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The Nature Conservancy in Africa - Conservation in Africa

The Nature Conservancy in Asia Pacific - Conservation in Asia-Pacific

The Nature Conservancy in the Caribbean - Conservation in the Caribbean

The Nature Conservancy in Central America - Conservation in Central America

The Nature Conservancy in North America - Conservation in North America

The Nature Conservancy in the United States - Conservation in the United States

The Nature Conservancy in South America - Conservation in South America

September 30, 2003

Contact: 

Genie Ehnis-Lester, The Nature Conservancy (312) 759-8017 x23, gehnis-lester@tnc.org

Rob Riordan, NatureServe (703) 908-1831, rob_riordan@natureserve.org

Quick Facts from the Upper Mississippi River Basin Report

The Report

  • This is the first comprehensive report of this type that identifies priority areas for freshwater conservation in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. It provides details regarding the numbers of fish, mussels, and crayfish¾ and how many species are at risk.
  • Information from the natural heritage programs, university researchers, and state and federal agencies, was used in the assessment for this report.
  • Principal co-authors of the report are aquatic ecologists Roy E. Weitzell of NatureServe and Mary Lammert Khoury of The Nature Conservancy.
  • The report is the culmination of a two-year study sponsored by the McKnight Foundation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Ecosystem Statistics

  • The network of streams within the basin represents more than 200 (237) types of aquatic settings in the basin and identifies the best places for conserving well over 100 of the basin's rare, imperiled and declining aquatic species.
  • While the entire basin has 237 freshwater ecosystem types, the main stem of the Mississippi contains only 11 of these ecosystem types. With the remaining 226 ecosystem types outside of the main stem, it is critical to protect the tributaries and small creeks as well as the Big River.
  • The report identifies 47 areas that are priorities for both aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity conservation, and provides detailed descriptions of these areas.
  • Only about 20 percent of the basin remains in its natural state; levees isolate 40 percent of the original floodplain along the main stem (the Mississippi and Illinois rivers).
  • Significant threats to the region's aquatic diversity include: habitat loss and alteration, water quality declines, alterations of water flows, and invasive species.

Species Statistics

  • The basin harbors 200 native fish species. Twelve of these fish species are globally rare, and two are federally listed as endangered.
  • The basin is a global flyway for 60 percent of all North American bird species.
  • The basin supports 286 state-listed species and 36 federally listed or candidate threatened or endangered plant and animal species.
  • Invasive species include 55 non-native aquatic animals and 12 non-native plants.

The report and its appendices may be viewed and downloaded at no cost from http://www.conserveonline.org (select browse library) or from www.natureserve.org.