Effigy Mounds
The Yellow River Bridge Trail may be the most controversial structure at Effigy Mounds National Monument.
Public meetings to be held in 2016
regarding controversial structures at Effigy Mounds
By Ted Pennekamp
A planning exercise will begin sometime in 2016 to decide the future of the Yellow River Boardwalk and other structures at Effigy Mounds National Monument in northeast Iowa.
Effigy Mounds Superintendent Jim Nepstad said the planning exercise will involve the public as well as state and tribal historic preservation partners in discussion prior to a decision being made about the structures. The structures were built without complete proper Section 106 procedure such as first consulting with the 20 tribes affiliated with Effigy Mounds.
“We would like to get everybody involved in order to come up with the best possible solution,” said Nepstad, who noted that multiple public meetings on the subject will be held at various locations. It is not yet known when the public meetings will be held because a Cultural Landscape Report regarding Effigy Mounds will be released in about a month or two, and several public meetings will be held on the Cultural Landscape Report first.
“Ideally, the meetings about the structures such as the Yellow River Boardwalk will be held in the summer when people can more easily come out and view the structures,” said Nepstad. There are numerous so-called “structures” that have been documented, but a lot of those involve parts of trails rather than structures in the traditional sense. The main structures include the Yellow River Boardwalk, the Yellow River Boardwalk Bridge, a maintenance shed in the North Unit, and two bridges on the Hanging Rock Trail.
Nepstad noted that a spur off of the Yellow River Boardwalk that had been under construction was removed. It was the spur that had sparked much of the controversy because it came very close to some mounds, he said. The maintenance shed was a temporary hoop-type structure, and all that remains is its foundation, which is now kind of hard to see unless one is looking for it. The other “structures” involve various spots on trails that were realigned because they were too close to a mound or there were eroding trail conditions.
“The number of instances is actually quite small. Most of the park is not developed. It’s a lightly developed park,” said Nepstad. In addition to the public meetings, Nepstad said that people can give their opinions or ideas about possible trail realignment or the possible removal of structures via mail or email once the planning exercise has begun.
“It is my feeling that the boardwalk will be the most controversial,” said Nepstad. “There are some people who have strong objections to the Yellow River Boardwalk, and there are others who really like it.”
The boardwalk does not go through any mounds, but some people say the boardwalk disrupts the natural beauty of the area. Other people enjoy the boardwalk because it provides good birding and nature viewing opportunities in a wetland. The boardwalk is handicapped accessible and the original vision in creating it was so that anyone could much more easily get to the South Unit and enjoy the Marching Bear Mound Group, the most iconic in the park, said Nepstad. The boardwalk currently does not go all the way to the South Unit, however, coming to an end just beyond the Yellow River Bridge. Time will tell if the boardwalk will remain the same, be altered, or be torn out altogether.
Nepstad, who became superintendent in 2011, said that the boardwalk and the other structures were built in the early 2000s. He said that the planning process will be designed so that all interested parties can review the alternatives and also offer their own. The process could ultimately lead to nothing being done, to having every controversial structure dismantled, to anything in between.
“Maybe someone will come up with a great idea that nobody has thought of yet,” Nepstad said. “Having public meetings is really important for a park like this. We would like to get input about trail realignment and everything else ahead of time. We’re going to undertake the proper process. I’m not going to make the same mistake in reverse.”
Nepstad said that an environmental assessment will be part of the process as well as conducting an archaeological survey. “It will all take time,” he said.
Finding good solutions may not necessarily be easy. “The Yellow River Bridge is massively over engineered,” said Nepstad in citing an example. “But, does it make sense to rip out the bridge just to replace it with a smaller one. Someone might have a better idea. We’re doing our best to get things turned around and follow the law and find the best solutions possible.”
Despite various recent controversies, Effigy Mounds National Monument now appears to be making every effort to move forward in the best possible manner.
“The future of Effigy Mounds looks really bright,” said Nepstad.
