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Here's a special feature from the Ag & Water Desk Nov 20 newsletter, shared here on the LWV UMRR blog. As world leaders gather in Baku, Azerbaijan for the United Nations climate summit, COP29, mayors from the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) made the journey to share their perspectives and foster global connections. They've been discussing climate and ecological initiatives aimed at securing U.S. trade, protecting food-producing river basins, and cementing the work of mayors as a global example of 'transformational adaptation,' per MRCTI. Mayors Melisa Logan of Blytheville, Arkansas, and Hollies Winston of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, spoke with Desk reporter Elise Plunk of Louisiana Illuminator via video chat. The following Q&A has been edited for length and clarity. Desk: What are some impressions from the trip and ideas you can bring back to your cities to implement? Mayor Melisa Logan: Here at COP29, they thought the overarching theme would be finance, but actually it's continuity of climate action. One of the sayings throughout the COP has been ‘from ambition to action,’ which means that we're going to move from just talking about it, to boots-on-the-ground and multi-level action on all levels of government. Change is going to happen whether we participate in it or not. There are 105 mayors in the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, and these 105 mayors are all experiencing climate change. In my area of the country, the Mississippi River has been at its lowest point. We've experienced drought for three years. I'm here to advocate for that most precious commodity that we all share, which is water. Mayor Hollies Winston: MRCTI is very unique in that they're making the case for the Mississippi. When you meet a mayor in the Amazon Basin of Brazil, you realize the amount of commerce that they deal with, and how important it is not only to that region, to the Amazon and to Brazil, but the entire world. Well, that's not so different than what we're dealing with in the Mississippi, because the Mississippi is also this iconic river, and when it struggles, there are effects across the world. A big thing I'm taking away from this is how do we finance climate solutions so that people at the local level can have a voice, and they can have a say in terms of what some of these solutions look like.  Blytheville, AR, Mayor Melisa Logan and Brooklyn Park, MN, Mayor Hollies Winston in Baku, Azerbaijan at COP29. Image courtesy of MRCTI. Desk: Specifically, why is it important, and what does it mean to represent your cities and MRCTI at this global conference?
Logan: We just came out of a very heightened political season, and a winner has been declared, and we're soon to go on to the new presidency. We know that billions of dollars were deployed during the Biden administration with the Inflation Reduction Act. And so the world wants to know, how are we going to handle the new climate? Well, our answer through MRCTI been very consistent: We're going to continue to deploy the natural resources, we're going to continue to protect our natural infrastructure, and we're going to continue to do the work. Winston: For my city of Brooklyn Park, I think it's important that they understand they're connected to something much bigger, and that they have an important role to play when it comes to climate change. But it also is important that they understand the economic outcomes that could occur if we could go in the wrong direction. From both the national and international perspective, it's important for people to realize that this work is going to continue and not simply for altruistic reasons. Logan: We’ve been from Paris to Dubai over the last few COPs, and we have advocated on the global stage for our Mississippi River corridor at six United Nations climate meetings. That's a lot of exposure that would not have happened had MRCTI not been engaged. What that means for the Mississippi, is we're able to tell our story. Winston: The story of the Mississippi is important to our country and our world. That story has helped get mayors on board, and that's not easy. You know, mayors are just like herding cats, right? But I think that story is incredibly compelling, and it started not from the top down, but it started from the bottom up. It's a model that we can roll out to others. At a local level, helping people understand what's going on, and then building up to this leadership with mayors, that can really move the ball in a way that maybe we haven't seen with other organizations. (Disclosure: both the Desk and MRCTI receive funding from the Walton Family Foundation.) In this video, Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative Executive Director Colin Wellenkamp discusses the work that cities and towns are undertaking to use natural infrastructure to make their cities more flood-resistant and resilient. Waterloop Episode #247| Mississippi Mayors Mobilize For Resilience
One notable example is Horseshoe Lake in East St. Louis, a community historically impacted by recurrent flooding and economic disadvantage. Restoration efforts there aim to reduce flood risks by enhancing natural floodplains, providing critical protection for residents and supporting biodiversity.
This initiative is part of MRCTI’s broader push to implement projects across 100,000 acres in eight states by the end of the decade, creating sustainable landscapes that safeguard both people and ecosystems in the face of a changing climate. The Mississippi By Nature series is supported by the Walton Family Foundation and outfitted by Patagonia.
