The Lower Mississippi River’s largest ecosystem restoration project got the federal go-ahead

by Cassandra Stephenson, Tennessee Lookout
February 10, 2025

A first-of-its-kind project seeking to restore river ecosystems along 39 miles of the Lower Mississippi River has federal approval to move forward — if it can secure a slice of the federal bankroll.

The Hatchie-Loosahatchie Mississippi River Ecosystem Restoration project would restore the habitats of endangered species, support natural culling of invasive carp and restore floodplain ecosystems severed from the Mississippi River by decades of flood control measures.

The project received legislative approval in January in the Water Resources Development Act, a law passed by Congress every two years that gives the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) authority to conduct studies and projects for water resource conservation and development.

The roughly $63.7 million undertaking would be the largest ecosystem restoration project in the history of the USACE Memphis District. 

Restoration efforts would touch more than 6,000 acres in Tennessee and Arkansas, stretching from the Hatchie River to the Wolf River near downtown Memphis. The project will cover the portion of the Mississippi River bordering Crittenden and Mississippi counties in Arkansas and Lauderdale, Tipton and Shelby counties in Tennessee.

The main goal is habitat restoration to support the hundreds of species along the river by reconnecting secondary river channels, reforesting bottomland hardwood forests, seeding wetland plants and fixing bridges, among other things. It will also include trail improvements in Meeman Shelby Forest and Wolf River Harbor. The project isn’t expected to negatively impact navigation or flood mitigation on the Mississippi.

Initial efforts to revitalize the Lower Mississippi River began about 25 years ago when a resource assessment identified eight sections of the river for habitat restoration. The Hatchie-Loosahatchie project is the first to complete its feasibility study and cross the legislative approval hurdle.

USACE Memphis District Program Manager Jason Allmon served as project manager for the Hatchie-Loosahatchie Ecosystem Restoration Study for three years, alongside supervisory biologist and environmental lead Mike Thron.

“Flood risk management and navigation have traditionally been the main mission areas, particularly in the Memphis District,” Thron said. “This is kind of the first time we’re taking a large-scale approach of ecosystem restoration.”

Allmon said this project is serving as a pilot for restoration that could extend to the rest of the Lower Mississippi all the way to New Orleans. 

“This is a significant opportunity for this region and for the country, too, with the Mississippi River being the largest river in America,” Allmon said. “Doing this 39-mile stretch of ecosystem restoration … could make a big difference, and it could also lead the way for other projects in the future, which have already actually been authorized for us to study.”

Restoring endangered species’ natural habitats

Extensive flood protection measures altered the river and threatened habitats since the early 20th century. The federal government and Corps began extensively fixing the river in place through a system of levees after the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 inundated 27,000 square miles. The levees, along with navigation along the Mississippi, have also disconnected the river from its floodplain.

Michael Butler, CEO of the Tennessee Wildlife Federation, said decades of alterations to the Mississippi River and nearly all of its tributaries in West Tennessee had major unintended consequences. The Hatchie River is the last remaining tributary that has not had its main stem channelized, which hampers a river’s natural meandering flow through a floodplain.

“When you look at that floodplain, it is a dynamic living system,” Butler said. “I think what the Corps is trying to do, which we support, is to restore some of those processes that are going to help recover some of those habitats that have been really, really damaged by early approaches.”

Flood risk management and navigation projects have removed about 152 miles of bends from the river, according to the Corps study. About 80% of forest habitat along the river has been converted to agricultural use.

Meander scarps, the remnants of those meandering river channels, were separated from the Mississippi’s main channel in the 1930s and 1940s. The few remaining meander scarps connect floodplains and provide ideal habitats for many species, including the federally endangered fat pocketbook mussel and its fish host, the freshwater drum.

“Fat pocketbook mussels are a good representative species for all the freshwater mussels that are out there in the river, and they do help with water quality,” Thron said. As bottomfeeders, they filter water and naturally clean it. 

The scarps also provide refuge from dredging and barge traffic, making them a fitting nursery for young pallid sturgeon, another federally endangered species. Only 14 meander scarps remain along the Mississippi, and they no longer occur naturally due to engineering. The Hatchie-Loosahatchie project seeks to preserve the three that lie in the project area. 

Eric Brinkman is the assistant chief of aquatic conservation at the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, which is part of the Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee, the project’s non-federal sponsor.

