Authority: WRDA 2000, Sec. 402
Location and Description: The study area covers portions of 7 states and 235 counties and parishes. It is made up of river reaches and adjacent floodplains within the Lower Mississippi River alluvial valley (LMRAV) having commercial navigation channels on the Mississippi mainstem and tributaries south of Cairo, Illinois, and the Atchafalaya basin floodway system. The active floodplain encompasses approximately 1.8 million acres; including 1,600 lakes and 145 river side-channels. The purpose of the study is to develop recommendations for 1) the collection, availability, and use of information needed for river-related management; 2) the planning, construction, and evaluation of potential restoration, protection, and enhancement measures to meet identified habitat needs; and 3) potential projects to meet identified river access and recreation needs. The potential local sponsor for the study is the Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee.
Status: FY 2010 Funds are being used to complete the reconnaissance report, scheduled for approval in March 2010, and to negotiate with potential study sponsors to execute a Feasibility Cost Sharing Agreement (FCSA) and initiate feasibility studies.
Other Information: This reconnaissance report was prepared in collaboration with an inter-agency team composed of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Regions 4 and 7, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), AR Depart. of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), AR Game and Fish Commission (AGFC), AR Natural Heritage Commission (ANHC), AR Natural Resources Commission (ANRC), MO Depart. of Natural Resources (MDNR), MO Depart. of Conservation (MDC), MS Depart. of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP), MS Depart. of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), LA Depart. of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), LA Depart. of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), KY Depart. for Environmental Protection (KDEP), KY Depart. of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR), TN Depart. of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), TN Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA), Mississippi River Corridor – Tennessee, Port of Memphis, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee Board (YMDLB), Mississippi Valley Flood Control Association (MVFCA), National Audubon Society (Audubon), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Southeast Arkansas Levee District, and the St. Francis Levee Board (SFLB).
Project cost: The estimated reconnaissance cost $500,000 is Federal cost. The estimated feasibility cost $2,500,000 and $1,250,000 is Federal cost and $1,250,000 is the responsibility of the non-Federal sponsor.