The Upper Mississippi River Basin Association (UMRBA) and several partner organizations are launching a project that will identify which basin watersheds have greater impacts on river flows that support the nine-foot navigation channel essential to commercial barge traffic on the river.
U.S. Geological Survey is providing $600,000 to support the project. The University of Minnesota will conduct the hydrologic analysis. UMRBA will facilitate interstate coordination. The states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin will provide technical expertise to the University of Minnesota. U.S. Geological Survey will also provide technical expertise to the states and the University of Minnesota, as they explore how the information can be used to support decision making. The objectives of this project are to:
In a related project, Illinois DNR secured a $282,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to build a database infrastructure that will store the water quantity data from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin. The database will allow the data to be readily accessible and available for basin-scale analyses. Beyond this initial partnership project, UMRBA hopes to expand assessments to examine future climate conditions and the implications of water availability to the river’s many different water uses. About the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association – The Upper Mississippi River Basin Association (UMRBA) is a five-state interstate organization formed by the Governors of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin to coordinate the states’ river-related programs and policies and work with federal agencies that have river responsibilities. The UMRBA is structured as a 501(c) non-profit association, with the Board of Directors composed of Governor-appointed representatives and alternatives. For more information about UMRBA, visit its website at www.umrba.org.
Our speakers in this webinar are John Stack, JD, author of a Note in the Minnesota Law Review examining the feasibility of a Mississippi River Compact; Mayor David Kleis of St. Cloud and Minnesota Senator John Hoffman. Viewers will learn about the legal basis for a potential compact and the recent call by a group of Mayors along the River for a compact. Finally, we look at the political situation and what it would take, at least in one state, to establish such a Compact.
The Mississippi River passes through ten states on its way to the Gulf. Each of these ten states has their own priorities for appropriation, pollution protection and clean ups. The Federal government has jurisdiction for enforcing the Clean Water Act, jurisdiction which was recently curtailed by the US Supreme Court’s Sackett decision. This governance structure is not effective for protecting the Mississippi from out of basin appropriations, non-point source pollution and other stresses. Climate change and population growth are exacerbating the problems. A Mississippi River Compact is a potential interstate agreement that would establish a unified management system across all states within the Mississippi River basin, aiming to address the critical environmental challenges facing the river by coordinating conservation efforts, water allocation, and pollution control under a single governing body, potentially providing a more comprehensive approach to protecting the river's ecosystem and future sustainability. This session lays out the groundwork for LWV UMRR as we work within the League of Women Voters and with other like-minded nonpartisan organizations to support the efforts of the Mayors and others working toward a Mississippi River Compact. This work is supported by the approved LWV UMRR 2024-25 Program for Action and the LWV US position on Inter-basin Transfers. Click "Read More" below to see these documents.  In his remarks to LWV UMRR on October 8, Steve Herrington, Associate Director of Water for the Minnesota-North Dakota-South Dakota Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, raised the possibility of LWV UMRR working with The Nature Conservancy to promote an interstate compact to protect the Mississippi River. (Minute 49 of the video.) This idea has been rumbling up and down the river for years without getting a real toe-hold. Is it time now for a Mississippi River Compact?  Photo: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
River City Mayors Support a Compact (story from the Mississippi River Ag and Water Desk) A coalition of Mississippi River mayors wants a 10-state compact that would establish collective management of the waterway. At the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative’s (MRCTI) annual meeting this week in Bemidji, Minnesota, about 30 mayors unanimously voted in favor of pursuing a compact that would span more than 2,300 miles of river. It’s the first step of what could be a lengthy process. MRCTI’s executive director, Colin Wellenkamp, said a compact among the core states bordering the river would be a way to think about river management at the watershed scale, from the headwaters in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, and coordinate during events affecting the whole river, like drought and flooding. Lacking an overall management structure makes it difficult to address multi-state issues like reducing runoff into the river, which ultimately contributes to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. A compact could provide legal protections for Mississippi River resources, such as the vast amount of water the river drains from 31 states and two Canadian provinces. “Quite frankly, law and hydrology are not really on speaking terms,” said Mark Davis, director of Tulane University’s Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy in New Orleans. He and his team study Mississippi River management issues. Davis likened the water in the Mississippi River to a baton in a relay race; management changes with each of the 10 states it flows past, not including the other 21 states that feed into the river. “One of the first questions is going