The Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program – Integrating science, restoration and management.

Session: Great Lakes Fish Habitat Priorities Development, Implementation, and Adaptive Management (1)

Marshall Plumley, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, [email protected]

Abstract

The Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program was authorized in 1986 and is recognized as the first major effort to restore the vitality of the Upper Mississippi River System’s diverse and significant ecosystem.  In filling this role, it became the first major effort in the nation to include both large river restoration and scientific monitoring efforts.

During the last 32 years, the program has completed 56 projects that have improved more than 106,000 acres of aquatic and floodplain habitat.  There are currently 20 additional projects under design or construction, which will result in an additional 45,000 acres of restored habitat.  In addition to restoration projects, the UMRR has a rigorous research and long term resource monitoring element, where data on water quality, fish, and vegetation are collected and analyzed, and system-wide data acquisition for land cover-land use, bathymetry, and floodplain elevation are analyzed and provided.  Finally, the UMRR Program has pioneered a regional partnership comprised of five states, five federal agencies, numerous non-governmental organizations, public, and private businesses.

This presentation will provide an overview of the Program with an emphasis on three decades of lessons learned regarding project prioritization, large scale program implementation, and integrating science and restoration.