The Wild & Scenic Mississippi River

Designation

The Mississippi River from St. Cloud to Anoka was added to Minnesota's Wild & Scenic Rivers Program in 1976.

Classification

The river is designated as "scenic" from St. Cloud to Clearwater, and "recreational" from Clearwater to the Anoka/Champlin line (see: general river classification information).

Current status

The original management plan for this stretch of the Mississippi River was adopted in 1976. A Revised Management Plan was developed in July 2004 by the citizens of Minnesota, local governments, and state agencies using a community-based planning approach.

Mississippi River Management - 1997 Minnesota Rules
Mississippi River - Wild and Scenic River Rules Update Status

Mississippi Update

We began the community-based process to revise the 1976 management plan at the beginning of 1998 with a series of informal RiverTalk Open Houses. RiverForum meetings were started in April 1998 to discuss issues and concerns identified by citizens at the open houses and to develop solutions to river management problems. A draft management plan was developed, which incorporated citizen comments and strategies for the riverway. Local community governments and citizens reviewed the draft plan and provided comments. Responses to the comments were developed and a revised management plan was issued in July 2004.

Available Documents

• Revised Management Plan - July 2004
• Comments and Responses on the January 2003 Draft Management Plan 5.7 Mb
• Strategies Document - 350 management strategies suggested by RiverForum 8 participants, February 1999
• Issue and Concern Statements: RiverTalk Open Houses 1998 - verbatim statements from citizens in Elk River, Monticello, Clearwater and St. Cloud
• Revised Mississippi River Significance Statements - 14 combined/revised statements (November-December 1998)

What's next

The Department of Natural Resources will initiate rule making to revise Minnesota Rules Chapters 6105.0850 to 6105.0960 to implement the revised management plan.

Mississippi River - Wild and Scenic River Rules Update Status

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Water Trail Information and a Canoe and Boating Guide can be found on the Canoeing page.