to be: if this water is essential to prosperity and growth, whose? Should it be those who dream about it in dry places, or those who are next to it?” Davis said. As parched states in the West grapple with drought and water scarcity, there have been renewed efforts to pump Mississippi River water west. But Wellenkamp said their concern lies with “anyone that wants to put a straw in the Mississippi,” not just western states. Old idea, new strategy. Mississippi River states, whether altogether or in regional groups, have taken multiple stabs — some short-lived and others long-standing — at collective management: an attempted compact in the 1980s that crumbled before it gained much momentum; a decades-old coalition of upper river states that confers on connected issues; and an ecological restoration program approved last year for the lower basin. MRCTI has even supported a slate of legislation called the Safeguarding the Mississippi River Together Act, which pushed for a unified river management plan and a national office. When it stalled, they turned to other policy avenues, like the Farm Bill and the Water Resources Development Act. Other recent efforts at collective river management, including one called the Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative, stalled out in Congress. Wellenkamp said this compact could provide a legal mechanism to prevent water from the Mississippi from being shipped elsewhere. But passing such a compact is easier said than done. MRCTI’s vote Thursday was the first step in a lengthy process, and any compact with legal teeth would require approval from Congress. They’ll have to get buy-in from all 10 mainstem river states — Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana — and politics, economics and special interests all come into play. This time around, the mayors are looking to the Great Lakes Compact as a model. In that region, eight states and two Canadian provinces established principles for water management and a requirement to notify and consult other members before diverting large amounts of water. Over the course of more than three decades, the states and provinces updated the agreement until landing on a 2008 compact with specific protections against diversions and withdrawals. Unprecedented times Davis said the Great Lakes states didn’t necessarily share a common vision at the onset, but they agreed on something fundamental: they didn’t want their water sent to just anyone with a checkbook. “One way or another, water will find its way to a user, and there won’t be enough for everyone," Davis said. Wellenkamp said a Mississippi River compact would be similar to the Great Lakes agreement in terms of geographic scope, and he likes that it isn’t overly prescriptive. But he said there’s a key difference: they’re trying to develop a Mississippi River compact in the face of severe climate threats. “We are highly motivated by recent disasters and highly motivated by recent climate impacts that the Great Lakes did not have,” he said. The mayors’ vote of support is the first step in a process that Wellenkamp, who wouldn’t venture to guess how long this process might take, said will prevent the states from paying the price down the road. “For the first time in many years,” Davis said, “the cities and towns along the Mississippi are starting to understand that they are next to a gem, and if they don’t value it, someone else will.” This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, funded by the Walton Family Foundation. Sign up to republish stories like this one for free. Related LWV UMRR Blog Posts:
LWV UMRR hosts five-six talks like this every year; see other videos on our "Past Program Videos" page. Synopsis of the presentation: Encompassing 1,245 million square miles in 31 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, the Mississippi River and its tributaries nourish crops, transport goods, provide recreational opportunities and sustain robust fisheries. The river system brings food, fresh water, jobs, and economic security to millions of Americans. Today, the Mississippi River faces unprecedented challenges. Increasingly intense flooding, nutrient runoff that creates a Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico, invasive species, and changing flows strain the river’s infrastructure and threaten homes, communities, and livelihoods. The Nature Conservancy has set ambitious goals to transform how they conduct and influence conservation across the whole basin to ensure its long-term resilience for nature and people alike. They are developing projects, partnerships, and policies that protect essential lands, habitats, and waters, while deepening our understanding of the connections between people and place. This presentation will provide an overview of TNC's Mississippi River Basin project and touch on select actions in Minnesota and elsewhere in the Upper Mississippi River that contribute to a vibrant future for the Mississippi River Basin as a whole. To learn more about this project, check out the TNC website - click here!
 Photo: https://experiencemississippiriver.com/chasing-fall-color-on-the-great-river-road/ Fall colors in the Missisippi River Valley are spectacular! It's a glorious drive, with sweeping views of the river illuminated with the reds and golds of autumn extending for miles. If you go leaf-peeping this fall, plan a stop to see some art along the way. In Winona, the Minnesota Maritime Art Museum's current exhibit is "A Nation Takes Place: Race and Water in Contemporary Art". The exhibition draws together a collection of artwork by 38 artists and from over 20 lending partners to help viewers comprehend the complexity of America’s formation, a project unthinkable without waterways, conquest, and slave ships. And the Pure Water Mississippi exhibit is appearing in La Crosse and Winona this fall. There will be a reception in La Crosse on September 18 and one in Winona on September 23, both with continuing exhibits and other events. Following is information on the Minnesota Maritime Art Museum's and the Pure Water exhibits.
