September 9, 2014, Tuesday - "Trapped by History: the Past and Future of the Upper Mississippi River" at Northrup

Time: 7:00pm

Location: Northrop, 84 Church Street SE,  Best Buy Theater

"Trapped by History: the Past and Future of the Upper Mississippi River"

River Life and the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota are very pleased to announce the program "Trapped by History: the Past and Future of the Upper Mississippi River" by National Park Service Superintendent John Anfinson.

The Mississippi River today has become an artifact of human construction because of human changes to biological and physical systems over the past 150 years. Navigation improvements, floodplain levees, a refuge and even early biological manipulations have transformed the upper Mississippi River’s physical and ecological character. A key question we face today is: Are we trapped by that history, or can we make changes that will ensure that the river’s ecosystems are healthy and abundant? In his presentation, Dr. John O. Anfinson will try answer these questions and hint at where the upper Mississippi River may be headed. Anfinson’s talk is part of a series of public events associated with the John E. Sawyer Seminar “Making the Mississippi: Formulating new water narratives for the 21st century and beyond.”

The Sawyer Seminar is funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation. This program is free and open to the public. Further information can be found at http://www.northrop.umn.edu/events/trapped-history-past-and-future-upper-mississippi-river