Cottonwood Management Plan/Programmatic Environmental Assessment Proposed Implementation of a Cottonwood Management Plan Along Six Priority Segments of the Missouri River

Authors

Date of this Version

2011

Comments

Published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2011) 1-546

Abstract

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) proposes to preserve existing stands and reestablish new stands of plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides) at selected public/government lands along the Missouri River in accordance with the Cottonwood Management Plan (CMP). The Proposed Action is the implementation of the CMP. The goal of the plan is to be a living document that preserves, creates, or restores cottonwood habitats along the Missouri River and meets the requirements of the USFWS 2003 Amended Biological Opinion (BiOp) concerning the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). The principal immediate focus of the CMP includes measures in the following segments:

• Segment 4: Garrison Dam to Lake Oahe Headwaters near Bismarck, North Dakota (RM 1389.9 – RM 1304.0)

• Segment 6: Oahe Dam to Big Bend Dam (RM 1072.3 – RM 987.4)

• Segment 8: Fort Randall Dam to Niobrara River (RM 880.0 – RM 845.0)

• Segment 9: Niobrara River to Lewis & Clark Lake, including the Lake (RM845.0 – RM 811.1)

• Segment 10: Gavins Point Dam to Ponca, Nebraska (RM 811.1 – RM 753.0)

• Segment 13: Platte River mouth to Kansas City, Missouri (RM 595.5 – RM 367.5)

The programmatic Environmental Assessment (EA) evaluated the potential impacts of cottonwood management along the Missouri River; however, site-specific environmental review, in the form of EAs, are anticipated in the future prior to implementation of the techniques suggested in the CMP in any segment.