In this transformational moment, we urge the Administration to demonstrate its conservation, climate, and environmental justice commitments by deploying federal flood relief programs that can protect marginalized communities and birds that depend on the Mississippi Flyway. The Yazoo Pumps must be abandoned once and for all.
Jill Mastrototaro, Mississippi Policy Director for Audubon Delta
Most endangered rivers
Threat: Wetland Destruction, Environmental Injustice
The Big Sunflower and Yazoo Rivers are home to an abundance of wetlands and habitats that support more than 450 species of birds, fish, and wildlife in the heart of the Mississippi Flyway. This special place is threatened by a harmful project known as the Yazoo Backwater Pumps. The project would damage thousands of acres of wetlands while reinforcing historical environmental and racial injustices for predominantly Black, impoverished communities. The EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must prioritize immediate, effective flood relief using nature-based solutions to help local communities while conserving vital wetlands that provide natural flood protection and climate resilience.
American Rivers appreciates the collaboration and efforts of our partners:
- Audubon Delta
Downstream communities and industries that depend on the Pearl River will pay the price if One Lake moves forward. The project would expose toxic pollution, threaten the integrity of municipal infrastructure, like bridges and drinking water supplies, and interfere with permitted businesses already working on the river.
Martha Watts, Mayor of Monticello, Mississippi
Most endangered rivers
Threat: Dredging & Dam Construction
The Pearl River is one of the most biodiverse rivers in the U.S. and the primary drinking water source for Jackson, Mississippi. But this natural treasure is threatened by a devastating private real estate development scheme masquerading as a flood control project. This “One Lake” project would dredge and dam the Pearl River to create new waterfront property, destroying vital fish and wildlife habitat, worsening Jackson’s flooding and drinking water crisis, increasing toxic contamination, and reducing freshwater flows critical to the region’s important seafood and tourism economies. The Biden administration must stop this project and invest in environmentally-sustainable flood relief for the predominantly Black community of Jackson while protecting the Pearl River and all the communities and economies that rely on it.
American Rivers appreciates the collaboration and efforts of our partners:
- Healthy Gulf
- Lawrence County Board of Supervisors
- Louisiana Wildlife Federation
- Town of Monticello
- Audubon Delta
- Sierra Club
- Orleans Audubon Society
- Pearl Riverkeeper
- National Wildlife Federation