Big Muddy Speaker Series

Presentation by Robert Langellier, freelance journalist

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

• 7 p.m. presentation (6 p.m. Social Hour)
• Les Bourgeois Vineyards Bistro in Rocheport, MO
• Google Map – Directions Below

The Bistro Restaurant is now closed on Tuesday, but the bar will be open. You ARE welcome to come early, bring some food and gather with friends before the presentation. Speaker Series attendees are welcome after 5:30 p.m. 

Hosted by Missouri River Relief

The ongoing flooding on the Missouri River is particularly impacting farmers and agricultural communities. This pain is increasing calls from politicians and constituents to do more to stop flooding. There is a belief amongst some people that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has changed river management to benefit fish and wildlife, and that this has caused increased flooding. One piece of evidence that is often cited to support this idea is the Ideker lawsuit.

In 2014, 372 Missouri River valley farmers filed a class-action suit, Ideker Farms v. United States of America, claiming that the US Army Corps of Engineers has taken farmers’ property through flooding caused by habitat restoration programs undertaken since 2004. In 2018, the judge in the case ruled partly in favor of the farmers, but the science underlying their ongoing case is controversial.

We’ll be joined by freelance journalist Robert Langellier, who has been traveling the lower Missouri River valley this spring interviewing many parties involved in the lawsuit, scientists studying the river’s hydrology, the Corps officials charged with managing water flow, floodplain farmers and conservationists. Robert said, “We’ll try to understand that complex science (I once thought hydrology was as simple as ‘water flows down’!). We’ll also discuss the case’s implications for Missouri River management through the perspectives of farmers, Army Corps engineers, environmentalists and barge shippers.”

Robert Langellier is a freelance writer who is currently writing a piece on the Ideker lawsuit for The New Territory magazine. He has published pieces in Esquire (about long haul trucking and python hunters, The Nation, The Awl, Kansas City Star and others.

Directions

• 14020 W. Hwy BB, Rocheport, MO
• Take I-70 to the Rocheport, MO, exit (Exit #115). It’s the first exit east of the Missouri River.
• Head north toward Rocheport.
• After about a mile, turn left at the sign for Les Bourgeois Bistro. Follow the signs to the Bistro. You will probably need to park in the lot above the Bistro and walk the trail down.
• The presentations are held in upstairs in the restaurant. The restaurant is no longer open on Tuesdays but the bar is! You are welcome to bring your own food or snacks.