This year's conference drew 265 participants, the second highest turnout in its history. "There's new science and the (U.S. Army) Corps is coming out with their preferred alternative (for managing the water flows) at the end of May, so there's a lot of interest in the river," said Mike Mac, director of the U.S. Geological Survey Environmental Research Center at Columbia, MO., and a host of the conference.

	Gavin's Point Dam and Spillway

Most of the people in attendance were from the natural and wildlife interests, and from northern states above the dam system. This year, there were fewer from agriculture and navigation interests. 

The U.S.G.S. Columbia Director said he would have liked to have had more representation from those in favor of keeping the current river flow management plan. 

Three species on the endangered list, the Least Tern, Piping Plover and the Pallid Sturgeon,  are pressuring the Corps of Engineers to alter control of the six dams on the river to allow for more natural flows, which proponents say will help repopulate the species.

Among new scientific developments announced by the U.S.G.S. is a high-tech data base system for locating and monitoring the eggs and nests of the piping plover and least tern (on the river's endangered species list) and tracking their fledglings. This database system delivers a very high degree of accuracy in the data, using (a global positioning system) and a digital system for entering data in the field. The data will be then analyzed to see what the trends are.

The U.S. Geological Survey admits it's in the enviable position of having no management or regulatory responsibilities and can focus just on the science of the river. To do that will take more scientific work than is currently funded, he said, noting that much smaller water systems, such as the Connecticut River and Hudson Bay, get much more federal funding for monitoring. Scientists need more information on how changes can alter the water quality, water flow and wildlife habitat. He said changes can be computer-modeled, but only real-life study will reveal the inherent failures and successes of certain plans.

	Young Pallid Sturgeon ready for release into the Missouri River

"It's a huge river," Mac said. "You're talking 2,000 miles of river out there. What else do we deal with that's that size?" The Missouri River is the longest river in the United States.

On Tuesday, conference participants took field trips to Gavins Point Dam or to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife hatchery there. They were later hosted by the Friends of Ponca State Park for dinner in Ponca, where 250 young pallid sturgeon fish, raised at the hatchery, were released into the Missouri River. The fish is the third creature on the river eco-system's endangered species list. The "endangered species" is a wildlife management category and said that many organisms are severely stressed by modern management of the river.

	Ponca State Park Nebraska Missouri River view

The three-day conference drew scientists and other participants from dozens of agencies and organizations from states along the river.

Next year's Missouri River Conference is set for Benedictine University, which is set on a bluff overlooking the river in Atchison, Kan. Conference organizers have the goal of holding it in each of the eight participating states.