[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 91 (Thursday, June 24, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7600-S7601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KERREY (for himself, Mr. Daschle, and Mr. Johnson):
  S. 1279. A bill to improve the environmental quality and public use 
and appreciation of the Missouri River and to provide additional 
authority to the Army Corps of Enginees to protect, enhance, and 
restore fish and wildlife habitat on the Missouri River; to the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works.


             missouri river valley improvement act of 1999

 Mr. KERREY. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce today, 
along with my colleagues Senator Daschle and Senator Johnson, the 
Missouri River Valley Improvement Act of 1999. This legislation is 
important for the 10,000 people who live along the 2,321-mile Missouri 
River, and marks also the upcoming bicentennial anniversary of the 
Lewis and Clark expeditions along this great River. The intent of the 
Act is to improve the environmental qualtiy and public use and 
appreciation of the Missouri River, and to provide additional 
authorities to the Army Corps of Engineers to protect, enhance, and 
restore fish and wildlife habitat as part of their ongoing operations 
on the River.
  The Missouri River is a resource of incalculable value to the 10 
states which it traverses, but it is a river that has changed 
dramatically since the pioneering days of Lewis and Clark. The 
construction of dams and levees over the past 50 years has aided 
navigation, flood control, and water supply along the Missouri River, 
but has also reduced habitat for native river fish and wildlife, and 
resulted in lost opportunities for recreation on the river.
  The legislation will help to restore a series of nature areas along 
the river in time to celebrate the 2004 anniversary of the Lewis and 
Clark, when we are anticipating greatly increased visitation along the 
river and to the surrounding areas, due in large part to the records 
and descriptions as detailed by these explorers on their 1804 trip.
  The bill will also aid native river fish and wildlife, help to 
restore cottonwoods along the river, reduce flood losses, and enhance 
recreation and tourism, all vital to the economies and quality of life 
to our communities along the river. It additional provides authorities 
for the revitalization of historic riverfronts, similar to the ongoing 
`Back to the River' revitalization project currently underway in my 
home state of Nebraska. The Back of the River Project in Nebraska is 
bringing our families and our businesses back to the Missouri River, 
for recreational enjoyment as well as for the commercial and business-
related opportunities that follow. It is our hope that this will aid 
other communities to participate in similar efforts in their 
riverfronts.

  Another major provision of this bill is the creation of a long-term, 
science-based monitoring program on the Missouri River. This program, 
to be developed and operated through the U.S. Geological Survey-
Biological Resources Division in Columbia, Missouri, will monitor the 
physical, biological, and chemical characteristics of the Missouri 
River. The program will help us to monitor and assess the quality of 
biota, habitats, and the water itself in this great river, and to 
provide information that will enhance our understanding of the 
Missouri, how it is operated, and how future operation decisions may 
affect the river.

[[Page S7601]]

  We currently do not understand a lot about the river, beyond the 
physical and some of the habitat-based impacts that have been caused by 
channelization. This program will create a publicly-accessible database 
of all the information we do have on the river, and all that is 
collected through the project, and will help to guide our management of 
the river in the future. The database will also provide additional 
opportunities for the people who live along the river to interact with 
the river in another way, and to learn more about the river that they 
live near.
  I have seen how successful educational opportunities related to the 
River can be, and how excited and involved children and adults get when 
they learn about and become more involved with their natural resources. 
The Fontenelle Forest Association in Nebraska, which contains forests 
and wetlands, and is along the Missouri River, has hands-on exhibits, 
live animal displays, teaching spaces, and even meeting spaces for 
Nebraskans. Ken Finch, the Executive Director of the Fontenelle Forest 
Association, has been instrumental in providing educational programs 
and opportunities, including a program called H2Omaha, a multi-faceted 
science education program which uses the Missouri River and its 
watershed as a living laboratory. I envision that the Missouri River 
database created by this Improvement Act will greatly expand 
information and data available to Ken and the participants at 
Fontenelle Forest, and I know that other communities will find this 
resource valuable, as well.
  I have also seen successful restoration efforts on the river--efforts 
like Boyer Chute and Hamburg Bend in Nebraska--both side channels 
created with the aid of the Corps of Engineers. These side channels 
have been enormously successful in restoring lost habitat for river 
species by creating slower-moving, more shallow waterways parallel to 
the river. These restoration areas have attracted not just wildlife, 
such as the native fish and birds and even river otter that 
historically lived in large numbers on the Missouri, but have also 
attracted canoeists and hikers who enjoy the scenic beauty and the 
recreational opportunities that these sites offer. This bill will help 
communities to create additional restoration projects like this along 
the river, projects that will not impact existing uses of the river, 
but that will add immensely to recreational and wildlife opportunities, 
and that will also add additional flood protection to surrounding 
communities.
  In anticipation of the greatly increased visitation along the river 
that will occur with the Lewis and Clark bicentennial celebration, the 
bill additionally will establish Lewis and Clark Interpretive Centers 
to educate the public about the Missouri River, and will allow the 
Corps of Engineers to provide enhancements to recreational facilities 
and visitors centers.
  Mr. President, I urge my colleagues who represent the states and 
communities along the Missouri River to look closely at this bill, and 
to join me and the other cosponsors of the bill in supporting this 
important legislation. The Missouri River Valley Improvement Act of 
1999 will help to restore and improve our access and enjoyment of the 
river, and will provide vital economic, recreational, and educational 
opportunities for everyone who lives along and visits this great river, 
the Crown Jewel of the midwest.
                                 ______