[BCNnet] Mississippi River Restoration

[Judy Pollock]

If this project makes it through Congress with the right priorities, it can 
do an enormous amount of good for Illinois wildlife... it's worthy of your 
support.

Audubon Calls on Lawmakers to Make Restoration a Priority in Any 
Mississippi River Improvement Bill

Washington, DC, Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - In comments submitted today to the 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Audubon and its one million supporters, and 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are urging lawmakers to support 
the initiative to include a strong science-based, ecosystem restoration 
plan in any Mississippi River Improvement Bill.  Audubon activists and 
supporters are calling for a full 50-year, $8.4 billion restoration program 
to protect and restore as much as one million acres of 
internationally-significant wildlife habitat that is also home to thousands 
of people.

"Since 1998, we have traveled all 1,366 miles of the Upper Mississippi 
River from the headwaters in northern Minnesota to the confluence with the 
Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois. We will be on the River for years to come so 
we have a very real interest in this resource as both an environmental and 
economic asset," said Dan McGuiness, Director of Audubon's Upper 
Mississippi River Campaign. "We can and must improve the ecological health 
of the River, in conjunction with improving and maintaining navigation to 
ensure that the Upper Mississippi Region flourishes." McGuiness addressed 
the Mississippi River Caucus in Washington, DC last week.

Visit <http://www.audubon.org/news/press_releases/MRI_Bill.html> for more 
information.
o

Judy Pollock
jpollock@audubon.org