2012 Summit

A Vision Moves Forward

In late September 2012, America’s Great Watershed Initiative invited leaders of industry, agencies and academia from throughout the Mississippi River watershed to participate in an interactive forum called the AGWI Summit.

Attendees represented the six major sub-basins, including more than 250 tributaries, that feed the Mississippi as it flows to the Gulf of Mexico.

The diverse group explored collaborative ways to address geographic, institutional and issue-based barriers (as presented in the event video below) in order to maximize potential of the overall watershed.

Key outcomes of the summit included:

• Official launch of America’s Great Watershed Initiative
• Review of options to establish America’s Great Watershed Initiative as an enduring organization that will connect basin-wide stakeholders and harness best science to create a shared vision—as well as a more integrated management system within the watershed
• Review of a sample ‘report card’ of river health to help assess the condition of the Mississippi River over time
• Creation of messages about the economic, social and ecological importance of the Mississippi River and its basin–and how management changes are needed to protect this national/global treasure in the long term