The Missouri River Conservation Districts Council is seeking a full-time professional Coordinator. Must have a bachelors degree or equivalent experience in a natural resource, public administration, or related field; and at least three years experience working with diverse clientele, building consensus, managing multiple project goals and resolving complex problems. In-state and out-of-state travel is necessary. Salary $40,000 - $50,000/year DOQ. Applications due May 27th to the Council office at 1601 2nd Avenue North, Ste. 601, Great Falls, MT 59401.

The Council's next Quarterly Meeting will be April 8th, 2010 beginning at 9:00 AM with a tour of the Granger Ranch O'Dell Creek restoration project. If you'd like to attend, meet us at the Granger Ranch entrance, 6 miles south of Ennis on the west side of Highway 287. More about the project from "Restoring the Treasure" video presented by PPL Montana: “Drained to improve grazing and hay production in the 1950s, thousands of wetland acres along O’Dell Creek were converted to dry uplands.

If the Fort Peck Reservoir continues to gain water like it did this past year, the U.S.

The Corps of Engineers is accepting applications for the newly formed Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee (MRRIC), which will advise the Corps on a study of the Missouri River and its tributaries as well as provide guidance on current Missouri River recovery and mitigation activities.  Applications are being accepted until August 22nd and application forms are available online at http://www.moriverrecovery.org.

In a follow-up letter to the Corps’ final 2007-2008 Annual Operating Plan (AOP) for the Missouri River Mainstem System, the Council stressed the importance of maintaining minimum release levels to provide adequate fish habitat, removing economic data from the AOP process, devising a special plan to raise the level of the Fort Peck reservoir, and retaining water in the reservoir as the most cost-effective way to control salt cedar. The Corps’ final 2007-2008 AOP, along with their spring meeting presentations are available at http://www.nwd-mr.usace.army.mil/rcc/aop.html.

In the Council’s response to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ draft Annual Operating Plan (AOP) for the Missouri River, satisfying local needs first was stressed as the most necessary management provision. The Council noted that the Corps has once again failed to recognize the importance of irrigation and the increased costs to Montana’s water users as a result of the Corps’ operation of the Fort Peck Dam.