Other venues hosting Pure Water exhibits this fall: Sunday, August 18- until further notice: Pure Iowa Water—“Save Keg Creek” Pop Art Exhibition at Milk & Honey Cafe, Serving delicious farm to table breakfast & lunch meals at 919 7th Street, Harlan, IA 51537 Exhibit remains on display until further notice. For more details, click here Summer 2024: Pure Iowa Water—“Save Bloody Run” Pop Art Exhibition at the Driftless Water Defenders public outreach events. For more details, click here Monday, September 9-11: Pure Iowa Water—“Save Mississippi River” Pop Art Exhibition at the Iowa Water Conference 2024 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Conference Center, 300 East 9th Street, Coralville, IA 52241 For more details, click here Tuesday, October 8: Pure Iowa Water—“Raccoon River, Save Squirrel Hollow” Pop Art Exhibition at Iowa Water Summit. Tuesday, October 8th, at the Des Moines Izaak Walton League, 4343 George Flagg Parkway, Des Moines IA 50321. For more details, click here Wednesday, October 9-10: Pure Iowa Water—Pop Art Exhibition at Iowa Nature Summit, Drake University Olmsted Center, 2875 University Avenue, Des Moines IA 50311. For more details, click here  Guest post by Jenny Whidden, moderator for the August 15 presentation. While salt currently plays an essential role in keeping our roads safe during snowy, cold weather, its overuse takes a lofty and often permanent environmental toll — especially within our fresh water bodies. Salt from winter deicing practices, potassium chloride fertilizer and water softening equipment can contaminate drinking water, endanger wildlife and damage property. That’s because once salt makes its way down roads and sidewalks, it finds itself in our water with no way to remove it. “Once (salts containing chloride) come in contact with water, that chloride is very strongly bound to the water. Wherever that water goes, the chloride goes with it,” Brooke Aslesen, Watershed Specialist with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, said at an Aug. 15 webinar hosted by the League of Women Voters Upper Mississippi River Region Inter League Organization. “With it not breaking down and staying in the water, (chloride) tends to build up in a lot of our surface waters and in our groundwaters as well.” With the hope of reducing chloride pollution and inspiring ‘Salt Smart’ initiatives across the region, LWV UMRR hosted the educational awareness webinar in collaboration with experts from Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. “It is becoming clear that the current pattern in road salt usage is unsustainable, and there is a strong desire for communities to act before more surface waters become impaired due to high chloride levels,” Carolyn Mahlum-Jenkins, an UMRR Board Member from LWV LaCrosse, said at the event. “There are many pieces to the puzzle of reducing chloride pollution: A single recommendation will not work alone.” Those puzzle pieces include education and training, regulation and policy, monitoring, and financial support among various programs and partnerships, Mahlum-Jenkins said. While experts emphasized there is no natural or feasible way to pull existing salt out of our water bodies or to mitigate pollution once salt is put down, there is promise in collectively working toward best practices as individuals, communities and regions, they said. For instance, programs like the Salt Smart Collaborative, a program of The Conservation Foundation, encourages the use of Salt Smart practices among the winter maintenance workforce by providing resources like workshops and trainings, the Salt Smart Certified program, and targeted outreach materials. These resources are made available across a range of organizations including transportation agencies, municipalities, park districts and private contractors. At a larger scale, the Upper Mississippi River Region has seen some development in state legislatures. Both the Minnesota and Wisconsin legislatures had bills on salt management in 2024. Though they each failed to cross the finish line — with the Wisconsin bill in particular hitting a wall after Gov. Tony Evers vetoed it — advocates said there are a number of ways individuals can participate in outreach to educate their communities and support legislation moving forward. Those include reaching out to legislators, hosting a ‘Shovel More, Salt Less’ Campaign and promoting Winter Salt Awareness Week. “If you want to make a difference in your local community, I think getting some signage out can be really powerful,” Allison Madison, Manager of the Wisconsin Salt Wise Program, said at the Aug. 15 webinar. “We had a ‘Shovel More, Salt Less’ campaign in the Madison (Wisconsin) area that was really successful and I’d love to expand that to other communities with your help.” Madison added that advocates can participate in Winter Salt Awareness Week, a January program that has grown from the state to the national level. Partners from a dozen states have committed so far, including Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri. Outreach resources, including social media posts, videos, graphics and posters are further available at the Salt Smart Collaborative website, said Hannah Miller, Watershed Program Manager with The Conservation Foundation in Illinois. The website also has blog posts that can be used in local newsletters.
