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Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee

Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee

Restoring America's Greatest River

  • The River
  • Our Work
    • Projects
      • Restoring America’s Greatest River Initiative
        • LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER FEASIBILITY STUDIES
        • Richard K. Yancey Blackhawk Scar Lakes Ecosystem Restoration and Monitoring
      • Lower Mississippi River Batture Reforestation
        • Landowner Resources – Lower Mississippi River Batture
      • Water Quality Data Inventory
      • Invasive Carp Management and Control
      • Fishing the Lower Mississippi River Initiative
      • Lower Mississippi River Economic Profile
      • Lower Mississippi River Resource Assessment
    • Reports
    • Success Stories
    • Maps
    • Articles
  • About Us
    • What We Do
    • Who We Are
    • History
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  • Outdoor Recreation
    • Fishing
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WHAT WE DO

Our Mission

Promote the restoration and wise use of the natural resources of the Lower Mississippi River through cooperative efforts involving planning, management, information sharing, public education, advocacy and research.

Our Focus

The LMRCC focuses on habitat restoration, long-term conservation planning and scientific assessment of the river’s health.

OUR FOCUS

Restore River Habitats

The LMRCC, in conjunction with our partners, undertakes activities to restore habitat including:

  • Implementing aquatic habitat restoration and river-access improvement projects.
  • Restoring bottomland hardwood forests in the river’s active floodplain. 
  • Lower Mississippi River Feasibility Studies.
  • Preparing a comprehensive plan, the Lower Mississippi River Resource Assessment, that includes habitat restoration for more than 3 million acres of lands and waters. Read the final report to Congress and view the project area map (PDF).
Heavy construction equipment digging out dirt from a river channel with rocks in the foreground
OUR FOCUS

Promote Greater River Access and Use

Some of our activities to meet this goal include:

  • Developing of an online sport fishing guide for the lower river (download the PDF).
  • Coordinating the development of the Lower Mississippi River Water Trail
OUR FOCUS

Encourage a Broader Appreciation of the River

To promote the Mississippi River, the LMRCC:

  • Documents the river’s economic importance to the region and the nation. Download the economic profile (PDF, 2.3 MB).
  • Documents the importance of good quality river water for wildlife and people. An initial water quality assessment was completed in 2014. An updated assessment was completed in 2021.
  • Developed a comprehensive Geographic Information System to help plan and implement habitat restoration and river-access improvement projects.

Initiatives and Projects

  • Restoring America’s Greatest River Initiative
  • Lower Mississippi River Batture Reforestation Project
  • Lower Mississippi River Feasibility Studies
  • Water Quality Data Inventory
  • Asian Carp Management and Control
  • Fishing the Lower Mississippi River Initiative
  • Lower Mississippi River Resource Assessment
  • 2014 Lower Mississippi River Economic Profile Project
View Projects

RECENT NEWS

Wood traps: creating new habitat for aquatic insects

Engineers have manipulated the Lower Mississippi River for 200 years. They removed large “snags” of dead trees, branches and other “woody debris” that clogged navigation channels. They lined the banks, first with large mats made from willow trees, then with mats made from concrete, to keep them from eroding. They also shortened and straightened the…

Continue Reading Wood traps: creating new habitat for aquatic insects

The batture: What is it and why is it important?

What is the Lower Mississippi River “batture?” In the simplest terms, it refers to the lands and waters remaining between federal levees or bluffs along the eastern and western banks of the river. It is what remains of the river’s active floodplain. The batture covers approximately 2 million acres between Cairo, Illinois, and Baton Rouge,…

Continue Reading The batture: What is it and why is it important?

Black Carp: New threat to native mussels and snails

Black Carp, Mylopharyngodon piceus, are raising new concerns about non-native, invasive carp species in the Lower Mississippi River. Unlike the four other non-native carp species found in the lower river, Black Carp, which can grow to 100 or more pounds, eat mussels and snails. They have pharyngeal teeth they use to crush mollusks and eat…

Continue Reading Black Carp: New threat to native mussels and snails

Pallid Sturgeon: Living Dinosaur at Home in Lower Mississippi

Ancestors of the endangered Pallid Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) coexisted with dinosaurs millions of years ago. Fossil sturgeon specimens from North America are believed to be nearly 80 million years old. Despite this ancient lineage, biologists are just now unlocking some of the mysteries of this ancient species on the Lower Mississippi River. Through increased monitoring…

Continue Reading Pallid Sturgeon: Living Dinosaur at Home in Lower Mississippi

MORE NEWS

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Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee
111 Elizabeth Street
Tupelo, MS 38804

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