Missouri River Management Still Up in the Air

US Army Corps of Engineers and Fish and Wildlife officials continue to discuss how the Missouri River will be managed. Corps spokesman Paul Johnston says the low river levels this summer are proof that low summer flows, as proposed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, are tough to make work properly for everyone. Johnston says, in fact, that recently a grain barge got hung up about 50 miles above St. Louis because the river level had dropped so low. The Corps says a combination of dry weather and restricted releases from upstream dams have drastically dropped river levels. The flows from upstream dams have been restricted because of concerns by Fish and Wildlife officials that greater flows would harm the nesting of shore birds.