New Collaborative Effort Launched to Restore the Mississippi River

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February 2009 News and Updates Brazil Training Course is Expected to Improve Forest Restoration Efforts in Brazilian Cerrado >> China U.S.

1 Page 1 of 7 The Great Rivers Partnership was launched with a generous gift from Caterpillar Inc., through its foundation. It is part of many efforts at The Nature Conservancy to advance freshwater conservation around the world. Visit nature.org/freshwater for more information. February 2009 News and Updates Brazil Training Course is Expected to Improve Forest Restoration Efforts in Brazilian Cerrado >> China U.S. Geological Survey and Nature Conservancy to Participate in Third Yangtze Forum >> United States Conservationists and Farmers: Working Together to Improve Water Quality in the Mississippi >> In the News News from the world s great rivers Conference Alert New Collaborative Effort Launched to Restore the Mississippi River In December, The Monsanto Company and its partners The Nature Conservancy, Iowa Soybean Association, Delta Wildlife and The National Audubon Society launched an initiative to improve water quality and wildlife habitat in the Mississippi River Basin. The 2,320-mile-long Mississippi River is the third largest river system in the world and provides habitat for thousands of fish, birds and other wildlife. Its basin contains some of the most productive soil on Earth and is at the heart of the nation s agricultural economy. The partners will work with farmers to implement conservation projects that help reduce nutrient and sediment movement from agricultural fields into the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Too much sediment in streams can cover fish spawning beds and increase the river s flow rate, while elevated nutrient levels can cause algal blooms that rob the water of its life-giving oxygen. Best conservation practices will be shared with conservation and agriculture groups, government leaders and others interested in the health of the Mississippi. More >> March 10-12, 2009: Living with Floods From Science to Policy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa March 12, 2009: Emiquon Science 2009: Rebirth of Emiquon, Dickson Mounds Museum, Lewistown, Illinois

Page 2 of 7 March 16-22, 2009: 5 th World Water Forum: Bridging Divides for Water, Istanbul, Turkey July 12-17, 2009: First Triennial Symposium for the International Society of River Science, St.

2 Page 2 of 7 March 16-22, 2009: 5 th World Water Forum: Bridging Divides for Water, Istanbul, Turkey July 12-17, 2009: First Triennial Symposium for the International Society of River Science, St. Pete Beach, Florida July 20-24, 2009: 3 rd National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration, Los Angeles, California August 10-13, 2009: Visions of a Sustainable Mississippi River: Merging Ecological, Economic, and Cultural Values, Collinsville, Illinois Pictured Above: Wetland tour at Franklin demonstration farm in the Mackinaw River watershed, Lexington, Illinois. Timothy T. Lindenbaum/TNC Great Rivers is the electronic update of the Conservancy's Great Rivers Partnership. Please forward story ideas, events or announcements to charrington@tnc.org. To Unsubscribe from this e-newsletter, please syotter@tnc.org and put Unsubscribe in the subject line. Gretchen Benjamin accepts an award from Lt. Colonel Michael F. Clarke, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in November 2008 for her many contributions to conservation of the Mississippi River. Doug Blodgett/TNC Q & A with Gretchen Benjamin Assistant Director, Upper Mississippi River Program A native of Winona, Minnesota, Gretchen Benjamin joined The Nature Conservancy in November 2008 as Assistant Director of the Upper Mississippi River Program. She will help organize the Conservancy s efforts to develop a basin-wide strategy that recognizes the river s ecological and economic value. Gretchen will also serve as the primary liaison to partners including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Q: You ve been working on the Upper Mississippi River for almost 25 years. Can you share a few highlights with us? A: I got started on the Mississippi in 1984 when I went to work for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as a biologist doing fisheries research. Over time, my research expanded to include long-term monitoring of water quality and aquatic vegetation. It was a great way to get to know the river and understand how it functioned as a whole system. When I moved from being a field biologist to being a river manager, one of the highlights was working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on water level management. We started with smallscale drawdowns in the backwaters in 1997 and eventually progressed to large-scale drawdowns, first on Pool 8 and later on Pool 5. Seeing this restoration tool reinvigorate aquatic plants like arrowhead, river bulrush, wild rice and, to a lesser extent, submersed aquatic vegetation like wild celery and water star grass has been a rewarding experience. This vegetation is so critical for fish, waterfowl and other wildlife. More >> Copyright 2009 The Nature Conservancy

