 January
will mark not only the tenth year in the
21st century, but also the near completion
of one-tenth of what was dubbed the New
Millennium. At its turn, the year 2000
marked a new era of progress. In some ways
it has been. We've seen a dawning of global
awareness for conservation and natural
resource preservation. And, we've begun to
grasp the interconnectedness of the world
and our need for international cooperation
when it comes to natural resources.
But we're still looking at the Mississippi
River like it was sliced and diced according
to geography, rather than the major North
American river system. This approach - born
of the limitations of a by-gone era when
transportation and communication were
limited and expensive - continues despite
increased recognition that America's
Waterway requires plans and actions as a
whole.
Signs of progress for the Mississippi River
as a system are appearing though. The
Agriculture Department's Mississippi River
Basin Initiative to allocate $320
million over four years and throughout 12
states is one sign. Potential legislation
for whole watershed planning is another.
And, Mississippi-River-based coalitions of
museums, parks and economic development
authorities have sprung up lately.
With 2010 in sight, it would be good to
focus on the Mississippi River in its role
as the Great American River and start to
address its issues in that context. It would
be a good time for all who have links to the
Mississippi River - either by location or
their jobs - to make new-year resolutions to
look at the whole Mississippi River and
think about it as a system. It is after all,
America's Waterway and this year should be
the year we start treating it that way.
New Thinking about the
Role of Local Conservation
A Nov. 19. article in
Nature, the international weekly
journal of science, says researchers often
focus mainly on publishing. International
non-governmental organizations (NGO's) often
select their agendas based on their need to
raise money. These factors adversely impact
the programs they decide to pursue. So, the
editorial recommends researchers allow local
government conservation agencies and other
local organizations to set the broad agenda
for natural resource programs. The basis for
this? Conservation plans are more legitimate
and politically acceptable when they are set
locally.
The thrust of the editorial appears to be
that there's an inherent link between
conservation and its social and economic
implications when research and programs are
created and conducted close to home.
This may seem to contradict this
newsletter's first article. However,
whole-River approaches to the Mississippi
River are possible by tapping local
stakeholders by using technology and a
representative, deliberative process such as
the one we at
America's Waterway advocate. Check
out
A National Dialogue for the Future of
America's Waterway.
 Federal
Grant for Power Generation Trials on the
Mississippi River
Free Flow Power Corp announced in
December that it is awaiting word from the
U.S. Department of Energy regarding $14.6
million in funding to support companies
developing advanced water-power
technologies. Free Flow plans 55 prospective
sites for turbines in the Mississippi River
in the 300-mile stretch between St. Louis
and New Orleans. The project must still be
licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission.
Christmas Bonfires
Light the Way on the Mississippi River
 "Christmas
bonfires on the Mississippi River" started
showing up on Twitter in early December. If
you're tracking River developments on
Twitter, you probably noticed it, too. Turns
out there's an interesting 200-year
tradition in St. James Parish in Louisiana
to light bonfires along the Mississippi to
guide people to church on Christmas Eve (or
to guide Santa Claus, depending on your
translation). More than 100 teepee-shaped,
20-ft.-tall bonfires atop levees from
Gramercy to Paulina light the way and are
accompanied by folks who serve bowls of
gumbo and jambalaya to neighbors and others.
This year, the bonfires were threatened by
high water, but the ban was lifted when
water receded, setting off a flurry of
jubilant tweets throughout the Internet. You
can follow America's Waterway, too, on
twitter at unifymissriver. |
