River Relief

October 3, 2012

Oct 10 Big Muddy Speaker Series - St Charles

"Jameson Island - Bringing Politics to a Head"

Presented by Brook Spear, Great Rivers Environmental Law Center

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012

5 p.m. Afternoon paddle through historic St. Charles on the Big Muddy Adventure's Junebug canoe. (more info below)
6. p.m. Meet at Big A's Restaurant
6:30 p.m. Presentation
At Big A's Restaurant
308 N Main St. -  St Charles, MO
(636) 949-9900
(directions below)

Presentation is FREE!

NOTE - before the presentation, you will have the opportunity to hop on the big Junebug canoe with Mike Clark from Big Muddy Adventures for a short paddle through downtown St. Charles. Park near Big A's and walk towards the river. We'll have canoes ready to go on the riverbank near Big A's .

photo of Jameson Chute courtesy of USFWS, Steve Hillebrandt

One of the tools the Corps of Engineers is using to restore habitat along the Missouri lost during channelization is to create chutes and islands on public land adjacent to the river. This has been halted in the state of Missouri by a Clean Water Commission order stopping the excavation of the Jameson Chute on Jameson Island Unit of the Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge, claiming that the dumping of alluvial sediment in the river during chute construction is a form of pollution.

Brook Spear, a lawyer with the Great Rivers Environmental Law Center, will give an overview of Missouri River restoration, how it affects different congressionally authorized purposes on the river and why the current stalemate over how to handle sediment on the Missouri River impacts future restoration. She'll discuss how different interpretations of the Clean Water Act apply to the use of sediment in restoration activities on the Missouri River vs. smaller clearwater streams.

A special thank you to Greg Poleski of Greenway Network for making this happen in St. Charles!

Directions

This presentation will be located in Big A's, a restaurant overlooking the Missouri River in historic downtown St. Charles.

To get there from I-70 -

• Take I-70 to exit 229B - the 5th St. Exit
• Merge onto 5th St. headed north toward St. Charles.
• After about 1 mile, turn right on Monroe St.
• Turn left onto N. Main St.
• Big A's will be on your right (308 N. Main St.) Additional parking is available in the rear.
• Click here to view on Google Maps.