For more
Information
about the Upper Mississippi
River Ecosystem Initiative’s
regional programs contact:
DUCKS UNLIMITED—
Leader in Wetland and Waterfowl
Conservation
Within the last 100 years, more than 50 percent of all original wetlands have been
converted to agricultural, industrial and municipal uses. Recognizing the impact that
GREAT LAKES/ATLANTIC
REGIONAL OFFICE
1220 Eisenhower Place
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Phone: 734.623.2000
A
men formed Ducks Unlimited in 1937 to mitigate this habitat loss through proactive
Phone: 410.224.6620
E-mail: [email protected]
dedicated to the conservation of North American waterfowl and wetlands through
W E T L A N D S ,
W A T E R F O W L ,
A N D
W I L D L I F E
C O N S E R V A T I O N
Phone: 734.623.2000
E-mail: [email protected]
BRET PLASTERS
Director of Development IN, MI, OH
The Great Lakes/Atlantic Regional Office provides comprehensive conservation
Phone: 734.623.2000
E-mail: [email protected]
from Wisconsin to Virginia and north to Maine.
I N
TODD E. BISHOP
Director of Development IL, MI, WI
partnerships, volunteers and an expert staff of fund-raisers, scientists and engineers.
solutions to help restore and protect the continent’s diminishing wetlands in 18 states,
L E A D E R
Phone: 734.623.2000
E-mail: [email protected]
habitat destruction had upon waterfowl populations, a group of concerned sports-
Ducks Unlimited is the largest private habitat conservation organization solely
G L O B A L
DAVID BRAKHAGE
Director of Conservation Programs
Great Lakes
GRACE E. BOTTITTA
Manager of Conservation Programs
Mid-Atlantic
preservation and restoration programs.
UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER ECOSYSTEM INITIATIVE
PHIL POUX
Director of Development
Mid-Atlantic
Photo courtesy of USDA-NRCS.
Phone: 410.224.6620
E-mail: [email protected]
BECOME A DU MEMBER
Support wetlands and waterfowl conservation by becoming a Ducks Unlimited member or sponsor.
Ducks Unlimited is the country’s number one non-profit wetland habitat organization. With a
singleness of purpose, Ducks Unlimited positively impacts habitat and the waterfowl populations
that depend upon those natural areas.
To help Ducks Unlimited achieve its mission, become a member or sponsor today. For membership
information, contact our National Headquarters at 1.800.45.DUCKS.
To make a significant contribution to wetland and waterfowl conservation, contact our regional
office for the Director of Development in your area at 1.877.DU.GLARO.
D UCKS U NLIMITED
GREAT LAKES/ATLANTIC REGIONAL OFFICE
UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER ECOSYSTEM INITIATIVE
The Upper Mississippi River Ecosystem is
NORTHWEST WISCONSIN
the massive land area that drains into the
Mississippi
River
and
is
dominated
by
agriculture activities.The Mississippi River and its
OHIO RIVERS
tributaries encompass parts of Wisconsin,
Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia,
Pennsylvania and a small portion of New York.
ROCK
RIVER
particularly in Illinois and Indiana. The effect of
agricultural practices has negatively impacted
ILLINOIS
RIVER
OHIO/MISSISSIPPI CONFLUENCE
water quality within this watershed.
Conservation goals primarily focus on migratory issues, especially in the southern
parts of the initiative, and secondarily on
breeding issues in the northern tier of
DUCKS UNLIMITED
HAS CONSERVED MORE THAN
87,000 ACRES
OF HABITAT IN THE
U PPER M ISSISSIPPI
R IVER ECOSYSTEM, POSITIVELY
the initiative.The Mississippi River and
its tributaries provide a major migrato-
Three principle tributaries converge
at the headwaters to form the
Illinois River: the Fox River, Des
Plaines River and Kankakee River.
The headwaters were historically
dominated by tall-grass prairie
interspersed with numerous shallow,
temporary wetlands. The Illinois
River priority area meets several
life cycle needs of waterfowl:
predominantly breeding in the upper
watershed around Lake Michigan
and wintering and migratory habitat
in the middle and lower watershed.
