The Council’s 1st Annual River Rendezvous was a huge success, bringing landowners, agency representatives, and special interest groups together to spend time on the river, discuss river issues, and learn about new federal programs that can help achieve conservation goals throughout the river corridor.  Thanks to the ingenuity and persistence of the BLM’s Wade Brown, the high water and closure of the Fort Benton boat launch didn’t stop the boat tour, which was moved instead to the Wood Bottom boat launch.  Coming back with tales of weed infestations, potential CREP projects, special Monument management concerns, and even a swimming snake, the crew had just enough time to set down their sunglasses and cameras before coming to mingle at the Ag Museum in Fort Benton.  After a hearty dinner, the group learned about new changes to Montana’s $57 million CREP that make it more user-friendly and conservation-oriented.  Additionally, the group heard from four prominent federal agencies on Missouri River issues:  the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).  Although the event wrapped up at about 9:30 PM, several conversations are still going about CREP projects and improvements, federal management issues, and practical conservation that works with and for the landowners who’ve taken care of the resources for generations.

Many thanks to the Council’s event planner, Gayla Wortman Oehmcke, who handled all the details of the Rendezvous, right down to the “fishy” centerpieces (word is that at least 5 of those betas are still swimming around – some with new, bigger, condo-style homes).  And special thanks to the BLM for supporting both the river trip and the panel discussions (over-achievers) and to all of our panel speakers:

• Jeff Laszlo, Granger Ranches
• Rob Hazelwood, PPL Montana
• Tom Hinz, Wetlands Legacy
• Glenn Patrick, Farm Service Agency
• Lou Hannebury, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• John Remus, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Stan Benes, Bureau of Land Management
• Randy Phelan, Natural Resource Conservation Service