A support group and a lab in the St. Louis area provide resources for people with the allergy to mammal products — and evidence that its effects can be reversed.
Noah Devros, a graduate student and researcher at the University of Southern Mississippi, holds a female Pearl River map turtle as he collects data and tags the turtles for further research in September 2024. Credit: Elise Plunk/Louisiana Illuminator
The Ag & Water Desk team is gearing up for our in-person meeting in Columbia, Missouri next week. Many of our reporters, who are scattered all over the Mississippi River basin, will meet in person for the first time and they're going to have a couple of days of trainings, workshops and even field trips. Along with KBIA, The New Territory and the River Town podcast, we'll also be hosting writer Boyce Upholt at Skylark Bookshop to talk about his new book, "The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi." We'll livestream that event on Tuesday, Sept., 24, on our Facebook page so keep an eye out for that. For additional behind-the-scenes updates from the conference follow along on Instagram or X.
Meanwhile, we've been busy churning out stories. One of our Expert Journalists, who function as mentors for the reporters, pitched in with a story about low river levels on the Mississippi impacting shipping. Climatologists say it could be part of a larger trend. That's a problem because the majority of U.S. agricultural exports rely on the Mississippi to reach the international market, as farmers move their crops to export hubs on the Gulf Coast. “More than 65 percent of our national agriculture products that are bound for export are moving on this inland waterway system,” said Deb Calhoun, senior vice president of the Waterways Council. “So this system is critical to farmers of any size farm. You can have a small farm in the middle of the Midwest and you’re able to compete on the world stage.”
The full story by Kristoffer Tigue can be found here.
Illan Ireland with the Mississippi Free Press and Elise Plunk with the Louisiana Illuminator also brought a story about how advocates are using a turtle newly listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act to try to halt a big engineering project. The project, known as "One Lake," is meant to reduce flooding around Jackson, Mississippi. It would dredge and widen a section of the Pearl and build a new dam across the river, creating an artificial lake spanning roughly 1,700 acres. Scientists and environmental groups warn that One Lake would be devastating for the map turtle, flooding beaches the species depends on for nest-building and wiping out food sources along the Pearl’s riverbed.
“It certainly won’t help their conservation status,” said Will Selman, a biologist and professor at Millsaps College in Jackson who studies Pearl River map turtles extensively as part of his field research.
We have more stories coming up later this week and look for updates from our conference in early October. Thanks as always for keeping up with us, and stay tuned.