In Indiana, production habitat work
has concentrated mainly on larger
public areas. The focus in the
remainder of the watershed is on
migration and wintering habitat.
Ducks Unlimited’s approach in the
middle reaches is to “fill in the
corridor” by providing habitat along
the expanse of the river. Private and
public lands work exists all along the
river.
loading to streams and rivers. This
area of Wisconsin supports relatively
high densities of breeding waterfowl,
particularly mallards, wood ducks
and blue-winged teal. The conservation work in Northwest Wisconsin
focuses on protecting and restoring
small seasonal wetlands, re-establishing native prairie adjacent to wetlands for production habitat and
expanding existing state and federal
wildlife areas.
tion continue to impact the river systems. This area supports breeding
mallards, but is primarily important
for wintering/staging waterfowl,
such as scaup. The potential for
restoration work and collaborative
efforts is being explored, however the
focus of the program will likely be on
spring staging and wintering waterfowl.
sonally flooded bottomland hardwoods that serve as traditional
migration and wintering habitat. In
Indiana, most work is on public
lands, particularly Patoka NWR, and
focuses on acquisition assistance
followed by restoration. In Illinois,
conservation activities are similar
with an emphasis on the Middle
Mississippi River—an ‘open’ reach of
the river with no dams stretching
from the confluence of the Missouri
River to the confluence of the Ohio
River.
create ‘pools’ and important wetland
habitat along their shallow margins
and backwater lakes. Historically,
Pool 19 between Burlington Iowa
and Keokuk Illinois served as an
important migration site for lesser
scaup, canvasbacks and other diving
ducks. Along the Mississippi River,
restoration and protection opportunities exist for migration habitat,
mostly inside protective levees.
Northwest Wisconsin
This area has suffered the greatest wetland
loss of the entire Great Lakes/Atlantic Region,
Illinois River
AFFECTING WILDLIFE AND IMPROVING
THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR PEOPLE.
ry corridor for the Mississippi Flyway,
The Northwest Wisconsin priority
area was historically dominated by
pothole-type wetlands. However,
agriculture and urban development
have resulted in substantial wetland
loss, fragmented grasslands and
increased sediment and nutrient
Ohio Rivers
This priority area encompasses the
watersheds of the Great Miami,
Scioto and Muskingum Rivers in
central and southern Ohio.
Agricultural practices and urbaniza-
which funnels more waterfowl to the wintering grounds than all other flyways. Habitat
Ohio/Mississippi Confluence
PRIORIT Y AREAS
restoration and protection programs in the upper
reaches of the watershed will significantly impact
Through science-based strategic
planning, Great Lakes/Atlantic Regional
waterfowl habitat, as well as improve water quali-
Office (GLARO) has defined landscape
ty in the Mississippi River and as far south as the
watersheds.This allows us to address
initiative areas based on large-scale
waterfowl and wildlife habitat issues as well
Gulf of Mexico.
as water quality concerns that are impor-
This priority area encompasses parts
of the lower Ohio River, Wabash and
Kaskaskia-Meramec watersheds and
the Mississippi River. The expansive
floodplains of these river systems
provide a diversity of wetland habitat, including temporarily and sea-
tant to this region.Within these
initiatives, we have defined priority areas in
THE FOCUS OF THE
U PPER M ISSISSIPPI
E COSYSTEM I NITIATIVE IS TO RESTORE AND
which to target our restoration activities.
In the Upper Mississippi River
Ecosystem Initiative,
PROTECT WETLANDS AND ASSOCIATED
HABITATS THAT BENEFIT WATERFOWL ,
WILDLIFE AND PEOPLE , IMPROVE WATER
QUALIT Y AND PROMOTE WATERSHED HEALTH .
Rock River
five priority areas have been identified:
ILLINOIS RIVER
NORTHWEST WISCONSIN
OHIO RIVERS
OHIO/MISSISSIPPI CONFLUENCE
and ROCK RIVER .
This priority area includes an important reach of the Mississippi River
from Whiteside County south to the
confluence of the Illinois River in
which locks and dams maintained
by the Army Corps of Engineers