FROM ITS HEADWATERS near Lake Itasca in Minnesota 

to its meeting with the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana, the 

Mississippi River flows, bringing sustenance, commerce 

and recreation opportunities. Sometimes welcoming, sometimes destructive and always ever-present in the lives of the 

people who live along its banks, the river has sparked artists’ 

imaginations since the Native American tribes living on its 

banks incorporated river motifs into their clothing, blankets, 

robes and drums.

But as the centuries passed and nearly 130 cities sprang up 

along the Mississippi, in many places something happened 

to the relationship between the people and the river. With 

floodwalls, levees and heavy industrial builds at river’s edge, 

in recent times “there has been a 

huge disconnection over the years,” 

according to Baton Rouge artist 

and landscape designer Taylor 

Jacobsen.

On a road trip that Jacobsen 

took to survey the length of the 

Mississippi, he found places all 

along the way that are changing 

that reality, by using art installations to help give residents 

and tourists a renewed sense of the power, grandeur and 

beauty of the river. 

“There are some cities that are intentionally changing 

their river culture, with urban revitalization combined with 

art, designed to revitalize the water’s edge and to start the 

conversation of getting people back there and closer to connecting to the river through art,” he said. 

“A big revitalization project can take ten years, at a great 

cost. But what I always tell people is that art is so quick, it’s 

so cheap, and it has such an impact to the visual space, often 

virtually overnight. Art is just very natural for human beings 

to understand. It’s something that’s been around for 30,000 

years. Creativity, art. It’s human nature.”

SUMMER 2020

Artists hearing the call of the 

river muse are changing the 

way we see America’s greatest 

waterway

Continued on page 2 >>

ABOVE: The reflective 

Sing the River sculpture 

in Baton Rouge draws 

visitors who can see 

themselves inside with 

the river as backdrop 

or listen to sounds that 

change as the river moves.

Creating connections

PHOTO: ATHENS SILABAN.

Our Mississippi River Basin
Art + The River = Emotional Health

Studies have proved that getting in touch with nature is essential for human 

beings to relieve stress, anxiety and negative feelings and to bring a sense 

of overall wellbeing. art often evokes a similar response, adding emotion 

and knowledge to those feelings. Those realities are things that renowned 

Minneapolis artist Alyssa Baguss brings to her work, work that has always 

been closely tied to nature and the big river that flows nearby. She recently 

received a $10,000 grant from Forecast to create art directly on the Mississippi 

River, in a program she calls Open Water.

“I’m a superfan of the Mississippi River,” she admits with a laugh. “I’ve always 

lived close to the Mississippi River and there’s just something about it that is 

intriguing. It’s so culturally important to the Midwest, and particularly in the 

Twin Cities and the history of the cities, but for me, it’s kind of this central natural feature. It’s always there, you can count on it, you know where it’s going. And 

there aren’t that many things in life that you can count on in that way.”

Open Water is “a series of experimental buoyant happenings aboard the 

Minneapolis Water Taxi,” Baguss explains. “It is a one-hour experience on 

the river. It’s for an artist to get on a little boat with six or less guests, and do 

whatever they want for an hour, in some relationship with the river. And it’s an 

opportunity for them to play and fail and experiment and relax, which is something we don’t get to do a whole lot when it’s an opportunity to create work.”

That innovative project puts the artist right into the river, while most other 

cities (including Minneapolis) are going a more traditional route to helping 

people relate to both the natural wonders of the river and the creative benefits of being exposed to all kinds of artworks.

From Minneapolis to Baton Rouge: creating connections 

In Minneapolis, near where the Mississippi River begins, different art projects 

along the river have been a part of the city’s DNA since 1994. That’s when the 

Adopt-a-River Trash Sculptures program began, pairing river cleanup volunteers with artists. In place until 2015, the program challenged artists to create 

“trash sculptures” from garbage collected from the river, with the resulting 

creations shown at the Minnesota State Fair. While that program is no more, 

seven sculptures are permanently installed around the city, including “The 

Industrious, Cooperative Ant” in place on the river trail in South Saint Paul 

and the riverside “Dragon Fly” at Lock & Dam #2 in Hastings.

These days in Minneapolis, John Hock spearheads the River First Gateway 

Sculpture Trail, an ambitious project in the Northeast Minneapolis Arts 

District. With “about 15 sculptures in place” right now, Hock and his cohorts 

at the NE Sculpture | Gallery Factory are planning many more installations, 

including works in parks along the riverbank. “Over the next five years, we 

should have sculptures all over the district,” Hock says. 

In Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, visitors enjoy the Mississippi River Sculpture 

Park, where artist Florence Bird is creating bronze sculptures that reflect the 

people who have made important contributions to the history of the area. 

Six sculptures are currently on display, including “Black Hawk,” the Sauk war 

chief; “Voyageur,” her homage to the river paddlers of the 19th century; and 

“Emma Big Bear,” for a well-known Winnebago tribe artist whose work was 

influenced by her river experiences.

Further downriver in Dubuque, Iowa, lies the Mississippi Riverwalk, a gorgeous riverside walkway that boasts an ambitious annual sculpture exhibit 

celebrating the relationship between art and the river. Since 2006, the city has 

commissioned ten sculptures for placement along the riverwalk; this year’s 

installation “focuses on artists and artwork that draw inspiration from the 

people, culture, beauty and magnitude of the mighty Mississippi River.”

In Cape Girardeau, Missouri, more than 18.000 square feet of the downtown 

floodwall is covered in “Mississippi River Tales” murals created by Thomas 

Melvin in 2005, including 24 panels that tell the history of the city and the river 

region surrounding it. It’s a city that loves murals, with a massive “Welcome 

to Cape Girardeau” mural welcoming river traffic also painted on the river 

wall, as well as more floodwall murals that honor the Missouri Hall of Fame.

Along Levee Street in Vicksburg, Mississippi, a collection of 32 murals by 

Robert Dafford draw visitors to the floodwall along the river. Unveiled beginning in 2002, the popular murals tell the story of the city’s commercial and 

cultural life, dating back to the founding of the city.

And in Baton Rouge, where Taylor Jacobsen has created a “HeART Trail” 

walking path for locals and tourists alike to enjoy, he’s put the start at the 

river’s edge, where one of the Mississippi’s most impressive sculptures resides. 

That’s the “Sing the River” stainless-steel work created by artist Po Shu Wang 

and placed in late 2019. Designed to be integrally connected to the river via 

sensors, they allow the sculpture to actually play music that reflects the rise 

and fall of the water. 

That beautiful piece regularly draws crowds of hikers and bicyclists who 

pose before its fun house-like mirrored effects, capturing their own likenesses 

coupled with reflected images of the river. It might also be the most evocative 

of all the artwork that calls the Mississippi River banks home, singing out a 

suggestive tune that just might spark the muse in yet another budding artist 

who hears the siren song of the mighty Mississippi, a river that’s called to artists since time immemorial. —J.P.

