Our Story

2011

In 2011, we officially applied for and received our 501(c)(3) charter, marking the legal beginning of the organization. The work grew out of a grassroots effort through Friends of the Sunflower River, where we initially focused on cleanups and community outreach.

A pivotal moment came when founding director John Ruskey had a chance encounter with the Environmental Office of the Walton Family Foundation (WFF). At the time, they were exploring ways to improve the health of the Lower Mississippi River, along with other key waterways like the Colorado River and the Gulf of Mexico. This connection helped shape a broader vision.

John had long dreamed of establishing a water trail along the Lower Mississippi River. What makes this stretch of the river so special is its incredible biodiversity -- the rich presence of deep woods, birds, fish, and other wildlife. With the Arkansas River flowing in from the west, and the White River from the north, the region represents a rare balance between commercial activity and a thriving natural habitat.

2012

Our first organizational meeting was held in 2012, with visionary direction from founding board members Erickson Blakney and Scott Shirey, and support from Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi. Circumnavigation of Big Island with students from the KIPP Schools of Eastern Arkansas helped build momentum. A traveling Smithsonian exhibit Water Ways also played a key role in drawing people to the LMRF, but more importantly, it fostered meaningful human connections and engagement with the river.

What does the river want to do? The river reflects both life and death, mirroring many of the realities of the human experience, in its natural cycles that swing between flood and drought.

At the heart of our work is a simple but powerful question: What does the river want to do?

Rivergator: Paddler's Guide to the Lower Mississippi River started out as a 126-mile section from Helena, AR, to Greenville, MS, but soon grew to incorporate all 954 miles of the Lower Miss, from Cairo, IL, to the Gulf of Mexico, and the major distributary the Atchafalaya River. The Walton Family Foundation was instrumental in supporting this effort, and other river LMRF stewardship initiatives.

2018

In 2018, under the leadership of first paid director, Shannon McMulkin, we launched our first Mississippi River Summer Camp, a major milestone for the organization, and for the river. This was (and still is) the only summer camp conducted entirely within the floodplain of North America's biggest river. Simultaneously, the Community Canoe project was born, monthly paddles on the big river available and affordable to all members of the people who live along the river, especially for families, educators and youth.

2019

Building on that momentum, the LMRF hosted the first Buck Island Canoe Race in 2019, further expanding community involvement and celebrating the river as both a natural and cultural resource.

2020

In 2020 the LMRF cut all staff and overhead to survive the Covid Pandemic, but continued onward through the commitment of its dedicated board, all on voluntary basis. As result, the LMRF has emerged stronger than ever, and is now poised to move forward in its mission.

Since the pandemic, it seems like we have entered a new world. Meanwhile over the levee, and over the bluff, life flows along pretty much the same as it always has. And that is, with the qualities that create the best of who we are as humans -- in the sense of our spirits, our ethics and our morals. On the river we all share in the same meals, sleep in the same tents, and drink from the same jugs of water. We all paddle together across the big waters to reach the paradise-like islands of the big river. We are visitors to a land already inhabited by other layers of creation, and with whom we share our great Mother Earth -- all 8.7 million species (at last count).

This is where the real work of the LMRF takes place, on the river, with our Summer Canoe Camps and with our Community Canoes. And with our vision for the betterment of all communities who live in it, and on it: the humans, the birds, the fish, the mammals, the insects, the fungi and the microbiota. All are necessary to a healthy life.

Paddling the big canoe draws youth into the practice of balance, and equality. We seek balance within ourselves, and then as a group. The big canoe and the giant sandbars are the perfect classrooms for our methodology.