|
Charting a New Course for the River
Audubon’s Mississippi River Initiative will be the largest and most complex environmental restoration project ever undertaken, matching the international importance of the resources at risk. While the engineering challenges are daunting, they are not the most difficult. The most important challenge is building and maintaining public support for each component of the overall restoration plan. This internationally important ecosystem can only be restored and protected if the political will exists to make it a priority.
OUR FOUR GOALS:
- Protect and enhance bird species drawn from the Audubon Watchlist and vulnerable common birds tied to five target habitats: Bottomland Forest, Emergent Wetlands, Grasslands, Coastal Areas and Urban Areas.
- Improve water quality, focusing on reduction of excess nutrients tied to the Gulf of Mexico dead zone.
- Restore natural hydrology to sustain river functions and reduce loss of coastal wetlands in Louisiana.
- Coordinate actions at hemispheric, national, regional, and local scales.
WHAT WE ARE DOING:
- Audubon is a leader in creating a new vision for the Mississippi River watershed as a connected natural system that deserves greater attention from the nation.
- We are advocating for a major public investment in the Mississippi River system by Congress and the states to address the biggest challenges: the decline of many birds, other wildlife and their habitats; the loss of riverine and coastal wetlands; and inputs of excess nutrients, mainly from farms, that lead to huge annual "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Audubon is taking action to restore and protect critical habitat for birds, other wildlife and people on more than 2 million acres in the Mississippi watershed. These Conservation Action Sites, as we call them, often are near Audubon Centers and Field Offices throughout the region where there is staff and capacity for on-the-ground protection and restoration work.
- Audubon has joined forces in Louisiana with the National Wildlife, the Environmental Defense Fund and community-based organizations to advance vital coastal wetlands protection efforts. A new poll confirms public recognition that safeguarding Louisiana's wetlands is really about protecting their own futures. We are working in similar ways with dozens of non-government organizations along the river's length.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
- Join Audubon, become involved in habitat restoration and other projects with a local chapter, join the Audubon Activist Network or visit an Audubon center in the watershed.
- Go birding in a Mississippi River habitat. Visit the Great River Birding Trail website for ideas on where to go to learn about the river's special places.
- Show your support for Audubon's Mississippi River Initiative by making a donation online.
- Visit our Audubon At Home website to learn how you can provide critical bird habitat on your own property by using native plants or improve water quality by establishing a rain garden, among other projects.
- Participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count each February and the Audubon Christmas Bird Counts to help us monitor bird populations in the region.
|