“A big revitalization 

project can take 

ten years, at a great 

cost. But ... art is so 

quick, it’s so cheap, 

and it has such an 

impact to the visual 

space, often virtually 

overnight. Art is 

just very natural for 

human beings to 

understand.” 

—Taylor Jacobsen

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: In the Mississippi 

River Sculpture Park in Prairie du Chien, 

Wisconsin, artist Florence Bird’s works honor 

historic contributors to the river including a Sauk 

warrior and a voyageur; Baton Rouge artist Taylor 

Jacobsen’s work focuses on connecting people 

with rivers through art; the Red Stick sculpture 

at Southern University honoring the city’s name; 

and below: another view of Sing the River and a 

close-up of a Vicksburg waterfront mural.

2
Since Combat Veteran Dustin Wood can remember, he’s been intrigued 

by archaeology. Dinosaurs piqued his childhood curiosities, and then he 

became fascinated by ancient civilizations.

So, after five years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps, Wood began to think 

about how he would define this next chapter of his life as a civilian. An internet 

search—“archaeology for veterans”—led him to the Veterans Curation Program, 

and, in 2019 he moved from Wisconsin to Missouri to take part in the five-month 

paid program that aligned with his passions. In a St. Louis laboratory, stocked 

with high-tech equipment and ancient artifacts, Wood learned how to clean, photograph, and catalogue precious archaeological collections belonging to the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers. 

“The chips fell into place, and I knew this was where I was meant to be,” says 

Wood, who joins a cadre of 646 veterans who have been trained and employed by 

the Veterans Curation Program since its inception 11 years ago.

The St. Louis District’s Mandatory Center of Expertise for the Curation and 

Management of Archaeological Collections (MCX-CMAC) developed the Veterans 

Curation Program back in 2009. Previously, Dr. Michael (Sonny) Trimble, the program’s founder and former director, was performing an archaeological feat: the 

Iraq mass graves excavation. In the desert, he was gathering evidence that would 

support genocide charges against Saddam Hussein. Trimble, a Corps archaeologist, came back to the states, wanting to serve those who had served him over in 

Iraq, keeping him safe as he worked in dangerous locations. 

The idea behind the program? Heroes are helping to preserve history.

A primary goal of the program, says Jennifer Riordan, MCX-CMAC and Veterans 

Curation Program director, is to provide a stepping stone for veterans as they 

transition from military careers to the public sector. Ninety-one percent of the 

graduates land jobs or enroll in college at the completion of the program.

Not only do veterans bring an attention to detail to the lab, but they are also 

eager to learn new skills, Riordan says. “This is all new to them, but they dive in with 

energy and enthusiasm, and the environment in the lab is very positive,” she says.

Kim Blanke, a Marine veteran who went through the VCP, is now an assistant 

lab manager in the St. Louis facility.

“I get to experience the same brotherhood in the lab that I did in the Marines,” 

says Blanke, who enjoys mentoring fellow veterans who are transitioning from 

the military into new careers. 

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds were used to establish the 

first three main VCP laboratories in Augusta, Georgia; Alexandria, Virginia; and 

St. Louis, Missouri. Over the years, the VCP has opened another main laboratory 

in San Mateo, California, as well as opening up smaller satellites, including ones 

at Washington State University in Pullman, Texas State University in San Marcos, 

and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. 

Artifacts that come into the labs include historic flood photos; remnants of 

ancient Native American tribes, like effigies portraying animals important to the 

Mississippi River region; historic military garb from the Civil War Era; and ammunition from early wars.

Recently, technicians in the St. Louis lab processed a Civil War–era dog tag 

(PICTURED, TOP) that was discovered during excavations at Fort Ellsworth, Kansas, 

Blanke says. Made of brass, the tag is stamped with the initials LPW and the number 

7, which possibly refers to the 7th Iowa Cavalry (1863–1866), which established the 

fort. The team looked at muster rolls and believe the tag belonged to Lewis P. Wall, a 

sergeant with those initials. While it’s impossible to definitively link the artifact to Sgt. 

Wall, it demonstrates the human connection that makes archaeology so fascinating.

“As veterans, it’s really nice to be able to preserve that history,” Blanke says.

The skills veterans learn in the lab are valuable in a variety of fields, and 

graduates have gone on to take jobs as managers, photographers, working in the 

culinary arts, or pursuing careers with federal agencies like the Transportation 

Security Administration or the U.S. Census Bureau. 

For Wood, though, the time in the lab helped him better hone his skills in the 

field of archaeology, further fueling his interest. While in the program, he was 

receiving encouraging feedback about the quality of his photographs. Now, he’s 

working as an image specialist for a Hawaii-based company Na Ali‘i, digitizing 

casualty records from World War II and the Korean War. 

He credits the Veterans Curation Program for giving him the skills to do this 

important preservation work. Not only does the work he’s doing fit his interest, 

it’s meaningful to Wood, who was stationed in Iraq.

“I feel as though I’m doing my small part by helping soldiers’ families find 

peace, and maybe some answers,” Wood says. “Every record I go through is 

another person’s life. I lost friends when I went to combat, so I understand that 

every file I go through is someone who didn’t make it home to their family. I want 

to help them find their way home.” —B.A.

The Veterans Curation Program helps preserve cultural artifacts 

while also bridging a gap into civilian life.

Heroes Preserving History 

FROM LEFT: U.S. Marine 

Corps combat veteran 

Dustin Wood, pictured top 

right under a photo of a 

rare Civil War-era dog tag, 

was able to transition back 

to civilian life in a way that 

incorporated his childhood 

love of anything ancient 

through the U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers’ Mandatory 

Center of Expertise for the 

Curation and Management 

of Archaeological 

Collections. Also pictured: 

the 2019 graduation class 

and the group in cleaning 

and mending training.

Artifacts that 

come into the 

labs include historic 

flood photos; remnants of 

ancient Native American 

tribes, like effigies portraying 

animals important to the 

Mississippi River region; 

historic military garb from 

the Civil War Era; and 

ammunition from early wars.

3
THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER captured John 

Ruskey’s heart almost four decades ago. When he began 

exploring its back channels and islands as a 18-year-old 

from Colorado, he had never owned a canoe. But the 

beauty and power of the river hooked him. 

“Without reading too much into it,” he said, “it felt like 

the river called my name.”

That experience opened a path he had never considered, creating a canoe company to help others get out 

and enjoy the wild places of the river. In 1998, he founded 

the Quapaw Canoe Company, the longest standing canoe 

outfitter and guide service between St. Louis and St. 

Francis, Louisiana. Ruskey and his guides lead more than 

100 trips each year, connecting people with the unexpected wildness of the Lower Mississippi River.

Ruskey describes the Lower Mississippi as one of the 

most natural landscapes he’s ever experienced. Despite 

being a major corridor for towboats, towns and industry 

sit far back from the main river channel behind levees. 

The backwater channels, floodplain forests, sandbars, 

and islands create a constantly changing wilderness, 

home to white-tailed deer, Louisiana black bear, and 

abundant waterfowl, fish and bird life. 

