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| Corps
Delays Decision on how to Manage the Missouri River - U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Services is Sued by River Coalition |
OmahaRiverFront.com
by
Nancy Neurohr |
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Updated and
Published Wednesday August 22, 2001
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A new group called 'The Coalition to Protect the Missouri
River' announced this week that they plan on suing the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service
over the changes they are proposing to alter the flow of the
Missouri River.
The coalition which represents agricultural and
business interests downstream, claims the Fish and Wildlife
Service ignored other alternatives for protecting endangered
species when they recommended a spring rise and late-summer fall
in the river's flow.
Upstream states back the changes saying that it
will help boost tourism by retaining more summer water in their
dam-created lakes. Several downstream barge companies are
already feeling an economic downfall this year because of
current dry conditions and this could prove disastrous for their
industry if approved.
| The
Missouri River that usually flows at 59,000 cubic feet per
second at this time of year, is currently flowing at a rate
of 38,000 cubic feet per second. |
Proponents of the river flow changes say that if this pattern is
repeated three out of every five years, it would be enough to
revive the almost extinct pallid sturgeon.
The coalition has sent letters to the Department of
the Interior expressing their intent to sue under the Endangered
Species Act.
The letters cite a law requiring the Fish and Wildlife Service
to "identify reasonable and prudent alternatives" to
avoid jeopardizing endangered species. They contend the agency
presented only one alternative - changing the river's seasonal
levels to mimic what it describes as a more natural flow.
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Original
Article Published Wednesday August 8, 2001
It seems no matter what the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers
decides to do about changing the flow of the Missouri River,
someone is going to be upset. It was previously announced that
they would endorse changes proposed by the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service
that were aimed at saving endangered species, specifically the
least tern, piping plover, and the pallid sturgeon. Then last
week, they suddenly decided they would
instead present a range of alternatives for future management of
the river, one of which does include the much talked about spring
rise and reduced summer flows that have been pushed by both
federal and state wildlife agencies.
The corps started its revision of the Master
Manual more
than 10 years ago and had planned to release a draft decision of
proposed changes this month. Instead, they announced they will be
releasing several alternatives, one of which is to do nothing.
They will put off making a decision until next summer after
receiving public comment on the various plans.
The decision drew immediate criticism from both
environmentalists groups and South Dakota lawmakers. They accuse
the corps of playing politics with the river and predict that the
corps' indecision will land the issue in court.
Chad Smith of the environmental group American
Rivers
said in a statement: "The  barge
industry, the agricultural lobby and their political allies have
ordered 'about face' and the Army Corps has snapped to and
saluted."
Downstream users cheered the corps' announcement. According to
Missouri GOP Sen. Kit Bond, "The
Corps of Engineers now has the freedom to choose from a number of
options in deciding how to balance all the competing demands on
the river. With this newfound flexibility, the public will
finally get a genuine chance to comment on how the Missouri River
is preserved, thereby breaking the Fish and Wildlife Service's
monopoly on options."
The corps is also awaiting a report due in October
from the National
Academy of Sciences.
The Corps and Environmental
Protection Agency
has asked the academy to examine river management issues and help
develop initiatives to aid the protected birds and fish.
American Rivers named the Missouri the nation's most
endangered river this year, in part because of concern about the
water management plan.
As soon as the various alternative plans are released, we will be
making them public on this website. Any comments or concerns you
may have can be sent directly to us and we will see that they are
forwarded to the appropriate agencies.
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