Big Muddy Speaker Series

March 8, 2022

The Big Muddy Clean Sweep: Living on the River, for the River

Missouri River Relief’s very own Alyssa Thomas shared the story of the Big Muddy Clean Sweep for March 2022’s presentation.

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February 8, 2022

Steamboat Disasters of the Lower Missouri River

Online Presentation by Historian and Author James Erwin

February 8th we were joined by author James Erwin to discuss the impressive engineering and fragile nature of steamboat travel on the Lower Missouri River.

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January 11, 2022

Missouri DNR Works for Healthy Rivers

Online Presentation by Kansas City Regional Director Karen Rouse and Water Protection Director Chris Wieberg, Mo. Dept. of Natural Resources

We were joined by two directors at the Mo. Dept. of Natural Resources who discussed couple of ongoing programs that the Mo. Dept. of Natural Resources is involved in that work to solve issues faced by the Missouri River and the larger Mississippi River Watershed.

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May 11, 2021

Beyond Water: Cultivating a Reverence for Big Rivers

Online Presentation by Author Dean Klinkenberg, the Mississippi Valley Traveler

Dean has made his living writing about the Mississippi River. He’s going to share with us his vision for living with reverence and resilience along our big rivers.

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April 13, 2021

Building for the Future: The Construction of a Levee Setback on the Missouri River

Presentation by Barbara Charry, The Nature Conservancy, Chris Hamilton, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Corina Zhang, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Charry and Hamilton shared the story of the Atchison County Levee Setback, bringing together the Atchison County Levee District, The Nature Conservancy, NRCS, the Corps of Engineers and others to create more space for the flooding Missouri River by moving a levee back away from the Missouri River.

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March 9, 2021

Steamboat Landscape

Presentation by amateur historian and steamboat modeler Eric Reuter

In this fascinating and in-depth presentation, Eric Reuter used hand-made scale models of Missouri River steamboats to discuss the linked history of steamboat development and environmental changes in the Missouri basin, drawing on his professional and personal interests in the links between geology, ecology, history, and land management.

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February 9, 2021

The “other” invasive carp, Black Carp – Mylopharyngodon piceus

Online Presentation by fish biologist Patrick Kroboth, U.S. Geological Survey Columbia Environmental Research Center

Patrick Kroboth, fish biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, shared the latest in invasive black carp research, studying the species status in the wild, life history, behavior, and potential impacts.

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January 12, 2021

MR340 Race Stories

Online Presentation by MR340 Race Director and Founder Scott Mansker and Missouri River Relief Director Steve Schnarr

Some of the great history and stories of the community of paddlers that makes the MR340 race unique and precious.

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November 10, 2020

Natural Gems along the Big Muddy: Missouri’s Natural Areas along the River’s Valley

Presentation by Mike Leahy, Missouri Natural Areas Coordinator, Mo. Dept. of Conservation

Missouri Natural Areas Coordinator Mike Leahy will take us on a tour of a variety of designated Natural Areas connected to the Missouri River that range from floodplain wetlands to river bluff prairies and forests.

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October 20, 2020

To migrate or not to migrate: that is NOT the question

Presentation by Craig Paukert, PhD, Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at University of Missouri – Columbia

We were joined by University of Missouri professer Craig Paukert, PhD, to explore the issues and solutions for fish migration. World Fish Migration Day is observed on October 24.

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