The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

The Nature Conservancy announced today it has joined forces with Ingram Barge Company to support conservation efforts in Western Kentucky along the Mississippi River.

Ingram Barge has made a financial commitment to support conservation activities on lands located where Obion Creek and Bayou Du Chien flow into the Mississippi River in Fulton County, Kentucky. The Nature Conservancy will create a platform project with the potential to restore and reconnect over 18,000 acres of bottomland hardwood forests and wetlands to the Mississippi River alluvial floodplain within the next five years.

“We are pleased to support The Nature Conservancy’s efforts to preserve and protect the Mississippi River and its tributaries in Western Kentucky,” said Craig Philip, Ingram Barge’s President and CEO. “This region and its communities have played important roles in our company’s success. We are particularly pleased that many of the conservation activities made possible by this partnership will be seen by Ingram crews on our towboats and everyone traveling through Western Kentucky on the Mississippi River.”

The Conservancy will use Ingram’s contribution to obtain conservation easements or other similar interests in lands along the Mississippi River in an area of Western Kentucky previously identified by the Conservancy as prime for conservation.

“This conservation project is important to our partnership with the navigation community. Ingram’s investment will serve as a demonstration of how collaboration can be applied to support similar projects throughout the Mississippi River – from its headwaters at Lake Itasca in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico,” said Mark Tercek, President/CEO of The Nature Conservancy.

“Restoring historic floodplain areas is a key component of dealing with nutrient loadings and other water quality concerns in the Mississippi River. This platform project will also restore critical wildlife habitat, and hopefully set the stage to help preserve and protect the Mississippi River for future generations, a mighty resource on which both people and natural communities depend,” said Terry Cook, State Director of The Nature Conservancy of Kentucky.

Ingram Barge Company is the leading carrier on America's inland waterways. Ingram operates a fleet of more than 100 line haul towboats and nearly 4,000 barges to transport coal, aggregates, grain, fertilizer, ores, alloys, steel products and chemicals. Ingram Materials operates a sand and gravel dredging and distribution enterprise serving Tennessee markets. Custom Fuel Services operates 11 floating fueling stations on the Mississippi and Ohio River Systems and provides marine fuels, lubricants, and other miscellaneous services to towboats, barges, stevedoring rigs, and ships. In addition, Ingram owns a ship anchorage in Louisiana, and several bulk commodities terminals in Florida, West Virginia and Tennessee. For more information, visit the website at www.ingrambarge.com.