{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/river-letter-just-the-facts-", "River letter: Just the facts", "2015-12-26", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Claire McCaskill", "M001170", "www.mccaskill.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "River letter: Just the facts  \r\n                \r\n            \r\n            \r\n                Saturday, December 26, 2015\r\n            \r\n            \n\t\n\r\n            \r\n            \r\n            \r\n                \r\n                \r\n                \r\n            Someone in the federal bureaucracy may take offense, but our regional congressional delegation simply spoke the truth in a letter delivered in recent days to an assistant secretary of the U.S. Army.\r\nTwenty lawmakers  including Northwest Missouri Rep. Sam Graves and Missouri Sens. Roy Blunt and Claire McCaskill  took the occasion to remind Assistant Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy that her oversight of civil works must extend to protecting all Missouri River stakeholders, not just two species of birds.\r\nThe officials were restrained in their language but direct in stating the threat they see from a new initiative of the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designed to restore the habitats of the least tern and the piping plover.\r\nIt has come to our attention that the Corps and FWS have presented a list of proposed alternative recovery actions  (that) call for significant changes to the operation of the mainstem reservoir system (of the Missouri River) including alterations to the spring pulse, addition of a fall pulse, and addition of a low summer flow.\r\nThese actions could threaten water supply for municipal use and agricultural irrigation, create difficulties for controlling flood risks, eliminate the navigation season, and reduce recreational opportunities.\r\nIn short, revising the Master Manual (which governs management of the river) to adhere exclusively to a single purpose would be to the detriment of the other authorized purposes.\r\nThe representatives and senators speak with a voice of reason when they note the interest to explore alternatives to current strategies for boosting populations of the two bird species. But they add that such an agenda should be guided by the best available science, should seek to minimize risk to stakeholders, and should be constrained by the guidelines set out in the current Master Manual.\r\nThat document, by the way, last was subject to a full-scale revision following what the lawmakers said was a 17-year process that cost $30 million. Then, in 2006, it was revised to balance the eight congressionally authorized purposes for management of the river and in line with Fish and Wildlifes scientific findings about river wildlife.\r\nWe concur with our representatives in Washington that the Corps and FWS should be governed by existing polices and not be allowed to pursue a disruptive single-issue agenda that almost certainly would have negative impacts on downstream landowners, businesses and communities.\r\n            \r\n             \r\n            \r\n            \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/river-letter-just-the-facts-"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8077106215059757, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}