(From American Rivers and other conservation organizations--see the list
below.)

For Immediate Release
December 18, 2003

Conservationists react to new Missouri River plan

(Washington, DC) The conservation organizations suing the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers to secure the restoration of the Missouri River through reformed
dam operations released the following statement following the
Administration's announcement that it will amend the 2000 Biological Opinion
decision which is at the heart of their case.

"We are heartened that even a team of scientists picked and pressured to
obtain a different result cannot escape the conclusion that the immediate
restoration of more natural flows to the Missouri River is essential to
reverse the decline of the river or prevent the extinction of species that
live in it.

"Nevertheless, the flow changes outlined in this document are smaller and
implementation is delayed, and are therefore less likely to result in the
benefits for wildlife and for people comparable to those that would be
achieved with the flows first prescribed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service in 2000.

"Also, our initial reading of this document reveals that the new flow
recommendations are packaged along with a number of troubling caveats that
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may seize upon as a pretext to make no
meaningful changes in its river management at all.

"These two facts strongly indicate to us that immediate peer-review by a
team of qualified, independent scientists is necessary. We will read this
document more carefully and outline our detailed positions on it in the near
future."


Chad Smith, Director
Nebraska Field Office - American Rivers
Mill Towne Building
650 J Street, Suite 400
Lincoln, Nebraska 68508
402-477-7910
402-477-2565 (FAX)
402-730-5593 (CELLULAR)
[log in to unmask]

American Rivers * Environmental Defense * Izaak Walton League of America *
National Wildlife Federation * Montana Wildlife Federation * North Dakota
Wildlife Federation * South Dakota Wildlife Federation * Nebraska Wildlife
Federation * Iowa Wildlife Federation * Kansas Wildlife Federation

Contact:
David Hayes, Latham & Watkins, (202) 637-2200
Richard Duncan, Faegre & Benson, 612-766-7000
Chad Smith, American Rivers, (402) 730-5593
Tim Searchinger, Environmental Defense, (202) 387-3500
Tom France, National Wildlife Federation, (406) 721-6705
Paul Hansen, Izaak Walton League of America, (301) 548-0150, ext 221
Eric Eckl, American Rivers, (202) 347-7550 ext. 3023, (202) 486-7877 (cell)

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