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MONTAMA STATE UBRfi^V
1515 E. 6th AVE.
HELENA, MONTAMA 59620
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Report from the
Round
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on Fort Peck Lake
and the Missouri River
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STANSTEPHENS
GOVERNOR
March 26, 1992
Dear Governor's Roundtable Participants:
am pleased to present the final report from the Governor's Roundtable on Fort Peck Lake and the
i
Missouri River. "A Vision for the Future of the Missouri River Country" has been updated to reflect the
status of the several initiatives which, together, we've undertaken.
We're making encouraging progress on several fronts. The solidarity and commitment Eastern
Montanans have shown has been a vital part of our success to date.
expect the new Fort Peck Lake Master Plan to substantially reflect our needs and priorities. The Corps'
I
new openness in developing the Annual Operating Plan is a most welcome and encouraging sign.
The General Accounting Office's favorable analysis of the Upper Basin States' position on water
management should help our case before the federal courts. Whether through negotiation or litigation,
fairer water management should ultimately be reflected in the Corps' new Master Water Control Manual.
support the concept of a regional coordinating body which was the major new recommendation made
I
by the roundtable. To be successful, this must start as a local initiative with sufficient widespread
interest to give it energy and momentum. It should have a clearly defined purpose and agenda. These
cannot be crafted in Helena, but must be developed by those who best know what they want to achieve.
My administration is available to work with you, if you decide to go forward with this regional
coordination body. Karen Barclay Fagg, Director, Department of Natural Resources and Conservation,
will be your contact at 444-6699.
Thank you again for participating in the roundtable and for your tireless efforts to make the most of our
opportunities in Missouri River Country.
Sinp^rely, y
STAN STEPHENS
Governor
SS:na
—
PECK LAKE MASTER RECREATIONAL DEVEL-
Historical Perspective 'I;;•
OPMENT PLAN, September 1946...
^Life on the Montana plains has always been hard.
"...Development in thearea ofall potential
Since whitesettlement, thestruggle forprosperity
activities will provide the principal source
has seen several brief bursts of growth. But de-
of recreation for the people in the eastern
pression, recessions, severe winters and periods
Montana region, which is almost entirely
of drought have taken their toll over the years. devoid of recreational facilities and in ad-
dition will provide recreational facilities
Today, Eastern Montana is still one of the most for tourists from adjoining and distant lo-
sparsely populated regions of the United States
calities."
and its population is declining.
"The large body of water created by the
The Fort Peck Project, despite all of its promise formation of the Fort Peck Reservoir pro-
and potential to be a long-term positive factor, vides possibilities seldom if ever exceeded
insteadcontributed anotherboomandbustcycle
for recreational usage..."
boom during construction and bust as the con-
struction-based towns disappeared and theprom- "The principal unfavorable aspects of the
ised benefits never materialized. reservoir area with relation to recreational
use include the uncertainty regarding fu-
Fort Peck Lake and the Missouri River are the turefluctuations ofthe watersurfacelevel,
dominant features of the region now known in
lackofadequateall-weatheraccessroads,..."
travelliterature as Missouri RiverCountry. Prop-
erly developed and marketed, they have the po- "... The People of the region have exhib-
tential to turn the region's decline toward a more ited a continuing intense interest in recre-
positive trend. ational development plans."
'^This is not a new revelation. A review of the The Fort Peck Interagency Council (now the Fort
historic record from 1945 showsa remarkablecon- Peck Advisory Coimcil) was created in 1959. Im-
sistency with the findings of the 1991 Governor's provingroad access and recreational facilities have
Rovmdtable. ConsiderthesequotesfromTHEFORT always been high priorities for the council.
Missouri River Country
With the passage of the federal Land and Water currentlyengagedinavarietyofinitiativesatseveral
Conservation Act of 1965, regional outdoor recre- levels. The State ofMontana, in cooperation with
ational planning identified "...the need for jjaved thestates ofNorth and South Dakota, filed a law-
access roads and economic development ofrecre- suit in February 1991 against the Corps of Engi-
ation... tied to a quality fishery..." as priorities for neers to clarify the priorities of water use in the
the Fort Peck area. In 1986, Congress added rec- Missouri River Basin. The upper basin states ar-
reation as a purpose of the Fort Peck project. gue that recreation, fish, and wildlife should be
considered primary uses of the river along with
Testimony in Glasgow during the Governor's Fo- navigation, hydroelectric power, irrigation, and
rums on Montanans Outdoors in 1986 stated... municipal water supply. Historically, the Corps
has considered recreation, fish, and wildlife as
• Fort Peck is the key to Eastern Montana recre- secondaryuses of the river, which has threatened
ation and tourism. It should be a recreational these values in the basin states. The trial issched-
center and tourism should be expanded. uled to begin in September 1992, but the Corps
initiated negotiations in January 1992 to settle the
• Tourism depends upon developing the recre-
lawsuit. The negotiations are ongoing.
