The Mississippi River, a vital ecological and economic artery spanning 10 states, now tops America’s most endangered rivers list due to a dangerous mix of climate threats and Trump administration rollbacks. A new report from American Rivers warns that budget cuts to disaster agencies, fossil fuel deregulation, and unchecked industrial expansion could devastate the 2,320-mile waterway and others nationwide.
The Mississippi faces compounding crises from toxic agricultural runoff creating dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico to rising sea levels accelerating wetland loss. These threats are exacerbated by Trump’s proposed elimination of FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program, which currently provide critical flood protections for the river’s 30-million-acre floodplain. Similar risks endanger southern Appalachian rivers still recovering from Hurricane Helene’s destruction last September, where 44 dams failed amid record flooding.
The report highlights additional pressures like Virginia’s data center boom draining the Rappahannock River and nationwide deregulation enabling more water-intensive industrial projects. With climate change intensifying floods and droughts, experts warn these policy changes come at precisely the wrong moment for America’s already-stressed waterways.
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