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Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program

The Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program, authorized by the Water Resources Development Act of 1986, was the first environmental restoration and monitoring program undertaken on a large river system in the United States.

Since its creation, it has come to be recognized as the single most important effort committed to ensuring the viability and vitality of the Upper Mississippi River System's (UMRS) diverse and significant fish and wildlife resources since establishment of the National Wildlife Refuges on that system in the 1920s.

Latest Report to Congress - Now Available!

Latest Report to Congress - Now Available! - Friday, May 31, 2024

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with its Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) partners, have released the 2022 report to Congress providing an evaluation of the program’s Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Projects and Long Term Resource Monitoring elements over the past six years.

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What Makes UMRR Unique

What makes the UMRR Program (formerly known as the Environmental Management Program or EMP) unique is its unparalleled partnership between a multitude of federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the public. 

This systemic program provides a well-balanced combination of habitat restoration activities, along with monitoring and research. It has pioneered many new and innovative engineering and planning techniques for ecosystem restoration in large river systems. The science element of 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.

Vision

A Healthier and More Resilient Upper Mississippi River Ecosystem that Sustains the River's Multiple Uses

Mission

To work within a partnership among federal and state agencies and other organizations; to construct high-performing habitat restoration, rehabilitation projects; to produce state-of-the-art knowledge through monitoring, research, and assessment; to engage other organizations to accomplish the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program's vision.

Ecological Status and Trends of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District; and the U.S. Geological Survey, in partnership with others, have released a report regarding the Ecological Status and Trends of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.

 

The Status and Trends report is the third of its kind produced as part of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) program and includes information on long term changes in water quality, aquatic vegetation and fish from six study areas spread across the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. The report also summarizes trends in possible drivers of long-term changes in the river including river discharge and floodplain land cover.
 
Study Area Informational Flyers: Aquatic Plants  -  Water Quality  -  Sediment  -  Forest Loss  -  Fisheries
2023 Status and Trends Webinar

UMRR News Releases

Public Input Sought on Forestry Rehabilitation Project in Mississippi River Pool 18
9/11/2024
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program partners are in the early stages of planning for a habitat rehabilitation project on the Mississippi River in Pool...
USACE to host two events to gather public input on habitat rehabilitation projects on the Mississippi River
4/23/2024
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are planning two habitat rehabilitation and...
Corps to host public open house to gather input on Lower Pool 13 Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project
4/4/2024
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is hosting a public open house April 30 to...