Follow the river: Grant money will be used to mark trail

Wed March 25 2009
Posted Mar 25, 2009
5,365

Fayette, IA By Jack Swanson You won’t have to be Mark Twain to be able to navigate the Turkey River in Fayette and Clayton counties in the near future. Fayette County Conservation Director Rod Marlatt was recently notified that a $25,000 grant has been approved for the Turkey River Water Trail project. The grant money will be used to pay for signs, erect kiosks and distribute brochures, describing the route of the Turkey River Water Trail. The grant comes from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Water Trails program. “We’ll use those funds to pay for over 100 signs, to build kiosks and to create a brochure, all enhancing the water route,” Marlatt said. He said metal signs would be purchased from Iowa Prison Industries that will tell people where they are at while paddling, floating or fishing along the Turkey River. He also said kiosks, or wooden pedestal type structures, will be built and placed along the route that will include a map of the river and have give people the exact distance between launches and other landmarks. “Right now, canoers, or kayakers, or tubers, have to discover a lot of these launches on their own. Hopefully we can offer something more than someone just saying ‘oh gosh there’s a canoe launch,” Marlatt explained. The signs will be erected at each of the 17 launches that stretch almost all the way across the two counties. The water trail starts at Gouldsburg Park southeast of Waucoma and ends at the Mississippi River in Clayton County. The last launch before coming to the Mississippi is at Millville. One new launch will be installed east of Eldorado where the Huntsinger Bridge once stood. The launch will be built at the same time that a new bridge is being built this summer. Marlatt said implementation of the trail project will probably not get started until next year. He pointed out that competition was heavy for the grants with 18 different projects being applied for state wide. Marlatt said that total cost of the projects was $260,000 but only $50,000 in grant money was available. He said the Water Trail was one of four projects state wide that were approved for funding.