For immediate release:
June 9, 2022
June 9, 2022
From headwaters to the gulf, groups support MRRRI Act
Contacts:
• MRRRI Collaborative communications support: sue rich, Friends of the Mississippi River, 612-961-6717
• Primary interviewee / representative for MRRRI-supporting organizations: Kelly McGinnis, Executive Director, Mississippi River Network, 708-305-3524, kmcginnis@1mississippi.org
• Dead Zone and dredge-related issues: Matt Rota, Senior Policy Director, Healthy Gulf, 504-525-1528 x206, matt@healthygulf.org
• Rep. Betty McCollum communications support: Amanda Yanchury, 202-597-1228
• Additional contact: Trevor Russell, Water Program Director, Friends of the Mississippi River, 612-388-8856, trussell@fmr.org
• MRRRI Collaborative communications support: sue rich, Friends of the Mississippi River, 612-961-6717
• Primary interviewee / representative for MRRRI-supporting organizations: Kelly McGinnis, Executive Director, Mississippi River Network, 708-305-3524, kmcginnis@1mississippi.org
• Dead Zone and dredge-related issues: Matt Rota, Senior Policy Director, Healthy Gulf, 504-525-1528 x206, matt@healthygulf.org
• Rep. Betty McCollum communications support: Amanda Yanchury, 202-597-1228
• Additional contact: Trevor Russell, Water Program Director, Friends of the Mississippi River, 612-388-8856, trussell@fmr.org
June has been a mixed month for the Mississippi River.
On the 3rd, NOAA scientists forecasted that this summer’s dead zone where the river meets the Gulf of Mexico will once again be larger than the state of Connecticut. A dead zone is an area with little or no oxygen that can kill fish and other aquatic life. The Gulf Dead Zone is fueled by fertilizer pollution flowing into the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
But a few days later, an effort to restore the Mississippi River to a healthier state became over 100 organizations strong.
“We are clearly not on track to reduce the size of the Dead Zone,” said Matt Rota, senior policy director for Healthy Gulf in New Orleans. “It’s definitely time to try something different.”
This is one of the many reasons Healthy Gulf and over 100 other organizations are calling for a new federal program to support and coordinate Mississippi River restoration and resilience opportunities from the headwaters to the gulf.
Representative Betty McCollum of Minnesota and original co-sponsors Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, Rep. John Yarmuth of Kentucky, Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi put forth a bill to create a federal Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative, the MRRRI Act, last summer in the House. While lauding previous efforts to “protect a river that is also the source of drinking water for 20 million Americans, a place for families to enjoy and an important flyway for migratory birds—all while supporting jobs and economic growth up and down the river corridor,” McCollum noted that “a coordinated federal effort is necessary to restore the health of this vital waterway.”
“We have over 100 endorsing organizations, coming from all of the 10 riverfront states,” said Kelly McGinnis, executive director of the national Mississippi River Network, a leader in the collaborative effort to back the initiative. “Our member organizations all work hard to protect the river, but we need a truly holistic effort.”
This week, June 6-12, the Network is supporting dozens of events from the headwaters to the gulf as part of its annual “River Days of Action.” In addition to cleanups, habitat restoration outings, and webinars, the public is also invited to sign on to a letter to Congress supporting the federal Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative.
The proposed initiative would rely on a voluntary approach similar to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, noted Trevor Russell, water program director for Friends of the Mississippi River. If passed, the MRRRI Act would support a coordinated investment through federal, state, tribal and community agencies and organizations for projects to improve water quality, restore habitat and natural systems, reduce aquatic invasive species, and build local resilience to natural disasters in and along the Mississippi River.
The MRRRI Act follows the successful model of other EPA geographic programs that support watersheds around the nation, such as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, by employing a non-regulatory approach to advancing strategic restoration and resilience work through an agenda set by stakeholders on the ground.
"When compared to other vital waters throughout the country, the Mississippi River has long been neglected,” said Rota.
“This initiative would be an incredible resource for the communities and wildlife that depend on the river," said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, another lead organization in the effort. “It’s time for a comprehensive restoration program.”
