Location
The UMRR (Upper Mississippi River Restoration) Program includes the Upper Mississippi River between the Twin Cities, Minnesota and the mouth of the Ohio River, the Illinois Waterway and small portions of tributaries that have commercial navigation channels.
Description
The UMRR Program was authorized by the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 1986 and continuously authorized by WRDA 1999. The program consists of two primary elements: habitat rehabilitation projects and systemic monitoring and research. Some of the key provisions of the program are: 1) a continuing authority; 2) total authorized annual funding amount is $55,000,000; and 3) the requirement for a Report to Congress every six years to evaluate the Program and document progress and its accomplishments and identify systemic habitat needs.
The UMRR Program was the first environmental restoration and monitoring program undertaken on a large river system in the United States. The UMRR Program has come to be recognized as the single most important effort committed to ensuring the viability and vitality of the UMRS' diverse and significant fish and wildlife resources since establishment of the National Wildlife Refuges on that system in the 1920s.
This systemic program provides a well-balanced combination of habitat restoration activities, along with monitoring and research. UMRR has pioneered many new and innovative engineering and planning techniques for ecosystem restoration in large river systems. In addition, the science element of the UMRR has developed state-of-the-art techniques to monitor and conduct research on the river. Scientific monitoring, engineering design and environmental modeling techniques have been shared throughout the United States and in more than five countries.
The UMRR Program has a partnership of unparalleled dimensions between a multitude of federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations and the general public. The total annual value of these partnership contributions to the UMRR Program averages $1,000,000.
Over the past 35 years, the program has completed several major initiatives. These include: four Reports to Congress; the 2000 & 2018 Habitat Needs Assessments; two Status and Trends Reports; two Habitat Restoration Design Manuals; a UMRR Program Strategic and Operational Plan; two UMRR Long Term Resource Monitoring element Strategic Plans; and developed an explicit approach to Adaptive Management.
Background
Since 1986, the UMRR Program has completed 56 habitat projects that improved critical fish and wildlife habitat on 106,000 acres in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. From 2005 to 2015, UMRR projects benefited nearly 35,000 acres of habitat - nearly 50% of all habitat reported by the Corps nationally. The UMRR Program has 24 additional projects in various stages of construction and design. These projects will benefit another 65,000 acres of habitat when implemented. The UMRR Program fulfills the direction of Congress to manage the UMRS as a nationally significant ecosystem. Other Corps programs address the navigation system.
The UMRR Program addresses long term stressors to the UMRS, such as sedimentation, increased water tables due to maintaining navigation pools during low flows and continues to effectively respond to new stressors on the UMRS, such as the invasive Asian carps. Without the UMRR Program, the Upper Mississippi River ecosystem will degrade at an accelerated rate and the progress that has been made to preserve this national treasure for future generations will be lost.
Status
In the last nine years, the UMRR Program: 1) completed the 2016 Report to Congress; 2) completed the 2015-2025 UMRR Strategic and Operational Plan; 3) signed a new Advisory Groups Charter; 4) recognized the Program's 35 years of service to the nation, receiving commendations from several federal, state, and local leaders; 5) initiated the groundbreaking effort to define and integrate ecosystem health and resilience principles for the UMRS; 6) completed development of the second Habitat Needs Assessment to focus future habitat rehabilitation efforts; and 7) continued collection of the annual systemic data on key environmental attributes of the UMRS to assess changes and evaluate ecosystem health and resilience.
FY 21 represented the 7th out of the last eight years the Program has received full authorized funding for the Program. For the 4rd consecutive year, the Program has executed 98% or better.
For Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Projects in FY 21, the Program completed one feasibility study, initiated design on one project, completed design on two projects or stages, initiated construction on two projects, and continued construction on eleven projects. It is anticipated that three additional projects will complete construction by the end of 2021 restoring habitat to approximately 5,500 acres. These projects represent an additional 65,000 acres of habitat restoration potential over the next 5-10 years.
For the Long Term Resource Monitoring element in FY 20, the Program continued our baseline data collection and analysis of fisheries, aquatic vegetation and water quality resources across the system and made it publicly available. This information is critical to identification, planning, design and evaluation of habitat restoration projects. Also completed, was the decadal Land Cover/Land Use imagery collection. Finally, the 3rd Status and Trends Report which will provide invaluable insight to the Program, partners and the UMRS was developed and will be completed in FY 21.
The Water Resources Development Act of 2020 increased the Programs authorization to $55,000,000 from $33,170,000.
Additional Information
Authority
CG - Construction General
Section 1103 of WRDA 1986, as amended
Summarized Project Costs
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Estimated Federal Cost
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$ 1,421,390,000
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Estimated Non-Federal Cost
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$ 26,066,000
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Estimated Total Project Cost
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$ 1,447,456,000
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Allocations Prior to FY 2022
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$ 703,821,000
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FY 2021 Allocation
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$ 33,170,000
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FY 2022 Allocation
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TBD
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FY 2022 President’s Budget
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$ 33,170,000
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FY 2022 Total Capability
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$ 55,000,000
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Major Work Item Prior Fiscal Year
FY 2021: The FY21 appropriation for the UMRR Program has allowed for work to continue on twenty-four Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Projects. The Program completed one feasibility study, initiated design on one project, completed design on two projects or stages, initiated construction on two projects, and continued construction on eleven projects. It is anticipated that three additional projects will complete construction by the end of 2021 restoring habitat to approximately 5,500 acres. These projects represent an additional 65,000 acres of habitat restoration potential over the next 5-10 years.
In addition, the Program will 1) continue development of a ground breaking effort to define and integrate ecosystem health and resilience principles into this five state regional ecosystem rehabilitation program; 2) complete the third Status and Trends Report; and 3) develop, as a partnership, the next Report to Congress due in 2022. In addition, it supports collection and analysis of key environmental attributes of the UMRS at USGS and the six field stations in five states. It will also support applied research that is designed to enhance the Program's overall capability to increase resiliency and health of the UMRS and monitor progress towards increasing health and resiliency.
The UMRR Program has a long history of engaging the public and this will continue. The UMRR Program completed a Strategic Plan which includes adoption of a vision to make the UMRS more resilient and healthier and to develop tools to help measure progress towards meeting the Vision. All aspects of the Program will be coordinated to ensure that they directly contribute to advancing the Program Vision.
Major Work Item Current Year
FY 2022: The UMRR Program, if funded, will be able to initiate Feasibility on three projects, continue Feasibility on four projects, complete Feasibility on three projects, initiate Design on three projects, continue design on two projects, complete design on one project, initiate Construction on one project, continue Construction on seven projects, and complete Construction on one project. In addition, these funds support the collection and analysis of monitoring data on key environmental attributes of the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) and research to enhance effectiveness of restoration efforts. Finally, the Program will deliver a Report to Congress on the accomplishments of the Program.