Below is the USGS interactive map that provides REAL TIME info on which Rivers in the US are cresting. The map below is accurate every day. Black Triangles indicate flood stage. Looking to compare stats with the Flood of 1993? CLICK HERE.
See more interactive maps by clicking the category in the list to right: INTERACTIVE MAPS
Custom map of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area
215 The Ice Age Trail Map, Wisconsin Designed by Lisa Middleton
168 Hiking trails of Hixon Forest, LaCrosse WI
Hot off the Press! The Delta Queen hasn’t been written off yet!
WASHINGTON (AP) –
The Delta Queen could be back cruising waterways sometime soon.
The Senate voted 85-12 on Monday to allow the legendary riverboat to carry passengers if certain safety changes are made to the wooden vessel. In the past, the Delta Queen had been exempted from a 1966 law that had prevented wooden boats from carrying passengers overnight. That exemption lapsed in 2008.
Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, a sponsor of the measure, appealed to her colleagues to help return the “Delta Queen to her rightful place on the mighty Mississippi.”
McCaskill said three presidents rode on the Delta Queen – Herbert Hoover, Jimmy Carter and Harry S. Truman. She said the boat operated for decades without incident.
The House still must act on the bipartisan bill.
The Garden Sanctuary for Butterflies near the South Bluff Nature Center in the Nelson Unit contains a variety of interesting displays on the plants, animals and geology of Bellevue State Park.
. This unique area contains over one hundred separate plots, each featuring plants which provide food and habitat for butterflies. A network of pathways allows visitors to walk through the garden and see a wide variety of butterflies as well as enjoy the beautiful array of flowers and the pond in the center. For more information visit the website at Butterfly Garden.
According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, butterflies found in Iowa are either in the process of migration or are completing one of the various stages of their life cycle. Approximately 60 species of butterfly can be expected to make their appearance at the Butterfly Garden each year. Host plants for butterflies include wild aster, ragweed, goldenrod, lamb’s-quarters, daisy fleabane, milkweed, cottonwoods, wild cherry, hackberry and willows.
The PBS special on exploring the Shannon River in Ireland reminds me that we have several pieces on Ireland you may like to View. Clicking the BLUE links or the photos will take you to the stories and our shopping cart with zoom lens for the historic maps.
WATERWAY CRUISE REPORT
Cruising the Irish Heartland on the SHANNON RIVER
with the Shannon Princess
or use the SEARCH BOX upper right, to find more recent Ireland-related pieces on greatriver.com
Passionate Ireland! In conjunction with our river cruises, we generally do a two week land tour. Click Blue Link for our view of “Passionate Ireland.”
For Map Buffs, here is Ireland and the British Isles. These are all from an 1906 series by English Cartographer, John Bartholomew. I love the colors painted by the map artist, and the fact that RAILROADS are the featured mode of transportation rather than highways!
Click the image to find more about the history and how to purchase each map.
Map art is available in numerous sizes and as note cards. Click on images for details.
Brief note, now is an excellent time to be observing waterfowl passing through Pool 8. We saw a pair of TRUMPETER SWANS hanging about all last week in the sloughs and just south of Goose Island (normally in twos, rather than a large group, and note the very large black bill. Wing spread can approach 10 feet!). The Audubon group confirms that indeed there are many more TRUMPETERS than normal on the Upper Missisippi this year. A small mob of PELICANS is clustering forlornly in the Bay just above Stoddard.
From the Cornell Bird Lab: “Trumpeter Swans demand superlatives: they’re our biggest native waterfowl, stretching to 6 feet in length and weighing more than 25 pounds—almost twice as massive as a Tundra Swan. Getting airborne requires a lumbering takeoff along a 100-yard runway. Despite their size, this once-endangered, now recovering species is as elegant as any swan, with a graceful neck and snowy-white plumage. They breed on wetlands in remote Alaska, Canada, and the northwestern U.S., and winter on ice-free coastal and inland waters.”
Additionally, among the many ducks seen between Goose Island and Genoa, are Lesser Scaup, Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Canvas Backs, Bufflehead, and American Widgeon. Bring your bird book! My goal this spring has to get some of these sorted out with my binoculars and a little help from the Audubon Club. These are strikingly beautiful ducks!
