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NCGA
Says to Consider Options Other Than a Spring Rise on the Missouri (12-10-01)
In recent years,
environmentalists have proposed changing the proven, systematic way
water is released on the Missouri River for unproven benefits to certain
fish and sandbars to increase the reproduction of bird indigenous to
the area.
No one wants to
damage the environment, but what the activists fail to mention is the
increased potential for spring floods. Likewise, the accompanying summer
reduction in water discharges would eliminate navigation on the Missouri
River, would threaten water supplies, and jeopardize navigation on the
Mississippi River. The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has
lobbied against the Fish and Wildlife Service plan for flow control,
pointing out a spring rise would adversely affect citizens and farmers
from Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota.
NCGA Director of
Production and Marketing Paul Bertels said all options need to be examined
before a decision that could affect thousands of growers and their families
is made. "NCGA believes that there are other alternatives to protect
threatened and endangered species, other than the spring rise on the
Missouri River, that do not have the potential for negative effects
on farmers and transportation of our commodities. These plans must be
given equal consideration by the Army Corps of Engineers."
The Army Corps of
Engineers plans to review alternative plans for water control other
than the spring rise mandated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. In
an official statement made recently, Brigadier General Carl Strock,
the Northwestern Division Engineer indicated that the Corps' ultimate
goal is to select an alternative that:
- Meets the contemporary
needs of the basin, as defined by the people of the basin,
- Serves the authorized
purposes of the river system, and
- Does not jeopardize
the continued existence of fish and birds listed for protection under
the Endangered Species Act.
Members of Congress,
such as Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) and Sen. Jean Carnahan (D-MO) have led
a bi-partisan effort to ensure that a spring-rise does not happen. "The
support of people like Senators Bond and Carnahan have been great,"
said Bertels. "We need that kind of high-profile support to make
sure the Army Corps of Engineers has all the facts before endangering
farmer in the area of the Missouri River."
For more information
on spring rise, visit the NCGA website.
For a copy of the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Summary,
go to http://www.nwd.usace.army.mil.
Last reviewed
December 10, 2001
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