[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16744]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING THE LONG-TERM RESOURCE MONITORING PROGRAM

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. RON KIND

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 19, 2007

  Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the USGS Upper 
Midwest Environmental Sciences Center Long Term Resource Monitoring 
Program (LTRMP) for the Cooperative Conservation award they received 
from the U.S. Department of Interior.
  Established in 1986 through the Water Resources Development Act, the 
LTRMP plays a key role in the Environmental Management Program. It is 
implemented by the United States Geological Survey office in Onalaska, 
Wisconsin in cooperation with five Upper Mississippi River States: 
Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin.
  This model partnership of Federal, State and local agencies is an 
integral part of research done on the Upper Mississippi River System 
and a prime example of teamwork.
  Congress recognized the Upper Mississippi River System as both a 
nationally significant ecosystem and a nationally significant 
commercial navigation system. Accordingly, the mission of the Long Term 
Resource Monitoring Program is to provide decision makers with the 
information needed to maintain the Upper Mississippi River System as a 
viable multiple-use large river ecosystem. The long-term goals are to 
understand the system, determine resource trends and impacts, develop 
management alternatives, manage information, and develop useful 
products.
  The LTRMP, through six remote State-operated field stations, has 
provided critical data collection, analyses, research and modeling of 
the environmental components of vegetation, water levels and quality, 
fishes and invertebrates. It was one of the pioneers in geo-spatial 
information systems, documenting land use and land cover mapping and 
analysis. This data is vital for planning, design, and assessment of 
restoration and rehabilitation projects. It is the LTRMP that provides 
a knowledge base for effective, cost-efficient habitat projects and 
then documents their success.
  The LTRMP continues to be the most consistent, comprehensive large 
river monitoring program in the world. More than 200,000 data 
observations have been collected to evaluate important short- and long-
term changes associated with ecological components of the UMRS.
  On multiple occasions, I toured this amazing facility and witnessed 
the ongoing and award-winning research. I am proud to have it not only 
in my district, but in my hometown.

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