FRIENDS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER

Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR) is a St. Paul–based environmental nonprofit founded in 1993 that works across the Twin Cities metro to protect, restore and advocate for the Mississippi River and its watershed. FMR operates programs in land conservation and habitat restoration, water-quality advocacy and policy, land use and planning, and stewardship and environmental education. The organization combines hands-on restoration, volunteer-powered monitoring, youth education and legislative advocacy and reported a multi-million-dollar annual budget and a professional staff with dozens of employees supported by thousands of volunteers in recent years.

FMR runs a robust Stewardship & Education program that engages school groups, youth fellows and thousands of volunteers in restoration and citizen-science monitoring, and a Water and Policy program that advances river-friendly agricultural and management solutions. The group also partners with government agencies, watershed districts, universities and community groups to protect priority habitat, influence river corridor planning, and implement large-scale restoration projects.