River Citizen,,

Transitioning into 2021 feels monumental. I have no clue what's around the bend but I am grateful for you and our River Citizen community. We are from all corners of the watershed, joined together as 1 Mississippi. 

In 2021, how you will enjoy the Mississippi River? I want to know! Email me at michael@1mississippi.org and share on social media by tagging @1Mississippi and use #EnjoyTheMississippi.

Thus far in 2021, I have been enjoying the Mississippi by noticing the diversity of birds I hear on River walks and every time I pour a glass of water (I am one of the ~18+ MILLION people who get their drinking water from the River).

May the water be clean, all beings healthy, and the New Year bring you exactly what you need. We made it to 2021, cheers!

-Michael Anderson, Outreach and Engagement Manager

While our biggest challenges of 2020 — a global pandemic, devastating economic downturn, and continuing racial reckoning — continue into 2021, we pause at the beginning of this new year to reflect and appreciate the accomplishments made possible by our River Citizens and our Mississippi River Network members throughout the basin.

In 2020, we continued our focus on advancing federal and state policies that 1) promote just, equitable, and resilient communities, 2) reduce impacts of agricultural and urban runoff pollution, and 3) protect and restore ecosystem form and function. Policy Director, Maisah Khan, shares some of our proudest accomplishments of 2020.

Virtual Clean Water Advocacy Training

• When: Friday 1/8/21 9 am to 12 pm CDT
• About: Learn to become a clean water advocate! Join the Iowa Environmental Council for a morning virtual training session to learn advocacy basics, get helpful tools, and work on your message for decision-makers.

Doo Do's and Doo Don'ts: Identify, Report, and Prevent a Sewer Overflow

• When: Wednesday 1/27/21 6 pm CDT
• About: Join Harpeth Conservancy for their next Conservation Conversation and learn about the negative impact sewer overflows have on local waterways and how we can help identify and prevent them.

Internship and Volunteer with Blessed Earth Southeast

• When: January - May (apply now)
• About: Blessed Earth Southeast is looking for college student interns for internships that begin in January. Interns will help with the Living Waters program, helping to plan and lead stream restoration, cleanup, and tree planting events. Click here for details.

Replay: An Evening for the River

• About: Last month's online An Evening for the River: Postcards, Music, Art, and Storytelling was a success! Watch the recording on 1 Mississippi's YouTube channel and become inspired, entertained, and educated by a line-up of spectacular guest presenters.

Minnesota
● Friends of the Mississippi River, Our 2021 legislative priorities
● Friends of the Mississippi River, What the 2020 election results mean for the River

Wisconsin
● Clean Wisconsin, Looking Back, Looking Forward podcast episode

Iowa
● Iowa Environmental Council, 2021 Legislative Preview Webinar on 1/6/2021
● Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, 2020 Year-In-Review Video

Illinois
● Illinois Stewardship Alliance, 2020 Highlight Reel
● Illinois Environmental Council, 2020 Post-Election Environmental Analysis

Missouri
● Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Advocacy Resources for the New Year

Kentucky
● Kentucky Waterways Alliance

Tennessee
● Harpeth Conservancy, Conservation Conversations: Holiday Recycling Tips to Protect River Ecosystems

Arkansas
● Arkansas Public Policy Council, How to Lobby During a Pandemic webinar on 1/10/2021

Mississippi
● Quapaw Canoe Company, A Prayer for Our Earth

Louisiana
● Healthy Gulf, Offshore drilling, renewable energy and election 2020

National and Regional 

● American Farmland Trust, Shedding Light: Women for the Land’s Lessons of 2020

● American Rivers, Our Most-Read Blogs of 2020

● Izaak Walton League of America, A blueprint for common-sense conservation: Izaak Walton League policy recommendations for 2021

● National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, Year in Review, 2020

● National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Top 20 Wins (and Fights!) for Sustainable Agriculture in 2020

● The River Network, 2020 Trends Report: State of River and Watershed Protection