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EPA launches expedition to monitor the Upper Missouri River

Release Date: 7/13/2000
Contact Information:
EPA (218) 529-5216,

Release Date: 7/13/2000
Contact Information:
EPA (303) 312-6220,

Release Date: 7/13/2000
Contact Information:
EPA (303) 312-6780

DULUTH, Minn.--Beginning in late July, scientists from EPA's Research and Development Laboratory here and the Agency's Regional Office in Denver will board specially equipped research boats to embark on one of the most comprehensive efforts yet to determine the health of the upper Missouri River.

The project is being launched on the eve of the bicentennial celebration of Lewis and Clark’s exploration of the natural biology of the Missouri River Basin, and will provide critical science needed to make sound decisions on how to manage the river. Sampling will be done in Lake Oahe, a 230-mile long reservoir that lies across South Dakota and North Dakota, and along the Garrison Reach, a free flowing stretch of river that runs from Garrison dam in North Dakota to the north end of Lake Oahe.

Over the next five years, scientists will take samples of water, plant and insect life and river bottom sand. The samples will be analyzed at EPA labs in Duluth and Denver. The results will be summarized in the first detailed report on the condition of the Upper Missouri's critical natural resources. The number and kinds of insects and other aquatic organisms eaten by many fish and birds are good indicators of the health of the river environment and fishery. River bank vegetation, another indicator of ecosystem health, will also be measured. Data and reports from the study will be accessible on the EPA website ( www.epa.gov/emap/) as they become available.

A special sonar unit used to identify different types of bottom sediments and a set of water quality sensors will be towed through Lake Oahe. These instruments will produce a detailed, three-dimensional picture of the lake that will show where and how sediment has settled and how much has accumulated on the reservoir bottom. Past studies on Oahe have not used this technology nor been as comprehensive. No shoreline sampling will be conducted around the lake.

The biological inventory of the river will be used by local communities, states, tribes and federal agencies to help manage and protect this important body of water. “This river is a national treasure and our goal is to provide reliable, timely and unbiased data so that resource management decisions are based on sound information,” said Dr. David Bolgrien, lead scientist for the project who is based at EPA research facilities in Duluth. “The protection of the river for its commercial and recreational values, in addition to its value as a significant ecological resource, is important,” Bolgrien said.

Sampling locations have been selected at random using a statistical process so that all ecological conditions are represented. In this way, no particular area or land use practice will be targeted. Since some sites along the Garrison Reach are on private property, scientists will seek permission from local landowners and tribes to sample on their land. Sampling will continue through mid-September this year.

Scientists will return next year to continue sampling of Oahe and the Garrison Reach, and plan to work on different sections of the river through 2004. Specifically, plans are to study the section from Lake Sakakawea to Fort Peck dam in 2002; Fort Peck Lake upstream to the Marais River in 2003; and downstream from Oahe Dam in 2004.

The research is part of the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP), a national program working in partnership with states, other federal agencies, tribes, and local groups to develop the science of inventorying natural resources and reporting on their condition. EPA’s partners in this phase of the Upper Missouri River research program are South Dakota State University, the BOMMM Joint Water Resource Board, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department, North Dakota Department of Health, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Geological Survey.