ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER — Columbia-Snake River stakeholders recently toured the Mississippi River system of locks and dams in a prelude to forming an alliance to promote and protect all U.S. river interests.

The tour was an “educational exchange” between the two regions, with Pacific Northwest representatives invited by the Upper Mississippi Waterway Association.

“This was an inaugural, initial meeting of the minds,” said Michelle Hennings, executive director of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers.

“Though our rivers may operate differently, handle different products and connect to different parts of this country, both are vital to our nation,” said Gary Williams, executive director of the Mississippi River association. “The Upper Mississippi River particularly has quietly functioned well beyond the expected life of the locks and dams that make navigation possible, and it’s well past time to reinvest in the river to assure it remains reliable and accessible.”

Northwest representatives on the tour included Hennings; Rob Rich, vice president of marine services for Shaver Transportation, a tug and barge company; Anthony Pena, government relations manager for the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association; Kristin Meira, director of government affairs for American Cruise Lines, and Capt. Jeremy Nielsen of Columbia River Pilots.

The six-day tour began in La Crosse, Wis. The tour included visits to ports in Memphis, Tenn.; Vicksburg, Miss., and New Orleans.

“It was absolutely amazing to see how their working river system functions,” Hennings said. “It was amazing to see how vast. … We do four-barge tows. They go with 30 to 40 in a single barge tow.”

‘A credible threat’

Efforts to breach the four lower Snake River dams are “gravely concerning,” Williams said.

“Losing any of these rivers will cost immense harm to many lives and have tremendous consequences,” he said. “It’s such a dangerous threat with many disastrous outcomes. It’s unimaginable really that it’s a possibility, and a harbinger of what could happen to all of us relying upon the Mississippi River, whether we recognize it or not.

“When only one view is understood and embraced rather than a holistic understanding of how these river systems work and their overall importance, an idea can begin to circulate that begins to have life with absolutely terrible consequences,” he continued. “We clearly now need to tell our own message, while additionally amplifying the voice of the Snake River stakeholders by collaborating as our nation’s working river systems to protect the vitality of our infrastructure.”

Potential removal needs to be treated as a “credible threat,” Williams said.

“If it’s possible to remove the dams on the Snake River, do we worry about every river in the United States becoming unnavigable some day?” he asked. “Will we really willingly shift all of that transportation to much higher emissions in the form of alternative transportation, rebuild roads more often, create massive traffic increases on our highways and roadways? How willing are these individuals to wreck our economy, our ecology, our recreation, our towns and municipalities along the river? It would create a panic among a vast majority of those that rely and utilize our country’s working rivers.”

Future collaborations

Hennings called conversations “very productive.”

“We need to come together as U.S systems, and work together on a variety of collaborative efforts,” she said.

A river team visited Washington, D.C., in February, meeting with many lawmakers from the Midwest.

“The Mississippi covers 138 congressional districts,” Hennings said. “That’s one-third of Congress. We got the message that their congressional delegation is very supportive of the working river system.”

Members of the Mississippi association will tour the Pacific Northwest next summer.

“We know that our system is very regional to us, but in all reality, this is the big picture,” Hennings said. “We need to collaborate to protect our systems, having them in place.”