For those based in Northeastern Illinois, Miller added the Salt Smart Collaborative has a traveling exhibit that can be displayed at local libraries. For more hands-on participation, Illinois advocates can become Winter Chloride Watchers of their local waterways through a partnership between The Conservation Foundation and Illinois RiverWatch. Volunteers collect and report results from November through May, with training offered in October. Outside of Illinois, individuals across the nation can participate in a similar monitoring program through the Izaak Walton League of America’s Salt Watch initiative. LWV UMRR’s Aug. 15 program, “A View from Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin on SaltSmart Practices,” was recorded on Zoom and can be found at tinyurl.com/UMMRSaltSmart.
Below is the original blog post used to advertise this program. Salt is a big problem for streams, lakes and rivers in the Upper Mississippi Basin. Salt - sodium chloride - breaks down into sodium, which is absorbed on soils, and chloride, which moves freely through soil and builds up in water bodies. (Read more about trends in chloride in this post!) Once salt goes down on roads or sidewalks, it doesn't go away. Salt levels are rising in lakes, streams, and rivers in Illinois. Overuse of salt during the winter can damage our built and natural environments. We can protect our natural resources and reduce road salt without sacrificing safety. Working towards better practices is a multi-faceted endeavor. Programs like the Salt Smart Collaborative, a program of The Conservation Foundation, encourage the use of Salt Smart practices in winter maintenance operations. Salt Smart practices are the best practices for winter maintenance operations that reduce salt use and provide safe surfaces. Resources (like workshops and trainings, the Salt Smart Certified program, and targeted outreach materials) are made available through the Salt Smart Collaborative to transportation agencies, municipalities, park districts, and private contractors to encourage and support the adoption of the best practices for salt use. This event on August 15 will help us to build our understanding on this important topic in water quality!  This graphic from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency shows the sources of salt (chloride) in the environment. States like Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois have programs to address chloride, and in our upcoming program on August 15, we will hear about these programs. Our speakers will be Hannah Miller, Watershed Program Manager with The Conservation Foundation in Illinois; Allison Madison, Manager of the Wisconsin Salt Wise Program; and Brooke Aslesen, Watershed Specialist with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. This panel will share information on salt managment programs in their respective states, which will provide a background for understanding this topic. Both the Minnesota and Wisconsin legislatures had bills on salt management in the 2024 sessions. It is important for advocates to understand the background of currrent practice as we move into the 2025 session. The Minnesota bill (HF3565 and SF3954) died in the 2024 legislature, and Governor Evers vetoed the Wisconsin bill (Senate File 52). Background and References: LWV Duluth Environmental Action Committee Meeting & Izaak Walton League January 17, 2024 "Putting Duluth on a Low (Road) Salt Diet" Click here to view the recording of this presentation This recording features a panel of three speakers from New Hamshire, which has implemented a salt program which is a model for other states. UMBRA Report on Mississippi River Water Quality (Upper Mississippi River Basin report) Decades of Road Salting Is Polluting the Mississippi River (Milwuakee Journal Sentinal) The Impact of Road Salt on Local Waterways (Wisconsin legislation) SPEAKERS FOR THE AUGUST 15 EVENT: Hannah Miller, Illinois Allison Madison, Wisconsin Brooke Aslesen, Minnesota Hannah Miller, The Conservation Foundation Hanna Miller is a Watershed Project Manager at The Conservation Foundation working on reducing the impacts of chlorides. She is the workgroup coordinator for the Chicago Area Waterways Chloride Workgroup and the co-coordinator for the Salt Smart Collaborative. Hanna graduated from Hamilton College with a degree in Geoscience. Outside of work, Hanna can often be found cycling along one of the many waterways in the Chicago area. Allison Madison, Wisconsin Salt Wise Program Allison Madison is the Wisconsin Salt Wise Program Manager. Since assuming her role in June 2020, she has spearheaded collaboration around salt reduction in watersheds across the state. Her work takes her to mall parking lots, urban streams, County Highway shops, and the Capitol building. Allison has 10+ years of experience in science and sustainability education in both formal classrooms and National Parks. Allison graduated from St. Olaf College and has a joint MS in Environment and Resources and Soil Science from the University of Wisconsin. She's passionate about protecting Wisconsin's freshwater resources and celebrating their beauty by paddling, swimming, cross-country skiing, etc. Brooke Aslesen, Minnesota Chloride Reduction Program