ation "supply," i.e..FortPeck... all-weatherroads,
boataccess,campsites,signs, trees, gaspumps...
The State of Montana is also an active participant
• Amend FortPeckcharter to includerecreation in the Missouri Basin States Association (MBSA).
as a project purpose (which was doneby Con- MBSA is an organization of Governor-appointed
gress in 1986). officials from the 10 basin states; one representa-
tive from the 20-plus Indian tribes in the basin;
• Adoptstrategies to provideadequate funding, and federal agencies with management responsi-
develop public/private partnerships... bilities in the basin. MBSA serves as the only
ongoing forum for high-level policy officials to
• State government should provide leadership come together and try to resolve issues related to
and policy development. the operation of the main stem of the Missouri
River. MBSA is currently focusing on the review
InNovember1990,theFortPeckAdvisoryCotmdl's and update of the Corps' Master Manual and the
RecreationCommittee, in its recommendations for Annual Operating Plan for the main stem.
a new Fort Peck Lake Master Plan, emphasized
the lake's importance to the recreational economy
and the area's quality oflife. It recommended that
theCorpsofEngineers takethelead in recreational "Montana has not had its fair
development and management. The Corps has share ofwater. We need it and
done so in other states. This is especially appro- we'regoing to get it/'
priate in Montana, because Montana does not en-
joy the other benefits that Fort Peck provides to
Glenn Marx
downstream states: flood control, navigation, mu-
nicipal and industrial water and irrigation.
ThepeopleofEastern Montana havebeen remark- The Master Manual is the administrative frame-
ably patient. Some individuals have been work- workcreated by theCorps that spells out how the
ing more than 30 years to find ways to meet the main stem of the Missouri River is to be operated.
most basic facility and access needs. It is based on the Flood Control Act of 1944 and
outlines theprioritiesofwaterusewithin thebasin
and the operating requirements for the six main-
Ongoing
Initiatives stem dams and reservoirs.
To improve the management of Fort Peck Lake TheMasterManual was initially prepared in 1960.
and the Missouri River, the State of Montana is It was last reviewed and updated in 1978. Since
.
that time, the social, economic, and environmen- The State of Montana is also working at a more
^ talcircumstances in the Missouri RiverBasin have locallevel to improve themanagementofFortPeck
changed, and thecurrent MasterManualdoes not Lake and the Missouri River. The Fort Peck Ad-
reflect these contemporary values. The ongoing visory Council, a broad-based coalition of inter-
reviewandupdateoftheMasterManualwill hope- ests around Fort PeckLake, promotes the develop-
fully improve the benefits provided by the ment and use of the lake as a major recreational
MissouriRiverto Montana. TheState ofMontana resource TheCouncil iscurrently veryactive in the
is coinmitted to increasing and maintaining the review and update of the Fort Peck Lake Manage-
level of Fort Peck Lake, and to reducing bank ment Plan.
erosion in the river below Fort Peck Dam. The
reviewandupdate ofthe MasterManual issched- The Missouri River Development Group is a
uled to be complete by December 1993. broad-based coalition of interests along the Mis-
souri River fromjust below Fort Peck Dam to the
North Dakota border. The mission of the Group
is to promote economic development in the re-
gion. The Department of Natural Resources and
^'The lawsuit is not an upper basin
Conservation has worked with the Group to se-
versus a lower basin confrontation. cure congressional funding for a streambank sta-
The premise of the lawsuit is that bilization project along the river. The depart-
the Corps is not operating the mentsofNaturalResourcesandConservationand
Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the Corps of Engi-
Missouri River system to the benefit
neers are also working with the Group to de-
We
ofall the interests in the basin. velop a recreational development strategy for the
need to update our thinking about the lower Missouri River.
