Great Rivers Partnership - UMR-Conservation Strategies

The Upper Mississippi River Program

Conservation Strategies

The UMR program employs and supports a variety of approaches to restore and protect freshwater habitats. The program’s efforts include working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and others to plan and implement actions to restore the ecological health of the navigable portions of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers, as well as pursuing federal and state policy issues that build partnerships and further UMR conservation objectives.

Other strategies are implemented on the ground by the Conservancy, public agencies and other conservation interests, often working in partnerships. Generally, these strategies can be divided into those applied directly to freshwater habitats and those applied to surrounding uplands.

Strategies within freshwater habitats

• Modify dam operation within navigation pools. Lowering pool levels during the summer exposes mudflats and sandbars. This promotes vegetation growth beneficial for fish, birds and other animals.
• Modify levees to allow for reconnection of river and floodplain.
• Build islands to restore a diverse river-channel complex, reduce shallow, lake-like conditions and slow stream flows.
• Stabilize stream banks to reduce erosion.
• Dredge channels and backwaters to restore variable water depths and a meandering river within the floodplain.
• Restore habitats. Establishing native plant cover in areas that have been converted to agriculture or other uses can restore streamside buffer zones.
• Address non-native invasive plants and animals by removing them and implementing programs to reduce their introduction and spread.
• Build passages for fish at some dams to facilitate the movement of native fish up and down river.
• Re-create habitat for species of concern, such as Higgin’s Eye Mussel, pallid sturgeon and bald eagle, as well as propagate mussels and other rare species in captivity for release.

Strategies for surrounding uplands

• Provide farmers with information on agricultural practices that benefit freshwater habitats, including converting annual crops (i.e., corn and soybeans) to alternative crops (e.g., perennials), and assist in their implementation.
• Reduce pollution from industrial and urban areas by building water catchment structures or wetlands to help restore more natural water flows, sediment transport and water quality.
• Restore native vegetation and wetlands on disturbed lands and along streams where they act as buffers and filters.
• Assist in efforts to permanently protect natural areas within the uplands, including bluffs and terraces along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers.

Dakota Backwater north of Lacrosse, Wisconsin

UMR Program

Priority Sites