Current Projects

Master plans can be many things, depending on the area being studied, but generally they offer a vision of how a place might evolve over time, and the steps necessary to get there. That could include physical improvements undertaken by governments, private developments to be encouraged, changes to local policy, changes in management or services, or even education and programming targeted to local citizens. We are calling this study a “corridor plan” to emphasize its focus on the route of the stream through Decorah.

Master plans can identify challenges and opportunities, and prioritize various elements of an overall concept. They often include substantial research about an area, including its natural system, cultural history, and current environmental and cultural issues and needs. The best master plans are done with substantial community engagement, allowing the people living and working in the areas they cover to shape the resulting vision. After all, it is the community that the plan belongs to, and they are ultimately the ones who will help to implement it, and care for the resulting spaces.

Running through the heart of downtown Decorah and many of its historic neighborhoods, Dry Run Creek is a natural resource that has long played an influential role in the history of the community. The level lands along its banks were quickly subdivided by the community’s first European settlers, and the town’s first railroad followed the creek’s level course through the Driftless Hills. Yet, Dry Run was also a source of dangerous flooding, imperiling the growing town. In the 1940s, the Dry Run Flood Control Project radically altered the geography of the local landscape, not only redirecting the creek through the Cut to bypass town, but rerouting the Upper Iowa River itself, and lining its banks with tall levees.  The remnants of Dry Run running through Decorah today are largely channelized and can be referred to as Old Dry Run Creek.

Old Dry Run Creek no longer faces the same risk of regional flooding it once did, and the railroad no longer runs along it, but there are new opportunities and challenges. As Decorah urbanizes, stormwater rushes into the stream, impacting water quality and habitat, and risking localized flooding. Invasive species also colonize its banks, displacing native plants and the animals that depend on them. Yet it is also a resource that provides liveliness to Downtown Decorah, and is featured in new spaces like the Dry Run Plaza at Water Street and Riverside Avenue. Many issues identified in the Decorah Sustainability Plan, especially related to land use and air and water, would be put into action at places like Dry Run. The City of Decorah has also secured funding for several projects that will benefit Old Dry Run Creek, making this a perfect time to develop a coordinated strategy for the watershed. Click Here  to view the Dry Run History Timeline.

To learn more about the Decorah Sustainability Plan, Click Here