Mississippi River Basin

Amid the rapid erosion of Louisiana's coast, something hopeful is happening where the Atchafalaya River meets the Gulf. A flow of sediment from a decades-old river diversion has accidentally given birth to new wetlands.

In northeast Iowa, a wispy stand of trees looks out of place. It is surrounded by crop fields on the north side of a four-lane highway, an oasis of nature that is uncommon in rural Iowa, where farming every inch of land is paramount.

On a sunny spring day on a farm outside St. Louis, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin celebrated a new era for America’s wetlands.

Meteorologists and climatologists often have a tough job explaining climate change to the public, especially in places where audiences may be more skeptical of the science. In the Midwest and Great Plains, strong resistance has pushed some out of the field.

El Río Mississippi fluye apaciblemente debajo del Puente Centennial, que conecta Illinois e Iowa por las Quad Cities. Un sábado por la tarde a principios de mayo, los carros pasan y saludan o dan un bocinazo ocasional a una larga fila de ambientalistas que afirman que el río es un ser vivo.

Advocates from across the Mississippi River basin are calling for the Mississippi River to be granted legal rights.

A new study of the dramatic loss of wetlands in the Barataria Basin south of New Orleans during the last 130 years concludes that the two main causes have been construction of levees along the Mississippi River and subsidence due to oil and gas activity.

Illinois Attorney General's Office filed new lawsuit alleging 14 companies knowingly enriched themselves while promoting toxic PFAS products.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently released new rules regarding the Waters of the United States that decide which bodies of water fall under federal protection. But a case the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on soon throws those rules into question and could mean less protection for wetlands.

Many ag industry and farm worker advocacy groups had high hopes that farm labor reform would make it through Congress last year. Now the future is murky.