Lower Mississippi River Keeper

The Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper(LMRK) is a project of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN) focused on improving the water quality of the lower Mississippi River as it flows through Louisiana and into the Gulf of Mexico. Informed by LEAN's community history and empowerment work, LMRK furthers LEAN's mission through a specific focus on water quality within the Mississippi River Basin.

LEAN’s Riverkeeper program was created in the early 1990s to educate and empower citizens to improve the water quality of the Mississippi River in Louisiana. In 2001, LEAN’s Riverkeeper program became an official member of the international Waterkeeper Alliance and has been licensed as the Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper (LMRK) ever since. During this time, the Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper has been focused on monitoring the lower Mississippi River Basin throughout Louisiana, documenting incidents of pollution and working to improve the water quality of the Mississippi River Basin. Reducing pollution into the Mississippi River reduces impacts to communities and improves water quality for all of its critical uses i.e. drinking water, fisheries, and restoration.

While working to directly reduce pollution entering the Mississippi River, LMRK also works to educate and empower other river stakeholders to become stewards of the river. LMRK has developed a long-term partnership with premier Mississippi River outfitter John Ruskey and Quapaw Canoe company. LMRK and Quapaw coordinate to support and educate paddlers along the Mississippi River about environmental responsibility and river stewardship. LMRK staff are proud contributors to Rivergator.org, the first paddler's guide to the Lower Mississippi River.