REGIONAL MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING 

BETWEEN 

THE AMERICAN LAND CONSERVANCY 

AND THE 

UNITED STATES ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS 

MISSISSIPPI VALLEY DIVISION 

THROUGH ITS ST. PAUL, ROCK ISLAND, ST. LOUIS, MEMPIDS, 

VICKSBURG, AND NEW ORLEANS DISTRICTS 

I. INTRODUCTION. This Regional Memorandum of Understanding (Regional MOU) 

is entered between the Mississippi Valley Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

(MVD) through the St. Paul, Rock Island, St. Louis, Memphis, Vicksburg, and New 

Orleans Districts, represented by the Division Commander (hereinafter, MVD Districts), 

and American Land Conservancy, acting through its President (hereinafter the ALC) for 

the purposes of facilitating regional interests and objectives within each party's area of 

responsibility and interest. The geographic scope of this Regional MOU shall be the 

Mississippi River, its floodplains, from its headwaters to its delta, and major tributaries 

and distributaries of exceptional ecological value (for example, the Illinois Waterway, the 

Hatchie River and Bottoms, the Lower White River and Basin, the Lower Arkansas 

River, the Yazoo River and Basin, and the Atchafalaya River and Basin). 

The purpose of this MOU is to establish a general framework of cooperation to plan and 

implement mutually beneficial programs that maintain and enhance natural and cultural 

resource stewardship on properties under the jurisdiction of the Corps or acquired by 

ALC, in order to maintain, restore and safeguard our nation's natural,-ecological, 

historical, recreational and scenic heritage. 

ll. PURPOSE. The parties seek to facilitate effective and efficient conservation of 

important natural and cultural resources within the context of each MVD District's civil 

works missions and the mission of the ALC; to the extent authorized by law, as well as 

USACE and ALC policies. The following objectives are agreed upon within the 

geographic scope of this Regional MOU: 

A. Promote the restoration and conservation of a functional floodplain ecosystem, 

including wetland areas, riparian corridors, buffer zones and lands critical to 

enhancement of wildlife habitat in a manner that contributes to meeting human 

needs~ 

B. Promote the effective management of nationally important natural and cultural 

resources; and 

C. Promote natural resource management programs, activities, and interpretive 

functions to benefit and educate the general public. 
lll. RESPONSffiiLITIES. The parties, to the extent authorized by law and USACE 

and ALC policies and within existing legal authorities, agree as follows: 

A. The MVD Districts will assist ALC in the identification of lands critical to 

environmental sustainability and communicate with ALC with regard to ALC's 

land acquisitions within the geographic scope of this Regional MOU. 

B. The ALC shall continue to use innovative approaches to protect land in a costefficient manner, working as a partner with the MVD Districts and other public 

agencies to identify desirable land for public use and ecosystem protection and 

arrange its transfer to public ownership. 

C. The MVD Districts and the ALC shall share information and expertise in 

exploring land and water management projects to help ensure that these projects, 

as appropriate, safeguard and restore the natural integrity of ecosystems in a 

sustainable manner through a balancing of multiple uses. 

D. The MVD Districts and the ALC will work together through their respective 

environmental education and outreach programs to disseminate information to 

interested parties regarding their respective resource programs throughout the 

region. 

E. The ALC will, as appropriate and subject to staff availability, participate in 

advisory groups to the MVD Districts, including such groups as the Navigation 

Environmental Coordinating Committee, River Resources Forum, River 

Resources Coordinating Team, River Resources Action Team, Lower Mississippi 

River Resource Assessment, Upper Mississippi River Basin Association, 

Mississippi River Conservation Partnership and their respective committees and 

workgroups. 

F. The parties to this Regional MOU recognize that the MVD District projects must 

operate in accordance with authorized project purposes and funding limitations. 

All actions taken by the MVD Districts in accordance with this Regional MOU 

are subject to the availability of funds, and nothing in this Regional MOU shall be 

interpreted as constituting a violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act. 

G. This Regional MOU is neither a fiscal nor a funds obligation document. Any 

endeavor involving reimbursement or contribution of funds between the parties to 

the Regional MOU will be handled in accordance with applicable laws, 

regulations, and procedures. Such endeavors, if any, will be outlined in separate 

agreements that shall be made in writing by representatives qf the parties and 

shall be independently authorized by appropriate statutory authority. This 

Regional MOU does not provide such authority. Specifically, this MOU does not 

establish authority for the transfer of funds to the ALC for any purpose, including 

for the purpose of land acquisition. 
H. Nothing in this Regional MOU prohibits the parties from soliciting or receiving 

advice and assistance in the objectives set forth above from other governmental 

entities, and private groups or individuals. 

I. The MVD Districts, while receptive to the provision of suggestions, concepts, 

and scientific and conservation planning information from the ALC and all other 

public entities, remain responsible for all decisions involving the planning and 

implementation of projects as authorized by law and for which funds are 

available. 

J. The MVD Districts and the ALC will annually discuss proposed projects and 

items of mutual interest. 

IV. COMMUNICATIONS 

To provide consistent and effective communication between the Corps and the ALC, 

each party shall appoint a principal representative to serve as its primary point of contact 

(POC) on matters relating to this MOA. 

IV. IMPLEMENTATION. This Regional MOU becomes effective when signed by all 

signatory parties and remains in effect until modified or terminated by either party. For 

the purposes of this Regional MOU, St. Louis is designated as the lead District within the 

MVD Districts. 

V. COUNTERPARTS. This Regional MOU may be executed in any number of 

counterparts, each of which when executed shall be deemed to be an original and all of 

which when taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement. 

(]u.J & .. ~ Robert Crear 

Brigadier General, U.S. Army 

Commanding 

Harriet 

tt~~ Burgess 

President, American Land Conservancy 

V ce President, American Land Conservancy 

Dat ~~s: I