Environmental Management Program turns 20
The Environmental Management Program was authorized in 1986, making 2006 the 20th anniversary year for the program. This federal program is administered by the Corps of Engineers with the cooperation of the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, as well as US Fish and Wildlife Service and US Geological Survey. Two main program components, of habitat restoration and long term resource monitoring, were initially authorized at $21.5 million annually but were reauthorized in 1999 at $33.1 million annually and also received a continual authorization. Although the program has never received full funding, 2007 will provide the highest funding appropriation since the program started at almost $22 million. This level of funding will benefit the border water of Wisconsin with major river habitat restoration in lower Pool 8.
Since 1986, 15 habitat restoration projects have been built in Wisconsin border waters, restoring over 29,500 acres of riverine habitat, at a cost of $32,824,999. For the entire 1200 miles of Upper Mississippi River System, over 102,500 acres have been restored at a program cost of $179,519,826. Interestingly, the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) considers the program to be a national priority. OMB cites many reasons for this priority including the program’s restoration of a nationally scarce resource, the maintenance and creation of habitat connectivity, providing habitat for special species, the low restoration cost per acre, and the benefit that these projects are to a large extent self sustaining.
A second critical element of the Environmental Management Program is the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program for the Upper Mississippi River System. It is the nation’s first large-scale effort to determine the status and trends of water quality, fisheries and aquatic vegetation on a large river system. Five field stations dot the Mississippi River from Lake City, Minnesota to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and a sixth field station is located on the Illinois River at Havana, Illinois. These stations, including one located in La Crosse, Wisconsin, have collected over 2 million bits of information to provide natural resource managers with better information on how to manage river habitats for today and into the future.
The Upper Mississippi River Basin Association turns 25
On another front, the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association (UMRBA), which was formed in 1981, had their 100th meeting and 25th anniversary, in November 2006. The five member states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, decided in 1981 to continue a decommissioned federal organization called the Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission in order to maintain communication and cooperation among the states on matters related to water planning and management.
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