Tollbrige Inn Zoning Eichman Lt19 November 2002
Planing and Zoning Commission
Dubuque City Council
Dubuque Park and Recreation Board
To whom it may concern:
It would not be in the best interests of our beautful Eagle Point River front and Park to
allow the rezoning of the present Tollbridge Inn property for the proposed building of a
condominium complex.
Such a structure would certainly detract from the unique view of the Eagle Point bluffs
from the entire area above, below and across the fiver from the locks and dam. It would
also detract from the river view we presently enjoy from the Shiras Memorial, the Tri-
State Picnic Shelter and other viewing points in our Eagle Point Park.
Other communities along the upper Mississippi, in Wisconsin and Minnesota are
curreafly forming conservancy groups to preserve our fiver bluffs. An excellent article
about the success of these preservation efforts is in the September-October issue of the
"Big River Magazine". I have enclosed a copy of this article with this letter.
Sixty-five years ago, civic minded individuals and groups stepped forward to stop further
encroachment of the Eagle Point Bluffs by various quarry owners.
The city of Prescott, Arizona, has regretted ever since allowing a high rise building to be
built infringing on their view of the forested bluffs on the western edge of the city.
We allowed Urban Renewal to destroy so many of our historic beautiful Victorian homes
and other period structures in our downtown area, and lost much of the character of our
It would be tragic to build the proposed complex at this location in Dubuque. Let us learn
from our past mistakes. Please take appropriate action to ensure that our Park, our Bluffs
and oar River Front will be preserved for all citizens to view and enjoy.
Sincerely,
Bob Eichman
3080 Karen Road
Dubuque, Iowa 52001
Phone: 563 582 8520
e-mail: travel_cam@mwcLnet
Exploring the Mississippi from St. Cloud, Minnesota, to Davenport, Iowa
September-October 2002
Big River
fall Festivals
Should you get a better Outboard
Saving the Bluffs
Mississippi Valley Conservancy
By Ty Webster
A huge house is being
built on the bluff
above the river. Trees
are cut, habitat destroyed, and
the gentle curve of the bluff is
blemished bv another mono-
lith. For one family, this is the
attainment of the American
Dream. For the multitude who
cherish the natural beauty; of
the Mississippi Valley, howev-
er, it is another step in a sad
decline.
Thanks to the Mississippi
Valley Conservancy (MVC),
this story may become less
common in southwest Wis-
consin. The conservanc~ a pri-
vate, non-profit land trust,
works to conserve diverse
landscapes in Buffalo, Trem-
pealeau, La Crosse, Vernon, Craw-
ford and Grant counties.
The Mississippi River bluffs are
one of its six priority areas, as evi-
denced by two recent acquisitions:
190 acres of bluffland along the riv-
er south of Cassville and a 12-acre
addition to the Hixon Forest on
bluffiand above La Crosse in part-
nership with the City of La Crosse.
The Roe Preserve, near Cassville,
is ecologically rich, with rare
species of plants and animals. It is
also archeologically important, con-
taining a bird-shaped effigy mound
with a 270-foot wingspan. Its large
tracts of pristine upland and low-
land forests are topped by a goat-
prairie bluff offering a stunning
view of a sublime stretch of the
Mississippi River Valley.
Above; The Roe Preserve
at Cassvilfe, Wis., offers
magnificent views of the
fiver valley, fly Webster)
Left: Lawrence and
Kathryn Roe are former
owners of the Freserve,
Cynthia Olmstead (/,) is
the executive director of
the MVC. (MVC)
The Wisconsin Depat [merit of
Natural Resources (DNR) and MVC
teamed to purchase the 244-acre
property from Lawrence and
Kathryn Roe of Madison last April
The conservancy bought 190.6 acres
of the former farm for $300,000, and
the DNR bought the remaining 53
acres for $100,000. The Roes helped
with an $82,000 lan&value dona-
tion to the conservancy. The proper-
ty is now the "Roe Preserve," or
Roe Unit of the Cassville Bluffs Nat-
ural Area.
Small Start
Before a small group started
MVC in 1997, Wisconsin had over
40 land trusts, but none in the
southwestern corner of the state.
Conservancy president Maureen
Kinney is an attorney with Johns
and Flaherty, SC, in La Crosse. She
has lived in the city since 1975.
"There were 12 on the initial
board of directors," she recalled.
"That was essentially the entire
group at that time."
