We're celebrating the most complete understanding of any large river ecosystem in the world and the cooperative monitoring that led us here.
The Upper Mississippi River Restoration, or UMRR, program is a unique, collaborative, science-based restoration program that uses state-of-the-art research and monitoring to understand changing environmental conditions of the river. UMRR is implemented through a partnership of federal and state agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals. Long Term Resource Monitoring, an element under UMRR, provides scientific knowledge of the complex dynamics and interactions among various ecosystem characteristics and watershed drivers, including the influence of habitat projects on the Upper Mississippi River System. By collecting and evaluating data over decades, scientists can assess the health of the river and target habitat restoration projects for the greatest benefit of the river ecosystem.
With 30 years of monitoring, UMRR has extensive knowledge of ecological processes, function, structure, and composition on the Upper Mississippi River System and can assess and detect changes in the key components of the Upper Mississippi River ecosystem.
UMRR has published three reports of the river's ecological status and trends using Long Term Monitoring Data. The latest report was published in June 2022 and provides a clear and quantitative assessment of our understanding of how the Upper Mississippi River ecosystem is doing, how we know that, and why it matters. This new report presents the most complete understanding of any large river ecosystem in the world. The full report is available here: https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20221039
The Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) program, implemented through a partnership of federal and state agencies, nongovernmental organizations and individuals, has released five snapshot summaries on the ecological status and trends of the Upper Mississippi River System.
Some key findings:
- The Upper Mississippi River System is a large and diverse ecosystem with many regional differences. Long term monitoring has captured changes occurring differently and at different rates within the river system.
- US Geological Survey, US Army Corps of Engineers, and the five Upper Mississippi River Basin states have partnered to monitor the river’s health, creating the largest dataset of any large river in the world.
- Why monitor the Upper Mississippi River System? By collecting and evaluating long term resource monitoring water, fish, land use, and vegetation data over decades, scientists can assess the health of the river and target habitat restoration projects and management actions for the greatest benefit of the river ecosystem.
Fisheries
How is the fish habitat changing in the Upper Mississippi River system?
- Portions of the Upper Mississippi River System are experiencing an increase in native fish thanks in part to improved water clarity and more aquatic plant life.
- As bigheaded carp move to new areas in the river system, native filter feeding fishes like paddlefish are declining in number.
- Forage fish, a vital food source for larger fish and wildlife of the Upper Mississippi River System, are declining throughout much of the river network.
Aquatic Plants
- Did you know that aquatic plants help to improve water clarity and that water clarity helps aquatic plants grow? Most of the Upper Mississippi River System has seen an increase in the diversity and abundance of aquatic plants, a vital part of our ecosystem.
- Millions of birds migrate through the Upper Mississippi River System every year. These birds - as well as fish and other wildlife – depend on aquatic plants as a vital food source and habitat. Our understanding of where aquatic plants can grow and where plant restoration is likely to succeed is vital to supporting those populations. We’ve been monitoring this for more than 30 years.
Water Quality
- Improved watershed practices are having a positive impact on the water quality of the Upper Mississippi River System.
Floodplain Forests
- Floodplain forests are vital habitat for wildlife, store carbon and improve water quality. They are declining in the Upper Mississippi River system due to invasive species, flooding, human modifications to the river and environmental changes. Floodplain forests are damaged when floods occur too often or when trees are under water for too long. Multiple agencies are working together to manage and restore forests which will benefit wildlife but also benefit recreational users of the river.
Sediment
- Sediment can reduce depth of and water flow to backwater lakes, impacting habitat for some fish species. In the Mississippi River, more sediment is entering the river system, likely due to both climate impacts and human activity, such as a change from forested landcover to agricultural landcover.
- The Upper Mississippi River Restoration program monitors the dynamics of erosion and sedimentation on the Upper Mississippi River, which helps to predict future habitat availability for aquatic and floodplain plants and animals.
- The Upper Mississippi River System is experiencing more water, more of the time. In some locations, sediment is moving to backwater lakes and reducing vital habitat for overwintering fish. In other locations, sediment is being deposited on riverbanks, which increases habitat for willow, cottonwood, and some shorebirds. Long-term monitoring of sediment dynamics in the Upper Mississippi River System allows resource managers to address the most vital restoration projects for the health of the river ecosystem
UMRR in the St. Paul District
- Since 1986, the UMRR program has completed 62 habitat projects that improved critical fish and wildlife habitat on 120,000 acres in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. From 2005 to 2015, UMRR projects benefited nearly 35,000 acres of habitat – nearly 50% of all habitat reported by the Corps nationally.
- As of 2023, the St. Paul District has completed 30 HREP projects, which is almost half (62) of the completed HREP projects.
- Our partners include: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa departments of natural resources, other federal agencies, non-governmental organizations and the public.
- In 2022, the St. Paul District completed a record amount of habitat rehabilitation and enhancement projects in the same year. Harpers Slough, Conway Lake and Bass Ponds all celebrated their completion with project dedications.
- Current St. Paul District projects include: McGregor Lake, Big Lake, Robinson Lake, Reno Bottoms and Lower Pool 10 HREPs, which are in different phases of planning, design, and construction. McGregor Lake is currently under construction.
- Habitat projects have restored and connected 120,000 acres along the Upper Mississippi River, with an additional 65,000 acres of habitat projects planned for the next decade. These projects provide vital habitat for diverse fish and wildlife species, including rare and endangered species.
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