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| Pelican Farm by Chris Young |
Last week,
the Senate approved their fiscal year 2015 budget, which, like the House
budget, included $33.17 million for Upper Mississippi River Restoration. This is full funding for the popular
restoration program! The House and
Senate 2015 budgets still needs to be reconciled before it goes to the
President, but it is very likely the Upper Mississippi River Restoration
funding will be included.
Over the
past few years, Congress has been incrementally increasing funding for the
restoration program after decades of minimal funding. Through the 1990s and 2000s the program received
an average $20 million annually, so this is the first time since the program’s
inception in 1986 that Congress has appropriated its full authorized amount.
Why is
Congress suddenly so interested in Upper Mississippi River Restoration? Partly because groups like the Mississippi River Network and Nicollet Island
Coalition have stepped up their advocacy for the program. But also, the Corps fixed
a major budgeting error in 2014 allowing them to finally request full
funding for the program.
This money will go towards important work that will protect and restore the upper
Mississippi River. About two-thirds of
the money will be put to habitat rehabilitation on the river and one-third will
be spent on monitoring. Go here
for more information about the Upper Mississippi River Restoration program.
Thank you
Congress for recommending full funding for this essential program!
