As part of a series of stories following the path of the "Father of Waters,” aka the Mississippi River, Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes has this Mainstreet report on the he U.S. Army Corps, which vigorously controls the river in the southeastern part of Minnesota. That has come at a environmental cost…a loss of diversity.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CORE) is the primary controlling force for the Mississippi River between St. Paul and the Gulf of Mexico. The corps first constructed a series of rock structures, then larger, more efficient dams and locks, all to keep barges moving unobstructed. For a century and a half, the river's flow has been directly manipulated by human hands. Now, as environmental consequences become more and more obvious, agencies and individuals are struggling to find ways to strike a balance between commerce and ecology.
Transcripts
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ART HUGHES: In the muddy, meandering sloughs known as the backwaters of the Mississippi River, Calvin Fremling steers his boat around submerged stumps and sandbars that go unseen to most novice navigators. The former Winona State University biology professor and self-proclaimed river rat has been plying these waters for much of his 68 years. His dual expertise in biology and recreational hunting and fishing merge as he talks about the 250-or-more species of fish below his aluminum hull.
CALVIN FREMLING: And when you fish here, you never know what you're going to catch. If you're fishing with bait like nightcrawlers, I guess my buddy and I feel par for the course is about eight species a day. Now, your catch might include walleye, sauger, crappie, warmouth, mooneye, channel catfish, maybe a flathead catfish. And so you never really know. It's a lot of fun for that reason.
ART HUGHES: It's clear the Mississippi backwaters is Fremling's haven. He stops to admire a 2-acre patch of water lotus in full bloom, pale yellow flowers stretched 9 inches across and the round leaves seemingly levitate above the waves. He marvels at a small flock of teal and wood ducks that most visitors here would barely notice. But Fremling says this haven is slipping away.
CALVIN FREMLING: These channels that we're in are getting wider and wider and wider. And most of the islands are getting smaller. And the habitat is becoming more uniform and wave swept so that it becomes a shallow, muddy, monotonous habitat. We're losing its diversity.
ART HUGHES: The plant life in the river is disappearing. Marshes rich with bird food, such as wild celery, arrowhead, and bulrush, are being replaced with comparatively unproductive open water.
Bill Bruins is a member of Minnesota's Advisory Board of the National Audubon Society. He's watched food and habitat on the river diminish over the years, pushing wildlife into smaller and smaller pools. Recently, the Audubon Society launched a long-term campaign to preserve and restore habitat by lobbying Congress for funds and educating river users. Bruins says on the continuum of commerce and ecology, the river's health needs more consideration.
BILL BRUINS: The river is a big economic web. It's not solely-- there's been a lot of emphasis on the transportation or the commercial benefits of the river. But you tend to forget the environmental benefits.
There are a lot of fishermen that use the river. There are a lot of hunters that use the river. There are a lot of people like me, birders or just called recreationalists that use the river.
ART HUGHES: Sediment from the tributaries once pushed its way to the Gulf of Mexico. Now it collects in the slow-moving and predictable current, controlled for barges by the Army Corps of Engineers at locks and dams from Saint Paul on downstream. Over the years, the Corps, along with agencies like the State Department of Natural Resources, have tried to offset the adverse environmental effects of barge traffic. Crews have built new islands and fortified others to break up waves and improve water clarity.
Now the DNR is working on a plan that mimics the ups and downs of a natural river. DNR Fisheries Specialist Tim Schlagenhaft says the so-called drawdown offers the most promise yet for rejuvenating habitat.
TIM SCHLAGENHAFT: A drawdown, you can do on a large scale. A lot of the projects we've done in the past-- building islands, dredging-- have been successful in small scales. But they're not reversing the large trends that we're seeing, large-scale trends. Drawdown has potential to affect lots and lots of acreages and benefit that.
ART HUGHES: The plan is controversial. Lowering the water during the peak boating season would temporarily strand hundreds of boats at marinas and private docks. It would also make some channels and favorite fishing holes inaccessible.
But many sports enthusiasts support it because it has the potential to boost fish and waterfowl populations. The drawdowns would expose parts of the river bottom to air and light, which many water plants need to germinate. Officials hope to test the drawdown idea in two years.
Despite all the efforts, Biologist Calvin Fremling says the river's steady decline is inevitable. He says barge traffic is too important for local economies to consider doing away with the shipping channel. The consequence, he says, is that the river is aging unnaturally fast.
CALVIN FREMLING: It seems fatalistic, I guess, but it is. It's sad to me. I guess that's why I'm out here as much as I am. I like to enjoy it while I can. My buddies and I feel so much that we're lucky to have experienced the Mississippi River when we have because it is so nice. And maybe we've seen it in the best of all times.
ART HUGHES: Fremling and others worry the day will come in 50, 30, or even 20 years, when many basic and important species of plants and animals can't keep up their numbers. And river rats will no longer have a reason to return to the backwaters of the Mississippi.
I'm Art Hughes, Minnesota Public Radio.