Brooke Aslesen has worked at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency since 2007 where she works collaboratively with federal, state, local partners, and research institutions to protect Minnesota’s water resources. She has been working on chloride and water quality issues at the MPCA for over 16 years. The core of that work has been developing partnerships with a wide variety of experts and professionals to develop strategies that reduce chloride while supporting public needs. Brooke now coordinates the MPCA’s Chloride Reduction Program that includes the highly successful Smart Salting training program as well as the new Chloride Reduction Grant program, the Smart Salting Tool and many other resources to help communities and organizations reduce salt use and protect Minnesota's water resources. Brooke earned her Master’s degree in Water Resources Science from the University of Minnesota. Her undergraduate degree is in Environmental Science with a minor in Soil Science also from the University of Minnesota. Prior to attending graduate school, she worked in the Metropolitan Council’s Metro Wastewater Treatment Plant lab. Recent scientific advances have facilitated exploration of the microbiome and are spurring interest in how microbial communities are connected among species and how attention to microbiomes can support soil health, food quality, and human health. There is also the possibility that new discoveries in the soil microbiome could facilitate drug development and address threats to human health, including antibiotic resistance, contaminants, and soil-borne pathogens. Finally, there are questions about whether management practices are linked with the nutrient density of the food produced and about the interactions of the soil microbiome with soil contaminants. Therefore, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene a committee of experts to explore the linkages between soil health and human health (see Figure 1). The committee approached its task from a One Health concept, which posits that soil should be valued as an ecosystem that, when healthy, contributes to the health of other ecosystems, plants, humans, and other animals. Here are the highlights of their June 2024 report.  These notes were prepared by LWV UMRR Board member Mickey Croyle (LWV St Louis, MO), based on a webinar given by the National Academy of Sciences on June 13, 2024. To obtain a copy of the full report, click here. The graphic above was used to show relationship and need to study throughout then presentation USDA, Food and agriculture funding paid for the report to look at human health, animal health, soil, environmental heath and define the relationship for soil and human health. The mycobiome needs to be studied in greater detail. The soil biodiversity in mycelium (fungus) and microorganism is implicit in this aspect. DNA sequencing is getting better understanding. Healthy soil with intact microbiome affects animal and human gut microbiome. Soil health correlates to people: - food supply - nutrient quality - water requirement and supply - suppression of disease LINKAGES BETWEEN SOIL MICROORGANISMS AND HUMAN HEALTH The most obvious linkage between soil microorganisms and human health rests on the fact that soil microorganisms do the work needed to produce food, including cycling nutrients and carbon, filtering water, and building soil structure and organic matter. Perhaps less recognized is the critical role the soil microbiome plays in climate regulation, including carbon sequestration, and the ability of soil microbes to metabolize many organic contaminants into harmless byproducts, which limits exposure to humans. We need to advance our understanding of linkages between soil microorganism and human health: - more robust sampling with enhanced data re-utilization that will quantify the microbial roles in human and soil health - improved decoding and diagnostic platforms to more effectively monitor the heterogeneity and dynamics in microbiomes - support cross domain collaboration to prove an integration microbiome understanding that spans the soil to human continuum. LINKAGES BETWEEN AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND HUMAN HEALTH Common agricultural management practices have increased crop yield and food security, but this productivity has often come at the expense of soil health, with detrimental effects on the environment and human health. For example, synthetic fertilizer use has greatly increased crop production but also caused excess nutrients to leach from agricultural fields, sometimes resulting in contaminated groundwater, algal blooms, and production of potent greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. At its most fundamental level, agricultural management practices often create trade-offs between the many services soils provide to people; for example, food production on the one hand and, on the other, the ability of ecosystems to sustain biodiversity, sequester carbon, and perform myriad other functions that are equally, even if less obviously, essential to human health. Nutrient availability in the soil and environmental conditions, management practices and plant genetics all participate in determining nutrient density in the food supply. Pre-quality and post harvest variables also affect nutritional quality of food consumes. This makes it difficult to identify direct linkages from soil health to crop nutritional quality and effect on human health - Food composition -food processing - foodborne pathogens mycotoxins - consumer food choices LINKAGES BETWEEN AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND THE NUTRITIVE VALUE OF FOOD Although there is a common perception that healthy, well-managed soils produce healthier