This title echoes the profound legacies of John Anfinfinson’s The River We Have Wrought and Cal Fremling’s Immortal River. Both books are essential chronicles of the river’s history, cultural significance, and the economic policies…

Our Upper Mississippi River chapter’s collaboration with a UW-La Crosse Recreation Management class to develop QR-code-based environmental interpretation materials for Hintgen Island (near La Crosse) is drawing to a close…

For decades, the direction of river management—the debate over which ecological needs should be prioritized and where specific infrastructure projects should be situated—has been the near-exclusive domain of Federal and State agencies…

In January, 2023, Deb Haaland, then Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, signed Public Land Order 7917, putting federal lands in the Boundary Waters watershed off-limits to federal mineral leasing (and thus mining) for 20 years…

As the river valley softens from brown into green, our chapter has been gathering wherever the season invites us — in stewardship, learning, and community. From conversations about water quality and hands deep in habitat restoration…

Wing and closing dams on the Upper Mississippi are a favorite haunt for many species of fish and favorite places for thousands of people fishing for bass and walleye. They can also be the nemesis for the novice boater who…

Federal conservation efforts on the Upper Mississippi River faced major uncertainty in 2025 as proposed budget cuts threatened long-standing restoration and monitoring programs supported by the Izaak Walton League and its…

If you were asked the question, ‘how healthy is the Upper Mississippi River’, how would you answer it? Is the ‘health’ of the Upper Mississippi River getting better or worse? In this article, we describe the history of long term resource monitoring on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers (Upper Mississippi River System) …