“Hundreds of animals are dependent on that floodplain,” Brinkman said. He added that the floodplains have additional benefits, like sequestering nitrates and phosphorus that otherwise flow downriver and create the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico — which President Trump directed the government refer to as the Gulf of America in a January executive order.

Combatting carp by supporting native predators

Native species are facing another challenge to their survival: invasive carp species that reproduce and grow rapidly, feeding on plankton and outcompeting native species for vital resources.

“The carp grow so fast that they don’t have many natural predators,” Thron said. 

Enter the alligator gar. 

Alligator gar are native to the Lower Mississippi River. They can grow up to 8 feet long and weigh more than 300 pounds, making them “one of the only native predators that grow large enough to eat these invasive carp,” Thron said.

But both Tennessee and Arkansas identify the alligator gar as a species of conservation concern, which means they’re at risk of going extinct. Changing habitats and overfishing have caused populations to decrease.

They rely on floodplains and wetlands to spawn, and Thron said restoring floodplains will provide more habitat. 

Many of the measures in the Hatchie-Loosahatchie project are aimed at promoting the alligator gar’s spawning habitat. The study identifies the fish as a key component of the Mississippi River basin’s strategy to control invasive carp.

Funding, land acquisition remain hurdles

While the project has moved on track so far, Allmon acknowledged that it is a long-term endeavor. 

Engineering and design work come next, but funding remains the biggest question. The cost of the restoration components of the project would be shared by the federal government (65%) and nonfederal sources (35%). The recreation projects would be split 50/50.

Included in the recommended recreation projects is an increase in boat ramps. There are currently six boat landings along the reach. Six are in Tennessee; one is in Arkansas. 

Recreation in the lower Mississippi River generates $1.3 billion and employs 55,000.

USACE’s civil works budget falls within a multi-step federal budgeting process that is driven in part by political priorities from the presidential administration. Projects can also be funded with supplemental appropriations. USACE has received supplemental funds nearly every year since 2017 — with the exception of 2021 — but those are typically given for repairs following significant storm damage, according to a 2022 overview of USACE’s budget process.

Brinkman, with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, said he wouldn’t be surprised if it took decades for the funding to be approved.

“Something of this scale has not been accomplished before … it is a slow process, for sure,” he said.

Allmon said his team never knows what will get funded or when. 

“If it doesn’t get funded this cycle, it’s not to say it won’t get funded in the next cycle,” he said.

Working with local landowners is another potential hurdle. 

Most land within the batture — the area of the alluvial plain extending from the river to the levee — is privately owned. 

The project as planned requires the purchase of more than 2,881 acres of private land, and easements for roads and construction at an estimated cost of $17.6 million, according to a project recommendation letter from USACE Chief of Engineers Scott Spellmon. 

Of the total 3,044 acres of private and public land encompassed by the project, about half lies in Tennessee, and half lies in Arkansas. 

Spellman’s letter lists real estate acquisition as one of the project’s “major uncertainty drivers.” But it also notes that the majority of the project benefits are expected to be successfully completed on public land and land purchased from willing sellers.

“There’s been some apprehension around that,” Brinkman said. “There will definitely be some negotiations. A lot of discussions are gonna have to happen before anything is done on the ground.”

This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

SUMMARY: Kim Cantrell from Knoxville Pays It Forward discusses the nonprofit’s mission and challenges. Founded in 2009, it began as a social media group and evolved into a charity focused on community support. Despite losing warehouses and facing personal health issues, they continue to assist locals. Today marks the 11th annual Kibble Bowl, a collaboration with CAC Paws to provide pet food for low-income seniors. The organization emphasizes the importance of helping neighbors, especially in tough times. Donations are encouraged through local centers or online wishlists, making support accessible even from home.

The organization will collect bags of dog and cat food, treats and toys to donate to KNOX Paws and local nonprofit animal shelters.

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The state of our society: A prophetic perspective on Tennessee and Memphis

by Rev. Earle Fisher, Tennessee Lookout
February 9, 2025

If we say we are without sin, we deceive ourselves. The political and social realities in Tennessee — and particularly in Memphis and Shelby County — are riddled with inequities that elected officials refuse to name. Public statements from those in power often evade accountability, trading in optimism rather than truth. As a Black faith leader and community advocate, I don’t have that luxury.

