Upper Mississippi River Restoration History: From Dam Planning to Visions for the Future

Most people have a mental picture of the Mississippi River shaped through the writings of Mark Twain, media images of floods, school lessons in geography and/or personal experience.  However, most perceptions of the Mississippi River do not extend into the realm of how humans have altered it's ecosystem.  Even fewer people understand the challenges of restoring a large floodplain river, like the Mississippi River, back to a more sustainable ecosystem. Challenges complicated by the complexity of the system and involvement of > 262 bodies of government with active roles in the management of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR).  

The need for UMR restoration started with a plan.  Planning to improve the UMR for commercial navigation began in the early 1800’s.  Snag removal, wing dam construction, dredging, bank protection, levees and lock and dams construction are some examples of structures put in place during the last 150+ years to make navigation more reliable.  Planning to protect UMR habitat started with establishment of the UMR Fish and Wildlife Refuge in 1924.  Between 1924 and the early 1970’s, the states and UMR Conservation Committee led many efforts resulting in policy or management changes to protect the River’s resources.    However, these changes were not enough to offset habitat loss and degradation occurring due to UMR navigation improvements and human actions within the watershed.   

The 1970’s ushered in federal laws and policies ultimately leading to changes in the Corps of Engineers management of the UMR.  The Great River Environmental Action Team (1980) and UMR System Master Plan (1982) laid the foundation for authorization of the UMR Environmental Management Program (EMP) in 1986, which has resulted in restoration of over 100,000 acres of habitat in 25 years.    This experience and level of success contributed to the partnership's continuing efforts to better quantify what would represent a more sustainable UMR ecosystem.  

The first formal systemic quantification of restoration needs was the UMR System Habitat Needs Assessment (2000).  The Environmental Pool Plans (2000) and the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program UMR System Ecosystem Restoration Objectives (2011) built upon past planning efforts to develop more detailed visions for the future.    UMR ecosystem restoration challenges started with a plan and its future is dependent on plans that will bring a diversity of publics and agencies to a common vision for continued support and action.