October 6, 2000

President Clinton should take farmers' and rural residents' interests, safety and livelihoods to heart as he considers the fate of a measure to prevent an intentional rise of water levels on the lower Missouri River, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. AFBF-supported language in the 2001 energy and water appropriations bill -- legislation the White House has targeted for veto -- would prevent the Army Corps of Engineers from implementing an engineered "spring rise" on the lower Missouri River. The appropriations bill instead would allow states in the Missouri River Basin to continue efforts to develop a management plan for the river -- an avenue Farm Bureau supports.

"Farmers and rural residents are extremely concerned that the increased spring flow in the Missouri River will result in the flooding of their homes, crops and communities -- endangering both their livelihood and safety," AFBF President Bob Stallman wrote Clinton.

Stallman said in addition to flooding, and the tribulations that accompany such disasters, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service management plan, which would combine a spring rise with a split navigation season on the river, would compound the impact on farmers and rural businesses. Because of the Missouri's flow into the Mississippi River and its proximity to grain producers in the Midwest, the Missouri offers producers a key and cost-effective agricultural shipping alternative.

The farm leader urged the president and the Army Corps of Engineers to consider alternative management plans to enhance recreational opportunities and improve aquatic habitat while maintaining flood protection and economically viable river commerce.

"Barge operators in the region have indicated that a split navigation season would mean the end of commercial navigation on the Missouri River," Stallman wrote. "This, combined with the resulting lower flows on the Mississippi River, run counter to our nation's efforts to improve the competitiveness of American farmers and ranchers."