The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is hosting a scoping webinar on September 18^th to solicit comments on the Missouri River Recovery Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Participants are encouraged to attend the webinar, which will be held from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. (CDT).  New and easier access has been provided to participate in the public scoping webinar.  From your computer, connect to https://www.webmeeting.att.com and enter the Meeting Number: 888-675-2535, Access Code: 5218976, Email Address and Name. For webinar audio call, 888-675-2535, Access Code: 5218976, Security Code: 1234. Web meeting software is required for this meeting, so please allow for time to download software in advance of the meeting.  

The original option to connect to the webinar is still available through https://connect.dco.dod.mil/mngtplan but requires a security certificate to download.   Please go to https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/mrrp/ for details on all options for participation in the webinar. The Missouri River Recovery Program (MRRP) combines implementation requirements of the 2003 Missouri River Biological Opinion and the Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project Fish and Wildlife Mitigation project. To comply with National Environmental Policy Act requirements, the Corps will assess programmatic effects and develop a range of alternatives for the program. The Management Plan and EIS will also provide an evaluation of the necessity and effectiveness of actions contained in the Biological Opinion.

The Management Plan and EIS will take about three years to complete. The MRRP allows the Corps to continue operation of the Missouri River Basin projects for all of its authorized purposes and to achieve multiple benefits.

Information collected from the Corps’ monitoring efforts will be used to evaluate the reasonableness, effectiveness and the programmatic impacts of its current actions and refine or change those actions as appropriate. Consistent with BiOp requirements, a definitive adaptive management process will be developed to ensure the flexibility needed to adjust actions based on continued monitoring to avoid jeopardy of the listed species, without pursuing measures that do not prove effective. The webinar will be recorded and participants will be able to provide comments via webinar chat function that will be documented by a court reporter. All comments received will become part of the public record and may be included in the Final Management Plan and EIS.

Those who use a telecommunications service for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) anytime at 800-877-8339 to relay this same information.

Comments regarding the Missouri River Recovery Management Plan and EIS will be accepted through October 18, 2013. They can be entered into the online public comment system, https://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectId=48574, or sent to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CENWK-PM-PR (Management Plan and EIS), 601 E. 12^th Street, Kansas City, MO 64106.

For more information regarding the Management Plan and EIS, please visit the Management Plan tab at https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/mrrp/ or for additional details on how to participate prior to the webinar.  If Internet service is not available, provided below is a list of locations offering designated facilities to access the webinars.

Montana

• Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Fort Peck State Fish Hatchery, 277 Hwy 117, Fort Peck, MT 59223

Wyoming

• State Engineer’s Office, 122 West 25th Street, Herschler Building, Fourth Floor East Wing, Cheyenne, WY 82002

• Natural Resources Conservation Service, Douglas Service Center, 911 South Wind River Drive, Douglas, WY 82633

North Dakota

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, North Dakota Field Office, 3425 Miriam Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58501

• North Dakota State Water Commission, State Office Building, 900 East Boulevard Avenue, Bismarck, ND  58505-0850

South Dakota

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/National Park Service, Lewis and Clark Visitor Center, adjacent to Gavins Point Dam in Yankton, SD, located on the south side of the Missouri River, 55245 Nebraska Highway 121, Crofton, NE 68730

Nebraska

• Papio-Missouri River NRD/Chalco Hills-Wehrspann Lake, 8901 S. 154th Street, Omaha, NE 68138

Iowa

• Natural Resources Conservation Service, 3539 Southern Hills Dr, Suite 3, Sioux City, IA 51106

Kansas

• Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7, 11201 Renner Blvd, Lenexa, KS 66219

Missouri

• Natural Resources Conservation Service, Parkade Center, Suite 232, 601 Business Loop 70 West, Columbia, MO 65203