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 […]
Habitat
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, […]
River Habitats
Many people think the Lower Mississippi River is simply a highway for barges. While it does provide an incredibly efficient transportation artery for commodities, it is much more than a navigation channel. Although the historic floodplain of the lower river is now confined by a levee system, the land that lies between those levees in […]