Season’s Greetings,
I hope you are all doing well, anticipating special time with your loved ones in the coming weeks. My family doesn’t send holiday cards. We tried a few times before we had kids, but lately it’s a task that hasn’t risen to the top of the list. As folks settle in for holiday R and R, I wanted to send a message to our UMRCC partners to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
The UMRCC had a good year in 2024. Much of the work that we do is continuous. As a result, I think it is important to pause and reflect on what has been accomplished. Our technical section and executive board members were energetic in keeping the UMRCC business moving. After a great meeting hosted by ILDNR in March, the UMRCC engaged with America’s Watershed Initiative and The Nature Conservancy to provide input on the development of a Mississippi River Basin Partnership. We have contributed to invite lists and helped structure agendas for a suite of meetings that continue into 2025, an effort to develop a broad partnership for the entire Mississippi River Basin. The technical sections remain active with Fisheries executing a pilot plan to collect user data on a pilot set of locations and pools in the UMR. Water Quality is working on a list of priority emerging contaminants to create awareness and inform future action. Wildlife continues to develop plans for vegetation sampling in the UMR, both terrestrial and aquatic, and those efforts align with ongoing habitat projects in the UMRR and NESP programs. The OREIT has been trying to breathe new life into our field trip grants program. I’m proud to say that we received 20 applications for a recent RFP. Five of those grants will be distributed soon and we hope to have the same excitement around our field trip program in 2025. Mussel Tech is continuing to share great information across jurisdictions about the myriad of incredible projects in the UMR. They continue working to improve consistency in sampling and reporting methodologies. Finally, our Law Enforcement group has engaged with the other technical sections and has intentions of a joint session at our upcoming meeting to discuss potential regulation changes in parts of the UMR.
I want to thank the people that contribute to the UMRCC developing agendas, leading meetings, keeping the discussions moving with the hope that the products from these efforts help improve the conservation mission of each of our individual agencies and the vitality of the Upper Mississippi River.
We are looking forward to seeing many of you at our next annual meeting in La Crosse in March!
