On April 15th and 16th in Chicago, Illinois, the America’s WETLAND Foundation – a non-profit working with industry and other NGO’s to restore wetlands on the Gulf Coast – will hold a conference with Governor Quinn on maintaining waterway commerce on the Mississippi River.

The Chicago location makes this event an ideal occasion for Governor Quinn and the state of Illinois to put forth a bold vision for the future of Chicago’s waterways. It is not in Illinois’ long term interests, either economic or environmental, to defer to a few commercial operators whose business model is one of taxpayer-funded river degradation.

Army Corps data has shown that commodity shipments through the Chicago Area Waterway System have declined precipitously in the preceding decades, with an approximately 45% drop in tonnage from 1994-2009. This is a timeframe that includes periods of significant growth for the national economy, and yet the trend is steadily downward.

There is no reason to allow the barge industry to hold Illinois hostage to a dying economic model. Chicago is one of the world’s great cities, and yet its rivers have been neglected, marked by a lack of public access and a legacy of pollution, as barges continuously churn up toxic sediments accumulated in the bottom of canals. Illinois need not go down with the ship, however. The state would be wise to transition to a green economy that showcases water as a community asset — making it publicly accessible, cleaning it up, and dealing with the invasive species problem.

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Asian carp were introduced to the southern U.S. in the 1970s in an effort to filter fish ponds. Unfortunately, they escaped into the wild, and as you can see from the map below, they’ve wasted no time spreading throughout the great river systems at the heart of the country.

Map created by the United States Geological Survey and National Wildlife Federation

According to the latest science, the Great Lakes are ideal habitat for Asian carp, so those big blue lakes up north are in serious danger of turning red. And with the Chicago Area Waterway System as the most likely route for invasion, steps must be taken to protect the invaluable Great Lakes and their many precious tributaries.

This map makes one thing abundantly clear – Asian carp and invasive species are a national problem, and we are going to need a solution scaled to the level of that problem. We need leadership, vision, and coordination between all levels of government and the private sector.

For Immediate Release

The New Madrid Floodway

August 17, 2012

River management issues presented at Corps public hearing in Alton

Alton, IL – Members of the Nicollet Island Coalition (NIC) today called on the Army Corps of Engineers to take decisive and prompt action to protect the Mississippi River from imminent, long-term damage due to poor river management decisions and stem the loss of benefits provided by the river’s floodplains and other natural functions. Today’s meeting was one of several being held along the Mississippi River as members of the Mississippi River Commission and Corps officials conduct their annual low-water inspection of the river. {Continue Reading »}

Potters Marsh is not just a place – it is a river restoration success story. Located within the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, the construction of Lock and Dam 13 downstream of the refuge area in the late 1930s drastically affected this unique backwater area. Sediments and silt accummulated behind the dam, filling in and seriously degrading wetlands, backwater lakes and marshes. Selected in the early 1990s to be restored under the Army Corps of Engineers’ Environmental Management Program, Potters Marsh once again provides essential habitat for wintering fish, scores of migratory birds and other wildlife.

Join Prairie Rivers Network and Upper Mississippi River refuge staff on Saturday, June 30 to explore Potters Marsh by canoe. There will be two programs, from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., and 1:00-4:00 p.m. Participants must be 12 years of age (accompanied by an adult) or older. Canoes and life vests will be provided or participants can bring their own equipment. This event is free, but space is limited. Preregistration is required. Canoes and life vests will be provided or participants can bring their own equipment. For additional information, contact Cecily Smith, csmith @ prairierivers.org, 217.351.0927.

The winning essay from Prairie Rivers Network’s “Our Upper Mississippi River: Connection, Inspiration, Transformation” essay contest!

Rebecca Gearhart

By Rebecca Gearhart

The gentle way that the Mississippi River flowed past my childhood home did not change much during the 1970s and 80s when I lived there, and its presence was a source of stability when everything else seemed to move too fast. The river figures prominently in my earliest memories, and “foofoo,” the name I called it, was one of the first words in the unique vocabulary that I spoke. Having the river in my life was a privilege that I can honestly say my younger sister and I were aware of while growing up. This is because our parents consciously positioned our activities indoors and outdoors so that we could not only see the river, but watch it. My mother’s favorite place in the house was the bay window in our living room, where she perched each morning while she sipped her coffee. My father’s morning spot was the hot tub he built on our deck over-looking the river, in which he read the daily paper—even in the winter. {Continue Reading »}

Banner Marsh HREP, Illinois (Credit: Jerry Milam)

With spring’s longer and warmer days, many of us are getting out to enjoy Illinois’ multitude of  diverse rivers and streams.  These winding  waterways are often the closest, perhaps the only, bit of natural landscape that many Illinois residents have for recreation and rejuvenation.

A few of us might still be stuck inside, scrambling to finish our tax returns. This year, whether you are writing a check to, or waiting for a check from, Uncle Sam, you may wonder how your tax dollars are being spent, and if they are being spent wisely, when it comes to protecting Illinois’ rivers. {Continue Reading »}