Federal and State Leaders Push Plan for Closing Upper St. Anthony Lock & Dam to Stop Asian Carp

From the Pioneer Press:

Federal and state leaders highlighted the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam in downtown Minneapolis on Monday as a crucial barrier for stopping the advance of Asian carp up the Mississippi River.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Erik Paulsen visited the site to tout legislation to make it easier to close the lock and dam. They spoke to reporters at a University of Minnesota laboratory just across the river from the lock where researchers are studying bubble barriers and other potential ways to stop the invasive carp. 

Read the full article...

Asian Carp Bill Seeks to Authorize Closing of Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock & Dam

Registration Now Open for the Innaugural Mightyssippi River Adventure

CANOE OR KAYAK THE MIGHTYSSIPPI

Registration is now open for the inaugural MIGHTYSSIPPI, a river adventure from Minneapolis to St. Paul scheduled for Saturday, June 16.

You can opt for a 6-mile or 14-mile adventure.  There will be rest stops with music and porta potties along with way, ending with a post race party on Harriet Island.

Rental canoes & kayaks will be available.

Mississippi River Canoe Trip - Episode 9: Lake Pepin [Video]

A nine part series capturing 3 brothers on a canoe trip from Lake Itasca to Lake Pepin on the Mississippi River.  The brothers eventually paddle the 2,500+ miles to the Gulf of Mexico.

Prologue

Episode 1: Headwaters

Episode 2: Bemidji, MN

Episode 3: Lakes

Episode 4: The Storm

Episode 5: Bugs

Episode 6: Little Falls, MN

Episode 7: Portaging

Episode 8: Minneapolis, MN

Episode 9: Lake Pepin

Mississippi River Canoe Trip - Episode 8: Minneapolis, MN [Video]

A nine part series capturing 3 brothers on a canoe trip from Lake Itasca to Lake Pepin on the Mississippi River.  The brothers eventually paddle the 2,500+ miles to the Gulf of Mexico.

Prologue

Episode 1: Headwaters

Episode 2: Bemidji, MN

Episode 3: Lakes

Episode 4: The Storm

Episode 5: Bugs

Episode 6: Little Falls, MN

Episode 7: Portaging

Episode 8: Minneapolis, MN

Episode 9: Lake Pepin

IMPORTANT MEETING: Asian Carp: What Can We Do Now?

Monday, March 19, 2012 at 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM

The Mississippi River Fund invites you to a meeting to discuss Asian carp and what we can do together to slow the spread of carp before the Mississippi River opens this spring.

Despite efforts this winter to get barriers or deterrents in place, these solutions will not happen anytime soon. Reducing our use of the locks may be the one thing we can do now that will slow the advance of Asian carp through the Twin Cities and into the heart of Minnesota.

The meeting will begin with presentation from John Anfinson of the National Park Service, followed by a discussion about what river users can do to help slow the spread of Asian Carp.

Location:

Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center (Ferber Community Dining Room) 179 Robie Street East Saint Paul,  MN  55107

Map to the Wellstone Center

Mississippi River Canoe Trip - Episode 7: Portaging [Video]

A nine part series capturing 3 brothers on a canoe trip from Lake Itasca to Lake Pepin on the Mississippi River.  The brothers eventually paddle the 2,500+ miles to the Gulf of Mexico.

Prologue

Episode 1: Headwaters

Episode 2: Bemidji, MN

Episode 3: Lakes

Episode 4: The Storm

Episode 5: Bugs

Episode 6: Little Falls, MN

Episode 7: Portaging

Episode 8: Minneapolis, MN

Episode 9: Lake Pepin

ACTION ALERT: Renewable Energy Research at U of MN is Threatened

From the River Talk Blog:

The Minnesota Senate is considering a bill that would redirect funding away from renewable energy broadly speaking and limit research to projects in renewable electricity (no more research on renewable transportation fuels, conservation, or energy efficiency).  Learn more at this Action Alert.

What has this got to do with rivers and a sustainable Mississippi River?  The energy/water nexus is in and of itself very powerful:  one of the largest uses of water in Minnesota is cooling power plants, for example.  Conservation and energy efficiency can reduce our reliance on these plants, thereby perhaps freeing water for other uses.

Furthermore, the mercury pollution that is part of the impairment of so many of Minnesota’s lakes and streams gets here as airborne pollution from upwind power plants.  Again, better energy conservation standards will ultimately mean less mercury in the lakes and rivers and a big step toward the Clean Water Act’s goal of “swimmable, fishable waters” across the country.

As John Muir said (and I paraphrase) “when you take hold of any part of the world, you find that it’s connected to all the other parts.”  Look again at the Action Alert and help preserve all aspects of renewable energy research in the state.

http://riverlife.umn.edu/2012/03/05/renewable-energy-research-at-u-of-mn-is-threatened/

Mississippi River Canoe Trip - Episode 6: Little Falls, MN [Video]

A nine part series capturing 3 brothers on a canoe trip from Lake Itasca to Lake Pepin on the Mississippi River.  The brothers eventually paddle the 2,500+ miles to the Gulf of Mexico.

Prologue

Episode 1: Headwaters

Episode 2: Bemidji, MN

Episode 3: Lakes

Episode 4: The Storm

Episode 5: Bugs

Episode 6: Little Falls, MN

Episode 7: Portaging

Episode 8: Minneapolis, MN

Episode 9: Lake Pepin

Mississippi River Canoe Trip - Episode 5: Bugs [Video]

A nine part series capturing 3 brothers on a canoe trip from Lake Itasca to Lake Pepin on the Mississippi River.  The brothers eventually paddle the 2,500+ miles to the Gulf of Mexico.

Prologue

Episode 1: Headwaters

Episode 2: Bemidji, MN

Episode 3: Lakes

Episode 4: The Storm

Episode 5: Bugs

Episode 6: Little Falls, MN

Episode 7: Portaging

Episode 8: Minneapolis, MN

Episode 9: Lake Pepin