Number: 1980-31
WHEREAS, the Missouri River has historically been regarded as one of the most significant natural resources in these United States; and
WHEREAS, efforts to stabilize the river’s banks and improve it for navigation have resulted in the direct loss of many thousands of acres of diverse fish and wildlife habitat; and
WHEREAS, the Missouri River Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has determined that the 2 March, 1945, congressional authorization to provide a nine-foot deep, 300-foot wide channel from the mouth to Sioux City, Ia., should be carried out in accordance with the 1958 Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act; and
WHEREAS, efforts to formulate a plan to mitigate the fish and wildlife losses that occurred as a result of the 1945 Act were initiated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Corps of Engineers in 1975; and
WHEREAS, this effort is progressing very slowly;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 20-23, 1980, in Miami Beach, Fla., hereby endorses the effort to mitigate the fish and wildlife losses which have occurred on the Missouri River below Sioux City, Ia., as a result of the 1945 River and Harbor Act; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urges that the process of formulating the mitigation plan be accelerated.