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

1. 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.

3. 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

6. Upper Mississippi River Navigation Dams Feet Miles

7. 1890 1990 Upper Third Middle Third Lower Third

8. Environmental Issues

9. 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”

10. 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).

11. 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

12. HABITAT REHABILITATION AND ENHANCEMENT PROJECTS ( 66%) LONG TERM RESOURCE MONITORING ( 32%) ELEMENTS OF THE UMRS ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF RECREATION AND NAVIGATION MONITORING ( > 1%)

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

15. Manufacturing-$126B R e v e n u e Tourism-$6.6B Agriculture-$5B Energy production-$4.7B Commercial Nav-$1B Harvest-$9M Recreation-$200M High Low Degree of Reliance on Water Quality UMR as a Multiple-use Environment • $145 Billion • 870,000 Jobs • 40% of Corridor output • 18% economic activity in 5-state area

17. 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: • convening diverse interests as an honest brokerto synthesize stakeholder perspectives with best science and practice to support a shared vision, and actionable programs, policies, and partnerships 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 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

18. On the Mississippi River

19. On the Yangtze River

20. Talks in Beijing at Hydrology Bureau