Throughout the Mississippi River watershed, wetlands store floodwater, improve drinking water quality and serve as homes for millions of birds and other animals. But this special ecosystem is facing growing threats from development, pollution, climate change, and recent court rulings that leave it vulnerable to destruction
Against this backdrop, the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, a journalism collaborative based at the University of Missouri School of Journalism in partnership with Report for America, is proud to announce a landmark reporting project exploring the wonder of and threats to these landscapes, “Down the Drain: A watershed moment for America’s greatest wetlands.”
Communities across Wisconsin are testing the economic value of grant programs to build new wetlands that reduce flooding risk. In the upper Midwest, researchers found that wetlands save nearly $23 billion a year that would otherwise be spent combating floods.
In this piece — part of a series from The Gazette and the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk — a look at how love of birds, whether for sport or food, has fueled the push to restore Minnesota wetlands that were once drained.
In this piece — part of a series from The Gazette and the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk — a look at what’s next for America’s disappearing wetlands, and how the battle to save remaining wetlands will fall to states, which don’t protect them equally.
In this piece — part of a series from The Gazette and the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk — a look at a lawsuit that targets the 40-year-old “Swampbuster” law that aims to prevent farmers from destroying wetlands.
© 2025 The Gazette | All Rights Reserved.
Daily Newsletters