(Conservan~/ continues on page 23)
(Conservancy continued from page 21)
They formed MVC with guid-
ance from the Gathering Waters
Conservancy, of Madison, Wis.,
and the Blufflands Alliance, a
partnership of conservation orga-
nizations. By 1999 it was more
than 200 members strong, and
currently it has more than 440
members and four paid employ-
ees. They quickly figured out how
to attract funds from charitable
organizations and foundations, in
particuIar the McKnight Founda-
tion of Minneapolis, Minn., and
the Philip M. Gelatt Foundation of
La Crosse, Wis. More importantly,
they turned the money into con-
served lands. To date, the MVC
has protected over 1,100 acres. In
addition to protecting lands, mem-
bers enjoy field trips and group
work days.
Cynthia Olmstead, MVC's execu-
tive director since I998, sees the
group's activities as an expression
of local sentiment:
"I've lived here four years now,
and people here more than any-
where else I've lived just seem to
have a love for the area."
Conservancy Toolbox
MVC works with a variety of
tools, including a Landowner Reg-
istry Program, conservation ease-
ments, land donations and land ac-
qnisitions.
The Landowner Registry Pro-
gram is essentially a "handshake"
agreement with landowners, who
agree to conserve their land to the
best of their ability. The conservan-
cy provides them with information
about natural features and steward-
ship. The agreement is not legally
binding, and may be canceled at
any time. The owner determines the
amount of public access to the Iand.
"I consider it our outreach pro-
gram," Olmstead said. "It doesn't
offer permanent protection, but it is
a great way to get to know people
in the area; and it's a good way to
reward people for good steward-
ship practices."
A conservation easement is a le-
gal agreement with landowners
who promise that the majority of
Top: The Fitzpatrick addition to
Hixon Forest in La Crosse has great
views of the river and the hi/is. This
view looks toward West Salem.
Right: Tom Fitzpatrick.
(Ty Webster)
their property will remain unde-
veloped. They retain ownership
of their property but may use it
only for purposes compatible
with sustainable conservation.
The easement is a charitable dona-
tion, for tax purposes. The easement
value, determined by an appraiser,
is essentially the difference between
the property value with full devel-
opment potential and the value
with easement restrictions. The tax
benefit can be taken over a span of
up to five years. Owners decide the
amount of public access to their
land.
"It mainly restricts development
rights and mineral rights," Olm-
stead explained. "There can be
some limited development. But the
majority of the land is permanently
restricted from development. These
are perpetual. You can sell it. You
can give it to your kids. You still
own the land. We just go Ln and
monitor it each year to make sure
that the restriction is still in place."
Through land donations and ac-
quisitions, IVIVC actually takes
ownership of properties. Gifts of
land can provide landowners with a
charitable tax deduction and avoid
capital gains taxes. In an outright
sale, the owner can gain tax benefits
by selling the land below its ap-
praised value.
"If they do that, they can use the
amount between the appraised val-
ue and what they sell it to us for as
an income tax donation, and that
tan be pretty significant," Olmstead
said.
"For many landowners, thev do
need some income off of the land
for retirement or other purposes,"
she said. "This is a way they can get
a fair price. We pay full market val-
ue. But they know that it is going to
be protected for future generations
to enjoy."
All of the conservancy's land is
open to the public for Iow-impact
recreation. Many of the properties
are designated as nature preserves.
"Sometimes the perception is
'Oh, you're an environmental
group, you just want to shut lands
off,'" Olmstead explained. "We're
very much the opposite. We're try-
ing to provide more lands for the
public to recreate on.'
In general, MVC focuses on
properties with at least a portion in
relatively natural or restorable na-
tive habitat or that possess high
scenic value.
"We're not as strict as some of
(Conse~,anQ! continues on page 25)
September-October 2002 / B~c R~w~ 23
(Conservancy continued from page 23)
the organizations, like the Nature
Conservancy, where you almost
have to have some sort of rare
species or natural area," Olmstead
pointed out. "But you know what?
Crosse River wetlands in 1998, and
came about as the result of a mutu-
al desire to protect the city's
bluffiands Eom rampant develop-
ment.
Most of the lands wind up having The city 4t~iitonev to buy
those things anyway, because this is /4~MVC then a~e~n4vts
such a rich area ecolodcallv."
