The Mississippi River Trust (MRT), a charitable, nonprofit conservation organization established in 2002, focuses its work on habitat conservation, conservation education and conservation policy.
Habitat Conservation
We encourage landowners in the Lower Mississippi River region to donate land and interests in land for conservation purposes. We also acquire and hold title to land and conservation interests to improve and protect water quality; to enhance and protect wildlife populations; and to improve local economies through nature-based recreation.
Our primary tool for land conservation is a conservation easement. It is an alternative to selling land for development. A conservation easement allows a landowner to retain ownership of the land, protect important environmental or historical assets of the land from future development, and obtain certain tax advantages.
Many of our habitat conservation projects, including the Lower Mississippi River Batture Reforestation Project, focus on the active floodplain of the Lower Mississippi River, an area of 2 million acres of land and water from Cairo, Illinois, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Conservation Education
We promote a broader knowledge of conservation options and stewardship of the region’s natural resources through landowner workshops, field days and Internet resources such as the Conservation Finance Center.
Conservation Policy
We work with government agencies and other private entities to address and solve the region’s conservation challenges through legislation, federal appropriations and the development of innovative programs.