Project Area
The project area is the active floodplain of the Lower Mississippi River from the river’s confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois (River Mile 954) downstream to the Port of Baton Rouge (River Mile 255). The active floodplain in this 699-mile reach comprises 2 million acres of land and water between the federal mainline levees or river bluffs. This area is commonly called the “batture.”
The project area includes portions of 35 counties and parishes bordering the Mississippi River in Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.
Project Partners
The lead project partner is the Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee, a nonprofit coalition of 12 natural resource conservation and environmental quality agencies representing the states of Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. The organization provides the only permanent, regional forum dedicated to conserving the natural resources within the lower river’s active floodplain. The government partner is the Natural Resources Conservation Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Matching funding is provided by two private foundations, the Walton Family Foundation and the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities.