Mississippi River conservation endangered by federal cuts

The Mississippi River was named the most endangered river in the United States this week.

The Mississippi River, the vast waterway that wends through the heart of the nation and has shaped its history, economy and culture, was named the most endangered river in the United States this week by the Washington D.C.-based environmental group American Rivers.

The troubling designation comes amid a season of flooding across the South and Midwest, as weeks of heavy rainfall and snowmelt have pushed parts of the river to or above flood stage, according to an analysis by the National Weather Service. The agency — which itself faces significant funding cuts — warned that many communities along the Mississippi face continued flood risk through the spring.

The Mississippi River’s ranking is about more than climate change and rising water, however — it’s about what the river represents to the country and what could be lost if action isn’t taken.

“The Mississippi River is vital to our nation’s health, wealth and security,” said Mike Sertle, central region director for American Rivers, in the announcement of the endangered designation. “We drink from it, we grow our food with it, we travel on it, we live alongside it, and simply, we admire its beauty. We cannot turn our back on Mississippi River communities or the health of the river millions depend on at this critical time when they need unified direction instead of uncertainty at the national level.”

Stretching 2,350 miles from its Minnesota headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico and touching 10 states, the Mississippi River supplies drinking water to some 20 million people. Its basin encompasses 31 states and two Canadian provinces, including more than 40 percent of the continental United States.

Often referred to as “America’s river,” the Mississippi supports a commercial shipping industry valued at more than $400 billion annually. Its fertile floodplains drive the nation’s agricultural output, and its ecological bounty supports more than 1.5 million jobs. Nearly half of North America’s waterfowl depend on the river’s wetlands during their spring and fall migration.

It is also a cultural artery, long entwined with American identity. It inspired the writings of Mark Twain, the blues of Muddy Waters and B.B. King, and the canvases of George Catlin. For many Indigenous communities—the Ojibwe, Mdewakanton Dakota, Sioux, Sauk, Choctaw, Natchez and others—the river has been both a crucial resource and a spiritual symbol.

The threats to the river and those who live within its floodplains are multifaceted and growing alongside climate change dangers. Floods have grown more severe and frequent in recent years. A 2019 flood inundated riverside towns for nearly 100 days and caused more than $20 billion in damages. Flooding routinely overwhelms wastewater systems, causing raw sewage overflows that threaten public health and water quality.

And yet, at this moment of increasing vulnerability, several key federal institutions tasked with managing such disasters are under review or threatened with disabling funding cuts. The Trump administration’s recent threats to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, and reevaluate the National Flood Insurance Program have raised alarm among advocates and scientists.

“Without strong federal leadership in flood risk management, communities along the Mississippi River— and across the country — will face even greater threats from worsening floods,” said Chad Berginnis, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers. “At the same time, we recognize that states and local governments must take on a greater role in managing flood risks. Strengthening their capacity — whether through incentives or penalties — will lead to better outcomes. But no amount of state or local action can replace the need for coordinated federal support, especially when major disasters strike. Now is the time to reinforce our national commitment to flood risk reduction, not walk away from it.”

In addition to major cuts in funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, several presidential executive orders could significantly weaken clean water protections. Critics say the orders reduce public input, endanger rivers and wetlands, and increase vulnerability to floods, droughts and pollution, particularly in marginalized communities.

With most U.S. drinking water coming from waterways, groups like American Rivers argue that safeguarding supplies is a nonpartisan necessity, especially as extreme weather intensifies across the country and threatens long-term water security.

“What this administration is doing is endangering all of our lives — ours, our children, our grandchildren,” Christine Todd Whitman, who led the EPA under President George W. Bush, said in a March speech. “We all deserve to have clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. If there’s an endangerment finding to be found anywhere, it should be found on this administration because what they’re doing is contrary to what the Environmental Protection Agency is about.”

The Mississippi River’s ranking also coincides with the 40th anniversary of America’s Most Endangered Rivers campaign—a project that has, over the years, led to major policy wins for rivers across the country. Among them is the protection of New Mexico’s rivers earlier this month following Trump’s rollback of Clean Water Act enforcement, underlining the importance of state environmental intervention.

“Valuing water and valuing life are one and the same,” Rev. Clara Sims, assistant executive director of New Mexico & El Paso Interfaith Power and Light, told Western Environmental Law Center on April 8, 2025. “In the absence of federal protections, our state leaders have fulfilled an urgent and sacred responsibility to protect our precious waterways of New Mexico for the thriving of all our communities of life, human and beyond, for all generations to come.”

American Rivers also cited the restoration of the Klamath River in the Pacific Northwest, where Indigenous-led advocacy helped bring down four major dams, and the revival of North Carolina’s Neuse River, once choked by agricultural runoff.

The group urges federal agencies to strengthen rather than scale back their presence in the Mississippi Basin. Among their recommendations are modernizing floodplain development standards, improving access to public flood data, and speeding up the grant process for community resilience projects.

“As the new FEMA Review Council conducts a needed review, it should focus on providing states and communities with necessary flood and disaster relief, while also ensuring the health of rivers and streams that are necessary for healthy communities to thrive,” noted the report.

The report’s broader message is meant to resonate beyond the Mississippi. Of the 10 rivers highlighted this year—from the Rio Grande to Alaska’s Susitna—the common thread is that natural disasters and environmental decline increasingly collide with policy gridlock and deregulation.

In the Mississippi Basin, where 70 million people live and work, the stakes are especially high.

“Communities and businesses desperately need more support to deal with the impacts caused by flooding, especially at times of increased intensity in weather events, instead of less," said Kelly McGinnis, executive director of One Mississippi. “It is crucial to address the threats facing the River and those who depend on it so that the Mississippi River can be a vibrant ecosystem and support federal policies that lead to the river’s improved health.”

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Image: Mississippi River at Vicksburg (Shawn Rossi via Flickr)