U.S. Coast Guard photo by Isaac Pacheco.
This spring a 45-foot swing in water levels took the Mississippi River from near-dry in places, to near-historic crests in just a few months. Two years ago, floodplain managers were advocating for policy change on the Mississippi River. But that change is slow.
“We need some retreat from our rivers,” said Larry Larson, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers in 2011. In USA Today Larson continued, “They need to re-evaluate the entire system.”
Since then, some landowners have sold out, but others like those in tiny Dutchtown, Mo. have been “jumping through hoops” for years seeking a buyout from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. When asked if she would sell, one 75-year-old resident was quoted in the Associated Press as saying, “In a New York minute. I’m 75 years old — I can’t fight this.”
At THI, we advocate for healthy, functioning floodplains and the many benefits they bring. We may be witnessing a paradigm shift from away from the flood control policies of the 1920s to a growing realization of one of our favorite observations, “Nature always bats last.”
Increasingly severe Midwestern storms have led to ever-more-frequent flood events. The National Wildlife Federation has been quick to support the changing policy with the federation’s John Kostyack, as saying, “Give it room to run,” and, “Our over-reliance on levees is not going to get us through these crises year after year.”
Read the 2011 USA Today article: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/weather/floods/2011-05-18-missisippi-flood-control_n.htm
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