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UCREFRP
UCREFRP Catalog Number
8092
Author
U.S. Department of the Interior.
Title
Proceedings of the Symposium on Restoration Planning for the Rivers of the Mississippi River Ecosystem.
USFW Year
1993.
USFW - Doc Type
Washington, D.C.
Copyright Material
NO
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<br />~' <br /> <br />illtimately, much of the responsibility for <br />changing the rules rests with our elected repre- <br />sentatives. But responsibility for change also rests <br />in part with fisheries scientists and managers. We <br />must be effective stewards, and we must ensure <br />that our elected representatives and the public <br />have the opportunity to learn the truth about our <br />river resources. Part of the job as scientist and <br />manager must include a search for solutions to <br />inefficiencies in government. Scientists are often <br />unable or unwilling to translate their empirical <br />information into a language that can be under- <br />stood by elected representatives or the general <br />public. Most of us have not been trained to commu- <br />nicate effectively with the public, and we are com- <br />monly not rewarded for doing so. Describing the <br />contemporary condition of rivers to the public and <br />proposing change is not in conflict with the tradi- <br />tional role of providing good science. We have to <br />communicate what we know to the public, fishing <br />industry, fishers and, especially, policy makers. <br />Our [mdings often lay dormant in agency re- <br />ports, peer-reviewed journals, field notes, and <br />symposia proceedings. We spend too much time <br />talking to each other. Most of our literature cannot <br />be understood by anyone but us and certainly not <br />by most policy makers. Our knowledge of how <br />rivers work is substantial, and we need to dissemi- <br />nate that knowledge much more widely. <br />We need the help of the media, and we need to <br />assist the media to bring the crisis in our rivers to <br />the attention of the public. We need to be part of <br />the effort to build a solid base of political support <br />for the wise multiple use and management of riv- <br />ers. We need to convert knowledge of river ecosys- <br />tems into useful information for action by decision <br />makers. <br />In the Mississippi River basin, fishery agencies <br />have agreed to work together to "overcome" the <br />inefficiencies of government organization. Out of <br />common concern came the Mississippi Interstate <br />Cooperative Resource Agreement (MICRA). :MI- <br />CRA had it's official beginnings in 1989, when <br />agreements were developed and signed by a major- <br />ity of Mississippi basin state fishery management <br />agencies. However, the movement began earlier, <br />when an ad hoc committee of American Fisheries <br />Society members formed a nucleus of managers <br />that recognized the need for ecosystem perspec- <br />tives when treating issues of interjurisdictional <br />fisheries in the Mississippi River basin. <br />The Mississippi River ecosystem drains 41% of <br />the contiguous United States, which includes all or <br /> <br />STAN MOBERLY AND WEB SHEETS 3 <br /> <br />portions of 28 states. The drainage basin is the <br />largest in the United States and the fourth largest <br />in the world (4.8 million km2), exceeded only by the <br />Amazon, Congo, and Nile basins. The drainage <br />includes the Ohio, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, <br />and Red Rivers, among others, and the river dis- <br />charges over 14,000 m3/s of nutrient-rich fresh <br />water into the Gulf of Mexico. Recent studies by the <br />National Marine Fisheries Service indicate that the <br />Mississippi River is probably the single most sig- <br />nificant environmental factor influencing the Gulf <br />of Mexico and its fisheries. This is one example of <br />the importance of the ecosystem and emphasizes <br />why the system should be of interest and concern <br />to everyone in the basin, and in the country as well. <br />:MICRA began from a concern among fisheries <br />managers over how to coordinate management <br />activities for species such as paddlefish, which <br />have interstate ranges. Literally all of the manage- <br />ment agencies in the basin realized we cannot <br />manage fisheries in large interstate rivers in iso- <br />lation. We must manage resources with an ecosys- <br />tem perspective. :MICRA was developed for just <br />that reason. It provides an opportunity to begin <br />formally opening lines of communication with <br />other management groups in the basin who have <br />interest and influence over what happens to the <br />basin's water and habitat. By 1 September 1989 a <br />core group of states had signed the agreement to <br />initiate the process. During the remainder of 1989 <br />and 1990, all 28 state natural resource agency <br />directors in the basin signed onto the project. Early <br />in 1991 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was the <br />first federal agency to join the :MICRA signatories. <br />At present, several federal resource agencies and <br />two Indian tribes have signed the agreement. <br />The goal of :MICRA is to improve the conserva- <br />tion, development, management, and use of inter- <br />jurisdictional fishery resources in the Mississippi <br />River basin through improved coordination and <br />communication among the responsible manage- <br />ment entities. This concept is not new, but it has <br />never been attempted by resource agencies on such <br />a grand scale. <br />:MICRA will not duplicate any existing organiza- <br />tional network but will use its coordinative re- <br />sources to enhance and maximize the efficiency of <br />existing programs, institutions, and facilities. It <br />will be managed by an interagency Steering Com- <br />mittee composed of personnel employed by member <br />states and entities. Each signatory will have a seat <br />on the steering committee. The Steering Commit- <br />tee will be chaired by one of the members on a <br />
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