Omaha, NE – A draft supplemental environmental assessment (SEA) on the restoration of emergent sandbar habitat (ESH) complexes in the Missouri River, Nebraska and South Dakota is currently available for public review. The draft SEA evaluates the environmental impacts of removing and preventing vegetation on ESH located within the Fort Randall reach, Lewis and Clark Lake segment, and Gavins Point reach of the Missouri River, South Dakota and Nebraska.
Vegetation control would be implemented through the application of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency herbicides approved for use in aquatic systems (i.e., glyphosate and imazapyr) beginning in fall 2019 and continuing indefinitely into the future. Vegetation removal activities would include: disking, mowing, raking, burning, and removing large woody debris from the sandbars. The purpose of the proposed project is to benefit the federally endangered least tern and threatened piping plover by providing suitable habitat through the removal and control of vegetation of selected sandbars.
The public is encouraged to provide comments on the draft SEA, which is available for viewing at:
http://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Planning/Project-Reports/. Comments can be mailed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District; CENWO-PMA-C; ATTN: Michelle McPherron; 1616 Capitol Avenue; Omaha, NE 68102-4901. Comments can also be emailed to: cenwo-planning@usace.army.mil. Comments must be postmarked or received no later than May 8, 2019.
This draft SEA is consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, the Council on Environmental Quality’s regulations for implementing NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508), the Corps’ regulations for implementing NEPA (33 CFR 325 and Engineering Regulation 200-2-2) and other applicable environmental laws and regulations.
Release no. 19-016