{"id":16186,"date":"2025-10-02T10:49:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T14:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/?p=16186"},"modified":"2026-02-24T09:53:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T14:53:33","slug":"scientific-framework-mississippi-river-basin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/2025\/10\/02\/scientific-framework-mississippi-river-basin\/","title":{"rendered":"Why we need a Scientific Framework for the Mississippi River Basin"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Managing the Mississippi River Basin at a state level is like making a movie without the director, writers, and actors talking to each other. Despite being the largest watershed in the country, the Mississippi River Basin has no comprehensive restoration program.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6669\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6669\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/52\/files\/\/2016\/08\/mississippi-river-basin-epa.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-6669\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/52\/files\/\/2016\/08\/mississippi-river-basin-epa.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/52\/files\/2016\/08\/mississippi-river-basin-epa.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/52\/files\/2016\/08\/mississippi-river-basin-epa-300x198.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6669\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>The watershed of the Mississippi River spans 31 states and two Canadian provinces. Credit: EPA 2015.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Mississippi River and its tributaries are an extraordinary resource \u2014 it provides drinking water, supports a $400B economy, sustains wildlife habitats, enables transportation, and fuels recreation. But its health is rapidly deteriorating. The watershed\u2019s declining health has real-world impacts on people, communities, and local economies:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Barge shipments halted due to low water with extensive flooding in other areas.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Invasive carp are destroying native fish habitats and threatening fisheries.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Des Moines&#8217; water bills have doubled due to nitrate contamination.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Kansas&#8217;s 2023 wheat harvest was the worst in over 50 years.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Iowa recorded 134 E. coli beach warnings last year \u2014 families had to cancel beach plans multiple times.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Mississippi sees $152 million in lost tourism revenue each year due to bacteria-related beach closures.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">These problems are interconnected. Fixing them requires science-based, coordinated action within a whole basin governance framework for restoration. There have been many proposed programs over the years that EDF has supported.\u00a0The science strategy is like a shopping list \u2014 it would help an ecosystem restoration program avoid waste and stay focused on what matters. It is a tool that can be used to help guide decisions that will lead to positive environmental outcomes. It will help identify goals, synthesize existing data, and fill knowledge gaps while ensuring smart investment of time and resources.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Chesapeake Bay and Great Lakes restoration efforts used similar science informed decision making \u2014 they focused on shared goals like improving fish habitat and restoring seagrass, which resonated with all\u00a0interested parties. What we learned from experts working in the Basin and on these large-scale restoration programs is compiled in the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/library.edf.org\/AssetLink\/ddx48qvnu28057b1q58nrf71jtw0t8ns.pdf\">Science Strategy report<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We already have the pieces \u2014 now we need coordination and leadership. The scientists interviewed have suggested recommendations, some of which can be started now like forming a Mississippi River Science Team to share research and publish a \u201cState of the Basin\u201d report. However, to be successful in the long term this science strategy must be incorporated in a watershed governance program built on trust, accountability, and inclusive partnerships. Farmers, fishers, local leaders, and industries must be part of the solution. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">EDF is working with the Mississippi River Watershed Partnership, which is forming the necessary connections among a variety of interested parties. The Mississippi River is in crisis \u2014 but we can reverse the trend. A science strategy as part of an ecosystem restoration program in the Mississippi River Basin will not only enhance ecological health but also provide long-term economic and social benefits, ensuring the sustainability of this vital resource for generations to come.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Managing the Mississippi River Basin at a state level is like making a movie without the director, writers, and actors talking to each other. Despite being the largest watershed in the country, the Mississippi River Basin has no comprehensive restoration program.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":152943,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[107017],"tags":[],"coauthors":[120620],"class_list":["post-16186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-coasts-watersheds"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/152943"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16186"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16191,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16186\/revisions\/16191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16186"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=16186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}