For centuries, “State of the…” addresses have been moments where leaders inform the public, outline policies, and provide hope. But today, they are political spectacles — staged performances meant more to entrench power than to educate. In an era of manipulated algorithms and AI-driven disinformation, the danger of leaving the public misinformed is more pressing than ever. The societal and cultural ills we face — racism, fascism, white Christian nationalism, threats from President Donald Trump and the death of intellectualism — require truth-telling that no elected official seems willing, ready, or able to offer. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us, “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” That time is now.

The perils we face in Tennessee and Memphis

The state of our society is perilous. In Memphis and Shelby County, unchecked power, systemic neglect, and political cowardice define the landscape.

Policing in Memphis remains brutal and unjust. The U.S. Department of Justice’s report on the Memphis Police Department confirmed what many already knew — racial profiling, excessive force, and unconstitutional surveillance are not isolated incidents but ingrained practices. 

Yet, despite these findings, leaders refuse to embrace real reforms. Gov. Bill Lee and state legislators have done nothing to address systemic abuses. Instead of investing in community-based safety initiatives, they continue to prioritize over-policing and mass incarceration. 

Local leadership is just as ineffective. Mayor Paul Young and the Memphis City Council have not fully committed to meaningful transformation. Symbolic gestures are offered, but the same policies that led to the murder of Tyre Nichols in 2023 persist.

Economic disparities in Tennessee are deepening. Memphis remains one of the poorest metropolitan areas in the nation, with nearly one in four residents living in poverty. While developers and business elites secure multimillion-dollar incentives, everyday workers struggle to afford housing, health care, and basic necessities. 

Lee’s administration has done little to alleviate these burdens, rejecting federal funding for essential services while keeping the minimum wage stagnant at $7.25 an hour. Meanwhile, Memphis and Shelby County leaders operate in  austerity for public resources but in abundance for corporate handouts, funneling millions in tax breaks to developers who contribute nothing to the communities they displace.

Public education in Tennessee is under siege. The state legislature aggressively pursues privatization, diverting public funds to private and charter schools while weakening oversight. 

Memphis and Shelby County are prime targets, as majority-Black school districts are first to be dismantled under the guise of “school choice,”  and a limited school voucher plan that passed in 2019 only applied to Shelby and Davidson Counties. 

Lee and state officials push vouchers and charter expansion, harming Black and low-income students while the instability within the Memphis-Shelby County School Board creates opportunities for state intervention. The goal is clear: weaken public education, siphon funds to corporate interests, and render Black children intellectually and culturally vulnerable. If our children are not taught their own history and denied critical thinking skills, their futures are predetermined.

A path forward rooted in truth and justice

In moments like these, I am reminded of the four lepers in 2 Kings 7. Facing death and desperation, they chose to move forward in audacious resistance rather than succumb to despair. Their courage led to unexpected deliverance — a lesson for us all.

We, too, must move forward with revolutionary audacity, even amid anxieties and uncertainties. This means calling out the lies and half-truths that dominate political speeches. It means telling our own truths — unapologetically and unrelentingly. The truth is that fealty to Trump is not just a political ideology; it is a spiritual sickness that has spread into every corner of our society, including Tennessee. 

Racism and fascism are not relics of the past; they are shaping our present and threatening our future. White Christian nationalism is not about faith; it is about fear — fear of a world where Black  people are no longer subjugated, fear of a justice that holds the powerful accountable and fear of a truth that cannot be silenced.

Our response must be prophetic. We must confront rogue policing with demands for systemic reform. We must counter economic exploitation by organizing for fair wages and policies that prioritize people over profits. We must resist the privatization of education by advocating for schools that empower rather than exploit.

A vision for collective liberation

Tennessee and Memphis demand a response, and that response must begin with us. It must start in our churches, our community organizations, our grassroots movements, and even at our kitchen tables. We must reject the empty rhetoric of political performances that offer hope without action, promises without plans, and rhetoric without resolve. Instead, we must organize, strategize, and mobilize. We must speak the truths that others are afraid to utter. We must build power—not just for survival, but for liberation.

As the four lepers showed us, it is better to risk the unknown than to accept the unacceptable. The state of Tennessee may be perilous, but it is not beyond redemption. If we move forward with courage, conviction and community, we can transform this moment of despair into a movement of deliverance. And that is a state of the culture worth fighting for.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.