Lower Mississippi River rebounding

Winding its way from Cairo, Illinois, to Head of Passes in south Louisiana, the lower Mississippi River extends 954 miles. Within its confines is a 3 million-acre active floodplain that is roughly the size of the Florida Everglades.

It's an ecosystem that's been heavily engineered for commodity transport and flood control with dikes, levees, miles of revetment and cut-offs. While often viewed as only an artery for trade, the lower Mississippi River still provides critical habitat for fish and wildlife.

The Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee was formed in the 1990s with a goal of restoring the river. It functions as a coalition of federal and state agencies along with private partners.

"The reality is, this is the fourth largest river in the world, and there's no one agency that can do it alone," Angeline Rodgers said. "It's too big for any one agency to do."

Rodgers, acting coordinator for LMRCC and acting project leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said bringing more than a dozen government agencies and private organizations to the table, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has been the key to improving the health of the lower Mississippi River.

A main focus has been to increase the amount of secondary channels. Through manipulation of the river, many of these smaller, flowing channels were removed.

The primary method to restore these has been cutting notches in dikes to allow water flow near the banks. The dikes were constructed to force water into the main channel to maintain navigable depths.

"What we lost was habitat complexity," said Paul Hartfield of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "We know that with habitat complexity, we're setting the stage for more fish abundance."

Hartfield said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed notched dikes as early as the 1980s, but it wasn't until about 10 years ago that they became the norm. Prior to that time, Hartfield said some felt the notches could compromise the dikes. But over time, it was found they remained functional.

"It took a decade to get where we are," James Killgore, USACE fisheries research biologist, said. "The Corps is a very conservative organization with a very specific purpose.

"As long as it didn't hamper or impede navigation or flood control, then the Corps realized they could enhance the habitat through dike-notching. It worked out. Everyone agreed it's a good program."

Now, through efforts of different agencies, there are about 250 notched dikes on the lower river.

Killgore also noted that because many of the dikes are notched during construction or while repairs are being made, it is done at little or no cost.

Hartfield, who has fished and camped on the Mississippi River since the 1970s and has done research there since 2000, said the effects of notching are clear.

"There is no doubt there are benefits," Hartfield said. "There is no doubt in my mind fish abundance has increased.

"A lot of your gamefish out there use the secondary channels. Many of your forage fish use those."

Hartfield said the endangered pallid sturgeon have benefited from the secondary channels. The fat pocketbook mussel, once thought to only exist in the St. Francis river system in Arkansas, now appears to be reproducing in the lower Mississippi River.

The endangered interior least tern population is also growing. Once numbering about 2,000, the population is now estimated at 20,000.

Hartfield attributes part of that tern population increase to sandbars that are cut off from the river banks by the secondary channels. The limited access to those nesting areas reduces predation on terns' eggs and young.

Another aspect of improvement is recreational opportunity. During low water periods, sandbars formed by the dikes block access to some areas. The secondary channels change that.

"From a recreational standpoint, we're opening areas where people can paddle and fish," Rodgers said. "There are multiple levels where we are seeing improvements and successes there."

Success is also happening outside the river banks.

The batture, or floodplain, is some of the richest habitat in the nation. It is a vital area for birds and offers outdoorsmen prime hunting for a variety of animals.

"A tremendous amount of fish and wildlife depend on this habitat," Bruce Reid said. "This is the largest population of wintering waterfowl in the nation."

Reid, an outreach specialist for the non-profits Mississippi River Trust and LMRCC, said there are roughly 400,000 acres of farmland in the batture. Those lands reduce habitat and water quality.

So far, 15,000 acres are in the process of being re-forested through monetary incentives to landowners provided by LMRCC, the Mississippi River Trust and federal Natural Resources Conservation Service.

"It's of substantial importance," Kavanaugh Breazeale, of NRCS, said. "These programs give landowners the opportunity to preserve and restore the land back to its original state.

"It helps the overall ecosystem and provides habitat for wildlife."

While improvements have taken years to accomplish and coordinated efforts of six states, the federal government and nonprofits, Reid thinks it's worthwhile.

"This river is amazing and deserves the attention it's getting from this agency (LMRCC) and its partners," Reid said. "It's worth saving. There aren't too many rivers like it."

Contact Brian Broom at (601) 961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.