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The Nature Conservancy and U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division, join forces

Regional Agreement for Mississippi River

Chicago, IL –The Nature Conservancy and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division (USACE-MVD) today announced in West Alton, Missouri, the signing of a regional cooperative agreement to promote collaborative water management of the Mississippi River. The two groups will work together to promote a healthy, functioning, large-floodplain river system while meeting human needs and protecting the native biological diversity of the river.

From its headwaters at Lake Itasca in Minnesota, traveling 2,300 miles south to the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River basin contains some of the largest and most complex networks of freshwater lake, stream, marsh, and large-floodplain river ecosystems in the world.  The scope of the agreement includes the Mississippi River, its floodplains and tributaries within the operational boundaries of USACE-MVD.

“Our history of working together on river systems is a long and successful one,” said Mike Andrews, chief conservation officer of The Nature Conservancy.  “The Conservancy benefits from the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers’ expertise and experience with river restoration and protection projects, and also from the Corps experience in assessing management options using modeling evaluations,” Andrews said.  The Conservancy is actively engaged in conservation work in each of the states within the Mississippi River basin.

The USACE-MVD and the Conservancy will establish a process for planning, implementing and evaluating proposed projects and programs. Under the agreement, they will share information and expertise, and explore potential restoration and water-management projects. Projects will be designed using the best technology and will include adaptive management opportunities.  Together the USACE-MVD and the Conservancy will monitor and assess the success of any joint projects, and will share the information with interested parties whose work will benefit restoration and water management projects throughout the region.

“This regional agreement between the USACE-MVD and The Nature Conservancy represents a significant step forward for ecosystem sustainability and watershed management in the Mississippi River basin,” said Brigadier General Don T. Riley, commander of the Mississippi Valley Division of the Corps.  “We look forward to a long and highly productive partnership enhancing the national economic and environmental benefits of the basin for generations to come,” Riley said.

Objectives of the Agreement:
· To promote the restoration and conservation of a functional floodplain ecosystem
· To promote the conservation, stabilization and restoration of functional stream/river channels and river banks
· To promote prudent and effective management of water resources
· To promote new and innovative techniques and strategies for managing water resources and for restoring channels, stream banks and floodplains

Both groups anticipate that as a result of the partnership, the  health of the Mississippi River basin will improve.  They will work together to promote the broader use of proven restoration and water level management tools and techniques.  The next step is for the Conservancy and the USACE-MVD to begin discussions on potential project sites.

“Underlying this agreement is a shared vision of restoring and protecting hundreds of miles of river, with all of the health and economic benefits that a functioning large-floodplain river will bring to the communities along the 2,300 mile corridor and its tributaries,” said Andrews. “We anticipate working collaboratively on these projects and others as we move forward, protecting these vital freshwater systems,” he said.

[Note to Media: for more information, an interview or photos, please contact Genie Lester at 312-759-8017 ext. 23, or on the cell at 312-925-6106.]

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The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, non-profit organization that preserves the plants, animals and natural communities representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit us on the Web at nature.org.