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| Great Rivers Landscape Conservation Cooperative | |
|---|---|
| Name | Great Rivers Landscape Conservation Cooperative |
| Formation | 2010 |
| Type | Conservation partnership |
| Headquarters | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Region served | Midwestern United States |
Great Rivers Landscape Conservation Cooperative The Great Rivers Landscape Conservation Cooperative was a regional partnership focused on ecological conservation across major Midwestern river systems. It coordinated among federal agencies, state agencies, tribal governments, non‑profit organizations, and academic institutions to plan science‑based actions for riverine, wetland, and floodplain habitats. The cooperative emphasized applied research, habitat restoration, and landscape‑scale planning across connected systems from the Upper Mississippi River to the Missouri River.
The cooperative operated as a network linking federal entities such as the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Geological Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Bureau of Land Management with state agencies including the Missouri Department of Conservation, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and Iowa Department of Natural Resources. It engaged tribal partners like the Osage Nation and Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska alongside non‑profit organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, National Audubon Society, and Sierra Club. Academic collaborators included University of Missouri, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, and Iowa State University. The cooperative aligned with regional initiatives including the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program and the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative.
Established in the early 2010s under a network of regional LCCs encouraged by the United States Department of the Interior, the cooperative formed in response to broad directives embodied by policies and programs like the National Fish Habitat Action Plan. Stakeholders convened after consultations with resource managers from the Mississippi River Basin, representatives from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and officials from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Initial workshops incorporated expertise from researchers affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and the National Academy of Sciences, and drew on precedents set by landscape approaches in the Chesapeake Bay Program and the Calfed Bay-Delta Program.
The cooperative covered an expansive physiographic domain including the Upper Mississippi River, Lower Mississippi River, Missouri River, and associated tributaries such as the Illinois River and Des Moines River. Its scope encompassed multiple ecoregions identified by the Environmental Protection Agency, including the Central Hardwood Forests, Mississippi Alluvial Plain, and Western Corn Belt Plains. Key conservation focal areas included the Big River refuge complexes, floodplain corridors adjacent to urban centers like St. Louis, Missouri and Kansas City, Missouri, and internationally significant wetlands recognized under frameworks like the Ramsar Convention.
Priority goals targeted habitat connectivity for species such as the pallid sturgeon, least tern, and migratory waterfowl that use the Mississippi Flyway. The cooperative emphasized resilience to threats including alterations from projects under the Army Corps of Engineers, invasive species like Asian carp, altered hydrology from Missouri River Recovery Program actions, and impacts of climate change documented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Conservation priorities included restoring floodplain wetlands, improving water quality affected by nutrient loads from the Corn Belt, and conserving riparian forests to support species protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Projects ranged from mapping and monitoring initiatives using tools developed by the United States Geological Survey and National Aeronautics and Space Administration to on‑the‑ground restoration led by partners such as The Nature Conservancy and state conservation commissions. Notable efforts included collaborative habitat models for the pallid sturgeon and landscape connectivity analyses employed by the University of Minnesota, collaborative sediment management pilots with the Army Corps of Engineers, and community‑based wetland restoration projects informed by research from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Conservation Training Center. The cooperative supported data sharing through platforms influenced by the Landscape Conservation Design framework and prioritized adaptive management guided by peer review from institutions like the National Academy of Sciences.
Governance relied on a steering committee composed of representatives from federal agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries, state wildlife agencies, tribal governments, and non‑governmental organizations including Ducks Unlimited and National Wildlife Federation. Technical working groups drew experts from universities including Washington University in St. Louis and Southern Illinois University and from federal research labs like the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center. The cooperative coordinated with basinwide entities such as the Mississippi River Basin Alliance and engaged municipal partners including the City of St. Louis for urban riparian projects.
Funding derived from federal appropriations administered by agencies including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and grants from foundations and programs such as the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency grants under regional programs, and contributions from partners including The Nature Conservancy and state conservation departments. In‑kind resources included technical assistance from the United States Geological Survey and modeling support from universities like University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. Project financing frequently leveraged cost‑share mechanisms established by programs like the Natural Resources Conservation Service and targeted philanthropic support from conservation‑oriented foundations.
Category:Conservation organizations based in the United States