It seems like ages since I first heard of Ted Townsend and his project as it was presented in Des Moines ("Rainforest Takes Shape," Aug. 15). I sat in the audience, along with others from the Iowa City-Coralville area, as it was presented in Cedar Rapids. At the time, I was mayor of West Branch and couldn't help but think, "Wow -- If we could only make this work in West Branch, what it would do for all of Eastern Iowa!" Since that time, Coralville has stepped up to the plate and has done what neither Des Moines nor Cedar Rapids was willing to do: commit.

Since that tme, much has been written about this Iowa Environmental-Education Project, both for and against. Many changes have occurred since the early plans, and this is good. Many new people have come aboard with ideas, and this is good. Many corporate presentations have been made with real excitement being expressed about what this can become.

Because this project has been discussed greatly over a long period of time, there is a perception that this is going to fail. Nothing could be further from the truth. As of today, there is a commitment to go forth and build this project. This is going to happen.

Early on, the emphasis was on education, which is what it should have been as we are the education state and proud of it. While maintaining that direction, others have come forward with ideas of the biosciences, agriculture and other areas that Iowa is known for. Many extremely knowledgeable people have stepped forth and offered their expertise. Scientists, environmentalists and other experts from the University of Iowa and other fine learning institutions are coming on board to offer their help.

There is real excitement that once again a commitment to build is being presented. There is new leadership to compliment that earlier announcement. Staffing is being made to have a presence in the area. I am excited that Eastern Iowa is going to have a world class destination attraction.

Richard L. Rex
West Branch

Certainly this area should be well versed on what tourism means to the economy of the Iowa City-Coral-ville area, with the huge in-flux of visitors to the area every time there is a University of Iowa home sporting event, which will bring thousands of fans to our area ("Congress OKs $50M for rain forest project," Jan. 10).

Add to that the impact of the Coral Ridge Mall to area businesses, and it is easy to see that tourism is a huge economic factor for the entire area. How important is sometimes difficult to recognize, but residents of West Branch, Kalona and the Amana Colonies are well aware of the impact of tour-ism. However, in a changing society, nothing stays the same, and some areas grow while others shrink. Two examples could be the Barn Restaurant in Amana and the Meskwaki Casino in Tama. Imagine 30 tour buses waiting for the casino to reopen. Who among us could have imagined 5 to 10 years ago how large an impact gambling would have on Iowa? One thing we all can agree on is the number of cars per day driving by our front door (30,000-40,000). Drive to Dubuque and see what an impact the redevelopment of the area adjacent to the Mississippi River is to that community.

I applaud Ted Townsend and the honorable Gov. Robert Ray for sticking to their guns in promoting the Iowa Environmental/Education project. I applaud Sen. Charles Grassley for his efforts to get federal funding for Iowa tourism. For those who call foul and accuse him of promoting "pork," it's about time we got some of what others have been getting for years.

I am proud to support the Iowa Environmental/Education project. I say simply to those naysayers, "Bring it on." I've read it all, and there is nothing so far that has deterred me from being a supporter.

Richard L. Rex
West Branch