Canoe trail from Lansing to Harpers Ferry becoming reality thanks to collaboration of USFWS and Allamakee Economic Development

by Kelli Boylen, 
freelance writer

There are many canoe trails in the 261 miles of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, but local folks are excited about a new trail that will be available starting next spring from Lansing to Harpers Ferry.

The marked trail will have signage erected next spring, as well as a brochure mapping out the route. Paddlers will put in at Lansing and work their way 17 miles downstream, or they can put in at Heytman’s Landing and go nine miles downstream to Harpers Ferry. The trail portages over the spillway at Lock and Dam #9.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) McGregor District Manager Rich King says experienced canoeists and kayakers generally don’t need marked trails, but they are very family friendly, helpful to novices and accommodating to folks who are not familiar with the area. “It helps make the backwaters more accessible to everyone,” he said. “I think any opportunity to get more people to enjoy their refuge is wonderful. The more trails, the more opportunities.”

King said that there has been a designated trail between Lansing and Harpers Ferry for a while, but it has never been marked with signs. The project to upgrade the trail was initiated by a phone call King received from Laura Olson of the Allamakee County Economic Development office.

Olson explained that at a meeting of the Allamakee County Economic Development Board of Director’s they were discussing the existing canoe trail from New Albin to Lansing. Board member Bill Nation asked the question of why the trail didn’t continue farther south, and Olson placed a call to King.

“It all came together quickly,” said Olson. “The project is going really well.” The USFWS worked with Economic Development and Friends of Pool 9 to discuss the best route. Now that the federal government shut-down is over, work will begin on brochures. Olson said it would be great to someday see the canoe trail continue all the way to Effigy Mounds, but she recognized projects of that scale need to be done one step at a time.

Although the marketing budget for Allamakee Economic Development was set prior to the development of this project, Olson said that promotion will focus on social media and businesses in Lansing and Harpers Ferry until the new budget year.

When asked about the economic impact of the project, Olson said, “A longer canoe trail will help a lot. People don’t come a long ways for a short trail, and the longer the trail the longer they will stay in the area.”

Harpers Ferry tends to have a lot of anglers and recreational boaters, and the trail will help to bring more kayakers and canoeists to the area. Olson added, “One of the things we will promote like no other is the fact that these trails are within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Refuge. That will be a big draw.”

King agrees trails like this can bring more visitors to the area and have a positive economic impact. “It can be a tremendous benefit to the local economy to have a canoe trail like this. There is no doubt people will use it," he said.

King likes to have the community involved with project such as this in as many ways as possible. “There are many aspects to something like this, some are ecological, some recreational and some economical,” he said. “Each project partner brings a piece of what is needed.”

He thinks they may try to have a contest with school children to name the trail. He loves ideas that will make children and adults feel more invested in the refuge. “As the Fish and Wildlife Service, we help to take care of beautiful places, but we also want people to use it; it is here for them.”

Sometime in the first half of 2014 brochures will be printed that show the trail. Usually trail maps don’t show local amenities, but King says he hopes that their partnership with Allamakee County Economic Development will allow them to show things such as local restaurants on the maps.

Groups that are already involved with the new canoe trail project in addition to Economic Development include Friends of Pool 9, the Harpers Ferry Booster Club and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). When the time comes to put up signs (provided by USFWS) they will gratefully use the manpower some of these organizations offer.

The marked trails have arrowed signs within site of one another. Ice flows and flooding are just two of the ways signs can be damaged and volunteers will hopefully help keep the trail maintained over the years as well. The section of the trail between Heytman's Landing and Harpers Ferry will be seasonal (closed from October to approximately the end of duck season).

There is already a marked canoe trail that runs 10.2 miles upstream to New Albin, known as the Reno Bottoms Canoe Trail. Upstream access points to that trail include the Reno Walk-in, Millstone Landing, Visger’s Landing and the New Albin Landing. This canoe trail winds through backwaters, sloughs and islands. "When you are on that trail you can’t see anything but water and trees,” said King, except wildlife.

King explained that the upper parts of the Pools of the river are where the islands and sloughs are at, whereas the river tends to be more of an open channel above the Locks and Dams. King said he hopes sometime in the future some of the canoe trails can have interpretive signage, perhaps explaining that two-thirds of the canvasback duck population in the entire United States passes through Pool 9, or why the USFWS works with the Corp of Engineers to reconstruct islands in the river.

“Part of our job is to make sure folks enjoy the refuge, and also to understand the environmental issues as well,” King said. “The opportunity to observe wildlife here is simply eye-popping. Really, one could compare it to going on an African Safari. We need to get more folks out here to see this great place.”