Editorial: What’s Happening On The Big Muddy?

With drought still hanging over us and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers having released the draft 2006–2007 annual operating plan for the Missouri River, one might be anxious for an update on the Big Muddy. Water wars have spanned the years from the big cattle barons right up to today.

The question no one can answer is, when will we see rains sufficient enough across the Midwest and in the Rockies to get this monkey off our backs?

The question easily answered is, will river users and environmentalists continue to complain and will the Corps continue to be the target of their barrages? It will.

Not so oddly, nature plays a gigantic role in this scenario. However, while nature can bring the rains and stem the drought, it cannot stem the vitriolic attacks on the Corps by those who would prefer only recreational navigation on the river and would achieve this goal at any price.

One thing many Corps critics are guilty of is failing to acknowledge that when there is little or no water to be had, the job of distributing it equitably is difficult.

What we can expect now is that the armchair analysts will pore over the operating plan in order to tell us exactly what is wrong with it. But that’s what public hearings are for. We won’t have to hold our breath long. For those who have not seen the plan and want to, it can be read or downloaded from: http://www.nwd-mr.usace.army.mil/rcc/aop.html.

To help air out the plan and take comments, a series of six public hearings will be held during the period October 10–13. They will include meetings at Omaha, Neb., October 10; St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo., October 11; Fort Peck, Mont., and Bismarck, N.D., October 12; and Pierre, S.D., October 13.

So what has been happening on the Missouri? Well, from e-mail reports, we know:

• that the Corps has been busy with river projects related to improving conditions for endangered species and otherwise. Some who work on the river say the projects are impacting the navigation channel negatively, while others who work there disagree. We don’t know.
  
  
• that in mid-September, the Corps’ Midwest Division in Omaha reported, “Drought remains a constant companion throughout much of the Missouri River Basin.”
  
  
• that North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven met with a Corps official in Washington earlier this month, asking that river flows be reduced.
  
  
• that early in September, the Corps was to begin spraying vegetation in or near the water on sandbars to provide nesting areas for birds. The experiment will be evaluated to see if it improves habitat for the least tern and piping plover.
  
  
• that the Corps is now on the hunt for a firm to construct a shallow-water wildlife habitat area along the Missouri River, to be known as the “chute.” Council Bluffs Parks Director Ron Hopp said the area would provide habitat for fish that need shallower water in which to spawn. The chute would begin about half a mile downstream from where a movable bridge is located north of Council Bluffs and stretch down to the Avenue H area, where the water will flow back into the river. It is hoped the project will commence in October.
  
  
• that with the Missouri having six mainstem dams, it could surely be impacted eventually by legislation passed September 20 by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The legislation would reauthorize and upgrade the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s program for improving the safety and security of dams. The National Dam Safety Program Act (H.R. 4981) would increase the annual authorization for the program from $8.6 million to $12.7 million. We can stay tuned to watch that one.
  
  
• that due to drought, state recreational areas around Lewis and Clark Lake drew fewer out-of-state campers, but due to regional campsite use, overall numbers for the summer were still higher than last year. So things are not totally bad.
  
  
• that a new Corps study indicates that governments along the northern edge of the Kansas-Missouri border must raise $12 million to protect the cities of Wathena, Elwood and St. Joseph, Mo., against Missouri River floods.
  
  
• that in related news, lawmakers in Washington are in the midst of bickering over which version of the Water Resources Development Act will draw the vote. Hopefully it will not be a version that will hamstring the Corps.
  
  
• that presently in the making is the establishment of a Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee, whose framework was developed by a federal agency team. Each of the agencies has authorities and responsibilities related to the Missouri River. The framework is said to be the starting point for discussion with basin Indian tribes and stakeholders on the process of forming the committee. Its mission will be to advise the federal agencies on actions to recover the endangered and threatened species in the basin and improve the ecosystem upon which they depend. The last two of six public hearings scheduled on the issue will be October 2 at Omaha and October 5 at Billings, Mont.

The Waterways Journal encourages letters to the editor.
Have something on your mind?
Send letters to: jshoulberg@waterwaysjournal.net.
(Please indicate whether or not your letter is intended for publication.)