Columbia Park Neighborhood Association

Future Of the Mississippi River:

Feb 21, 2003

From the Camden Community News (December 2002):

Future Of the Mississippi River:
Have your say on Environmental pool plans
by Candice L. Sartell

For the past two years the U.S. army corps of engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and the Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa Departments of Natural Resources have worked together as the Fish and Wildlife Work Group of the River Resources Forum to develop pool plans that will serve as guidelines for future programs and projects for river management. The intended result is to develop common habitat goals and objectives for the upper Mississippi River. The draft Environmental Pool Plan document (reach plan) says this effort ?“represents what river managers and the public have identified as the habitat and features necessary to reverse negative trends in habitat quality and move toward a more sustainable ecosystem.?”
Pool plans are descriptions of the Mississippi?’s desired conditions based on the river?’s ecosystem, past habitat projects and observations from river managers, biologists, and the public. The Reach Plan?’s project area includes 11 pools from Minneapolis to Guttenberg, Iowa as well as a portion of the Minnesota and St. Croix Rivers. A pool is an area of the river between two lock and dams. Pool 1 includes the Mississippi River from the Coon Rapids Dam to the Ford Dam in ST. Paul and is of greatest interest to the Camden [Columbia Park] Community. This river expanse is also significant because it falls within the scope of the Above the Falls Citizen Advisory Committee (AFCAC) in guiding future river corridor developement.
The Reach Plan describes how the Mississippi River was altered to meet the needs of human habitation and safe river navigation from obstructions, and provided locks and dams construction for commercial navigation. The impact of these actions determines how to improve the river?’s ecosystem. The Reach Plan does not suggest that commercial navigation will be eliminated. While the Minneapolis Plan (Above the Falls) is referenced in the Reach Plan for pool 1 and suggests that commercial transportation will be terminated, it also states ?“elimination of all traffic is unlikely in the forseeable future.?” Randy Urich, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers forester, says the Work Group?’s planning guidelines recognizes that they?’re working within certain constraints, and ?“navigation isn?’t going to go away so we would not promote that.?” But there are other actions to take to create a win/win for everyone with an interest in the river. According to Urich, ?“It won?’t be the pristine river of the past but, hopefully, it will be better than it is.?”
Some conditions that have contributed to the degradation of the river and loss of habitat include land use practices, shoreline erosion and island loss. The Reach Plan states ?“these changes in combination with water quality issues, commercial and recreational use issues and exotic species issues, have acted to reduce the productivity and biological diversity of the Upper Mississippi River and will continue to do so?” unless corrective measures are taken. Nine goals are identified for improving habitat conditions, including improving water quality, reducing erosion and sediment impacts, severing pathways for exotic species and providing native fish passage at dams. accomplishing these goals requires promoting watershed management programs and restoring native plant communities.
Reversing past negative impacts will require a change in the way we do things. Businesses will have to conform to more rigid environmental practices and the city will have to make tough decisions on developements affecting the river. Likewise, we as individuals will have to be more responsible in how we use the river for recreation and how we do lawn care, use and disposal of household chemicals, etc. The Mississippi River is the source of our drinking water, the home to aquatic terrestrial plants and animals, and is a bird migratory flyway. Every action has an impact elsewhere. Everything that is released from our activities that is soluble or capable of being carried by water ends up in the river.
River communities ar rediscovering the Mississippi as an amenity and are proactively tackling new developement and environmental issues. There are alsoorganizations working to implement these changes, such as the AFCAC, representing neighborhood organizations, industry/business and environmental groups for the Above the Falls plan. Wayne Olson, Minneapolis Community Developement Agency project coordinator, thinks the AFCAC has a unique oppurtunity to assist the River Resorce Forum?’s work group as they move ahead drafting the pool plans. Not only can the group be a voice for the upper river community, Olson says, it can also be ?“an invaluable resource for historical informtion, current wishes and future plans.?”

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This article summarizes information on resource issues, future goals and objectives from the Environmental Pool Plan (Reach Plan) and Pool 1 Plan. Visit the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website for mor einformation at http://www.mvp.army.mil/environment/default.asp?pageid=116
The public is encouraged to comment on Environmental Pool Plans by March 1. The Fish and Wildlife Work Group will seek endorsement at the River Resource Forum in April. Comments and Questions can be mailed or emailed to Randy Urich, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,Natural Resource Project, 1114 S. Oak St., La Crescent, MN 55947-1560 or
randall.r.urich@usace.army.mil.
As a neighborhood which is in direct contact with the Mississippi River the CPNA is afforded one representative and two alternate members to the aforementioned AFCAC. Currently there is one representative and one alternate serving on the AFCAC on behalf of the CPNA but another alternate is needed. If you find river issues interesting or are passionate about the future development of the river please sign up for this seat. The meetings are held once a month (fourth Tuesday) and only one of the three CPNA members need attend (although all three are always welcome). Please contact Ryan Curry at 612-578-8922 if you might be interested. Thank you.