~ ~ /
City Conservancy [ that million-dollar view \
The conservancy generally con-/ Of the Mississ~ -i River.
siders only sites of 20 acres or [ o_ r rne Il pp ,, ,,
more. One notable exception is th~ From my perspective, I
CwiO.~e~:n~..c~'s p~rtu~ership progran~ think that view belongs
u~ry or l,a urosse -- the Lak ,
Crosse Blufflands Protection Pro- ~x to the public. /
gram. Because of the high cost of 'N,
the prime real estate in town, small- t~x~dd donations from members,//
er parcels are considered. The main priv~undations and pub~/
focus is land along the bluff be- grants. Tf~e'c-c~o, servancy...badkers
tween County Highway B, on the the deals with landowners, then
northern end of La Crosse, and U.S.
Highway 14/61, on the city's south
side.
The program began in December
of 2001. It followed a joint project
transfers the parcels to the dty,
which designates them as parkland
and provides the maintenance.
"It was a real syn~' Olm-
stead said. "We're lucky to have a
Kirch. He was a driving force be-
hind the project."
Kirch, a W'mona State University
alumnus and La Crosse's planting
director for the past nine years, had
the same idea. "I wanted a program
where the city wasn't the purchas-
er,'' he said. "The city itself doesn't
have the expertise, per se, to nego-
tiate conservation easements or do
purchases. And Cynthia and her
group, that's what they do. I
thought this would provide city re-
sources but at the same time re-
move the city from the acquisition
~rocess, because ! had obsezved
that the sellers always think that
the city's going to pay more; and I
want our dollars to go as far as
they can... I suggested that we put
$200,000 a year aside for the next 20
years or as long as it takes to pro-
tect the bluffiand.'
The program's goal is to inczease
the size of Hixon Forest, a large,
blufftop city park laced with trails.
that conserved over 350 acres of La very visionary city planner, Larry
.................. ~(~qn~_rvan~EEE continues on ~_~,~
A number of other non-profit organiza- wildlife. Since its founding in I979, the National Organizations
tions put at least a portion of their efforts
and resources toward preservation of the
Mississippi Valley.
Several of these groups work together in
a loose partnership known as the Blufflands
Alliance.
Bluffiands Alliance Members:
Mississippi Valley Conservancy
P.O. Box 2611
La Crosse, WI 54602
(608) 784-3606
Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation
P.O. Box 6
Scales Mound, 1L 61075
(815) 7774011
A non-profit, charitable and educational
organization dedicated to enlightened land
management; its mission is to protect the
natural heritage, scenery and agricultural
character of Jo Daviess county and the sur-
rounding area in northwest Illinois.
Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation
505 5th Ave., Suite 444
Des Moines, IA 50309
(515) 288-1846
A member-supported, non-profit organi-
zation that protects land, water and
INHF has protected more than 70,000 acres
including prairies, wetlands, woodlands,
g~enways, trails, and river corridors in
Iowa.
Minnesota Land Tntst
2356 University Ave. W., Suite 400
St. Paul, MN55114
(65I) 647-9590
A private, non-profit organization work-
ing with land owners and communities to
protect Minnesota's land ar~'water re-
Wisconsin Farmland Conservancy
500 Main St., Suite 307
Menominee, WI 54751
(715) 235-8850
A regional land trust i~ west-central
Wisconsin protecting the character of the
rural countryside.
Gathering Waters Conservancy
21I S. Patterson, Suite 180
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 251-9131
A land conservation organization found-
ed to assist land trusts, landowners and
communities in their efforts to protect Wis-
consin's land and water resources.
~he Trust for Public Land (TPL)
116 New Montgomery St., 4th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 495-4014
Midwest Regional Office
2610 University Ave., Suite 300
St. Paul, MN55114
(651) 917-2240
A national non-profit working to protect
land for human enjoyment and well-being.
TPL helps conserve land for recreation and
spiritual nourishment and to improve the
health and quality of life of American com-
munities.
The Nature Conservancy
4245 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100
Arlington, VA 22203-1606
Midwest Office
~3~3 5th St SE, Suite314
Minneapolis, MN 55414-1588
(612) 331-0700
Aims to preserve plants, animals and
natural communities by protecting the
lands and waters they need to survive.
Helped preserve the the 592-acre Weaver
Dunes Scientific and Natural Area near
Kellogg in Wabasha County, Minn., a criti-
cal habitat for Blanding's turtles.
