"The designation is a recognition of just how critically important this is for a multitude of species," says Jeff Janvrin, a Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist who has worked on habitat restoration projects along the river for more than 20 years. "It's also recognition of the hard work people have been putting in to protect the river over the many generations."
The complex series of forested backwater channels, marshes and islands in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa are home to more than 100 fish species and 42 mussels species. Mississippi River wetlands provide habitat to more than 300 birds and a flyway for 40 percent of the waterfowl in America. A slideshow featuring a sampling of these natural resources is found on the Wisconsin Wetlands page of the DNR website.