3 Page 3 of 7 New Collaborative Effort Launched to Restore the Mississippi River (continued) We re proud to work on this bold conservation initiative which we believe offers a sustainable vision for agricultural landscapes wherein farmers can support our world s growing needs for food, fiber and fuel in ways that not only preserve water quality, but also support diverse and abundant wildlife populations, said Jerry Steiner, executive vice president at Monsanto. As part of the new initiative, The Nature Conservancy will ramp up its efforts in four watersheds in the Upper Mississippi River basin: the Root River in southeastern Minnesota, the Pecatonica River in southern Wisconsin, the Boone River in northern Iowa and the Mackinaw River in central Illinois. The Conservancy will work with farmers and other local partners to study and implement conservation techniques that most effectively reduce nutrient and sediment concentrations in streams by reducing runoff from agricultural fields. Through this effort, the Conservancy will determine which techniques work best in a larger, sub-watershed system and communicate its findings to crop producers to help guide their farm stewardship decisions. The Iowa Soybean Association will conduct research on paired, micro-watersheds in two areas: the Boone and Raccoon rivers. The group will also coordinate conservation outreach in those watersheds including monitoring, measurement and evaluation of environmental outcomes. Farmers are emerging in key leadership roles through their investments, and by participating in the planning and implementation of practices that perform environmentally. It s our goal to support them and help them make meaningful progress, said Roger Wolf, director of environmental programs at the Iowa Soybean Association. Delta Wildlife will work with crop producers to install Best Management Practices (BMPs) on working farms in the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta region of the Lower Mississippi Valley. BMPs will be designed to reduce the movement of nutrients and sediments into streams while improving fish and wildlife habitat and water conservation. Results will be monitored, assessed and shared broadly with farmers across the region s rural landscape. Audubon will raise awareness of how people can be good stewards of nature in their own backyards. The project will focus on promoting specific individual actions to enhance water quality and habitat for birds and other wildlife. Audubon will broadly communicate these best practices throughout the Mississippi River watershed. Monsanto will commit more than $5 million to support these projects and work with its four partners to share data generated from all projects with its agricultural customers. The company will also encourage on-farm adoption of management practices that contribute to water quality improvements. This new effort by Monsanto will help show how we can make farming and conservation in the Mississippi River Basin more compatible so that nature and people alike benefit from improved water quality and enhanced wildlife habitat, said Michael Reuter, who oversees The Nature Conservancy s Great Rivers Partnership, which was created to help advance conservation of the world s major river systems, including the Mississippi. Q & A with Gretchen Benjamin Assistant Director, Upper Mississippi River Program (continued) Q: How do you think your work with The Nature Conservancy on the Mississippi River will be different from your previous experience? A: I m still figuring that out. But thanks to some early exposure to the conservation work the Conservancy is doing in the tributary watersheds that feed into the Mississippi, I m pleased to see the connections the Conservancy is making between the river and its watershed. Working in both places

