Flood control along the Mississippi River is a central piece of a newly passed federal law — work that advocates believe is critical as the river basin sees more frequent and severe extreme weather events due to climate change.
Author Archives: Madeline Heim / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Madeline Heim is a Report for America corps member who writes about environmental challenges in the Mississippi River watershed and across Wisconsin. Contact her at 920-996-7266 or mheim@gannett.com.
Posted inEnvironment
Volunteers collect and plant acorns along Mississippi River to save struggling forests
Trees that grow in the Mississippi River floodplain have been struggling. Government agencies and various nonprofits are trying to reverse the forestland decline by planting new trees, and volunteers are key.
Posted inEnvironment
Rollin’ on the river: How the Mississippi flows through song and still inspires today
During the summer, the band Big Blue Sky plays Friday nights for Maiden Voyage Tours, a northeast Iowa riverboat company. The band’s work adds to a centuries-long tradition of music inspired and transported by the Mississippi River.
Posted inEnvironment
The Mississippi River is eroding sacred Indigenous mounds in Iowa and Wisconsin
The Sny Magill Unit of Effigy Mounds National Monument near Clayton, Iowa, is a hidden wonder, with more than 100 sacred mounds built by Native Americans thousands of years ago. But the Mississippi River has significantly eroded the bank they built on, eating away at some of the mounds at the water’s edge.
Posted inEnvironment
The fate of thousands of US dams hangs in the balance, leaving rural communities with hard choices
Wisconsin dams are among nearly 12,000 that have been built under the USDA’s Watershed Programs. Generally smaller and set in rural agricultural areas, they’re mostly clustered from the center of the country eastward.
Posted inEnvironment
Not just a Gulf problem: Mississippi River farm runoff pollutes upstream waters
Nutrient pollution doesn’t just contribute to the Gulf of Mexico’s dead zone, it’s causing problems upstream, too. Across the Midwest, excess nitrogen is leaching from soil into groundwater, putting drinking water at risk.
Posted inEnvironment
For a century, this upper Mississippi River refuge has been an ecological oasis. What comes next?
The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Dozens of events this summer are aimed at getting people out to explore its beauty and unique value.
Posted inEnvironment
Spring bird migration is underway along the Mississippi River flyway: Here’s what to know
Here’s everything you need to know about the important Mississippi River flyway — and when and where to see birds amid their long journey.
Posted inEnvironment
Ice cover on the upper Mississippi River was fleeting this winter. Is this our future?
Above-average temperatures across the upper Midwest, driven in part by the El Niño climate pattern and in part by human-caused climate change, made for less than one month of safe ice on the Mississippi River, scientists estimate.
Posted inEnvironment
It’s prime eagle-watching time on the upper Mississippi River: Here’s how to get the best views
Many people might go their entire lives without seeing a bald eagle. But if you live within driving distance of the upper Mississippi River, that’s not a problem.
Posted inEnvironment
Upper Mississippi River flooding unlikely after relatively dry winter
Unless thunderstorms dump rain on the Midwest in the coming months, there’s little chance of spring flooding on the upper Mississippi River this year, forecasters say.
Posted inEnvironment
Latest farm data ‘a wake-up call’ as Midwest farmers face ever steeper challenges
The latest Ag Census data show alarming trends in the upper Mississippi River basin, one of the most intensive agricultural areas in the U.S.: Less diverse farmers, more and more farms are going out of business, and farmland is being consolidated, making it even more difficult to get into the industry.