Some of them got the land free, when the channel moved west. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is trying to buy easements from several landowners in the area, under which the land would be converted for use as wildlife and wetlands. A half-century of engineering experience should have taught us the futility of trying to tell nature how to run its rivers. A couple of centuries of economic experience should have taught us not to subsidize when costs grossly exceed benefits. If the heavily subsidized barge traffic is justified at all on the Missouri, it should at least be halted during the slow summer season so that more important concerns can be accommodated.
Nature often proves to be a stern teacher.
And we often prove to be slow learners.