Army Corps Delays Missouri River Dam Reforms Until 2003

(8 Feb., 2001 — Lincoln, NE) In a letter to the US Army Corps of Engineers, 24 environmental groups today said the Army Corps’ decision to delay certain Missouri River dam operation reforms until 2003 ignores the needs of the river’s recreational users and brings three species closer to extinction.

The coalition of national and local conservation groups urged the Corps to reduce summer water flow releases from Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota to aid three federally endangered species: the interior least tern, piping plover, and pallid sturgeon. The groups also urged the Corps to increase spring dam releases if drought conditions improve.

The Corps has failed to meet reproductive goals for terns and plovers in eight of the last 10 years. “Unless dam operations are reformed, these species will inch closer to extinction and more species will require protection,” said Environmental Defense water resources specialist Scott Faber.

Missouri River dam operations are leading to the extinction of these species by eliminating rising spring flows and low summer flows to aid a handful of barges. Rising spring flows create sandbars needed by nesting terns and plovers, and trigger spawning by sturgeon; low summer flows ensure that sandbars remain exposed until chicks fly away and provide shallow places for young sturgeon. “The Corps should recognize that the Missouri River is more than a little-used barge highway,” said Chad Smith, Director of American Rivers’ Missouri River Field Office.

Recreation from boating and fishing generates about $87 million in annual economic benefits while barge traffic generates only about $7 million, according to Corps studies. Even so, the Corps ignores recreation needs to support barges between Sioux City and St. Louis.

Dam reforms would not impact traditional river users, studies show. Increasing spring releases would not increase flooding of homes and farms behind levees or impact low-lying farmland, according to federal studies. Barge navigation would continue during the spring and fall, when more than 80% of farm-related cargo is shipped on the Missouri. Dam reforms would also benefit Mississippi River barges by providing more water to the Mississippi when barge shipments are heaviest.

The letter to the Corps and a list of groups signing it are available at: http://www.environmentaldefense.org/programs/Ecosystems/ArmyCorps/MissouriRiver.html and http://www.americanrivers.org. The Corps’ plan and the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Biological Opinion is at http://www.nwd-mr.usace.army.mil/mmanual/opinion.htm on the net.

Environmental Defense, a leading national nonprofit organization based in New York, represents more than 300,000 members. Since 1967 we have linked science, economics, and law to create innovative, equitable, and cost-effective solutions to the most urgent environmental problems.

American Rivers is a national river conservation organization with field offices in Montana and Nebraska. Since 1973, American Rivers has led efforts to restore rivers and foster a river stewardship ethic.