Not only is the Mississippi
River a source of American history, it’s
also a victim of historic limitations. Not
unlike the development of the country, each
section of the River takes on the dynamics
of its geography and the reach of local,
state and federal agencies.
Today, our world is flat and our information
instantaneous. Why should the Mississippi
River continue to be protected or developed
one town or district at a time?
If you think about it, you’ll realize it
doesn’t need to be. It’s time to tap the
Internet and other social and communications
technologies to unify the Mississippi River.
America’s Waterway was founded to tap the
Mississippi River communities and
interactively engage them so comprehensive,
River-wide approaches to its character,
condition and future can develop. Our vision
is for a Mississippi River with an engaged
and empowered constituency that works to
secure protection and enhancements for the
whole River.
 First, we’ll use the super town hall meeting
that
AmericaSpeaks has perfected over a
decade of tapping communities — in one
location or several. The
National
Dialogue for the Future of America’s
Waterway will engage representatives
of the constituency to establish visions,
signifi cant issues and possible policy
areas. These will be collected, prioritized
and an agenda set for the River’s cultural,
economic development and environmental
future.
Second, we will take that agenda and lift it
to an interactive, socially networked Web
site with the ability to form a living,
breathing and active on-line community. Here
such issues as federal legislation for clean
water as well as localized plans for
cultural heritage events can be selected and
shared for enhancements, adoption or
advocacy. Like a traditional community,
America’s Waterway — the Web site – can not
be confi ned to only one aspect of the
Mississippi River. But because of the
multilayered capacity of Web sites and the
Internet, it is possible to create an
on-line space that mirrors the complexity of
the River itself.
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