foods, the connection is not always clear. Nutrient availability in the soil, environmental conditions, management practices, and plant genetics all play a part in determining the nutritional quality of food. Comparative studies of different production systems (e.g., conventional versus organic) have tried to assess the interplay of these factors, but variations in experimental design, soil types, crop species, and environmental conditions have yielded divergent results. What ultimately determines the nutritional quality of food crops is the amount of essential nutrients with health-promoting potential that are transported to, or synthesized within, the edible portion of the plant. These include minerals and biosynthesized macromolecules such as amino acids/proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, and phytochemicals. We need to advance understanding of linkages between agriculture management practices and the nutritive value of food requires: - translation research to understand the effect of practices on nutrient and bioactive density of crops - Research to understand how food composition can be influenced by management or breeding to achieve higher levels of health beneficial compounds - Research to understand the utility of bio stimulants in nutrient uptake and yield and potential effects on indigenous soil - Research in food processing technology that enhance profile of health beneficial nutrients and compounds. IMPROVING SOIL HEALTH TO IMPROVE HUMAN HEALTH A healthy soil sustains biological processes, decomposes organic matter, and recycles nutrients, water, and energy, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers and irrigation. It helps mitigate exposure to some chemical contaminants and sustains food production. All of these functions make the prioritization of soil health for human health benefits even more important in the face of climate change, which will adversely affect soil nutrient cycling and exacerbate the detrimental effects of flooding or drought on soil stability and water-holding capacity. Improving soil health to improve human health needs: -better quantification of soil health using a national monitoring approach - more long term and on the farm research to better understand the underlying mechanism of soil health - research into management practice that overcome potential trade offs from common agriculture practices -research that increase the safe and effective use of underutilized resources - investment in plant breeding fro more complex systems - Farm program support for practices that impove soil health and increase crop spatial and temporal diversifications. GOING FORWARD Shifting the perception of soil to a valued ecosystem that is interconnected with the health of plants, humans, and other animals will be spurred on by a better knowledge of underlying mechanisms contributing to soil health and its connectedness to plant and human health, and a continued optimization of ways to quantify and compare health. It will require changes in farm-support programs to value soil health as a metric of success and to transition toward more complex and perennial cropping systems as well as increased circularity where waste streams are turned into safe resources. Finally, societal awareness of the role soil health plays in human health beyond food production must increase, which will require the involvement of many federal agencies, scientific societies, companies, and international organizations. We need to increase awareness of relation health and soil. Federal agencies and scientific societies should continue their work to promote the public awareness of the importance of soil health and societal value beyond the immediate material benefits: Interrelationship between the build environment, water habitat wild animals, humans soil and plants, air, land. COMMITTEE ON EXPLORING LINKAGES BETWEEN SOIL HEALTH AND HUMAN HEALTH Diana H. Wall (Chair), Colorado State University; Katrina Abuabara, University of California, San Francisco; University of California, Berkeley; Joseph Awika, Texas A&M University; Samiran Banerjee, North Dakota State University; Nicholas T. Basta, The Ohio State University; Sarah Collier, University of Washington; Maria Carlota Dao, University of New Hampshire; Michael A. Grusak, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service; Kalmia E. Kniel, University of Delaware; Ylva Lekberg, MPG Ranch; University of Montana; Rebecca Nelson, Cornell University; Kate M. Scow, University of California, Davis; Ann Skulas-Ray, University of Arizona; Lindsey Slaughter, Texas Tech University; Kelly Wrighton, Colorado State University
STUDY STAFF Kara N. Laney, Study Director; Roberta A. Schoen, Director, Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources; Ann L. Yaktine, Director, Food and Nutrition Board; Katherine R. Kane, Senior Program Assistant (through March 2024); Samantha Sisanachandeng, Senior Program Assistant (from April 2024) FOR MORE INFORMATION This Consensus Study Report Highlights was prepared by the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources based on the Consensus Study Report Exploring Linkages Between Soil Health and Human Health (2024). The study was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project. Copies of the Consensus Study Report are available from the National Academies Press (800) 624-6242 | https:// nap.nationalacademies.org Division on Earth and Life Studies |
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