As guardians and caretakers of the River, you are one with the River. Through your actions like cleanups at local streams, planting trees and native plants, or writing to your decision makers to speak up for the Mighty Mississippi, you are making a difference, and we thank you! 

2024 was an important year - filled with great opportunities and challenges - and we’d like to share a selection of the many accomplishments we achieved for the well-being of the people, land, water, and wildlife of America’s largest watershed. We are proud of all that we achieved with your help and excited about the year ahead!    

With deepest gratitude, The Mississippi River Network Staff Team  

Select 2024 Accomplishments:   

Four new organizations joined the Mississippi River Network (the Network) in 2024 Owámniyomni Okhódayapi, the St. Louis Aquarium Foundation, Great River Passage Conservancy, and Steven Marking, Riverlorian, bringing our roster of Network member organizations to 75. We also welcomed a new Policy Manager, Marie Risalvato, to our staff team!          

The Network was invited to participate in an 18-month process to develop the Upper Mississippi River Restoration program’s 2025 - 2035 strategic plan. The strategic planning team includes the US Army Corps of Engineers and other federal and state agencies like the US Geological Survey, state natural resources departments, and others. Mississippi River Network is critical in helping non-government organizations (NGOs) to engage. Our ongoing outreach and engagement efforts and strong relationships with Network organizations, partner groups, and River Citizens along the entire River allow us to bring valuable and unique perspectives and experiences.

On January 25, we hosted the webinar, How Does the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) Impact our Mississippi River?, featuring Network members, Melissa Samet (National Wildlife Federation) and Olivia Dorothy (formerly American Rivers.) One of the most significant pieces of legislation impacting our Mississippi River, the WRDA 2024 bill, soon to be signed into law, impacts drinking water, stormwater, flood management, dams, and more. Over 100 people joined our webinar to learn about the upcoming priorities and opportunities. Our Network policy committee will continue to collaborate on this and many other policy priorities in the years ahead.   

We led a multi-faceted initiative to leverage federal funding opportunities on behalf of the Mississippi River. We convened regular “hive” meetings to network, exchange information, and collaborate on opportunities presented by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (BIL). Hives focused on these priorities: the Farm Bill, the US Army Corps of Engineers Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP), and maximizing BIL funding for State Revolving funds focusing on projects that benefit River communities. We provided $100,000 in funding and supported project work by these member organizations: Green Lands Blue Waters, Iowa Environmental Council, League of Women Voters Upper Mississippi River Region, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), the Water Collaborative, and The Wetlands Initiative. One of the projects funded was the “Pure Iowa Water - A Pop Art Project” 

In early March, our Network organizations joined us in Washington DC to advocate for the River. Representatives from all 10 states the Mississippi River flows through met with their Congressional leaders and talked about River issues and opportunities including Farm Bill conservation programs and funding opportunities through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).   

Our Executive Director, Kelly McGinnis, was a panelist for the session “Beyond Extraction, Across Boundaries” at the Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Philadelphia. She spoke about holistic watershed management, developed new press relationships for the organization, and raised the profile of the River on this national stage.  

We partnered with Great River Passage Conservancy in April to present Soloing the Mississippi: A Panel Discussion with Four Source-to-Sea Mississippi River Paddlers. Over 120 registered to participate in person or online and hear about the paddlers’ adventures, the majesty of the River, and the challenges faced by all the paddlers, which are all the more daunting for paddlers of color.    

In its fourth year, River Days of Action was a huge success. We brought together over 1,800 participants from June 1 – 15th, 2024, for 29 events and collective action from Headwaters to the Gulf of our mighty Mississippi River! The initiative featured a diverse range of events and activities hosted by 56 Network member organizations and partners. From hands-on habitat restoration and recreation events to captivating webinars and engaging place-based tours, all were aimed at uplifting the Network and driving action for the Mississippi River's people, land, water, and wildlife. Read our brief report here.     

Mississippi River Network hosted these well-attended online events during River Days of Action: a screening of the film A Visit from Will Dilg with Riverlorian, Steven Marking; the webinar  Restoring our River: Exploring 30 Years of Upper Mississippi River Science and Restoration, a short version of the film Greybeard: The Man, The Myth, The Mississippi followed by a discussion with Dale “Greybeard” Sanders and the filmmakers from Wilderness Mindset.   

In August we participated in the world premiere of the Wilderness Mindset documentary, Mississippi Speed Record: An Epic Adventure featuring a four-man team of paddlers and their epic quest for the fastest paddle from headwaters to Gulf on the Mississippi River. Did the team break the Guinness World Record? Watch the film to find out!      

In October we hosted the webinar: Forests in Flux: Stewarding Mississippi River Forests in Climate Change. The Mississippi River Network welcomed Mississippi Park Connection's Stewardship Director, Karen Solas, and the University of Minnesota's Associate Professor of Silviculture, Dr. Marcella Windmueller-Campione. They shared about a unique project that is part of the Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change network, which became the network's first project in an urban floodplain forest setting. Over 120 registered for the event.  

Our Network took meaningful action on dozens of policy priorities. For instance, we signed a comment letter to the US Army Corps of Engineers in support of natural infrastructure and non-structural measures to protect 90,000 acres of wetlands, reduce flood risks, and increase community resilience in the Yazoo Backwater Area (YBWA) of Mississippi. We also worked to support Farm Bill Conservation Programs. 

Our equity statement describes our intentional efforts to create a dialogue, question assumptions, and build change internally and externally. We continue to share resources with our Network member organizations and River Citizens and to update our Anti-Racism Resource hub, with articles, books, webinars, and more.  

‍Our Annual Meeting in November was our most successful ever. We hosted 59 attendees from 32 organizations. The Annual Meeting is one of the most significant gatherings of our Network organizations, who work for the people, land, water, and wildlife of the Mississippi River. We discussed priorities, plans, and initiatives in the areas of policy, outreach and engagement, equity work, and development. Here is a brief highlight reel.

We‘ve been working behind the scenes to bring forth a new era of River stewardship and will soon be rolling out a fresh, new look! Our new website and updated materials are designed to better serve you and the River we all love. You’ll hear more about this in 2025!