A foundation of Ruskey’s mission for Quapaw Canoe 

Company has been creating the next generation of 

river fans. Last year, his trips included 960 students in 

school, after-school, and summer programs. Most were 

middle schoolers and high schoolers from Mississippi, 

Tennessee, and Arkansas. But some come from as 

far away as Colorado Springs, San Francisco, Seattle, 

Milwaukee, and Andover, New Hampshire. 

The Jackson Academy of Jackson, Mississippi, has 

become a Quapaw regular, ensuring each of its fifth 

graders can participate in an overnight trip. Students 

learn to paddle, camp, set up a tent, and use a sleeping 

bag. Some cook over a fire for the very first time in their 

lives. “A day trip or an overnight trip will turn some kids’ 

lives around,” Ruskey said. “They like the feel of being in 

a peaceful place and feeling protected and inspired by 

the nature around them.” 

This year marks the third season of a new outreach 

venture, the Youth Leadership summer camp, created in conjunction with the Lower Mississippi 

River Foundation. Quapaw Canoe Company also sponsors the Mighty Quapaws, an ongoing, 

on-demand apprenticeship program for youth from Clarksdale neighborhoods. Here, they learn 

to build a canoe and safely paddle it on the big river. 

“Once the apprentice is at that level, they become a guide for Quapaw or go elsewhere,” 

Ruskey said. “They all take a life-long connection to the river as they go into the wider world.”

Ruskey stays in touch with a core group of the apprentices. One young man now in the Marine 

Corps recently shared in an email, “Man, I miss that river.” Ruskey sees that sentiment as hopeful.

 “When our youth start feeling strongly for the river, they can’t wait to get back to that river,” 

he said. “They are becoming the future stewards of the Mississippi. We’re recognizing the formula for helping Mother Earth survive is pretty important, trying to create a better world in 

harmony with our youth.” —D.D.

Get the River Guide 

Ruskey calls it the “wilderness 

within,” the thin strip of wild 

lands where the Mississippi 

River flows through the heart 

of the continent. He’s carefully 

mapped and documented 

more than 1,000 miles of the 

river’s wildest stretches in his 

Rivergator guide.RIVERGATOR.ORG

Recommended Trips

On these trips, dramatic bluffs 

rise above the swampy floodplain. Listed from shortest 

to longest, these reaches are 

also notable for their dramatic 

sunsets and sunrises.

• Chickasaw Bluffs (Osceola 

to Memphis): 48 miles, from 

San Souci Boat Ramp, just 

below Osceola, Ark., to Mud 

Island Harbor.

• Mississippi Hills (Natchez 

to St. Francisville): 98 miles, 

from Natchez-Under-The-Hill 

to the St. Francisville ferry 

landing. 

• Missouri Hills (St. Louis 

to Cairo): Approximately 

200 miles, depending on 

put-in and take-out. Consult 

Rivergator for options, and 

use caution through the Port 

of St. Louis!

Sharing a special view of the 

Lower Mississippi with tomorrow’s 

paddlers and stewards

The wilderness within

View from the wheelhouse

Adam DeSimone, relief captain for the Marquette Transportation barge, the M/V Christopher Myskowski, has a view 

from the wheelhouse few get to see, especially when he’s running from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. He says, “You get an interesting 

perspective like the Eads bridge when it’s foggy, hazy, raining. 

It’s the oldest steel bridge across the Mississippi. James Eads 

was the designer, and Andrew Carnegie supplied the steel. 

It had the deepest caissons, over 100 feet and it’s still some 

of the deepest to this day. And wildlife. I never knew eagles 

would swim. They pick up fish they can’t carry and flap wings 

on the water like they’re swimming. And the meteor showers out here are especially cool.” His most powerful subject 

turns out to be the barges themselves—the 1,000 to 1,400 feet 

of grain, corn, wheat and soybean he pushes up and down 

the Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway. Here’s what he 

sees as he catches the rainbow and 

bridge above Lock 15, the barges almost as richly colored as the sunset 

south of Dubuque, Iowa, and more.

Follow the captain: facebook.

com/Through-River-Bearseyes-101032468341334/

4
Helping the bugs we 

want in the river 

MyMISSISSIPPI Bill Iseminger, Archaeologist for 49 years at the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site 

“Since I moved to this area in 1971, the river has been part of my subculture. To be associated with that connection is important, but also to see the dynamics of the river as it rises and floods and drops, how it affects the 

ecology of the area, how it affects the people who live here. It is a massive force of nature. 

“Cahokia Mounds preserves a portion of the archaeological site which originally covered almost six square 

miles and had about 120 mounds, and 80 remain. They were built by people of the Mississippian Culture. That 

is a term archaeologists use; we don’t know what they called themselves or this place.

“The majority of mounds are temple mounds that had buildings on them—places where leaders lived, temples or other ritual and public buildings. The peak period of occupation was from about 900 to the mid-1300s, 

when up to 20,000 people lived here. It was very influential. Perhaps a new religion was starting here. There 

could have been a charismatic leader. It could have been the location itself. 

“Cahokia is near the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers. The rivers were important for 

transportation, communications and trade. The Mississippians relied on the fertile floodplain soils for their 

crops. The aquatic resources provided all kinds of fish and waterfowl. The whole ecosystem was essential to 

the people who lived here. In many ways it still is today.” 

FROM LEFT: Audrey Harrison examines a sample of river bottom sand collected on 

a recent research outing in search of clinging invertebrates. Harrison of the Corps’ 

Engineer, Research and Development Center has been fascinated with the river’s tiniest 

creatures since studying insects on which river sturgeon feed. She’s now setting out to 

increase species abundance through a Corps Memphis District project that’s adding 

wood to the river as a place for insects to cling.

Mark Twain might be the lone Mississippi River pilot wanting more 

snags for the challenge and romance of it all. But he would have 

some surprising company in a group of microscopic critters key to 

the rivers’ ecosystem and the biologists trying to give them a boost.

In a pilot project, the Memphis District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

is working with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center 

(ERDC) in Vicksburg to add woody debris back to the river. The goal is to 

provide places for the bugs key to the river ecosystem to “cling” and complete 

their life cycles. A companion study is looking at exactly what river substrate 

materials the tiny critters most prefer. 

“Because we’ve lost that wood and we’ve engineered the river to move as 

much material out of the system as quickly as possible, we just don’t have that 

structural complexity within the river channel we once had and that the river 

needs to maintain diversity levels,” said Audrey Harrison, the ERDC biologist 

spearheading the project. “We think that’s really had the biggest impact on 

clinging invertebrates, those that hold on to a structure for either shelter or 

feeding, whatever they need to be doing to complete their life history. The loss 

of wood has led to what we think has been a big decline.”

With the help of grant funding, the Memphis District has stockpiled woody 

debris to place strategically in the secondary channel when river stages 

permit to colonize the micro-invertebrates and create more fish habitat.

Why this is needed 

The need arises from that original mission of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—

to remove trees and snags to make the river safer for the steamboats. 

