OMAHA, NE - The Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee (MRRIC) met here Nov. 15-17 to receive an overview of the Missouri River Recovery Program’s (MRRP) draft Missouri River Recovery Management Plan-Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), scheduled for public release in December, from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps).
The EIS describes management actions intended to ensure that operations of the Missouri River system will not jeopardize three species listed under the Endangered Species Act. The committee heard reports from its two expert advisory panels on the technical soundness of sections of the EIS. There was strong emphasis on models that identify the economic impacts of various alternative management strategies being considered by the Corps. They use these models to help determine a preferred alternative.
MRRIC reached final consensus on a recommended approach for how it would work with the lead agencies in implementation of adaptive management of the plan and reached tentative consensus on a recommendation to the Corps to provide a minimum 120-day comment period for the EIS. MRRIC members also heard an update from river scientists on concerns that pallid sturgeon, one of the listed species, are in poor condition in some areas of the river; the cause is uncertain.
MRRIC is a 70-member committee that comprises stakeholders and representatives of Tribal, state and federal governments throughout the Missouri River Basin. The committee provides recommendations to federal agencies on the current and future activities of the MRRP. MRRIC was authorized by Congress in the 2007 Water Resources Development Act and was established in 2008 by the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works). Its duties include providing recommendations to the Secretary of the Army and other Federal agencies on efforts to recover Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed species (the pallid sturgeon, least tern, and piping plover), mitigate habitat loss, and restore the ecosystem to protect other native species. The committee makes its substantive recommendations by consensus.
The committee meets quarterly at different locations throughout the Missouri River Basin. The next MRRIC meeting will be Jan. 31 – Feb. 2, 2017. For more information on MRRIC, please contact Dr. Michael Mac, Committee Chair, at info@mrric.org. Additional information on Missouri River recovery efforts is available online at www.mrric.org and www.moriverrecovery.org.
Release no. 20161205-101