Big Muddy Speaker Series

Presentation by Tom Ball, Sierra Club Missouri River Grassroots Network

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

6. p.m. Social Hour at Big A’s on the Riverfront
7:00 p.m. Presentation

At Big A’s on the Riverfront (in the back room)
308 N Main St. –  St Charles, MO
(directions below)

Presentation is FREE and open to the public!

Hosted by Greenway Network

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a revised management plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Missouri River Recovery Program, intended to help the recovery of three endangered species – the pallid sturgeon, the piping plover and the interior least tern.

This massive document, which provides alternatives to Missouri River management in order to comply with the Endangered Species Act, was released in December, along with a schedule of public meetings and a public comment period that ends February 24. The proposed plan utilizes Adaptive Management to allow managers to more quickly adopt changes based on what the latest science reveals.

Given the complexity and sheer volume of data to be absorbed for the public to be able to make an informed comment, this edition of the Big Muddy Speaker series will be devoted to exploring the scale and scope of the DEIS, and drilling down into some of the data. What are the risks of Adaptive Management to the Human Environment? Are they being adequately addressed in the study? Will these efforts have a positive effect for the present or future listed endangered species?

Tom Ball is a lifetime member of the Sierra Club, is active on the Sierra Club Missouri River Grassroots Network, and has spent the last five years studying the US Army Corps of Engineers efforts to restore endangered species on the Missouri River.  He may be able to help us better understand some of the content and to frame questions by knowing what has already been asked and answered. What could you possibly want to know? Bring your questions.

The Corps will be hosting public Open House informational meetings in various cities throughout the basin to introduce and explain the DEIS and supporting documents and to receive public comments. Locally, the St Louis Open House is scheduled for Feb 16th at the DoubleTree Hilton in Chesterfield, MO from 5 pm to 8:45 pm.

Click here to view the DEIS and supporting science documents. (Some browsers will show a security warning for this site, but the Corps says their certificates are up-to-date. If you do not trust this site, the National Park Service is housing these documents here)

Directions

To Big A’s on the Riverfront, our host for the Speaker Series.

To get there from I-70

• Take I-70 to exit 229B – the 5th St. Exit
• Merge onto 5th St. headed north toward St. Charles.
• After about 1 mile, turn right on Monroe St.
• Turn left onto N. Main St.
• Big A’s will be on your right (308 N. Main St.) Additional parking is available in the rear.
• View on Google Maps.