“Wood jams would cause wreckages and would delay navigation, and so 

that was the very first navigation improvement on the river, and that was in 

the early 1800s” Harrison said. “Then we did all the other things to the river. 

We straightened it, we built levees and we channelized the tributaries, and all 

the while the whole basin was being converted to agriculture. Our estimate is 

there’s been about a 90 percent decrease in forest. So not only have we lost the 

wood that was already in the river, we’ve lost the forests that feed wood into 

the river. And wood is a really, really important feature of any flowing river 

system. It provides habitat and food for a multitude of organisms.”

Mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies or “clinging invertebrates” are the 

focus of Harrison’s work. These smallest of the river’s are indicators of good 

water quality—sensitive to environmental changes and pollution and used 

as indicators of ecosystem health. But while their presence or absence can 

be used as a benchmark for river health, they’re also key contributors to 

nutrient cycles.

A grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is funding the construction 

of the pilot wood trap. It’ll be placed in a V-shape open to the flow of the river, 

connected with wire cables, fed initially with trees cleared from banks during 

river engineering work. The traps will continue to collect the wood that flows 

downstream.

A companion three-year colonization study funded by the Mississippi 

Valley Division’s Lower Mississippi River Environmental Studies Program 

is looking at which of seven types of substrate materials—among them leaf 

packs, clay, gravel and rip-rap used to stabilize river banks—attracts the most 

clinging invertebrates by attaching cages containing each to a floating buoy. 

So far, natural substrates support the largest numbers and most individual 

invertebrates, Harrison says. 

“Insects are the most abundant group of organisms on the planet, occurring in large numbers in aquatic environments,” she says. “They have the 

ability to perform all these outstanding services for us—cleaning up the river, 

taking all the energy and taking it back into he terrestrial environment before 

it reaches our oceans and seas and estuaries and serving as food themselves 

for shorebirds and bats. The goal is, because we have suffered these losses, to 

try to (without affecting flood control or navigation) find ways to increase the 

structural complexity that used to be there.” —K.S.

“But this thing has knocked the romance out of piloting, to a 

large extent ... the peril of snags is not what it once was. The 

government’s snag-boats go patrolling up and down, in these 

matter-of-fact days, pulling the river’s teeth. They have rooted out 

all the old clusters which made many localities so formidable; 

and they allow no new ones to collect.”

—Mark Twain on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

5
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER and its tributaries are carrying 

more sediment away from their banks than even a few years 

ago. Floods occur more frequently, picking up more sediment 

that fills side channels and wetlands, leaving less capacity to 

absorb the next flood. 

What can and must be done about that is the focus of a unifying plan created by the states of the Upper Mississippi River.

“Since about 2016 the states have been asking for a planning 

effort that addresses together water movement and sediment 

movement and how we manage the Upper Mississippi River 

to maintain the goals and purposes we set together, which 

include navigation, a healthy ecosystem and clean water,” said 

Kirsten Wallace, executive director of the Upper Mississippi 

River Basin Association (UMBRA). 

The UMBRA is an interstate organization formed by the governors of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin 

to coordinate river-related policies and programs. It is preparing a report, “Keys to the River 2020,” that will guide state 

and federal agencies in cooperative efforts to enhance the 

resilience of the economies, communities and ecologies with 

the river corridor of the Upper Mississippi River System.

“We are in a new paradigm,” Wallace said. “For the last 

10 years or so we have seen the watershed behaving differently. We have more flooding and more resulting damage. 

Communities that live along the river are struggling. They 

need to be there because we still need the river to work for us. 

We are trying to understand how our management structure 

should be set up to deal with how the river is acting now and 

we think it will act in the future.”

Water and sediment have historically defined river policies, 

but they are creating ever bigger challenges—starting with 

water. That’s true whether “that is a lot of water or not enough 

water and then how much sediment is coming in, where that 

sediment is going and how we get rid of it,” she said.

First, the water

So far, 2019 has the honor of being the wettest year on record 

for the Upper Mississippi River. There’s not only more water, 

there’s flooding well beyond the spring flood pulse. When it 

doesn’t drop in July, as it typically has, the floodplain forests 

sustain significant damage, and communities remain longer 

at risk.

On the other hand, Wallace says, “We are closer to drought 

than most people realize.” Significant droughts affected portions of the Upper Mississippi watershed in 2012, 2014, 2017 

and 2018. “People in the floodplain are more affected by flooding. That causes more damage to infrastructure than drought 

does, but drought has significant economic and ecological 

implications, too.”

Then the sediment

Both the high volume and velocity of water moving from the 

watershed are causing greater rates of sedimentation to the 

river, Wallace notes. As the river’s backwaters fill with sediment, its capacity to convey floods is limited, adding to the 

extent of flooding in the river. Flooding also causes erosion 

of the islands and river banks, further adding to the sediment 

problems down river.

It’s also hard for districts to keep up with the dredging 

needed to keep the channel open for barge traffic. In the past 

five years, dredging totals are up 10 to 20 percent over previous years, says Paul Machajewski, the St. Paul district’s dredge 

material manager. Each year, that district alone dredges 1 

million cubic yards of sand. That’s “if you’re a football fan, 

something that can fill Lambeau field to the top.” 

Enhancing resilience

A suite of management techniques may be enlisted to enhance 

the resilience of the Upper Mississippi, Wallace said, including “new infrastructure, maintaining existing infrastructure, 

floodplain connectivity and restoration, dredging backwaters 

and wetland restoration of side channel connections.”

The long-term planning will be complex and sometimes 

contentious, involving multiple agencies and communities in each of UMBRA’s five states, three districts of the 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, multiple levee districts and 

other federal agencies such as the Fish and Wildlife Service 

and Environmental Protection Agency. Resulting program 

proposals will compete for federal funding with programs 

proposed by other regions.

More importantly, communities with sometimes competing needs will be asked to reach agreement on plans that 

maximize benefits for the entire region.

“We are hearing from our levee communities that, without a system plan, it is a zero-sum game,” Wallace said. 

“Pointing fingers will not be productive. We need to convene 

all the affected parties to get the right clarity of the issues 

and really think through the implications of various actions 

so that we ultimately create the right approaches to river 

management.” —R.S.

KEY FACTS

• Heavy precipitation events 

have increased in intensity and 

frequency since 1901.

• Six of the 10 highest crests on 

the Mississippi at St. Louis have 

occurred since 1993, four of 

them since 2013.

• The frequency and intensity 

of heavy precipitation events 

are projected to increase over 

the 21st Century. Of forecasters’ predictions, the “Lower 

Scenario” calls for a 10–20 

percent increase in heavy precipitation events, the “Higher 

Scenario” as much as a 40 

percent increase.

• Annual precipitation in the 

Upper Mississippi River has 

been below the previous longterm average only five times 

since 1990.

• More flooding is occurring in 

the fall. Historically, high fall 

flows occurred only periodically. In the past 40 years, 

wet fall seasons have been 

more common. In 2010 the 

Mississippi River at St. Paul 

rose above flood stage during 

the fall for the first time since 

the river gage was installed in 

the 1870s.

