From Planning to Action: Partnership Creates Roadmaps for the Basin

After more than a year of collaborative planning, it’s time to act. Partners across the Mississippi River Watershed are helping us build roadmaps—strategic action plans that chart a clear path from where we are to where we want to be.

Each roadmap tackles one of 10 priority actions, surveying existing work in the basin, showing how it advances partnership goals across key issue areas, and identifying the next steps partners are uniquely positioned to tackle together.

The process started with a survey. AWI and The Nature Conservancy asked MRWP participants about their current work and top priorities. In August, over 60 leaders gathered for a workshop to draft the initial roadmaps. Since then, small groups have been refining them, with all 10 set for completion by March 2026.

Want to see what the roadmaps cover? Check out our updated Partnership page.

Taking the Watershed’s Case to Capitol Hill

AWI’s Executive Director Kim Lutz and Board member Jim Crum headed to Capitol Hill this December to meet with members of the Mississippi River Congressional delegation. The following were key talking points during the meetings:

Advancing the Mississippi River Fisheries Commission Act

A key focus was building support for the proposed Mississippi River Fisheries Commission Act. Endorsed by nearly all Mississippi River states, this legislation would protect the basin’s thousands of small streams—home to hundreds of fish species and critical aquatic life.

The numbers tell the story: more than 90 tributary rivers and fish species in the basin are managed by two or more government entities, making them “interjurisdictional” resources that need coordinated protection. The economic stakes are high as well, with recreational fishing in the basin generating an estimated $26 billion annually (American Sportfishing Association 2023).

Building Federal Partnerships

Kim and Jim also met with federal agency partners to explore how AWI can help disseminate critical information across the watershed. Topics included water quality improvements, flood and drought mitigation, and expanding recreation opportunities—issues that matter to communities throughout the basin. 

The meetings reinforced AWI’s role as a connector, bringing together stakeholders across state lines and agency boundaries to tackle the watershed’s biggest challenges.

Executive Director Kim Lutz joined more than 150 leaders at the Annual Waterways Symposium hosted by Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) last month. The event, organized by WCI and AWI Board Member Deb Calhoun (Senior Vice President at Waterways Council, Inc.), featured a robust agenda with top-tier speakers on critical waterways issues.

AWI was well-represented at the gathering. Board members Angela Grett (Vice President, Corporate Affairs at Ingram Barge Company) and Kirsten Wallace (Executive Director of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association and Trustee of the National Waterways Foundation) joined Kim for the event.

Heavy-Hitting Lineup

WCI assembled an impressive roster of speakers, including political analyst David Wasserman (Senior Editor & Elections Analyst, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter), geopolitical pundit Jacob Shapiro, and Theodore “Tab” Brown (Chief, Programs Integration Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), who provided an update on Corps Civil Works projects.

The symposium offered a valuable opportunity to connect with waterways stakeholders and stay current on issues critical to the Mississippi River basin—from infrastructure investments to policy developments shaping the future of inland navigation.