September-October 2002 / BIG RIVER 25
(Conservancy continued from page 25)
"It's simple," Kirch said. "You just
take that Hixon Forest concept and
expand it. Instead of 800 acres it
"We did a survey of
about 3,000
households .... it was
clear from the
responses that people
value the river and
the bluffs and the
scenic beauty of the
La Crosse area.'
will be 3,000 acres... We can look
back to 1911, when the Hixon Forest
was created, and say 'What a won-
derful idea and great gift to the
community that was.' Maybe 100
years from now people will look
back at this and appreciate it just as
Kirch points to a survey taken by
the city's planning commission for
its comprehensive plan. "We did a
survey of about 3,000 households,'
he said. "It was dear from the re-
spouses that people value the fiver
and the bluffs and the scenic beauty
of the La Crosse area and that pro-
tection of the skyline was a real
concern... What people want is that
million-dollar view of the Mississip-
pi River. From my perspective, I
think that view belongs to the pub-
lic?
The 12-acre addition to Flixon
Forest in February 2002 was the
program's first land acquisition. Be-
cause the land is in a desirable loca-
tion with phenomenal views of the
river and Lake Onalaska, the price
tag was a hefty $168,300.
The seller, La Crosse attorney
Tom Fitzpatrick, recalled "I was
having it divided into three parcels
and almost immediately had offers
from private buyers who wanted to
build on them. At about the same
time, I heard about the Bluffland
Preservation Project. At that point it
had not been adopted, but I decid-
ed to wait and see if it would be
adopted."
Fitzpatrick, a La Crosse native
and Aquinas High School graduate,
has fond memofie~ of exploring the
dty's bluffiands.
"I thought the Bluffiands Preser-
vation Program was a program
with unusual vision," he said. "If
the City of La Crosse and the con-
servancy can realize this vision, to
preserve a corridor of blufftop
lands, I think it would be a wonder-
According to Olmstead, they are.
''We've had a tremendous response.
We're akeady working on another
1,000 acres. There are lots of willing
sellers out there. Of course now we
have to raise all that money." ~ ~
Ty Webster is a freelance writer and
river enthusiast who lives in Trem-
pealeau, Wis. His last story was "Alma
Hotel -- a Classic Diner with a Histo-
ry," November-December 2001.
(Dinos continued from page 35)
shape of all the bone joints with
those of Deinonychus. Every single
bone is exactly similar in shape to
those of the Maniraptorans. Os-
trom's drawing of Archaeopteryx
shows it in a running pose to illus-
trate the similarity to dinosaurs. It
is likely that birds arose from the
Maniraptorans in the late Jurassic.
Deinonychus is one example of an
animal that links dinosaurs with
birds.
LEARNING TO FLY ONE STEP
AT A TIME
The young eagles we enjoyed
watching practice their flying come
at the task from a different perspec-
tive than their predecessors. Eagles
and other modem raptors are
pushed from the nest into the air it-
self. They must fly to survive.
Earlier raptors started the task
from a safer position, with the terra
firma underfoot. They used their
arms, covered with small feathers,
to run faster. The grabbing stroke of
the arms in running Maniraptorans
is exactly the same as the power
stroke in bird flight. Feathers on the
arm and hand added the thrust of
grabbing to their running speed, al-
lowing them to catch prey and giv-
The grabbing stroke of
the arms in running
Maniraptorans is
exactly the same as
the power stroke in
bird flight.
ing Archaeopteryx the ability to run
its way into flight.
After Archaeopteryx, birds became
more modem very rapidly. They
grew a homy beak and lost their
teeth, bones became hollow, the
front several tail vertebrae were in-
duded in the hipbones, and the oth-
er tail vertebrae were greatly short-
ened. All of these measures saved
weight. The easiest way to go faster
(or save energy) is to lose weight.
They also added more muscle pow-
er to the wing stroke, greatly in-
creasing the size of what we call the
breast of the bird.
Ail of these changes occurred
more than 130 million ago, and are
documented at the site in northeast
China. There we find modernized
birds (but still with teeth) as well as
some of their dinosaur Manirap-
toran cousins with feathers, that
could not fly. By this time birds had
certainly spread all over the world,
including this area, but their re-
mains were not preserved.
This "new improved" dinosaur
seems to work pretty well, at least
after the young ones soar beyond
the steep learning curve of flight
training. Perhaps fledglings will
still be leaping awkwardly out of
nests 100 million years from now. ~
Robert E. Sloan was a professor of pa-
leontology at the University of Min-
nesota for 44 years. He now lives on the
big river near Winona. His last story
was "A Tale of Two Cities and a Water-
fall," November 2000.
38 BIG RIVER / September-October 2002