Managing 

the Mississippi 

in changing times 

Group looks at ways to manage 

more frequent floods and 

the sediment left behind

ABOVE: The Corps’ St. Paul 

District is disposing of excess 

dredged sand by using it to 

enhance aquatic ecosystems. 

It’s constructing peninsulas 

and islands in Lake Pepin in 

Mississippi River’s Pool 4 and in 

Pigs Eye lake in Pool 2.

6
Crafting wildlife havens 

out of unwanted fill

WHEN THERE’S TOO MUCH SEDIMENT in one part of the river but it 

can be used to improve the river elsewhere, that’s a fortuitous coincidence—

especially when you’ve been granted special funding to make it happen. 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will use sediment dredged to keep the 

navigation channel open (its navigation mission) to create two island habitats 

on upper stretches of the Mississippi River to help with another Corps mission—to restore the ecosystem.

When construction starts next year, crews will use excess river sediment 

to create islands, in one case where the river once created them naturally. The

islands will in turn block wind and wave action, reduce erosion and boost 

growth of aquatic plants favored by wildlife. 

During dredging, that excess river dirt is deposited at holding sites purchased by the Corps, generally close to the river’s edge, and available for use 

by local governments, for instance, for sanding icy roads. But these two projects offer unusual opportunities to use that sediment for the benefit of in one 

case, in another a popular recreation lake that sediment has been filling in, 

says Nathan Campbell, the civil works program manager.

In both of the new project areas—one just south of St. Paul, Minnesota, 

the other in Wisconsin’s Lake Pepin—the way the locks and dams have 

impounded the river has left large open lakes without small spits of land and 

vegetation to block the wind and wave action. As a result, shorelines are eroding, and sediment-muddied waters blocking growth of plants that could be 

food sources for birds, fish and other life.

The Corps’ Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program, now in its 30th 

year, was the pioneer of using islands to restore the ecosystem, creating 110 

as part of 27 projects. At spots like Harpers Slough and Capoli Slough, both 

in Wisconsin, island building has improved habitat, increased water clarity, 

decreased erosion and brought back a wildlife haven. While a typical day 

count used to track an impressive 300,000 canvasback ducks in one survey 

area, that’s risen to 700,000-plus where new islands were built. 

The new projects (one out for bid, the other moving to the design phase) 

are funded by a different authority that allows for sediment to be beneficially 

used for aquatic ecosystem restoration, but they’ll draw on lessons learned as 

well as extensive community input, Campbell says. 

Pig’s Eye and Pepin

In Pig’s Eye Lake, named for a notorious early settler in the St. Paul region, 

the Corps found a project sponsor in the Ramsey County Parks. The county 

owns 500 acres of parkland surrounding the they’ve called an aquatic desert. 

Very little grows in the spot bordering a former Superfund dump site. But the 

vision is for a future wildlife preserve, one filled with frogs, fish and birds.

The $15 million project would create a 

more natural habitat by moving dredged 

material from the lower pool to create 

six islands. The project still in the design 

phase would start next year and take four 

years to complete.

The Lake Pepin project was requested 

originally by the Lake Pepin Legacy 

Alliance and is one of only 10 in the 

nation to get pilot study funding and the 

only on the Mississippi River. For this, the 

sediment will be moved from Reed’s Landing near Wabasha, a sediment storage site that is at capacity and needs room to hold additional river sand.

Here, the plan calls for the sediment to be crafted into four peninsulas. 

Sand would be deposited strategically in the river, capped with fine material, 

planted with topsoil and stabilized with rock veins. The plan additionally calls 

for dredging and shoreline protection. The dredging portion will provide water 

deep enough for fish to overwinter, and the dredged material will be used as 

topsoil to offer benefits for the floodplain forest and other plantings. —K.S.

READ MORE 

https://tinyurl.com/y75eza55

ABOVE: A work boat forms an island 

from dredged river material as part of 

a program that uses excess material 

to restore river features lost during 

impoundment for locks and dams.

In a making lemonade with lemons–type approach, the Corps is 

solving one problem—too much river sediment—by solving another: 

the need for river islands to solve a host of environmental issues. 

7
Fun Facts about 

North American River Otter 

(Lontra canadensis)

• Second-largest member of the 

weasel family

• Swift and agile swimmers with long 

bodies, short legs, and webbed feet; 

propelled by feet or by tail

• Travel well on land, move best on snow 

by sliding from a running start

• Can close ears and nostrils underwater

• Size: up to 50 inches long with 18-inch 

tail; rarely more than 30 pounds.

• Age: Live 8–9 years in wild; more than 

20 years in captivity.

• Range: Found from the tundra in Alaska 

and south over most of continental 

North America. Populations are sparse 

in the arid Southwest.

• Habitat: Lives in rivers and lakes but 

also in brackish and coastal areas, even 

found at higher elevations. Builds dens 

with underwater entrances in other 

abandoned dens or natural hollows. 

• Life Cycle: Male and female are only 

together during mating season. Pups are 

born in March and April. Average litter 

is 2–3 pups but can be as many as 4–5. 

Pups remain with the mother for up to 

a year, learning hunting and swimming 

skills. Reaches maturity at 2–3 years old.

• For a live webcam of otters at the 

National Mississippi River and Aquarium 

(8 a.m.-5 p.m.), see rivermuseum.com/

webcams

OUR MISSISSIPPI WILDLIFE 

The River Otter 

Those who come to play on the 

Mississippi River share it with a resident who also 

seems to delight in frolicking on the water: the North 

American river otter. 

An attentive paddler can spot otters swimming near 

shore in early morning or evening with their squarish heads and whiskered faces just emerging from 

the water. A raucous churring and snorting reveal the 

presence of a mother and her pups as they wrestle and 

splash in the pursuit of fish or each other. Even riverbanks and snow become slides for playful otters.

“Otters are one of my absolute favorites. You can’t 

watch a river otter without thinking they have a fun 

time,” said Kirsten Bartlow, Watchable Wildlife program coordinator with the Arkansas Fish and Game 

Commission. She regularly encounters otters in her 

work developing water trails on Arkansas rivers. 

Historically, otters are one of the more widely 

distributed mammals in North America, said Tom 

Serfass, Frostburg State University professor and 

North American coordinator of the International 

Union for Conservation of Nature’s otter specialist 

group. Otters are aquatic specialists, and their habitat is tied closely to inland rivers and lakes, though 

they are found in coastal waters and estuaries as well. 

The extent of otters’ presence along the Mississippi 

River is reflected in historical place names, from 

Ottertail Point on Leech Lake at the headwaters to 

Louisiana’s Bayou la Loutre (French for otter) on the 

Gulf of Mexico. While the Mississippi River now hosts 

a stable otter population, that has not always been 

the case. Habitat destruction and extensive trapping 

caused middle Mississippi River states to lose their 

otters completely in the 19th and early 20th centuries. 

The otter’s thick, dark brown fur was prized by trappers as a warm, water-resistant pelt.

