Recreation on the Mississippi River

One of the projects we are working on here at the MRCT is a proposed Blueway on the Mississippi River between Meeman-Shelby Forest and downtown Memphis. We hope to encourage additional recreation on our mighty river and believe that the more we foster recreation on and access to our river, the more our community will grow to love and care for our river, because there is work to be done to make it cleaner and healthier. Please read the article run in today's Commercial Appeal about our proposed Blueway.

We had a trial run of regular folk kayaking down the Blueway back in 2007 for our Paddle & Float event, and great fun was had by all.



We even had a catered picnic lunch on Hickman Bar, which is a beautiful sandy beach along the river with excellent camping potential.



Joe Royer and Outdoors Inc. has been a pioneer and an incredible force in advocating a recreation river for us here in Memphis & west Tennessee. Every year Outdoors Inc. has a Canoe & Kayak Race on the downtown portion of the Mississippi River, and they celebrated their 27th year last May!



If water sports are not for you, there are also opportunities for walking and bicycling along our river.



Outdoors Inc. produces a Cyclocross race annually for those who enjoy a more challenging bicycle race.



And the Mississippi River Bicycle Trail extends along the entire western coast of the river in West Tennessee with beautiful bluff vistas available to enjoy along the way.

Chickasaw Bluff No. 2 - GPS Coordinates: N 35° 30.539’ W 089° 54.375’


Chickasaw Bluff No. 1 - GPS Coordinates: N 35° 37.047’ W 089° 52.961’


Researchers from Illinois and Wisconsin have paddled past our port in order to study the health of the river (see our blog post with the details of that expedition)...



...and photographers such as John Guider have paddled the river to document its mighty nature and unabashed romantic allure. Stay tuned for more information, as we are bringing his incredible photo exhibit to Mud Island this spring!

Now get out there and enjoy our Mississippi River!

Loosahatchie Bar

Congratulations!
Every once in a while, we like to congratulate and showcase one of our Partners in a significant accomplishment for our great river and the Mississippi River Corridor – Tennessee.

This month we've chosen The Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee and their recent completion of the Loosahatchie Bar Conservation Project. Directed by Dr. Ron Nassar, in consultation with the Memphis District Corps of Engineers, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and several federal, state and private sector partners, this project is part of a landscape-scale conservation plan – "Restoring America's Greatest River."

Location
Loosahatchie Bar, located in two counties in two states (Shelby County, Tennessee and Crittenden County, Arkansas), is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River directly across from the city of Memphis.



History
In the 1960s it became necessary for the Memphis District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct rock dikes to divert flow from Loosahatchie Bar back to the river to maintain a safe navigation channel.



Sedimentation has increased within the Loosahatchie Bar, causing the loss of aquatic habitat and restricting the passage of fish through the area.

Although parts of the channel have a water depth of 10 feet during the spring and early summer, much of the area often dries completely later in the year.


Conservation Success and Benefits
In the fall of 2008, the LMRCC constructed 12 notches in eight of the stone dikes, and restored the flow of the Mississippi River through more than 11 miles of the Loosahatchie Bar.



The project will benefit the Least Tern, Pallid Sturgeon and Fat Pocketbook Mussel, which are federally endangered species found in the area, as well as improve habitat for recreationally and commercially important fish species.

Revitalizing the Lower Mississippi River ecosystem and providing outdoor recreational opportunities will improve our quality of life in the Memphis region. It will also promote nature-based tourism, one of the fastest growing segments in both the international and national tourism industries, which provide an economic stimulus of $2 Billion/Day worldwide.



The project will also restore aquatic habitat for wetland-dependent birds using the Mississippi Flyway migration corridor and provide additional opportunities for conservation education.


Our great thanks go to our valued partners, The Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee, for their wonderful work in conservation and restoration of the Lower Mississippi River.