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).  Tribes were represented by Dr. Emerson Bullchief, Crow Nation; Dr. Andrea Hunter, Osage Nation; Dr. Kelly Morgan, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe; Alan Kelley, Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; Elizabeth Wakeman, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe; Reno Red Cloud, Oglala Sioux Tribe; and Shannon Wright, Ponca Tribe of Nebraska.

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 which uses these models to help determine a preferred alternative. 

As in prior meetings, Tribal representatives continued to present the concerns of their respective Tribes regarding the draft EIS to MRRIC stakeholders, members of the public,  and  supporting federal agencies.  One of the primary concerns discussed is the Corps’ and USFWS’  consultation with the Tribes.  MRRIC Tribal members met with federal agency representatives and staff to discuss how Tribal members can more effectively participate in MRRIC’s ongoing work.

MRRIC is a 70-member committee that comprises stakeholders and representatives of Tribal, state and federal governments throughout the Missouri River Basin. This 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, or the MRRIC Tribal leads: Carol Smith, Carol_Smith@fws.gov, or Catherine Warren, Catherine.J.Warren@usace.army.mil.  Additional information on Missouri River recovery efforts is available online at www.mrric.org and www.moriverrecovery.org.