“River otter population recovery has been substantial, and reintroduction has been successful,” Serfass 

said. In the United States, 22 states have conducted 

reintroduction efforts. Most of the several thousand 

otters used in Mississippi River basin reintroductions 

came from Louisiana.

Some early reintroductions raised concern that 

otters would decimate game fish populations. But 

recent research shows river otters prefer slower 

moving fish that live nearer the bottom, such as suckers, over the species that human anglers pursue.

The renewed presence of otters is a hopeful sign 

for people as otters only thrive in clean water. They 

are carnivores, eating fish, crayfish, frogs, and 

turtles. Any pollutants found in its prey are concentrated in its body. “If you see otters, it is usually an 

indicator of a healthy and thriving ecosystem,“ said 

Abby Urban, curator of Living Collections at the 

National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium 

in Dubuque Iowa.

The National Mississippi River Museum currently 

houses two young otters who came to the museum 

from Iowa wildlife rehabilitators. Because these pups 

became separated from their mothers too early, they 

did not learn the skills needed to return to the wild. 

They did learn to play though and seem to love chasing young visitors from one length of the exhibit to 

the other. 

Otter keepers quickly become aware of their 

charges’ inquisitive nature. Serfass tells the story of 

the day his otters flooded the third floor of the biology building. An enterprising otter escaped its pen, 

dragged all his bedding into the sink, and turned on 

the water. “They taught us to lock everything down 

and take off any knobs. They are very handy at manipulating things,” he said.

Keeping such inquisitive creatures active is vital to 

their physical and mental health, Urban said. Keepers 

work with the otters so they will step on a scale for 

weighing and open their mouths on cue for a dental 

check. Every day, her otters must search for their 

food, sometimes hidden, sometimes buried, and 

sometimes frozen in ice. 

Urban sees the otters in her care as ambassadors 

for their wild cousins and the conservation of all 

species that depend on water and wetlands. She 

encourages anyone interested in helping river otters 

to take simple steps to preserve water quality, such 

as participating in waterway cleanups, using pesticides and fertilizer sparingly, and keeping litter out 

of storm drains. 

The return of the smart and lively river otter marks 

a success story for the Mississippi River and all who 

find joy there—and all want to keep it that way. —D.D.

8
DOUBLE TROUBLE

Pandemic and Hurricanes

I

f you think you had it rough during the COVID-19 pandemic, know that Helena, Ark., Mayor Keven 

Smith just might have had it rougher. He was dealing with a flood, tornadoes, a compromised 

levee—and a pandemic. And he offered this advice to his fellow mayors and members of the 

Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative: be prepared.

“It’s very difficult. We’re better prepared now in the sense that we know what it’s like. We also 

know how unprepared we were.”

The coalition of Mississippi River mayors held a press conference on June’s hurricane season 

opening day to discuss actions they’re taking to keep river town residents and visitors safe from 

the virus while also protecting them from high water and hurricanes, potentially at the same time.

When his community was hit simultaneously by two storms and the first death from COVID-19, 

Smith says, it was exceptionally hard to “keep everybody mindful of the COVID issue and protection while helping people out of ditches and out of homes.” 

As hurricane season builds, he says he’s reaching out to establish hotel contracts so that evacuees could be moved to hotel rooms if needed. Getting a stockpile of personal protective equipment 

like masks is key too, not just for first responders and public works employees but for those who 

work in food banks and other personnel. 

“In America’s small towns, it doesn’t take much to have an impact,” he said. “We have to prepare 

now. We can’t wait until the event occurs.”

The MRCTI itself has worked to help mayors better prepare. It purchased and distributed 

personal protective equipment (PPEs) to river cities for use by staff and volunteers dealing with 

hurricanes, floods or other natural disasters. Baton Rouge, La. Mayor Sharon Weston Broome, 

the Co-Chair of the MRCTI said she was appreciative of the organization’s help. Her city is also 

preparing for the high probability of a major hurricane by applying lessons learned from other 

storm events, she said. During last year’s Hurricane Barry, inundation mapping provided by the 

U.S. Geological Survey through a new Mississippi River disaster prediction portal enabled the city 

to make plans in case the storm had stalled and caused catastrophic impacts. Additionally, they’ll 

apply procedures put into place during the H1N1 outbreak of 2019, a disaster that also overlapped 

with that year’s hurricane season.

Cities can’t be too prepared, according to forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA). They predict a 60% chance of above-normal hurricane activity in the 

Atlantic with a likely range of 13 to 19 named storms of which three to six could be major hurricanes 

with winds of 111 mph or higher this season.

New Orleans is one city taking no chances. Mayor LaToya Cantrell says the city has tweaked its 

city evacuation plan to incorporate pandemic-related distancing needs, securing more PPEs and 

doing additional outreach needed to allay potential fears should mandatory evacuation be needed.

 “We had to make sure we have enough buses on hand and also solidified a partnership with 

Amtrak to get people out of the city should a mandatory evacuation be called,” she said. “We’re 

pushing back on complacency and getting people to understand that in the midst of this pandemic, you have to leave. Fears and anxieties are real in the community so people may feel it’s safer 

to stay, and it’s not. So we’re doubling down on efforts.” —K.S.

My MISSISSIPPI

Jeffrey Farmer, navigational electrical engineer, 

Dredge Hurley, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

(and volunteer medical mask maker) 

“We were already making some ear saver things and trying 

to figure out where I could donate them when my wife saw 

a post on Facebook, and we started making masks. I do the 

plastic frame you slide on your head, and Midsouth Makers 

(artists who give back) packages them with a clear plastic 

shield. I downloaded the software and started (3D) printing 

and making an average of 50 a week. If I have the time, I’ll 

join them and help to package.

“The masks go to the Memphis Medical Society; a lot of 

nurses and doctors are wearing them in hospitals as extra 

protection. There was a shortage of the ones they could buy 

commercially, so us tinkerers, we started making them.

“Since 2008, I’ve worked at the Corps, the design branch 

for five years and the rest of the time with operations at the 

river. I do contracts and electrical upgrades and troubleshooting. I always like the water, I like going on the dredge, 

watching them operate. When I first started in navigation, I 

didn’t realize how much commerce goes down the river, but 

you see those big cargo and oil ships offloading or getting 

loaded, and when the bigger ships come, the dredge has to 

get to the side of the river.

“I guess you would call me a tinkerer. Every year I have 

my lights connected to a local radio station, and they blink 

to the music. But this makes me feel good because I’m 

doing something for the community.”

9

DID YOU KNOW?

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers turns 245 this year. 

George Washington appointed the first engineer 

officers of the Army on June 16, 1775, during 

the American Revolution, and engineers 

have served in combat in all 

Washington subsequent American wars. in His Uniform, 

John Trumbull, 

Yale University 

Art Gallery
OUR MISSISSIPPI KIDS

Little House

brought to life 

Laura Ingalls Wilder was one of 

many authors who lets us all grow 

up along the banks of the Mississippi 

River. That’s true if Pa is catching 

a “fish as big as Laura” out of Lake 

Pepin or the family is heading west 

in their wagon across the frozen 

Mississippi River into Minnesota to 

move to the property on Plum Creek. 

