Nahant Marsh makes move to firm ground
The shifting grasses of Nahant Marsh may bend in the summer breeze, but the area’s educational focus is now on firm ground.
A partnership of public and private organizations united to hire a full-time facilitator for the marsh, a 513-acre site in west Davenport called one of the largest — and last — urban marshes on the upper Mississippi River.
“This is one of the best things to have happened. We are really thrilled,” Kathy Wine of RiverAction Inc. said.
Scott County, the City of Davenport, RiverAction, the Riverboat Development Authority and Eastern Iowa Community College District, with a large boost from the Bittner, Lambert and Werner law firm, will fund the job for at least the next three years.
Brian Ritter, previously a biology instructor at Muscatine Community College, has been hired at a base salary of $48,000. Ritter will work with local educators to identify curriculum needs and how they can be improved by ecological activities at Nahant Marsh. Ritter will also be a contact for city and county departments in water-quality testing and related tasks.
“I look forward to serving area schools and the community,” said Ritter, who started the job July 16 and is now attending a renewable energy conference in Colorado. “Nahant Marsh is a unique ecological system that offers students an opportunity to explore the natural environment and learn about the importance of wetlands.”
Ritter’s position is coordinated by Ellen Kabat Lensch, director of the college district’s Advanced Technology Environmental Education Center in Bettendorf.
“The college was excited to be approached about leading the educational effort,” Lensch said. Plans are to have college students intern at the marsh and to use it for field research.
“The college just offers a whole new level of expertise, oversight and professionalism to Nahant Marsh,” Scott County Conservation Director Roger Kean said.
The Bittner, Lambert and Werner law firm leads donations with a $50,000 commitment for the next two years. The late Clem Werner and his wife, Jane, were instrumental in purchasing land for the Nahant Marsh project several years ago and also donated funds to the educational center.
The marshland was reclaimed, starting more than a decade ago, from property that once was an EPA Superfund cleanup site.
Ritter hopes to improve accessibility to Nahant Marsh and form long-lasting partnerships with community groups. “I would like to get students, as well as others, actively involved at the marsh,” he said.
Nahant Marsh facilitator funding
(2007-08)
Bittner, Lambert & Werner, $25,000
Eastern Iowa Community College District, $15,400
City of Davenport, $7,500
Scott County, $7,500
Riverboat grants, $5,000
RiverAction Inc., $2,000
About Nahant Marsh
Distinguishing feature: One of last remaining urban wetlands of its size on the Upper Mississippi River.
Size: 513 acres
Location: 4220 Wapello Ave., Davenport. Take River Drive west and turn south on Wapello Avenue.
Open: During daylight hours.
What’s there: Nahant Marsh Educational Center, full-time naturalist for educational programming, dock, boardwalk and trails to study wetland habitat.
Contact: (563) 323-5196 or
nahantmarsh@yahoo.com
On the Web: riveraction.org, and click on the Nahant Marsh icon.
Deirdre Cox Baker can be contacted at (563) 383-2492 or dbaker@qctimes.com.