Missouri River

On May 31, 1805, the Lewis and Clark expedition sailed down the Missouri River. They observed the natural beauty of the sandstone walls and the wonderful wildlife in the area. This majestic river, once named, "Big Muddy," is neither big, nor muddy anymore. It has been dammed, diked, and dredged since the 1930s to control floods and float cargo barges. Rock and concrete walls hold back flooding and protect the one half million acres of farmland. The wonderful wildlife is gone too as habitats disappear with the receding waterline and non-existent floods which used to create marshland habitats and cottonwood trees die out with the trampling cattle and dam building. The river is in such a dire state that the lower third of it is called "The Ditch."

Changes are occurring to help the Missouri River. Legislation introduced by Senator Bob Kerry (D-Neb.) will help add protection of fish and wildlife habitat to the list of primary missions of the Army Corps of Engineers, the organization that regulates water flow and flood control for the Missouri River. The Corps is also proposing its own plan which includes protecting the local Native American tribes, the recreation businesses and uses, traditional uses, and the interests of eight states. The Army Corps of Engineers is also considering declaring a moratorium on permits to stabilize undeveloped riverbanks. Millions of dollars are being spent to transform small pockets of land and water by restoring cottonwood seedling habitats and reconnecting downtown Omaha to its riverfront with parks and trails.

Disagreements have arisen about what should happen to this area. Developers and farmers using rocks to try to stop soil erosion clash against environmentalists wishing to preserve the river's natural characteristics. Compromise needs to occur between the recreation users, dams, farms, barges, water supply, tribes, environmentalists, and others. If no compromise can be reached, the Fish and Wildlife Services could decide to enforce tougher measures to protect rare species of fish, like the pallid sturgeon, and also birds, such as the piping plover and least tern. Forms of agreement between the groups are still murky and unclear, but the barge operators have already offered to decrease or suspend operations during dry years if they are allowed enough water for navigation during harvest time. Conservation groups want the Corps to release springtime "rise," a surge of water below dams, to mimic what the river used to do: scour sandbars and flood side channels, chutes, and marshes. This could disrupt farmers upstream, but would restore habitats and breeding grounds. Programs to buy and restore riverfront wetlands are now underway, and, in order to help restore habitats, levees that have been breached are not being repaired. Farmers are also selling fields to government agencies and holes are being punched through manmade embankments to reconnect oxbows, chutes, and former wetlands to the flow of the river. However, farmers near restoration areas fear their crops will suffer from wildlife habitats. The results of these changes will not be visible for at least ten to fifteen years.