Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee (MRRIC)
Chair’s Quarterly Update–June 30, 2023
Greetings. As a reminder, this “Chair’s Quarterly Update” is intended to provide MRRIC members with a digest of recent developments and upcoming plans.
In this update you can find:
•Highlights from April, May, and June; and
•Anticipated activities leading up to and including the August plenary.
Highlights from April-June 2023
The Adaptive Management Governance Planning (AMGP), Agenda, and Human Considerations (HC) Work Groups held calls this quarter.
•The AMGP Work Group held a call in May to discuss the upcoming Adaptive Management (AM) workshop, questions about timing and process for adapting the Science and Adaptive Management Plan, and updates to the MRRIC annual work plan, including moving up the HC work group’s focus on the BSNP mitigation project.
•An Agenda Work Group call in June provided an opportunity to give advice to the Chair about topics for the August agenda including suggested additions and framing of topics, as well as going over the meeting preparation timeline. The call also provided an opportunity to ask questions about the travel reimbursement process.
•The HC Work Group also held a call in June to provide additional background on the BSNP Mitigation Project, go over possible elements of a potential recommendation for MRRIC consideration at the August plenary, and discuss next steps. The plan is for the Chair, Vice Chair and HC/Fish POCs to develop a draft recommendation for work group consideration at two subsequent calls in July and early August.
The annual Adaptive Management Workshop was held May 15-18, preceded by webinars to brief members on the draft Adaptive Management Compliance Report (AMCR) for 2022. The sessions, which focused on Birds, Upper River Fish, and Lower River Fish, provided participants the opportunity to explore management options building on the draft AMCR and assess implications for the MRRP's strategic direction, particularly for FY25 and beyond.
A copy of the AMCR can be found on APAN and Dropbox, and a copy of the summaries of the workshop can be found on APAN and Dropbox.
In April, approximately 20 people involved in MRRIC as stakeholder, state and federal agency members and technical team participants participated in a two-day field trip on April 25-26 to the Fort Peck Reservation at the invitation of the Fort Peck Tribes to learn more about what the concept of cultural resources means to them, led by Dyan Youpee and Martina Wilson with many others from the Tribes. Their hospitality was beyond generous. While it was not an official MRRIC event, members who participated expressed appreciation for the opportunity to bring what they learned into MRRIC discussions.
During the two-day event, participants were taken to a wide variety of locations to experience in-person and discuss issues of concern to the tribes including bank erosion, irrigation project intakes, the Tribe’s modern water treatment plant which supplies tribal and non-tribal communities in surrounding counties, a planned tourism site along the river to transform an old landfill now in the process of being cleaned up, the Tribe’s buffalo ranch where buffalo from Yellowstone National Park are bred and sent to other tribal nations, and several sacred sites. Those visiting were honored by an invitation to meet with the Fort Peck Tribal Council to share what they were learning, which many pointed out was difficult to put in words as they were still in the process of learning.
In addition, US Army Corps of Engineers hosted a tour of Fort Peck Dam on Monday, April 24 for those who arrived early, which included a drive out to the spillway; and the Bureau of Reclamation also hosted a supplemental visit to the Intake Bypass on Thursday, April 27. Both were extremely informative.
Looking Ahead
Priorities for the third quarter include the August MRRIC plenary on August 22-24, a second Agenda Work Group call in preparation for the plenary, and several other work group calls.
•The HC Work Group’s priority is preparation of proposed recommendations on the BSNP Mitigation Project;
•A Joint Fish/HC Work Group call has been scheduled to learn about and discuss the recommended plans for the Pelican Bend and Plowboy Bend IRCs and how best available science was incorporated into the designs and to hear an update on the draft EA public meetings;
•The Bird Work Group plans to review past recommendations and identify priority issues for future Bird Work Group engagement and to hear an update on next steps for a discuss and feedback (D&F) with the ISAP on the bird monitoring program;
•The Communications Work Group plans to review the annual self-assessment questionnaire in light of comments received last year; and
•The Tribal Interests Work Group plans to discuss the suggestion to develop a MRRIC tribal policy and to go over what’s anticipated for the August plenary.
In addition, the National Center for Environmental Conflict Resolution plans to hold a webinar orienting new members and alternates to MRRIC, as several people have joined out of cycle this year.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service also plans two webinars, one on the Endangered Species Act generally and one to present the highlights of the new Biological Report for the Great Plains Piping Plover. A copy of the biological report can be found on APAN and Dropbox.
Finally, please feel free to send me items you think will be of interest to members and do let me know what you’d like to see in these Quarterly Reports. As always, I welcome your input on any matters related to the work of the Committee.
Warm Regards,
Gail Bingham, MRRIC Chair