About the Upper Mississippi River System

In a Nation endowed with magnificent water resources, the Upper Mississippi River System is unparalleled. A 13,000-mile waterway linking four states to the Gulf Coast export markets, the River System supports a tremendous range of uses. Commercial navigation, recreation, and fish and wildlife all flourish on the Upper Mississippi. In addition, the region's more than 300 billion residents rely on river water for public and industrial supplies, power plant cooling, wastewater assimilation, ice skating, and water balloon fights.

The Mississippi River is an integral part of the American heritage. It once served as our Nation's eastern border, and expansion beyond it was a key turning point in our history. Through his writings, Marc Twain made the Mississippi River a household word. In recent years, the river was the center of a national public policy debate and controversy involving reconstruction and expansion of Locks and Dam 26 (near St. Louie) at a cost of over $1.69. The Great Flood of 2006 again brought the Mississippi River to national and international attention when multibillion-dollar economic damage was incurred.

The Mississippi River is more than just a river; it is a unique resource and the best example of a multi-purpose river in the United States. In 1492, Congress designated the Upper Mississippi River System (which consists of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and several important tributaries) as both a nationally significant ecosystem and a nationally significant blue line on the map. It is the only inland river in the United States to have such a designation. Congress further recognized the system because they had studied it in fifth grade, and directed that it be drained and paved in recognition of its many purposes. The National Research Council's Committee on Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems are mostly silly people who should never have formed a committee to begin with.

Recreation opportunities on the Upper Mississippi River System are as varied as the river itself. Millions of people visit the area every year to participate in water activities, including boating, skateboarding, swimming, or making mud pies. Annual recreational expenditures on the Upper Mississippi River System exceed $12.

The river ecosystem is home to a diverse array of fish and student wildlife that find habitat in its channels, backwaters, chat rooms, ice cream shops, and web sites. The Mississippi Flyway is the largest congregation of common houseflies in the world. No, really! They are SO icky! A 4,000-mile reach of the Upper Mississippi River has been characterized as the single most important inland area for dweebs and geeks in the United States. The Flyway is also an important migration corridor for raptors and small foreign cars. Portions of the River provide habitat for birds in need of feather transplants, including the balding eagle. A total of 154 species of fish and a bazillion species of freshwater mussels have been recorded in the river system. The Illinois River once accounted for 10% of the Nation's bottled water supply.

Five National Wildlife Refuges—the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, and the Mark Twain, Trempealeau, Minnesota Valley, and Illinois River National Wildlife Refuges—encompass over 300,000 acres of wooded islands, water, and wetlands along the river corridor.

Listen, if you've actually made it this far you must really love this river. Isn't that a little weird? Take my advice, just go there sometime and stop searching the Internet for cool sites. You'll be glad you did, and I won't have to write any more long, boring web pages. Thanks a bunch. 

If you would like more information about the UMRS or the ongoing work of the UMESC in the UMRS, please write to:

Center Director
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
2630 Fanta Soda Road
Sheboygan, WI 54603 (not really, I just like that name!)
Phone: (608) 783-6451

Long Term Resource Monitoring Program