In Pepin, Wisconsin, where 

Laura was born and her book Little 

House in the Big Woods took place, 

the Wilder museum helps your 

imagination come to life. You’ll find 

a covered wagon just like the one 

Laura’s family used to travel west. 

Go to Laura Ingalls Wilder Days, 

held most Septembers, to hear great 

fiddlers, watch the Laura look-alike 

contest, play pioneer games and take 

bus tours to the spot where Laura 

Ingalls Wilder was born. Just be sure 

to bring your bonnet!

Mississippi 

River books 

for kids

Most people have heard 

of Tom, Huck and Becky, 

those best friends who 

had many adventures on 

the Mississippi River a 

long time ago, before our 

grandparents were born. 

Mark Twain’s classic novels, 

The Adventures of Tom 

Sawyer and The Adventures 

of Huckleberry Finn, are two 

of the best stories ever written about life on the river. 

But don’t stop there! Check 

out some other terrific 

Mississippi books.

Many of these 

recommendations came 

from The Red Balloon book 

store in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Mighty 

Mississippi, by 

Marion Dane 

Bauer. Learn about 

the river and its role 

in U.S. history in this level 1 

ready-to-read book. AGES 4-6

Discover 

America 

State by 

State series. 

Find out 

interesting things about 

states that border the 

Mississippi through pictures 

and the alphabet. Includes B 

is for Badger (Wisconsin) and 

P is for Pelican (Louisiana), 

and many more from 

Sleeping Bear Press. AGES 6-8

The Haunted 

Cabin Mystery 

(Boxcar Children 

#20), by Gertrude 

Chandler Warner. 

The mystery-solving Alden 

siblings visit Cap Lambert 

near Hannibal, Missouri. AGES 

7-10

Where is the 

Mississippi River, 

by Dina Anastasio, 

Ted Hammond 

(illustrations). Part 

of the best-selling Where Is... 

series, this book tells about all 

kinds of people who have 

lived on the river and used it 

as a highway. It also has a cool 

fold-out map! AGES 8-12

Who was Mark 

Twain, by April 

Jones Prince, 

Nancy Harrison 

(illustrator), John 

O’Brien (illustrator). The 

creator of Tom, Huck and 

Becky had great adventures 

of his own. Read about him in 

this biography from the Who 

Was/Is...? series. AGES 8-12

Houseboat Girl, by 

Lois Lenski. The last 

thing 9-year-old 

Patsy wants to do is 

move to a houseboat on the Mississippi, but 

she and her brother and 

sisters learn to love the river. 

Written in the 1950s and 

based on real experiences. 

AGES 8-12

Bayou Magic, by 

Jewell Parker 

Rhodes. City girl 

Maddy finds 

magic in her 

surroundings when she visits 

her Louisiana grandmère. 

AGES 8-12

Minn of the 

Mississippi, by 

Holling Clancy 

Holling. This is the 

story of Minn, a 

snapping turtle who travels all 

the way down the Mississippi, 

from Minnesota to the Gulf. A 

Newberry Medal honoree, it 

tells the history of the river in 

text and pictures. AGES 10-12

Swift Rivers, by 

Cornelia Meigs. 

Back in the pioneer 

days, 18-year-old 

Chris needs to earn 

some money to take care of 

his grandfather, so he decides 

to float some logs down the 

Mississippi from Minnesota to 

the lumber mills in St. Louis. 

AGES 10 AND UP

Can You Canoe: 

A Mississippi 

River 

Adventure 

Album, by the 

Okee Dokee Brothers. Not a 

book, but terrific storytelling 

in song form for the whole 

family. Audio CD or digital 

streaming.

Illustrator Cheryl Harness offers 

a variety of printable Little House 

coloring pages at her website: 

cherylharness.com/coloringpages.

htm or buy the coloring book at 

ingallshomestead.com/shop

Tell your own

river story 

Like the classic stories of the 

Mississippi River, the best 

works of fiction have memorable characters and settings 

and a problem for your characters to solve. Three times, 

roll a die or pick a number 

between one and six. Based 

on the associated numbers, 

tell your own river tale to your 

family and friends.

FIRST ROLL

Character

SECOND ROLL

Setting

THIRD ROLL

Problem

a two-headed river 

monster on a paddlewheeler found an ancient, 

unlucky coin

a fire-breathing 

sturgeon

at a riverside 

horse farm

chased by 

a flood

a young explorer by a lake fell off a raft

a lost, lone baby wolf inside a lock and dam separated from a friend

a riverboat captain on an ancient 

burial ground

ate a poisonous 

fish

a grumpy bear on a magical river island lost his/her memory

10
OUR MISSISSIPPI TRAVEL

Go road tripping to these iconic 

charmers filled with river traditions, 

active adventures, biscuits and pie.

THE ROAD TRIP’S MAKING A COMEBACK, and 

there’s no stretch more iconic than the Mississippi River’s 

Great River Road. In 36 hours of straight driving, it’s said 

you could make it from the road’s beginning on a stretch of 

northern boreal forest at Lake Itasca, Minnesota to its end 

in Louisiana’s Delta National Wildlife Refuge. But rushing 

is not what was intended when the route was created in 

1938 as a combination of existing roads now identified by 

a green pilot’s wheel with a steamboat in the middle. 

On this route past storied cliffs, across ancient bridges, 

you can explore parks and overlooks, wineries and microbreweries, towns and cities alike. Here are three iconic 

river towns where you’ll want to stop and play awhile.

Stockholm, Wisconsin 

In this river hamlet (1), population 97, you’ll find a thriving gallery scene, charming pie shops and cafes, festivals 

of art and film, and scenic Lake Pepin (2). Try your hand 

at yarn spinning—or just visit the sheep—at Black Cat 

Farmstead. Toast your good fortune at Maiden Rock 

Winery and Distillery, situated on one of the town’s many 

scenic bluffs. In a normal year (check for cancellations this 

summer), the town’s a draw for the WideSpot Performing 

Arts Center’s performers in drama, music, comedy and 

storytelling; the Flyway Film Festival: and a popular art 

fair. Any year is a good time to stop by the Stockholm Pie 

and General store for a slice; USA Today called it one of 

the 18 legendary pie shops in America. Also a must is a 

sail on long, breezy Lake Pepin, which also became the 

birthplace of American water skiing when in 1922 a teen 

named Ralph Samuelson decided that “if you could ski on 

snow, you could ski on water!” 

Alton, Illinois 

The Corps’ National Great Rivers Museum and the on-site 

Audubon Center at Riverlands are your access points to 

the natural world. Many species of bird, including the 

showy white pelican, stop off at this confluence of the 

Mississippi and Missouri rivers (3&4). At your stop, 

wander more than eight miles of bird-spotting trails or 

catch the Mississippi River Water Trail being developed 

by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and partnering organizations. If you don’t have your own kayak or canoe, Big 

Muddy Adventures offers rentals and guides, and more. 

