Forwarded by Jane Clark For Immediate Release Contact: Chad Smith, (402) 477-7910 April 22, 2003 Peter Kelley, (202) 270-8831 cell Statement of Rebecca R. Wodder, President of American Rivers on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service letter on Missouri River operations "We were extremely disappointed to learn today of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's April 21 letter to the Army Corps of Engineers 'supplementing' its November 2000 biological opinion on Missouri River operations. This letter is really more like a full retreat. "For the people who live and work along the Missouri River, this letter is a sad way to mark Earth Day, as the Service has apparently caved in to political pressure and decided to support another year of managing the river for 'barges first.' Meanwhile, it will continue to ignore the need for long-term changes to help recreation, fish and wildlife. "What the Service refers to as 'fine-tuning' of the summer flows required by its previous biological opinion is in fact a complete abandonment of the required summer 'low flow' operations that its own scientists know are biologically necessary. "Even the limited restrictions on summer water releases stated in the 2003 management plan will likely never be enforced -- because the Corps has given itself, and the Service has endorsed, the option of releasing more water from the dams, if flows from the tributaries below Gavins Point Dam are not high enough to float barges all through the summer. In the current drought conditions, it would be nearly impossible for the tributaries to provide enough water, so we expect Gavins Point restrictions to be routinely exceeded to meet flow levels for navigation. "Higher summer flows will likely destroy nesting birds. And the Service doesn't even try to help the pallid sturgeon. There is no scientific basis for modifying the Service's previous biological opinion. No studies show that the Corps' river operations have ceased being lethal to these endangered and threatened species. This letter fails completely to justify the Corps' operation of the river for the barge industry, while it ignores the needs of native sport fisheries, upstream recreationists and other river users." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp