OMAHA, NE - The Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee (MRRIC) will be meeting, August 25–27, in Omaha, Nebraska. Public attendance is encouraged, and an opportunity is provided during each daily session for the public to address the Committee and the lead agencies, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), regarding the Missouri River Recovery Program (MRRP).
The meeting will be held at the Embassy Suites Downtown/Old Market, 555 South Tenth Street, Omaha, Nebraska, beginning at 8 a.m. Tuesday, August 25, and concluding at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, August 27. The MRRIC meeting agenda can be found online at www.MRRIC.org. All meeting sessions are open to the public.
A media opportunity for interviews with committee member has been set for 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 26.
Updates regarding recent progress on the Missouri River Recovery Management Plan will be provided to the committee. The committee will seek final consensus on the MRRP Work plan recommendation as well as discuss consequences and tradeoffs for the bird alternatives. Members will learn about and discuss how the lead agencies are working through NEPA requirements. The committee will continue to engage with the Independent Science Advisory Panel and the Independent Social and Economic Technical Review Panel on the scientific, adaptive management, and socio-economic components of the developing Management Plan.
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 info@MRRIC.org. Web links related to the Missouri River recovery efforts are www.MRRIC.org and www.MoRiverRecovery.org.
The committee, established in fall 2008, meets quarterly at various locations throughout the Missouri River Basin. It will begin the upcoming meeting having approved over 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 operates the bank stabilization and navigation project and the mainstem dams on the Missouri River. The committee’s next quarterly meeting will be held in November 2015.
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.