Waterway Transportation and the Environmental Management Program in the Upper Mississippi River System

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

Miles

Feet

Upper Mississippi River Navigation Dams

1890 1990

Upper Third

Lower Third

Middle 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

LONG TERM RESOURCE MONITORING( 32%)

ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF RECREATIONAND NAVIGATION MONITORING

( > 1%)

HABITAT REHABILITATION AND ENHANCEMENT PROJECTS( 66%)

How….Examples that may serve your purposes as well….

UMR as a Multiple-use Environment

Revenue

Degree of Reliance on Water QualityLow High

Manufacturing-$126B

Tourism-$6.6BAgriculture-$5B

Energy production-$4.7B

Commercial Nav-$1B Recreation-$200M

Harvest-$9M

• $145 Billion• 870,000 Jobs• 40% of Corridor output• 18% economic activity

in 5-state area

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