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Bottomland hardwood forests once dominated the Lower Mississippi River valley, covering more than 23 million acres. These magnificent forests of cypress, gum, hickory and oak — some as old as 600 years at the time of settlement — were home to a profusion of wildlife including fish, waterfowl, migratory songbirds, bears and perhaps even cougars and woodland bison.
Today, the vast majority of these forests are gone, harvested for timber and converted to agriculture.
But that's about to change in western Kentucky where The Nature Conservancy and Ingram Barge Company have joined forces to restore thousands of acres of forest and wetlands along the Mississippi River.
Ingram Barge Gift Expands Conservation
Ingram Barge Company, the leading carrier on America's inland waterways, has made a financial commitment to support conservation activities on lands located where Obion Creek and Bayou de Chien flow into the Mississippi River in Hickman and Fulton counties, Kentucky.
The Conservancy has been active in the area for several years, working with private landowners to restore riparian and wetland habitats and helping the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission protect wetlands, old-growth forest and other native habitats.
The gift from Ingram Barge will allow the Conservancy to dramatically expand its work in the area, creating a platform project with the potential to restore and reconnect more than 18,000 acres of bottomland hardwood forests and wetlands to the Mississippi River floodplain.
"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," Philip added. "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."
Putting Nature Back Together
When the land in the Obion Creek and Bayou de Chien project area was cleared for corn and soybeans in the 1950s and 1970s, the native vegetation was removed and small tributary streams were converted to ditches to drain the land.
"To restore bottomland hardwood forest on these agricultural lands, we'll need to not only plant trees, shrubs and other wetland species but restore these ditches so they function like streams again," said Jeff Sole, the Conservancy's director of conservation programs in Kentucky.
While the Conservancy may decide to acquire and restore land in the area, a key component of the project will be using the Ingram gift to encourage private landowners to permanently enroll their land in the federal Wetlands Reserve Program.
Through WRP, landowners receive technical and financial assistance that enables them to remove land from production and protect, restore and enhance wetland habitat.
"By working with private landowners and partners, we can protect and restore many more acres of bottomland hardwood forest than we could working alone," Sole said.
Restoration Provides Many Benefits
Restoring forests and wetlands in the rivers' floodplains will provide additional habitat for wildlife and help reduce the flow of sediment and nutrients into the rivers, improving water quality locally and downstream in the Mississippi River.
"This portion of the Obion Creek and Bayou de Chien watersheds is important stopover habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds and migratory songbirds," Sole said. "It also provides habitat for game fish such as largemouth bass, crappie and various panfish species along with rare fish like the relict darter, which is only found in the Bayou de Chien creek. All of these species, as well as hunters, anglers and birdwatchers, will benefit from this restoration project."
"Our work at Obion Creek and Bayou de Chien here in Kentucky is part of a larger Conservancy effort, through the Great Rivers Partnership, to protect and restore the Mississippi River and other great rivers around the world," said Terry Cook, Conservancy state director in Kentucky.
"Restoring forests and wetlands is a tremendous challenge," Cook added. "But with good science, creative thinking and partners like Ingram Barge Company, we can revitalize this majestic and mighty waterway for future generations."
Photo credits (top to bottom, left to right): Obion Creek, Kentucky © Tom Barnes/University of Kentucky; American lotus © Andrew Simpson/TNC
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