Endorsers of the MRRRI Act so far include:
American Farmland Trust
American Federation of Government Employees – Local 704
American Rivers
American Sportfishing Association
Arkansas Wildlife Federation
Atchafalaya Basinkeeper
Audubon Center at Riverlands
Audubon Minnesota
Association of Minnesota Counties
Big Muddy Adventures
Bird Conservation Network
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development (CSED)
CURE (Clean Up the River Environment)
Clean River Partners (formerly Cannon River Watershed Partnership)
Clean Water Action Minnesota
Clean Wisconsin
Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa
Conservation Federation of Missouri
Conservation Minnesota
Dailey Farms LLC
DownRiver Alliance
Environment Missouri
Freshwater
Friends for Our Riverfront
Friends of Pool 2
Friends of the Falls
Friends of the Minnesota Valley
Friends of the Mississippi River
Friends of the Upper Mississippi
Great Lakes Fishery Commission
Great River Passage Conservancy
Green Lands Blue Waters
Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy
Hastings Environmental Protectors
HeadWaters Consulting, Inc.
Healthy Gulf
Illinois Environmental Council
Illinois Stewardship Alliance
Iowa Coldwater Conservancy
Iowa Environmental Council
Iowa Rivers Revival
Izaak Walton League of America
Izaak Walton League of America MN Division
Kentucky Waterways Alliance
Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance
League of Conservation Voters
League of Minnesota Cities
LWV Upper Mississippi River Region ILO
Louisiana Environmental Action Network
Lower Mississippi River Foundation
Lower Phalen Creek Project
Minnesota Association of Watershed Districts
Minnesota Conservation Federation
Minnesota Environmental Partnership
Minnesota Forestry Association
Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light
Minnesota Well Owners Organization (MNWOO)
Mississippi Park Connection
Mississippi River Network
Mississippi River Trust
Mississippi Valley Traveler
Mississippi Wildlife Federation
Missouri Coalition for the Environment
Missouri Parks Association
Missouri River Bird Observatory
Monarch Joint Venture
National Association of Counties
National Audubon Society
National Caucus of Environmental Legislators
National Eagle Center
National Great Rivers Research and Education Center
National League of Cities
National Loon Center
National Marine Manufacturers Association
National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium
National Parks Conservation Association
National Wildlife Federation
Newport Citizens Organization
Openlands
Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota
Prairie Island Indian Community
Prairie Rivers Network
Quapaw Canoe Company
St. Paul Yacht Club
Sierra Club (National)
Sierra Club Illinois Chapter
Sierra Club North Star Chapter, Minnesota
Sierra Club Missouri Chapter
Sierra Club Tennessee Chapter
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
SouthWings
Stop Carp Coalition
Tennessee Environmental Council
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
University of Minnesota Deans and Vice-President of Research
Urban Bird Collective
Vote Climate
Wallace Center at Winrock International
Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans
The Wetlands Initiative
Wild Ones Native Landscaping St. Croix Oak Savanna Chapter
Wild Rivers Conservancy of the St. Croix & Namekagon
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About the MRRRI Collaborative
The Mississippi River Restoration & Resilience Initiative (MRRRI) Collaborative is composed of local, regional, state, and national organizations committed to working together to create a federally funded initiative focused on the Mississippi River. Currently, 105 organizations publicly support MRRRI.
Additional resources and contacts:
- Main MRRRI page from Mississippi River Network, mississippiriver.org/mrrri
Supplemental sources:
Potential image and video
Map of Gulf Dead Zone pollution sources from NOAA. (download)
Suggested caption: The Mississippi River watershed encompasses over 40% of the continental U.S. Discharges from agricultural and urban areas contribute to the annual summer hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Source: NOAA
· Great egret flying over river (download).
Suggested caption: The Mississippi River is a critical habitat highway or flyway for an estimated 60 percent of migrating bird species in North America, including the great egret above. Over 100 organizations are backing a bill to restore their river habitat and support clean drinking water and resilient river communities. (Photo by Tom Reiter for FMR)
· Possible video to embed: Mississippi's watershed from space from NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studios
Suggested caption: As seen in this NASA animation, water from roughly 40% of land in the continental United States drains into the Mississippi River. A new bill would help fund Mississippi River restoration projects up and down the river’s 10-state corridor. (NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio)
