Omaha, Neb. -- The Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee (MRRIC) will hold its 27th meeting November 04-06 in La Vista, Neb. Public attendance is encouraged, and an opportunity is provided during each daily session for the public to address the Committee and the lead agencies the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, regarding the Missouri River Recovery Program (MRRP).
This meeting will be held at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, 12560 Westport Parkway, La Vista, NE, 68128, beginning at 8 a.m. Tuesday, November 4, and concluding at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, November 6. The MRRIC meeting agenda can be found online at https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/mrrp/mrric/. With the exception of the noted executive sessions, all meeting sessions are open to the public.
The Committee has set aside a designated time for committee member interviews with media at 12:00 p.m. Wednesday.
At this meeting, MRRIC will receive an update from the Corps on the development of the Missouri River Recovery Management Plan. The Committee will discuss potential test alternatives and human considerations proxy metrics used to compare potential actions and their effects on river uses. The committee also will hear from the Service on species targets necessary to avoid jeopardy and discuss the draft Effects Analysis interim reports with the Independent Science Advisory Panel.
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. The committee makes its substantive recommendations by consensus.
For additional information regarding the MRRIC, please contact Dr. Michael Mac, committee chair, by e-mail at mrric@usace.army.mil. Additional information on Missouri River recovery efforts is available online at https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/mrrp/mrric/ and https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/MRRP/.
The committee, established in the fall of 2008, meets quarterly at various locations throughout the Missouri River Basin. It will begin the upcoming meeting having approved 20 substantive recommendations addressed to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, who is responsible for endangered species protection and recovery and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who operate the bank stabilization and navigation project and the mainstem dams on the Missouri River. The committee’s next quarterly meeting will be held February 24-26 in the Kansas City area.
MRRIC is staffed by RESOLVE, a Washington, D.C. dispute resolution firm (www.resolv.org), under a contract with the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution and with the assistance of federal agency staff.