Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) distributed the Final Integrated Feasibility Report and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway System Navigation Feasibility Study. The report described an integrated plan for modifications and operations changes to the Upper Mississippi River and the Illinois Waterway for navigation efficiency and ecosystem res
toration. It also discussed the programmatic actions and the associated beneficial and adverse effects regarding navigation efficiency and ecosystem restoration needs. To protect the known and unknown significant historic properties affected by the implementation of the navigation improvements, several government agencies signed a Programmatic Memorandum of Agreement. The signers included the Corps; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin Historic Preservation Officers; and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. It was decided that documenting the history and significance of the Upper Mississippi River and the Illinois Waterway would address some of these possible effects. As part of that effort, the Corps held the fi rst meeting of the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP) Cultural Resources and Stewardship Mitigation Team in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in June 2006. A second meeting was held in Alton, Illinois, in April 2008. In August 2009, the Corps contracted Formations of Portland, Oregon, to produce “Our Mississippi: Educational Activities about the Upper Mississippi River.” The production of the various drafts of the Teacher’s Activity Guide was coordinated with the NESP Cultural Resources and Stewardship Mitigation Team through three workshops held between December 14-18, 2009 at Alton, Illinois; Pleasant Valley, Iowa; and St. All comments and responses were considered in various draft reviews.