Eagles continue to be prolific from the Twin cities south. Not unusual to see as many as 11 adults in sight on the ice. I’m also noting many juveniles still hanging about. They become dispersed once the ice melts, so enjoy them while you can. See an eagle nest? Look for the “balde” head of the adult sitting in it!
New from Michael Gillespie, THE PHANTOM BRAKEMAN and Other Old Time Railroad Stories from the Era of Steam
ISBN 978-0-9711602-6-2, 172 pages, $19.95. Also available to museums and gift shops.
Please call 608-457-2734 to ORDER your books for immediate shipping.
As with all our books by steam historian, Michael Gillespie, this collection is full of historic photographs, entertaining tales from the days of steam railroading, and witty, insightful editorial commentary!
If you enjoyed COME HELL OR HIGH WATER, WILD RIVER WOODEN BOATS, or OLD TIME RAILROAD Stories, you will want to add this quality book to your steam collection.
Railroad buffs will also enjoy our broad selection of gift prints of Railroad maps! Please visit greatriverarts.com > SHOP and then enter railroad maps into the SEARCH button. We have maps for many individual lines and states. Also, all maps in the 1906 series include rail lines from that time frame. 
During our brief early February “summer” our Mississippi River big birds made their move to the North.
Sandhill Cranes, in.
Tundra Swans migrating north overhead in huge flocks… check.
Bald Eagles are currently everywhere… 17 on the edge of the river ice, 4 circling up ahead, 3 in a dead tree. And more on the nests! It is a great moment to be out observing the transformation to spring!
How early are the cranes this year? Several days earlier than my historic “early date” of Feb 23, 2005! Here are some more arrival dates:
Feb 18, 2017
Feb 23, 2005 (a good two weeks earlier than normal!)
March 15, 2003
March 13, 2002
March 13, 2001
March 16, 1999
March 1, 1998
March 10, 1997
March 13, 1996
March 18, 1993
April 4, 1992
March 9, 1988
March 17, 1987
Finally, check out this river snapshot! Could that be an adult Golden Eagle confronting an adult Bald Eagle? And what about the immature on lower right? Is it Bald or Golden? I’d love your opinion!
Get out there and enjoy before the next storm hits!
February 17-20 Great Backyard Bird Count Bird watchers of all ages count birds to create a real time snapshot of where birds are. To learn more and participate in this citizen science project, visit their website at: http://gbbc.birdcount.org
March 19 – Mississippi River Waterfowl Field Trip. Dan Jackson will lead a waterfowl viewing field trip on Saturday, Meet at 8 a.m. at the entrance to Goose Island. We will head south and look for waterfowl and other
early migrants as far as Genoa or Rush Creek and finish around noon. The trip is free and open to everyone.
April 8 – Annual Midwest Crane Count – 5:30 a.m.-7:30 a.m. The Annual Midwest Cr
ane Count is one of the largest citizen-based wildlife surveys in the world. One of the primary purposes of the Crane Count is to monitor the abundance and distribution of cranes in th
e Upper Midwest. The Crane Count is organized by county in Wisconsin and portions of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota. Scott Puchalski will coordinate La Crosse County this year. Other area counties are also looking for volunteers.
Past participants will receive an email from Scott in early April inviting you to participate again. If you have not counted before and would like to join the count, please send Scott an email at: obsidianblur@gmail.com and he will help you get started. More information on the Crane Count can be found at: www.savingcranes.org.
The La Crosse Audubon Club has released its count for Christmas 2016… This year, we had 27 reports from 29 available sections and we also had 41 feeder counts. Conditions were poor, but we still were able to find just over 12,000 birds of 66 species. That included some great species that are normally unusual for this count. The best were a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and White- winged Scoters, but other unusual species included Northern Saw-whet Owl, Hooded Merganser, Red- breasted Merganser, Winter Wren, Northern Harrier, Fox Sparrow, Trumpeter Swans, and Golden Eagles. Great results on a tough day to count!! Effort-wise, we had 48 section counters and 45 feeder counters who contributed over 330 hours of effort. That is truly impressive and I want to say thanks again for your help with this year’s La Crosse Area Christmas Bird Count!!!