Laserfiche WebLink
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br />U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE BIOLOGICAL OPINION <br />ON THE <br />OPERATION OF THE MISSOURI RIVER MAIN STEM RESERVOIR SYSTEM, <br />OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE MISSOURI RIVER BANK STABILIZATION <br />AND NAVIGATION PROJECT, <br />AND <br />OPERATION OF THE KANSAS RIVER RESERVOIR SYSTEM <br />The Corps of Engineers provides the primary operational management of the Missouri River and <br />is responsible under the Endangered Species Act to take actions within its authorities to conserve <br />listed species. On April 3, 2000, the Corps asked the Fish and Wildlife Service to formally <br />consult under the Endangered Species Act on the Operations of the Missouri River Main Stem <br />System, and related Operations of the Kansas River Tributary Reservoirs, and the Operations and <br />Maintenance of the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project. The Corps of <br />Engineers prepared biological assessments for each of these projects and determined that their <br />operations may affect listed species. The species covered under this consultation are the <br />endangered pallid sturgeon, the endangered least tern, the threatened piping plover, and the <br />threatened bald eagle. Current river operations on the Missouri and Kansas Rivers, as well as the <br />continued maintenance of the Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project, are expected to <br />perpetuate habitat loss, nest failure, reduction in forage base, reduction of spawning cues, and <br />overall reductions in reproductive success of these species. <br />The Fish and Wildlife Service has reviewed project plans and determined that the operation of <br />the three Missouri River projects under past and present operating criteria and annual plans have <br />severely altered, and continue to alter under present operating plans, the natural hydrology and <br />the riverine, wetland, and terrestrial flood plain habitats and fish and wildlife resources of the <br />Missouri River and lower Kansas River ecosystems. Current operations, if continued without <br />significant alterations, likely will cause further declines in other native species and likely will <br />result in additional species listed as threatened or endangered. If more Missouri River species are <br />listed in the future, operational conflicts and constraints will increase, while flexibility to manage <br />the system will decrease. <br />After reviewing the current condition of the bald eagle, least tern, piping plover, and pallid <br />sturgeon, the environmental baseline for the action area, the effects of the Corps' proposed <br />operation of the Missouri River Main Stem Reservoir System, the operation and maintenance of <br />the Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project, and operation of the Kansas River Reservoir <br />System, and the cumulative effects, it is the Fish and Wildlife Service's opinion that the <br />referenced actions, as proposed, are likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the least tern, <br />