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(Washington, DC) Handing a major victory to conservationists and breaking a long-standing political logjam, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reduce the amount of water released from its Missouri River dams this summer. Conservationists hailed the ruling from Judge Gladys Kessler of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, calling it "an important step" towards reversing the ecological decline and economic stagnation that prevails along America's longest river.
"The decision represents a turning point for the Missouri River," said David Hayes, former Deputy Secretary of the Interior and an attorney with Latham and Watkins, who represented most of the organizations in the case. "It is about time that the wildlife interests that have gotten the short end of the stick for so many years -- and that serve as modern-day proxies for the rich environmental resources that once characterized the mighty Missouri -- finally will get their due."
Conflict over flows in the Missouri River has pitted conservation and recreation interests against the politically entrenched but economically insignificant barge industry trafficking on the lower river. Lower summer river flows will shorten the commercial navigation season but benefit both the river's ecology and the region's economy as a whole.
Lower water levels will ensure that river sandbars where two endangered bird species build their nests are not submerged. Slower river currents improve the survival of young sport and baitfish. Exposed river sandbars stimulate local economies by serving as beaches in the American heartland - drawing landlocked families and outdoor enthusiasts onto the river to boat, fish, camp, and sunbathe. Holding water behind the dams in summer to create lower river levels supports a recreation economy on the reservoirs that some estimate tops $100 million annually.
"The Court recognized the extraordinary fact that changes needed to protect endangered species would actually increase the purely economic benefits of the river," said Tim Searchinger, a Senior Attorney with Environmental Defense who helped to argue the case. "This ruling will prevent the Corps from wasting valuable water in a drought to float the mere four towboats actually using the river right now."
Conservationists disputed charges that lower flows will impose hardships on downriver communities, pointing out that dire predictions of brownouts and drinking water disruptions did not materialize last summer despite a record drought and a period of lower river flows. Although today's ruling means the Missouri River barges will have to suspend navigation for a few weeks this summer, the industry employs few people, survives largely on federal handouts, and contributes just $7 million annually to the economy, according to Army Corps studies.
Under this ruling, the Corps can restore full navigation service as early as September 1.
"Lewis and Clark first explored the Missouri River almost 200 years ago, and today's ruling revives our hopes that some of the species they wrote about in their journals will be around for future generations to appreciate," said Rebecca R. Wodder, president of American Rivers.
Ten conservation groups sued the Army Corps in January, 2003. They charge that the agency's operations of six dams on the Missouri River violate the Endangered Species Act while unfairly imposing economic hardship on many riverfront communities. While the ruling only applies to this summer, conservationists expressed optimism that subsequent rulings will permanently enshrine ecologically beneficial and economically sensible river management.
"The Army Corps' replumbing of America's rivers has lead to the decline of many wildlife species and the loss recreation opportunities coast to coast," said Paul Hansen, executive director of the Izaak Walton League of America. "Today's ruling is an important victory for hunters and anglers in the American Heartland and the central flyway."
During the most recent public comment period on dam operations, 55,000 Americans filed comments with the Corps, 54,000 of them urging the agency to adopt river-friendly dam operations. Those sentiments have been echoed to various degrees by six of the eight governors in the Missouri River basin, the National Academy of Sciences, the professional association of state fish and wildlife biologists in the Missouri River basin, and almost all of the editorial boards of major newspapers along the river.
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