Richard (Rip) Sparks receives "Friend of the River" award from the MRRC.  Doug Blogett presented the award to Rip durning the banquet. (see text below)

Rip enjoys a conversation with fellow River enthusiast Marian Havlik.

Prentation by Doug Blodgett...
I am very honored to represent the Mississippi River Research Consortium board and membership, dedicated researchers, managers, and river folks who love and cherish the Mississippi River (and its tributaries such as the Illinois River).  I really appreciate this opportunity to present the “Friend of the River Award.”  I think it’s important to note this award is not necessarily given annually.  It is given only when deemed appropriate by the MRRC board of directors.  And the past recipients (five in the last ten years) have caused the bar to be set quite high.  I am pleased to announce that the Board of Directors for the Mississippi River Research Consortium has selected Dr. Richard E. Sparks to receive the “Friend of the River Award.”  I’ll share with you that a couple of folks reminded me Rip no longer signs my paycheck, and they encouraged me that this is my opportunity to roast him good.

I think some background on Rip is appropriate.  Richard E. Sparks was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in Vermont.  In 1964 he received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Amherst College.  From 1964 through 1966 he served in the Peace Corps in Nigeria, where he was a teacher at the Methodist Higher Elementary Teacher Training College and an instructor at the University of Nigeria.  In 1966, he returned to the states and studied at the University of Kansas, receiving his Master of Science degree in 1968.  An encouraging note was that his thesis research involved channel catfish.  Rip moved on to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University where he earned his PhD in 1971.

Rip joined the Illinois Natural History Survey in 1972, and was stationed at the Survey field station along the Illinois River near Havana, IL.  There he served as director of the Survey’s River Research Laboratory and their Large River Research Program.  In 1998, after 26 years with the Survey, Rip left the Survey and his twice daily commute over the Illinois River at Havana, and he migrated 100 miles across Illinois’ corn and bean prairie to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he is currently director of the Illinois Water Resources Center.  Rip also serves as Research Coordinator for the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Program and he has a staff appointment in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the U of I.

During the first 10 years of his career on the UMR, much of Rip’s effort was directed at learning the ecology of the large floodplain river system in which he worked.  He got his feet wet during field and laboratory research on riverine fishes, benthic organisms, and water and sediment toxicity.  But over the past twenty years, much of Rip’s effort has been focused on developing and actually applying large river science to the management of these imperiled ecosystems.  Examples include the following:

From 1980 to 1981, Rip served as the Master Coordinator for the Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission’s Study to Evaluate Impacts of Navigation and Navigation Project Operation and Maintenance Procedures on Selected Environmental Parameters of the Upper Mississippi River System.

From 1981 through 1989, he was Project Director of the NSF-funded research project “Ecological Structure and Function of Large Rivers in Illinois, or the Large Rivers LTER.

Following the record flood of 1993, he participated in Administration and Capital Hill briefings on sustainable redevelopment of the flood region and in the review of national flood management policy.

Currently Rip is the Project Director for the NSF-project looking at the ecology, hydrology, and economics of floodplain management.

Rip has served and continues to serve on numerous committees, advisory councils, etc. including the Lieutenant Governor’s Planning Committee for Development of the Illinois River Ecosystem Management Plan, Science Advisory Committee for the Illinois River Coordinating Council, and a member of the most prestigious Science Advisory Council for the Illinois Chapter of The Nature Conservancy.  Rip served on two National Research Council Committees-- one to review the water resources planning activities of the U.S. ACOE, and a second which resulted in the book Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems: Science, Technology, and Public Policy.

Here are a few other important publications he authored or co-authored over the last 20 years:

1982 At the 15th annual meeting of the MRRC, Rip presented the paper “The role of contaminants in the decline of the Illinois River: implications for the Upper Mississippi.”
1989  The floodpulse concept in river-floodplain systems--Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
1990  Disturbance and recovery of large floodplain rivers--Environmental Management
1992  Risks of altering the hydrologic regime of large rivers--Advances in Modern Environmental Toxicology
1995 Value and need for ecological management of large river-floodplain ecosystems--BioScience
1997  The natural flow regime--BioScience
1998 Nutrient dynamics of large river floodplains--Regulated Rivers
1998 Disturbance, succession, and ecosystem processes in rivers and estuaries: effects of extreme hydrologic events.
1998 Naturalization of the flood regime in regulated rivers: the case of the upper Mississippi River--Bioscience
2000 River restoration in developed economies.

To summarize, over the last 30 years Rip has authored or coauthored over 300 published articles, reviews, and reports including 6 book chapters.  Nearly all of these have dealt with river science--mostly on the UMRS.   He has also been involved in procuring well over $15 million for his research on the UMRS as well as significant dollars to support the research of other scientists.

My wife would remind me of the old adage that behind every good man there’s a good woman--actually my wife would say it’s a fact.  This evening, I’ll take this opportunity to acknowledge Rip’s wife Ruth who I know first hand has made significant contributions to Rip’s success and the successes of most if not all of those of us who have worked for Rip.  Ruth has been a critical member of the team, providing assistance with fieldwork, editing, and general moral support.

Today, the UMR ecosystem is certainly a multi-use river with a multitude of complex forces trying to push and pull it in many directions.  While an individual can be successful in his or her career and may independently make a significant contribution to conserving the Upper Miss, I believe that ultimately natural attributes of the river will be best conserved only if we as a research community invest in the synergies that can result when we work together--I know Rip Sparks has done and continues to do an excellent job of pulling together the right people and making a difference.

There’s another old adage that says “if you want it done right, do it yourself.”  I think that statement is a bit self-righteous--it’s probably more accurate to say, “If you want it done your way, do it yourself.”  However, in large complex systems, such as large floodplain river ecosystems, I believe it more constructive to adhere to the tenet that “if you want it done right, get the best qualified people.”  But getting the best-qualified people together can take a lot of time and energy in and of itself.  While it may be the best for the resource, it’s not necessarily best for one’s career.

Two weeks ago The Nature Conservancy convened a group of 40 scientists to help us with planning for the restoration and management of our recently acquired, 7600-acre Emiquon property.  I don’t know how many times I heard the phrase “herding cats.”  It was often a difficult and laborious task, but pulling together the right folks seems to be what it takes to get it done right.  In my mind, among the most important accomplishments of Rip Sparks is that he has been extremely successful at herding cats (but note that he’s also had quality cats to work with on the UMR), and I think his persistent efforts not only as a scientist, but also as someone who works hard to bring the right scientists and decision makers to the table (or to the river as the case may be) will continue to pay dividends for the river’s natural resources.

I think it fortuitously appropriate that this award is presented to Rip as the complex,  large-floodplain river ecosystem just outside the back door is experiencing its ecologically important spring flood pulse.  So, on behalf of the Mississippi River Research Consortium ... In recognition of his distinguished career advancing the science of river ecology and its application to the restoration, management, and conservation of large-floodplain river ecosystems, I’m pleased to present Rip Sparks with the “Friend of the River Award.”
 
 

Last updated on: August 24, 2001
Maintained by: brent_knights@usgs.gov