4 Page 4 of 7 is a huge undertaking, but leadership along these lines was definitely needed, and I m glad the Conservancy has gotten involved. The organization has formed important partnerships with landowners, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and county agencies in the watersheds and with state and federal agencies on the river and its floodplain, and I hope to help deliver steady, dependable funding to all of this innovative work. Q: Speaking of funding, you ve been a longtime advocate for the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP). Why is it critical that Congress appropriate the funds that have been authorized under this program? A: For years, we ve done a lot of good monitoring and restoration work on the Upper Mississippi, including building islands, dredging backwaters and restoring side channels, with funding from the Environmental Management Program. But on a system the size of the Mississippi, it just hasn t been enough to do what s really needed to restore lost habitat, and some things like pool drawdowns couldn t be funded through that program. NESP provides us with some exciting new possibilities including the ability to reconnect the river with its floodplains. For example, under NESP, the Army Corps, conservation groups and others will be able to buy land behind a levee and either remove the levee or partially breach it to restore that vital interchange of water between the river and its floodplain. Q: Why is consistent funding for NESP so critical? Noteworthy The Conservancy is working with a coalition of navigation, state government and conservation partners to advocate that Congress appropriate funds to implement the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program. One of the coalition s recent initiatives was a letter to the editor promoting green infrastructure projects that would grow the economy while restoring the ecological health of the Mississippi River and easing traffic congestion by improving navigation. A: On the monitoring side, we need consistent, long-term data to make good restoration decisions. If we have to stop collecting data for a year because we don t have the funding, we miss important seasonal changes on the river. On the restoration side, we are talking about large, complex projects that take lots of planning up front to make them happen. So you need to know the money will be there when they re ready to go. It s similar to a large highway project. You ve done all the planning and are into your first year of construction and then the funds suddenly aren t available for a year or two and you have to put the project on hold. It s the same on the Mississippi River but less noticeable to the public than an unfinished highway. The Conservancy has developed a strong partnership with the navigation industry, the five Upper Mississippi states and other nonprofits to advocate for consistent appropriations for NESP, and I look forward to assisting with this effort in every way I can. Letter to the Editor from Minnesota s union carpenters and The Nature Conservancy, January 2009 Invest in the Mississippi River With the current economic crisis, Minnesota s union carpenters, through the Waterways Council, join The Nature Conservancy in urging Congress to create immediate construction jobs by investing in the Mississippi River System. Restoring the Mississippi and Illinois rivers will grow the nation s economy and create green jobs that help address the region s long-term economic, energy and environmental problems. Congress authorized a groundbreaking dual-purpose plan for these rivers in the Navigation- Ecosystem Sustainability Program last year. It now has a chance to put skilled tradesmen and tradeswomen to work on green infrastructure projects that restore the ecological health of the Mississippi River and ease traffic congestion by improving navigation. Ecosystem enhancement projects under NESP would provide a healthier river by restoring native plants, fish and wildlife, benefiting people who enjoy and rely upon a healthy ecosystem. They would also minimize opportunities for invasive species to wreak havoc on native species as well as our

5 Page 5 of 7 water quality and supply. NESP projects also represent infrastructure investments that help ensure the efficient movement of coal, cement, petroleum products, steel, agricultural products and other commodities. Moving more than 625 million tons annually, worth over $70 billion, our river system provides answers to our transportation, energy, and economic challenges. A single barge tow moves the same capacity as 1,050 trucks for dry cargo, or 2,160 trucks for liquid cargo. As many as 35,000 jobs would be created for each $1 billion investment, according to federal government estimates. Creating jobs that restore the environment and enhance commerce is a sound investment. Kyle Makarios, Political Director North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters Vince Shay, Upper Mississippi River Program Director The Nature Conservancy Back to Q & A with Gretchen Benjamin Training Course is Expected to Improve Forest Restoration Efforts in Brazilian Cerrado In late 2008, the Conservancy trained 25 rural technicians in the São Lourenço watershed on forest restoration techniques. The technicians are forestry and agricultural engineers who work with private landowners on land restoration. The training course is part of the Conservancy s ongoing effort to provide landowners with the knowledge and resources they need to restore forests and other native vegetation along streams in the São Lourenço watershed. The watershed is located in the Brazilian Cerrado, which is the world s most biologically rich savanna. Restoring forest habitat along streams in the Cerrado region will help protect water quality in local streams and downstream in the Pantanal, the world s largest freshwater wetland. At 68,000 square miles, it is almost 10 times the size of the Everglades. Illustration from a Nature Conservancy manual on low-cost restoration techniques that shows a fenced area (left) where native vegetation is recovering in the absence of clearing and cattle grazing versus an unfenced area (right) where most of the native vegetation is gone. Esalq/Usp The course consisted of four weeks of theory and practical application during which technicians learned: 1) the basic concepts of forest restoration, 2) how to use satellite photo interpretation and field checking to identify vegetation cover and create maps of restoration areas, 3) how to create a restoration plan, 4) restoration techniques including identification of existing seed banks and seed nursery establishment and 5) monitoring techniques to evaluate restoration progress. To support this training, the Conservancy published a manual on low-cost restoration techniques including the need to control factors that cause degradation such as cattle grazing near streambanks and the use of fire for pasture management. The need for this type of restoration training was identified after a study, which was conducted by the Restoration Ecology Lab at the University of São Paulo, showed that 40 percent of the riparian forests in the 1.8-million-acre São Lourenço watershed have been destroyed and 17 percent of the legal reserves have been converted for agricultural use. Legal reserves required by Brazilian legislation on all rural properties are lands set aside by landowners and maintained in a state of natural vegetation. In the Cerrado, at least 20 percent of each property must be protected as a legal reserve.

