Table 1 Example of different entities on the Upper Mississippi River, and their focal scale and priority outcome

Basin or entire Upper Mississippi River Mainstem

Mississippi River Commission (United States Army Corps of Engineers; USACE)

Navigation, commerce, flood control

Upper Mississippi River Basin Association

Multi-use management, cooperative planning

Intertribal Agencies (e.g., Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, 1854 Treaty Authority)

Treaty rights to fish, hunt, and gather

Tribal Governments (e.g., Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Ho-Chunk Nation)

Shared well-being, sustainable livelihoods (Reid et al. 2021)

Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program (Federal, state, tribal, & non-governmental partnership)

Scientific research, monitoring, and habitat rehabilitation

U.S. Federal Government (e.g., USACE, USDA-NRCS)

Navigation, flood control, environmental regulation

Reach or another subset of the entire basin

USACE—St. Paul, Rock Island, and St. Louis Districts

Navigation and flood control

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service—Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife & Fish Refuge

Conservation and management of wildlife habitat

State Governments (MN, WI, IA, IL, MO)

State constituency priorities; hunting and fishing, environmental regulation and management

Site

Municipalities, residents

Local constituency priorities (e.g., tourism, recreation, flood risk, agricultural production)

Habitat Rehabilitation and Navigation Projects (e.g., Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program; Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program)

Address site-specific issues (e.g., sedimentation, erosion)