Making running water walk: Dr. Eric Booth resurrects 1960s forest research to tackle modern Driftless Area flood risks

LA CROSSE COUNTY, Wis. – Back in the heyday of PL-566 dam construction in the Driftless Region, a low-cost method of reducing stormwater runoff that can lead to flooding was the subject of research at the Coulee Region Experimental Forest in rural Bangor. The runoff reduction method is considered to be as or more effective than other conservation land treatments, and avoids taking cropland out of production.

Led by the Wisconsin Forestry Advisory Committee, the research investigated the potential of forested hill slopes in the Driftless Region to infiltrate stormwater runoff coming down from ridgetop fields. In 1956, the committee submitted a resolution to the Conservation Commission favoring the establishment of a research center to study local forest and water problems. The study was federally funded, and operated from 1961 to the mid-1970s.

Dr. Eric Booth’s talk took place on Thursday, Oct. 1, as part of the Monroe County Climate Change Task Force’s Fall Tour. About 45 conservation professionals from Driftless Region counties, Wisconsin Land +Water, Coon Creek Community Watershed Council, and the Nature Conservancy participated in the tour.