6 Page 6 of 7 The study is part of the Great Rivers Partnership Sustainable Cerrado, Agriculture and Conservation project, which is designed to protect freshwater habitats in an important agricultural region. The Conservancy has mapped more than 2,000 rural properties in the São Lourenço watershed using satellite images and is working with landowners and partners to restore at least 370,000 acres of riparian forests and legal reserve areas in the watershed. U.S. Geological Survey and Nature Conservancy to Participate in Third Yangtze Forum The Third Yangtze Forum will take place on April 20-21, 2009, at Pudong Shangri-La in Shanghai, China. This forum, hosted by the Shanghai Municipal Government and co-organized by the Changjiang Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources, is part of an ongoing effort to engage society in protecting, managing and developing the Yangtze River in a way that ensures a healthy river for future generations. This year, The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Geological Survey will co-sponsor a Great Rivers sub-forum. Five USGS scientists have been invited to participate including Dr. Susan Haseltine, Associate Director for Biology, who will talk about USGS strategies and research related to climate change; Dr. Gregory J. Smith, USGS National Wetlands Research Center Director, who will talk about the Delta Research and Global Observation Network; and Dr. Michael Jawson, USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center Director, who will talk about the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program for the Upper Mississippi River. The theme of the Third Yangtze Forum is Yangtze Estuary Cities, and the proposed sub-forums include Climate Change and City Safety, Estuary Management and Ecological Protection, Integrated Management in River Basins and Great Rivers. Representatives from several governmental authorities in China, including the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the State Forestry Administration and 11 riparian provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, have confirmed their participation. International guests from more than 20 countries representing governments, institutions, corporations and non-governmental organizations will also participate. The Yangtze Forum is the most prominent conference in China that focuses on policy and science issues for the dual purpose of sustainable development and environmental protection of the Yangtze River. It is supported by the Chinese government and open to the general public including academia and non-governmental organizations. For more details, please visit the Forum s website. Conservationists and Farmers Working Together to Improve Water Quality in the Mississippi Across the Upper Mississippi River basin, Nature Conservancy scientists are discovering new ways to improve the quality of water running from farmland into the Mississippi River and, ultimately, the Gulf of Mexico. Read more about how wetlands and bioreactors placed in corn and soybean fields in Illinois and Minnesota are helping improve water quality across the system, from the smallest tributaries all the way to the Gulf. View a slide show of innovative new techniques to reduce agricultural runoff into the Mississippi River and get more details from the lead scientist working on one of them.

7 In the News Page 7 of 7 China Tibetan Plateau in Peril Far Eastern Economic Review Political advisor suggests closer monitoring to protect world's highest wetlands Xinhua News Agency China China plans water conservation, control projects along Yangtze River Xinhua News Agency China United States Biologists concerned dredging Savannah River could affect prehistoric fish The Beaufort Gazette Beaufort, South Carolina Great Rivers African Fish Need a Little Electricity for Love to Bloom The New York Times Lao Dams Muddying the Waters The Phnom Penh Post Cambodia To Unsubscribe from this e-newsletter, please syotter@tnc.org and put Unsubscribe in the subject line.

Upper Mississippi River Conference 2016 Action Agenda: Raise the Grade

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