Book a full moon float or their Rivertime Supper Club 

trip on which you can paddle the 29-foot voyageur canoe, 

then search an island for arrowheads and eagle sightings 

before your gourmet campfire dinner.

Natchez, Mississippi 

For southern culture, food and gracious architecture (5), 

it doesn’t get better than you’ll find among the antebellum 

mansions, historic attractions and modern microbreweries and coffee roasteries. But the must stops are for food. 

“Biscuit Queen” Regina Charboneau (6&7) teaches her 

secrets perfected in Paris in brunch cooking classes at 

her Regina’s Kitchen Cooking School, or go for her burgers and bourbon pairing. New Natchez Heritage School 

of Cooking takes authenticity a step further with three 

generations of women teaching African heritage through 

cooking—and tales. —K.S.

The River of Barbecue

When it’s time to fire up the backyard grill, why not turn to 

Mississippi River towns for inspiration. Like its people, the barbecue styles along the Mississippi are multi-layered, varied and fun. 

The process of barbecue requires steady low and slow 

cooking that allows the meat to tenderize, connective tissue 

to gelatinize, and smoke and the Maillard reaction to flavorize. 

Change the meat, the wood in the smoker, or the style of sauce 

or rub, and you’ve got a totally different BBQ experience.

The best smoker woods are hardwoods that have been “seasoned,” dried until all moisture and sap are gone from them. But 

that’s just the beginning. 

Memphis 

Wet or dry? In Memphis that 

debate plays out at competing 

BBQ joints or even on a single 

menu. Pork ribs and pulled 

pork are the norm here, either 

smothered in sauce (typically 

tomato and vinegar-based) 

or seasoned with garlic, 

paprika, onions, cumin, and 

other spices, and served “dry” 

(though you still get sauce on 

the side for dipping.) 

St. Louis and Missouri

St. Louis-style barbecue 

is known for its speciallytrimmed spare ribs, but baby 

back ribs are also favored 

here. Meats are typically 

grilled, rather than set in a slow 

smoker, and smothered in a 

sweet, mildly tangy tomatobased sauce. Diners in St. 

Louis consume more barbecue sauce per capita than any 

other BBQ destination. 

Kentucky

While pulled and chopped pork 

shoulder set in masonry pits 

for up to a day or more is popular, Kentucky also serves a 

lot of mutton (sheep) smoked 

and basted over hickory wood. 

The order comes with a “dip” 

and that varies by county: 

some prefer something with 

Worcestershire-sauce and 

spices, while others lean 

toward vinegar and cayenne.

Arkansas

Caught between Memphis 

and Texas, you can expect a 

little influence from each in the 

barbecue pit. Texas uses a red 

“mop” sauce, so-called for the 

way it is applied to the meat. 

Key ingredients are beef stock, 

vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, 

garlic and other seasonings, 

and it tends to be thinner in 

consistency. Brisket is king in 

Texas; pork reigns supreme in 

Tennessee. Here you can have 

the best of both.

New Orleans

This is the outlier. BBQ Shrimp 

NOLA-style is magnificent, 

but it isn’t slow cooked in a 

smoker. Created in the 1950s 

at an Uptown restaurant called 

Pascal’s Manale, the shell-on 

shrimp baked in a mouthwatering sauce came out 

looking a bit red, like barbecue 

sauce. The ingredients include 

a blend of butter, cream, 

Worcestershire sauce, white 

wine, garlic, cayenne, black 

pepper, Creole seasoning, and 

hot sauce, and while the folks 

upriver might thumb their 

noses at the name, this is not a 

dish to miss. —K.R.

3 River Towns to Try

1

3

5

7 

2

4

6

11
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Diane Kolak

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Debra Dietzman

Jenny Peters 

Kevin Revolinski

Richard Stoff

Our Mississippi is a newsletter of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about its work in the Mississippi River Basin toward both economic and ecological integrity of the river system. It is published by the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division, in accordance with AR 360-1 for its Mississippi Valley workforce and external audiences and collaborative partners including other Corps’ districts and stakeholders 

within the division’s area of responsibility. The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Army or the U.S. Department of Defense.

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Insiyaa Ahmed, St. Louis, Mo. 

636-899-0076

Vanessa Alberto, St. Paul, Minn. 

651-290-5388

Kevin Bluhm, New Orleans, La. 

651-290-5247

Elizabeth Burks, Memphis, Tenn. 

901-544-0761

Katelynn Dearth, St. Louis, Mo. 

636-899-0086

Angie Freyermuth, Rock Island, Ill. 

309-794-5341

Questions or Comments:

U.S.A.C.E. REGIONAL OUTREACH SPECIALISTS

US Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul

PM-E Bluhm

180 East Fifth Street, Suite 700

St. Paul, MN 55101

Designing protection inspired 

by nature 

Fisheries biologists at the are working with 

engineers at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

Research and Design Center to see if they can 

develop for humans something modeled after 

the unusually powerful and resilient snout of 

the paddlefish.

The paddlefish lives 30 years on average, 

and yet even the oldest caught among them 

had suffered very little damage to their rostrum. 

“They live in hydrologically and physically complex environments with rocks, pilings and trees. 

They make migrations of hundreds, even thousands of miles and yet the rostrum stays intact,” 

says Jan Hoover, an ERDC biologist based in 

Vicksburg, Miss. “We were interested in that. 

What makes it so durable?”

Hoover has teamed with engineers to study 

both what makes it so durable and if that durability could be mimicked as protection for humans. 

There is tremendous military application, Hoover 

notes, in protecting infrastructure or the development of armor or protective shields.

Past studies have examined the swimming 

prowess of the fish to “bio-inspire” the design of 

underwater vessels. The current group is examining how force is disbursed along a skeleton 

that resembles mesh but is actually made up of 

star-shaped bones. Like a snowflake, each is a different shape and size. The fish survives decades of 

hydrologic forces and at high speeds and bumps 

into rocks. Says Hoover, “It’s also extremely lightweight. If you could replicate a material like that, it 

would be readily transportable but highly protective.” —K.S.

Division welcomes its 

new commander 

Maj. Gen. R. Mark Toy transferred 

command of the Mississippi Valley 

Division of the U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers to Maj. Gen. Diana 

M. Holland in a formal change of 

command ceremony that was live 

streamed from the division headquarters in Vicksburg. 

Toy, division commander and president of the Mississippi 

River Commission (MRC), is moving to a new post after having 

been assigned as the Chief of Staff, United Nations Command, 

Republic of Korea.

Holland comes to Vicksburg from Atlanta, Ga., where she 

served as commander of South Atlantic Division. As MVD’s 41st 

commander, Holland will be responsible for the Corps’ water 

resources programs in a 370,000-square-mile area that includes 

portions of 12 states; its boundary extends from Canada to the 

Gulf of Mexico. District offices are headquartered in St. Paul, 

Minn.; Rock Island, Ill.; St. Louis, Mo.; Memphis, Tenn.; Vicksburg, 

Miss.; and New Orleans, La.