It was unlike anything Iowa had ever experienced  on the environmental scene. A group of environmentalists, business leaders, lawmakers and others interested in the natural world joined to form the nonprofit Iowa Environmental Council, which is now celebrating its 20th anniversary.

The organizers brought diverse backgrounds and talents. They shared a strong interest in the often emotional world of environmental issues. At the heart of the action were:

– Mark Ackelson, who was running the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, a widely respected nonprofit that has focused on preserving natural lands.

– Linda Appelgate, a longtime environmentalist.

– J.C. “Buz” Brenton, a Des Moines banker and environmentalist.

– Charlotte Hubbell, a noted environmentalist and community leader.

– G. David Hurd, then head of Principal Financial Group.

David Osterberg, a former state lawmaker who had helped pass landmark environmental legislation.

That group was honored at an event in early June, but those community leaders are only part of a story that has involved thousands of individuals and organizations interested in putting Iowa in a better environmental place. In particular, the council has pushed for better water quality, renewable energy and reduced air and water pollution.

When Brenton and Hubbell were leading a string of meetings to test the idea of a council, the environmental lobby was disorganized and often lacked the basic data needed to make its case. 

“It seemed to a group of us that what was needed was a coalition to press for changes at the Legislature,” Appelgate said. “We thought we could focus on significant public policy issues that would bring significant change in Iowa’s environment for the good.”

Politically, the movement was as weak as it gets. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources routinely received less than 1 percent of the state’s general tax revenue, and struggled to get legislators’ support. The private nonprofit groups supporting efforts to improve the environment seemed to have even less power. 

Brenton pushed for an environmental movement with a louder, fact-backed voice. In an interview, he said there was a big difference between what the public wanted to happen on environmental issues and what the Iowa Legislature was enacting. That situation was the main force that led to the formation of the council, in his view. 

Public demanded cleaner environment
Hubbell, a former member of the governor-appointed Iowa Environmental Protection Commission, has a similar view. “They began talking about why we weren’t seeing the kind of environmental protection and care that the public wanted and the science supported,” Hubbell said. “We weren’t we seeing that in public policy.”

Former state Rep. David Osterberg, one of the chief architects of some of the state’s most powerful environmental laws, joined the talks. Linda Appelgate agreed to be the first executive director. Ackelson, who was running the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, lent a hand. Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson did, too.

Ames environmentalist Cindy Hildebrand, the Izaak Walton League and others got involved in the early discussions.

“There was a real need to have conservation and environmental organizations communicating more readily,” Ackelson said. “By uniting, we had more strength.”

The council formed in December 1994, and got fully up and running in 1995.

Almost immediately, it sought to collect the data needed to make arguments that are more academic than emotional. In 1996, Susan Heathcote joined the staff. A geologist with experience at Mobil Oil and as a project manager for Howard R. Green Co., Heathcote became the council’s water program director. She often has been front and center on analyzing issues and preparing for lawsuits or petitions. Eventually she was appointed to the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission, a volunteer position she no longer holds. 

“We wanted to have credibility,” Hubbell said. “To do that, you need to have data. To have the data, you need to do the research.”

It’s hard for any environmental group, or even this coalition, to take sole credit for progress. But the Iowa Environmental Council  has been involved in debates that led to the monitoring of bacteria at state-park beaches, discussion of stronger water quality standards, the creation of a trust fund for conservation and recreation projects, closure of many agricultural drainage wells, assistance with solar and wind energy projects, and debate over how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

The issues remain the same, and victories have at times been modest. Even Brenton describes the council’s achievements as “moderate.” Another former board member privately bemoans a lack of progress on many issues.

For his part, Osterberg sees the good, the bad, and the murky. “The IEC worked on water for the first five years,” he said. “It helped get an increase in water quality monitoring. It went after drainage wells. Energy work has had more victories,” with improved conservation programs and a big jump in wind energy. 
But the pesky problems remain, Osterberg said. “Our water quality in Iowa is terrible, but we are a leader in renewable energy and [energy] efficiency. You can’t blame IEC for the former or give it sole credit for the latter. But they have been there pitching and been a respected voice trying to make Iowa policy be more sustainable.” 

Research emphasized

The idea behind the Iowa Environmental Council, which was based on similar groups in other states, was to research issues and come to joint positions on important issues, especially water quality, energy and environmental protection. Backers decided to forge a partnership of nonprofits and individuals. It became a coalition of nearly all the major environmental groups, but not all of them. 

Susan Heathcote, the council’s water quality expert, almost immediately began backing up her statements with data, and just kept gathering evidence.  She is still on the staff.

The Council helped form IOWATER, the state’s volunteer monitoring network, and pushed for the voter-approved Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund, the still-penniless account that will help pay for conservation and recreation projects, if the Legislature approves a three-eighths of 1 percent sales tax to fill it.

“There is a lot more environmental awareness than there was 25 years ago,” Appelgate said. “The 63 percent approval of the constitutional amendment is evidence. I don’t think we would have seen that 25 years ago. People are on high alert because of climate change and the Des Moines water situation.”

The next 20 years

There is work left to do, the leaders say. 

The fight over Iowa’s water quality continues and has spilled into federal court with Des Moines Water Works’ lawsuit over nitrate pollution the utility contends is from drainage ditches. Ag drainage wells remain uncapped in places. There still is untapped potential in solar and wind energy, and energy conservation.

Lawmakers still haven’t raised the sales tax, so there is no cash in the trust fund for conservation and recreation. 

Hubbell said environmental initiatives still beg for cash. “The environmental movement hasn’t been as well-funded as it could be,” she said. 

Also, the state must do better on cleaning waterways in the next two decades, she added.

That will mean opposing agricultural interests that are fighting some initiatives. “I think you find opponents of change using the same tactics that they used against tobacco regulation,” Hubbell said. “They question the data and they try to limit the amount of data that can be gathered.”

Ackelson said the idea of working to clean rivers and lakes on a watershed basis goes back to the 1930s. “It’s pretty disappointing that the state and nation haven’t made more headway in protecting these resources,” he said. 

“The next 20 years, I would hope we would see a significant reduction in impaired waterways,” Ackelson said. “We just keep adding them.”

For all the achievements of the past decade, he said, there is this overriding truth: 

“The environment still doesn’t have as strong a voice as it needs.”

Executive directors of the Iowa Environmental Council:
Linda Appelgate, 1995-2000
Mark Lambert, 2000-2001
Elizabeth Horton Plasket, 2001-2002
Rich Leopold, 2002-2006
Marian Gelb, 2007-2012
Ralph Rosenberg, 2012-present 

Current board members:

Executive committee
Margi Weiss, president
At-large member
Lorraine May, vice president
At-large member
Linda Kinman, immediate past president Iowa Association of Water Agencies
Sarah Lohmeier, secretary
At-large member
Cyril Mandelbaum, treasurer
At-large member

Member organization representatives

Ross Baxter
Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation
Laura Belin
Representing 1000 Friends of Iowa
Jane Clark
Des Moines Audubon Society
Sondra Feldstein
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Elizabeth Garst
Whiterock Conservancy
Kevin Hanson
Trout Unlimited
Kevin Nordmeyer
American Institute of Architects Iowa Chapter
Steve Roe
Izaak Walton League Des Moines Chapter
Jonathan D. Rosenbloom
Drake Environmental Law Society
Marv Shirley
Iowa Farmers Union

Individual at-large members
Catherine Cownie
Ryan Peterson
Al Sturgeon