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| Upper Mississippi River Comprehensive Plan | |
|---|---|
| Name | Upper Mississippi River Comprehensive Plan |
| Caption | Map of the Upper Mississippi River Basin |
| Location | Upper Mississippi River |
Upper Mississippi River Comprehensive Plan.
The Upper Mississippi River Comprehensive Plan is a coordinated resource management framework designed to guide conservation, navigation, and land-use decisions across the Upper Mississippi River corridor. It synthesizes regional planning approaches from federal, state, and tribal agencies to address riverine habitat, floodplain function, navigation infrastructure, and cultural resources across multiple jurisdictions. The Plan integrates scientific assessments with stakeholder input to balance ecosystem resilience, commerce, and recreation in a large, braided river system.
The Plan grew from multijurisdictional initiatives involving United States Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Environmental Protection Agency, and state agencies such as the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and Missouri Department of Conservation. Its purpose echoes directives in statutes like the Rivers and Harbors Act and the Clean Water Act to coordinate navigation, flood risk reduction, and habitat conservation. Historical drivers include legacy projects such as the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project and landmark studies by institutions including the US Geological Survey and academic centers like the University of Minnesota and Saint Louis University. The Plan aims to reconcile competing mandates from bodies such as the Great Lakes Commission, Upper Mississippi River Basin Association, and tribal governments including the Ojibwe and Ho-Chunk Nation.
The geographic scope spans the Upper Mississippi River from its headwaters at Lake Itasca through reaches adjoining major urban centers like Minneapolis–Saint Paul, St. Louis, and Dubuque, Iowa and includes key tributaries such as the Minnesota River, St. Croix River, Illinois River, and Missouri River confluences. Riverine features addressed include navigation pools, backwaters, side channels, sandbars, and alluvial floodplains adjacent to sites such as Pool 2, Pool 8, and the Effigy Mounds National Monument corridor. The Plan inventories cultural landscapes including archaeological sites related to the Mississippian culture, Hopewell tradition, and historic steamboat routes associated with Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) and commerce centers like Burlington, Iowa.
The Plan was developed through a collaborative process involving federal partners (Corps of Engineers, USFWS, NPS), state agencies, metropolitan planning organizations such as the Metropolitan Council (Minnesota), tribal governments, conservation NGOs like The Nature Conservancy and American Rivers, industry stakeholders including American Waterways Operators, local governments, and academic partners like Iowa State University and University of Wisconsin–Madison. Public engagement used town halls in communities such as La Crosse, Wisconsin and Red Wing, Minnesota and advisory committees with representatives from organizations including the National Audubon Society and Ducks Unlimited. The process incorporated environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act and coordinated with interagency agreements administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for hazard resilience.
Key components include integrated habitat restoration, reach-scale sediment management, invasive species control, flow regime optimization, and infrastructure modernization. Management strategies draw on adaptive frameworks employed by the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program and restoration designs used in projects like Pool 13 habitat rehabilitation and Wing Dam modifications. The Plan prioritizes actions such as side-channel reconnection, floodplain reforestation near sites like Big Island (Iowa), levee setback pilot projects in partnership with Natural Resources Conservation Service, and navigation harmony measures coordinated with the Saint Paul District, USACE and St. Louis District, USACE.
Environmental objectives emphasize restoration of native fish and wildlife communities, mitigation of nutrient loading linked to the Mississippi River Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force, control of invasive species like Asian carp and Eurasian watermilfoil, and protection of wetlands recognized under the Ramsar Convention. Targets include improved conditions for species such as pallid sturgeon, bald eagle, least tern, and migratory waterfowl using the Mississippi Flyway. The Plan leverages monitoring networks from Long Term Resource Monitoring Program and research collaborations with institutions including Cornell University and University of Illinois to track biotic responses and water quality metrics.
Navigation components coordinate lock and dam operations maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (St. Louis District) and modernize aging infrastructure while maintaining commercial barge traffic vital to ports like St. Louis, Cairo, Illinois, and Saverton, Missouri. Flood control strategies integrate levee rehabilitation, bypass channel design, and nonstructural actions informed by FEMA floodplain mapping and climate projections from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Plan addresses sediment management at choke points near Keokuk, Iowa and recommends resilience investments for rail and highway crossings administered by Federal Highway Administration partners.
Implementation relies on phased projects, cost-sharing agreements, and performance metrics overseen by interagency governance structures modeled after the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association. Monitoring uses standardized protocols from the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program and water quality sampling coordinated with the USGS National Water Quality Program. Adaptive management provisions specify iterative plan reviews, decision thresholds tied to indicators such as turbidity and species abundance, and contingency measures coordinated with entities including the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and state legislatures. Success is measured through tangible outcomes at demonstration sites, increased habitat connectivity, reduced invasive species spread, and maintained navigation reliability.