River Relief

October 29, 2010

Nov. 9 Big Muddy Session

"Life in a Missouri River Chute"

7:00 p.m. - Tues. Nov. 9, 2010
lower floor of the
Les Bourgeois Vineyards Bistro
in Rocheport, MO

presented by USFWS Biologist Andy Starostka

As part of the Missouri River Recovery Project, the US Army Corps of Engineers is building new islands, chutes and shallow water habitat along the Missouri River.

US Fish and Wildlife biologist Andy Starostka will be reporting on what science tells us is working and what lessons are being learned.

Join us as we fire up our popular Big Muddy Sessions speaker series again in partnership with Friends of Big Muddy, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Big Muddy NFWR and Les Bourgeois Winery.

Description

Many of us that spend time on the Missouri River have been excited to see the new habitat work being done along the Missouri River. Where just a few years ago the banks were steep and uniform with little variation in structure and diverse habitat, there are now eroding banks, new chutes and islands, and young willow stands sprouting on newly deposited land.

The purpose of the newly created habitats is to support the life cycle of the endangered pallid sturgeon, and in turn the diversity of fish that use the Missouri River. But is it working?

For several years, the USFWS biologists at the Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office in Columbia have been at work on the river, sampling fish in these new chutes and habitat areas.

Biologist Andy Starostka will be presenting some of their findings - what species use the chutes? What seems to be benefitting the pallid sturgeon? What have they learned that will inform future habitat work by the Corps of Engineers?

Big Muddy Sessions Speaker Series is hosted by a partnership between Missouri River Relief, Friends of Big Muddy, US Fish & Wildlife Service and the Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge.

Special Thanks to Les Bourgeois Vineyards for letting us use their beautiful space on the bluffs above the Missouri River.

Directions

• Take I-70 to the Rocheport, MO, exit (Exit #115). It's the first exit east of the Missouri River.
• Head north toward Rocheport.
• After about a mile, turn left at the sign for Les Bourgeois Bistro. Follow the signs to the Bistro. You will probably need to park in the lot above the Bistro and walk the trail down.
• 14020 W. Hwy BB, Rocheport, MO (click for Google Map)
  

photos by Steve Hillebrand (USFWS) and Steve Schnarr