Green Island Levee District protects against future flooding along Maquoketa River

After two levees broke along the Maquoketa River in Jackson County, local government looked for more natural solutions to future flooding. INHF helped the Iowa DNR expand the Green Island Wildlife Management Area in hopes of mitigating costly flood damage.

“Historically, our rivers had natural buffers to help hold water during floods,” said Ross Baxter, INHF land projects director. “Returning these areas to their original state saves costs on infrastructure and protects surrounding land from future flood damage.”

Rather than pay to fix the levees, INHF collaborated with the Iowa DNR and Army Corps to buy and restore four properties along the river to recreate the area as a floodplain.

“Ultimately it made more financial sense to buy, protect and restore the land than fix the levee and continue to farm the flood-prone land,” said Baxter.