Thanks to Debbie for providing the article on the Mississippi and for her
great quote. The article below was in the last Iowa Sierran.  There were
three meetings in March posted at the end of the Sierran article, but all of
those meetings have already been held.

What to do now?  You could write letters to the Governor, your state senator
and representative, to Senators Harkin and Grassley, and to your
Congressman.  Rep. Nussle and Leach are obvious targets, but Rep. Boswell
should be, too.
Thanks,
Jane Clark
==
Corps Upper Mississippi/Illinois Rivers Navigation Study Resumes!
By Mark Beorkrem

The US Army Corps of Engineers much-plagued and scandalized study of how to
improve the efficiency of commercial navigation traffic on the Upper
Mississippi River above St. Louis and on the Illinois River from Peoria to
the Mississippi River was restarted in August of 2001.

The Corps restart recognizes that the previous study, limited to examining
just improvement to commercial navigation, was too limited and failed to
address key concerns regarding the environmental degradation that has
occurred in sixty plus years of damming-up these rivers and the resulting
increase in barge traffic.

  A paraphrasing of the restated Goals and Objectives of the Navigation
(Nav) Study reveals their observations on how to proceed:

a) navigation system is aged and inefficient;
b) calculate National Economic Development costs due to congestion;
c) the ecosystem of both waterways is in decline;
d) the growing barge traffic may accelerate the decline perhaps
precipitously;
e) stated the goals are to improve effectiveness of navigation system,
achieve environmental sustainability of navigation system and resources it
directly impacts;
f) explore developing a comprehensive and holistic approach considering
multiple purpose uses.

Clearly this leaves lots of room for interpretation and the environmental
community is approaching the restarted study with cautious optimism.  The
Corps study team, located in the Rock Island District, is aggressively
pursuing a policy of collaboration with all potential partners and, to their
credit, are attempting to move the study forward in that atmosphere.

The Corps Study Team is tasked by Corps Headquarters with completing an
Interim Report for forwarding to Congress by July 2002.  This report is NOT
intended to complete the study, rather it is to update HQ and Congress on
how the team believes it must proceed under the new collaborative atmosphere
and with a balance of all resources towards sustainability in mind.
Potential conflicts in current authorities that restrict Corps management in
achieving sustainability should be identified in the report, as well as
outlining a framework by which the Navigation Study can be completed and
comprehensive planning needs addressed.

The key is comprehensive planning of managing all the uses of the
Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.  Since 1986, the Federal government has
invested well over $1 Billion in rehabilitating and restoring the concrete
and mechanical/electrical components of the locks and dams.  An additional
$1 Billion was invested in the building of the new Lock and Dam 26 near
Alton, Illinois.  Additionally over $800 million went in to regular annual
operations and maintenance of the locks and dams, bringing the commercial
navigation investment to nearly $3 BILLION.  During this same time period,
only about $220 Million was invested into the Environmental Management
Program initiated out of compromises on building the second 1200-foot lock
at Lock and Dam 26 at Alton.

Biologists ALL AGREE, the river ecosystems are seriously in decline, due to
sedimentation of backwaters, resuspension of sediment due to barge wake
action and wind fetch, due to loss of backwater and side-channel habitat
areas and more.  The in-balance of current management practices must be
changed to restore these rivers.  The restarted Navigation Study, if done
with a requirement for achieving sustainable ecological operations of the
commercial navigation system, may provide the proper management atmosphere.
But it will require vigilance.  The study will last a minimum of two more
years and realistically, comprehensive management requires constant study
and management assessment of ongoing operations and observation of natural
resource changes. This isn't going away any time soon.

In mid-March, the Corps will host five public meetings to update the public
on the restarted study and to elicit feedback regarding the new study
approach.  We urge you to come out and voice your interest in the Corps
pursuing comprehensive management options, as we believe the law requires,
and voicing your needs for a restored river ecosystem.  For further
information contact Sierra Club's Mississippi River Protection Project
Volunteer Coordinator, Mark Beorkrem at 314-882-8425 or
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