Lessons learned: Conservation, conservationists, and the 2008 flood in the US Midwest

L essons learned is a facetious title. Unfortunately, it is very likely that little was learned from the 2008 Midwest floods. We continue to ignore the complex array of conditions that contributed to the conservation tragedy that occurred in the early summer of 2008. While most see these damages as tragic, they also view it as a natural disaster—a natural disaster in the sense that the causes were too much rain in too short of a period at the wrong time of the year. It is the widespread acceptance of this incomplete explanation of the causes of the 2008 floods that hinders any meaningful lessons to be learned. A complete explanation would also have to include human greed, incompetence, and I suppose the appropriate term would be arrogance, as contributing to this conservation tragedy. Let me explain that last sentence. While the genesis of the tragedy goes back much further, we can pick up this story early in the 21st century. The Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) had the opportunity to play the role of Cassandra relative to what actually happened in June of 2008. In January of 2003, SWCS issued a report Conservation Implications of Climate Change: Soil Erosion …