Pre-register and Attend

Find the forum nearest you in the list below and then pre-register at http://conservation-candidate-…   NOTE: Pre-registration is critical because individual events may be canceled if pre-registration numbers are low.

Tuesday, October 7:

The second presidential debate will be held in a town-hall style, moderated by Tom Brokaw at Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee.

Rob Hubler is holding a Plymouth County Office Open House at 5:00 pm, 27 Central Ave Northwest, Le Mars.

Becky Greenwald will be on Star 102.5 radio (Des Moines) between 8:30 am and 8:50 am.

From Greenwald’s campaign:

Please join First Lady Mari Culver & Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (SD-at large) for a Women’s Reception to benefit Becky Greenwald

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

5:30 PM Pre-Reception

6:00 PM General Reception

at the home of Toni Urban, 214 Foster Drive, Des Moines, IA

Contribution Levels:

Host:  $1,000  Sponsor:  $500    Friend:  $250    Supporter:  $100

(Host, Sponsor and Friend levels include admission to pre-reception and photo opportunity with Rep. Herseth-Sandlin)

General Admission: $30

To RSVP or for further information, please contact Eric Dillon at (515) 987-2800 or dillon@beckygreenwald.com.  

There will be a two-hour audio Web broadcast about Moving Forward on Gulf Hypoxia from 12 pm to 2 pm central time. Background and registration details are after the jump.

Join Whiterock Conservancy’s land stewardship crew in collecting prairie and savanna seeds for use in restoration projects. Learn to identify grassland plant species, learn their habitats, and assist in collecting the seeds for the future. Join the collection crew just east of Coon Rapids on: October 7 and October 12. Help collect today so that we may plant tomorrow. Contact WRC’s ecologist, Elizabeth Hill to sign up for prairie seed collection forays: elizabeth@whiterockconservancy.org.

> Moving Forward on Gulf Hypoxia

> Tues. Oct. 7, 2008 Two-hour audio Web broadcast

>

> Eastern 1:00pm – 3:000pm Central 12:00pm – 2:00pm Mountain 11:00am – 1:00pm Pacific 10:am – 12:00pm

>

> A Watershed Academy Webcast

> In 2008, the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico was the second largest on record – bigger than the State of Massachusetts, and the second largest in the world, after the Baltic Sea. This oxygen-depleted water, referred to as the hypoxic zone, is largely caused by nitrogen and phosphorus pollution mainly from the Upper Mississippi and Ohio River Basins. In 1997, a partnership of federal, state, and tribal agencies established the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force to understand the causes and effects of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico and to coordinate activities to help reduce the hypoxic zone. The Task Force developed a 2001 Action Plan for Reducing, Mitigating, and Controlling Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. In spring 2008, they completed a reassessment of the science, and in June released an updated 2008 Action Plan. Join us for this Webcast to learn more about the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico, improvements in the 2008 Action Plan,

> and how EPA and other federal agencies and state agencies are implementing actions to reduce nutrient pollution and improve water quality in the Mississippi River Basin.

>

> Instructors:

> Benjamin H. Grumbles, Assistant Administrator for Water, USEPA

> Mr. Grumbles is the Assistant Administrator for Water at the U.S. EPA as well as the Chair of the Mississippi River/

> Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force. Prior to coming to EPA, Mr. Grumbles was Deputy Chief of Staff and Environmental Counsel for the Committee on Science in the U.S. House of Representatives. He also served for over 15 years in various capacities on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, including Senior Counsel for the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee.

>

> Nancy Rabalais, Executive Director and Professor, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium

> Dr. Rabalais has conducted research on hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico for the past 25 years and received several research and environmental awards for her work on Gulf hypoxia. Dr. Rabalais first identified and mapped the Gulf hypoxic zone in 1985. She is an author of 3 books, 26 book chapters, and over 80 peer-reviewed publications. Her research interests cover a wide range of coastal and estuarine topics.

>

> Darrell Brown, Associate Director, USEPA’s Oceans & Coastal Protection Division

> Mr. Brown is the leader of EPA’s Gulf Hypoxia Team, responsible for coordinating EPA?s efforts to reduce the hypoxic zone in the northern Gulf of Mexico. In addition, his division is responsible for overseeing a broad range of coastal programs, including the National Estuary Program for habitat restoration, coastal research and monitoring, aquatic nuisance species, and impacts of growth on estuarine water quality and the Marine Pollution Program, including marine and vessel discharge, marine debris, and ocean dumping and dredged material management.

>

> John Kessler, Assistant Chief, Division of Soil and Water Conservation, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Mr. Kessler spent 12 years with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in the Division of Surface Water before moving to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, where he has spent the past four years. His work at DNR deals with the Gulf Hypoxia Task Force and the Ohio River Basin Steering Committee.

>

> The Watershed Academy

> The Watershed Academy is a focal point in EPA’s Office of Water for providing training and information on implementing watershed approaches. The Academy sponsors live classroom training and online distance learning modules through the Watershed Academy Web at www.epa.gov/watertrain. For more information, visit www.epa.gov/watershedacademy.

>

> Registration

> You must register in advance to attend this Webcast. Register at the Watershed Academy Webcast Web site at www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts Note: The Watershed Academy is using a NEW Webcast vendor, and your computer must have the capability of playing sound in order to attend this Webcast. To view archived Webcasts, go to www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/wacademy/webcasts/archives.html

>

> Questions? Please contact Adrianna Berk at adrianna.berk@tetratech.com or 703-385-6000.