River navigators serve as ambassadors for America's rivers  

Responsibilities for the Mississippi River are divided up between two river navigators. (Courtesy photo)

Owen Dutt and Deanne Strauser look over paperwork for the transfer of river navigator duties. (Photo by Russell Elliott)

Mar. 30, 2007

By Chuck Minsker, Huntington District
Nicole Dalrymple, St. Louis District, and
John Hall, New Orleans District

A river navigator, as designated through the American Heritage Rivers Initiative, is not a river navigator in the sense of Mark Twain or present-day river boat captains.  Rather, it is an ambassador of sorts for rivers around the country, designated as American Heritage Rivers. 

The navigator's mission is to aid associated river communities and help guide the American Heritage Rivers Initiative (AHRI).

The initiative was established in 1997 to recognize and support local efforts to restore and protect America's rivers and revitalize river communities and waterfronts.  The initiative streamlined access to federal resources for projects that are created, planned and implemented by local communities.

A call went out for communities to submit rivers for nomination.  If selected, the river would be assigned a navigator.  One hundred and twenty-six communities submitted nominations.  Fourteen rivers were selected. 

The 14 rivers are found throughout the United States, although a majority of them are east of the Mississippi River.  Some are in cities and others are in rural areas.  Some were selected for their historical significance and others for their cultural importance. 

For three of the Heritage Rivers, that job is managed by Corps employees at Huntington, St. Louis and New Orleans Districts.

Huntington District
"It's been the most rewarding experience that I've had in my career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers," said Ben Borda, Huntington District's assistant chief for the Planning Branch and New River navigator.

Rolling across three states, the New River is a study in contrasts. It goes from tiny stream to impounded lake to large reservoir to whitewater rapids. Despite its name, it is believed to be the oldest river in North America, and may be second in age only to the Nile River.

"The American Heritage River Initiative is based on three objectives - economic revitalization, historic and cultural resource preservation and natural resource protection and preservation," Borda said.

In the beginning, Borda was an adviser representing the Huntington District - the New River flows through its southeastern corner -  but was subsequently selected as the New River navigator in 1999.

Borda said the plan has been ambitious from the start. "In the early years we came up with a New River Watershed Work Plan that at the time had 335 projects in it. We actually pursued many of those projects, and we are now in the process of updating that plan."

Of course, the group was not able to advance all 335 projects, for a simple reason: the AHRI was created without funding. One of the biggest misconceptions when the initiative was first introduced was that it came with money. 

"The idea has always been that these projects belong to the community, and our charge is to help by 'navigating' through all of the bureaucratic red tape to assist in advancing these projects, short of having the capability to provide funding. We will network with the community and help them determine who to contact, where to locate sources of potential funding and how to pursue that funding. Sometimes that means helping to research, support and apply for grants," Borda said. 

The group's key role is opening doors and solving problems.

As a result of the efforts of the initiative, a considerable amount of money has been leveraged to the communities along the New River, including more than $45 million in federal, state, local and private funds.

As gratifying as these efforts have been, there's no end in sight - and that's the way Borda likes it.

"In the course of my working throughout the watershed, I've worked in some areas where they had no idea about the capabilities of the Corps. Some of the proudest moments for me have just been being able to tell the Corps story and educate them on the kinds of things we do and the ways we can help them," he said.  "I've actually had people come up to me and say, 'I had no idea that the Corps of Engineers was involved in so many different kinds of projects, and I had a negative opinion of the Corps until I met you - and now I have a new positive appreciation for the Corps.'" 

St. Louis District
Owen Dutt, recently retired chief of St. Louis District's Environmental Analysis Branch, was designated river navigator in 1999.  He was only the second U.S. Army Corps of Engineers navigator assigned for the program and has been the only Upper Mississippi River navigator until now.  Dutt passed on river navigator duties to Deanne Strauser, St. Louis District's strategic initiatives coordinator. 

During initial visits following his appointment, Dutt explained to the communities that he didn't have a magic wand or a pot of money.  He could provide them assistance in finding programs and champion them in getting technical assistance. 

"The picture I would paint for the communities was if you tell me of a need, I will go out and try to find something.  It is up to you whether you follow it through," Dutt said.  "I'm just turning over rocks and linking you up with resource providers that may help you."

One of the referrals Dutt recalls was the city of Little Falls, Minn.  The city had an old paper mill that went bankrupt and the owners walked away, leaving it as an eye sore and environmental issue for the community.  Dutt got the community linked up with the Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfields program, and the program played a significant role in removing the plant.  

"Navigators are really facilitators," Dutt said.  "If I have been successful in introducing communities to a program, they are the ones who have moved forward with the initiative and they get all of the credit."

The Upper Mississippi program encompasses five states and 1,200 river miles.  As navigator, Dutt has had visibility on what the communities were doing and saw opportunities to leverage everyone's efforts. 

"It is important for communities to know what each other is doing," he said.  "There are a lot of hard working, well intentioned people in these communities trying to do good things for the river, their community and the watershed."

Strauser said she is looking forward to her new role. 

"Owen did a great job with the program on the Upper Mississippi River, and I'm looking forward to carrying on his legacy and helping the program grow.  This is definitely an exciting time to be working on the river and with river communities," she said.

New Orleans District
In June of 2006, Joan Exnicios, chief of New Orleans District's Cultural Resources Section, was named river navigator to the Lower Mississippi River.  She was familiar with the initiative since she had been serving as the district representative to the program shortly after the initiative was announced.

"I am committed to helping our community partners accomplish their projects.  I want the quality of life to be better in this area where I have lived and worked, particularly on the Lower Mississippi River," Exnicios said.

As an archaeologist charged with preserving heritage in an area with a rich history, Exnicios said she feels she is well equipped for the river navigator assignment.

"I have had extensive involvement in the communities on the river. The lower Mississippi River is an area rich in culture," she said.

New Orleans was founded in 1718, and the Lower Mississippi was settled up to Natchez and just beyond before settlers from the east coast began moving in significant numbers over the Appalachian Mountains from the Atlantic Coast.

"There has been a hiatus since 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina, and now I am trying to learn and do a lot to begin to contribute to helping our community partners find  needed resources from federal agencies as well as other public and private sources," she said. "We are in the baby stages."