Waterway Transportation and the
Environmental Management
Program in the Upper Mississippi
River System
尹耀 (Yin Yao)
Director of International Strategies, The Nature Conservancy Great
Rivers Partnership;
and
Ecologist, United States Geological Survey Upper Midwest
Environmental Sciences Center.
2630 Fanta Reed Road, La Crosse, Wisconsin 54603, USA.
Third largest river system in the world
- migratory flyway for 40% of
nations waterfowl
- Over 250 species fish – critical
N/S migration corridor
-326 bird species (60% of all
species in N. America)
- 37 species of mussels
Feet
Upper Mississippi River Navigation Dams
Miles
1890
1990
Upper Third
Middle Third
Lower Third
Environmental
Issues
What Led to Monitoring on the UMR?
• 1968 Lock and Dam 26 expansion recommendation
– 1970 appropriated to run through 1975
• 1974 lawsuits filed, Court stopped
• Initiated 1974-1976: by UMR Basin Commission
– 1980 GREAT I and II “A study of the Upper
Mississippi River”
– GREAT River Resource Management Study, 1982
• UMR Basin Commission Master Plan published 1982
– 12 recommendation on navigation and environment
– Draft bill “Upper Mississippi River System Management
Act”
– Draft Long-term Resource Monitoring Plan (Technical
Report F)
• WRDA 1986 Section 1103 “Upper Mississippi River
Plan”
National Significance of
Upper Mississippi River System
“… the intent of Congress to recognize that
system as a nationally significant ecosystem
and a nationally significant commercial
navigation system. … shall be administered and
regulated in recognition of its several
purposes.”
Citation: Water Resources Development Act of 1986, Section 1103(a)(2).
Congressional Language for the
Environmental Management Program
(HREP, LTRMP/CIA)
• The Secretary of the Army, in consultation with the
Secretary of the Interior and the States of Illinois,
Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin…..as
identified in the Master Plan
– Planning, construction, and evaluation of measures
for fish and wildlife habitat rehabilitation and
enhancement (NTE$13 m annually ~69%): HREP
– Long-term resource monitoring program ($5 m
~26%): LTRMP
– Computerized inventory and analysis system
$.876m ~5%: CIA
Also authorized LD 26 second lock
ELEMENTS OF THE UMRS
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
HABITAT REHABILITATION AND ENHANCEMENT PROJECTS
( 66%)
LONG TERM RESOURCE MONITORING
( 32%)
ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF RECREATION
AND NAVIGATION MONITORING
( > 1%)
How….
Examples that may serve your purposes as well….
UMR as a Multiple-use Environment
•
•
•
•
Manufacturing-$126B
$145 Billion
870,000 Jobs
40% of Corridor output
18% economic activity
in 5-state area
R
e
v
e
n
u
e
Tourism-$6.6B
Agriculture-$5B
Energy production-$4.7B
Commercial
Nav-$1B
Low
Harvest-$9M
Recreation-$200M
High
Degree of Reliance on Water Quality
Great Rivers Partnership: Mission and Strategy
The Great Rivers Partnership will advance sustainable
management of the Mississippi River system, and
share knowledge and expertise to inform the
management of other great rivers by:
1) convening diverse interests as an honest broker to
synthesize stakeholder perspectives with best
science and practice to support a shared vision,
and actionable programs, policies, and
partnerships
2) acting as a solutions provider and innovator in cooperation with a global network of expertise
that helps inform and solve the most critical management challenges, through projects that
demonstrate a systems approach using science-based adaptive management
3) communicating as a unified expert voice on pertinent issues so as to build an informed
constituency for the Mississippi River system and great rivers around the world
On the Mississippi River
On the Yangtze River
Talks in Beijing at Hydrology Bureau