Back to the River
Back to the River Incorporated is a public benefit
corporation that aims to create and restore an ecological,
economic, recreational, and historic corridor along the Missouri
River in Nebraska and Iowa.
This project evolved from a long-standing dream that
recognizes the river as the heart of the community it traverses.
That dream of a healthy, vibrant river is being realized through
the combined efforts of government and private sponsors, who
appreciate the balance between the river's value as a commercial
waterway and as an important natural habitat.
Always a muddy river, the Missouri is the continent's
longest river. Once twisted and braided, it brimmed with marshes,
oxbow lakes and sandbars, which supported many different kinds of
life. In the middle of the 20th century, upstream dams,
channelization, and industrial pollution devastated the Missouri
River and decimated wildlife populations around it. On April 15,
1997, the Missouri River was designated as the most endangered
river system in the country by American Rivers Incorporated. Since
that time, the river's quality has been improving by the adoption
of modern water pollution control measures. Along with habitat
restoration efforts, these measures are beginning to re-create what
was once one of North America's greatest natural corridors.
Underlying Back to the River's foundation is the
belief that environmental quality and economic development can be
compatible. Back to the River encompasses six counties in two
states, and reaches more than 650,000 residents along 65 miles of
the Missouri River from Mondamin, Iowa, and Herman, Nebraska, all
the way to the mouth of Platte River. The National Park Service,
the City of Omaha Parks Recreation & District, the Fontenelle
Forest Association, the Douglas Country Environmental Services, the
City of Council Bluffs, and the Missouri River Preservation
Authority have formed an alliance to work toward the betterment of
the community and its river system.
Documentation comprises an 131-page report and a
video.
Originally submitted by: J. Robert Kerrey, Senator.
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