^ operation ofthe system to benefit In addition to all these ongoing initiatives, sev-
both upper and lower basin interests. eral other opportunities exist for improving eco-
We are not askingfor more than our nomic development and resource management
fair share. We are askingfor equity." in the region. The Wild and Scenic section of the
Missouri River and the Charles M. Russell Wild-
life Refuge provide unique resources for attract-
Karen Barclay
ing tourists. The national visibility of Fort Peck
Lake's fishery resourcecontinues to increase. The
Bureau of Land Management's Recreation 2000,
The Annual Operating Plan (AOP) is the annual WatchableWildlife,andBackcountryByways pro-
grams provide the foundation for a variety of
guideline for operating the main stem of the Mis-
public/private partnerships. The Missouri River
souri River. It is based on the priorities of water
Country tourism promotion activities have in-
usepresented in the Master Manual. Historically,
the Corps has developed the AOP with very little creased the number of visitors to the area. Fi-
input from the affected states and other interests. nally, the Fort Peck Indian tribes and the state's
Based on a recommendation from the Montana political leadership are committed to improving
Department of Natural Resources and Conserva- the quality of life in the area.
tion, which was supported by MBSA, the basin
states were consulted early on in the develop- The Governor's Roundtable
ment of the AOP for 1992. While Montana is not
satisfied with the results of the recent MBSA ne-
gotiations, which were adopted by the Corps for In light of all these activities. Governor Stan
the 1992 AOP, it agrees that the process of devel- Stephens convened a Roundtable on Fort Peck
W oping the AOP is sigiuficantly improved. Lakeand theMissouriRiveronSeptember5, 1991
One of the objectives of the Roundtable was to
help coordinate and focus these ongoing initia-
tives. However, the primary purpose of the During the afternoon, the participants of the
Roundtable was to provide an opportunity for all Roundtable broke up into seven groups with a
affected interests to shape an agenda for the fu- cross-section of interests. Each group focused on
ture of the Missouri River Country. three questions: What is your vision for the future
of Fort Peck Lake and the Missouri River? What
While the Roundtable focused on Fort Peck Lake are the priorities for improving the management
and the Missouri River, it also addressed broader of Fort Peck Lake and the Missouri River?—How
issues of local and regional economic develop- should we achieve the vision and priorities that
ment, tourism, and resource management. More is, what strategies areneeded? Aftertwo hours of
than 100 people from the Missouri River Country work, each group presented its findings (see Ap-
participated in the Roundtable, including Senator pendix B). Themajor visions, priorities, and strat-
Conrad Bums, several state legislators, native egies are outlined below.
Americans, farmers and ranchers, fishermen and
recreationists, localbusinesses,and themedia (see
Appendix A). Visions
The Governor's Roundtable produced several vi-
sions of the future for Fort Peck Lake and the
MissouriRiver. The vision statement ofone group,
"I« 1990, non-resident expenditures in however, is an excellent summary of the visions
the region totalled 18 million dollars... articulated by other participants:
We can bring more people to the area
and triple that amount. But when "Protect and enhance the natural resources
tourists come here, we have—got to orfectrheaetiroinvaelraannddotlhaekreetcoonoopmtiicmidzeevemluolptmiepnlte ,^4
.
have the facilities developed access opportunities."
roads, campgrounds, marinas, and so
on... There will he many jobs created Tashpiisrsattiaotnesmeonfttahpepepaerosplteo cwahpoturreestihdeedirnetahmesMainsd-
as we continue to promote this area." souri River Country. These people want to pro-
tect thequality oflifeand thenatural environment
-,-.. Diane Brandt that makes theregionsuch a special place in which
.
to live and work. However, they are also inter-
ested inpromotingeconomicdevelopment, includ-
ing recreation, tourism, and agriculture.
The Roundtable began v^th opening statements
by Governor Stan Stephens and Senator Conrad
Bums. Then, in an attempt to identify the major
issues and concerns related to Fort Peck Lake and
the Missouri River, Glenn Marx of the Governor's "TTie current use levels of the
Office facilitated an open discussion with abroad- lake's facilities do not reflect its
based panel and theaudience. Thepanel included use potential, but rather the low
DonPfau (FortPeckAdvisoryCouncil), DougSmith and unstable lake levels; the result
(MissouriRiverDevelopmentGroup), LarryWetsit
(Fort Peck Indian Reservation), Diane Brandt ofthe Corp's outdated management
(Governor's Tourism Advisory Council), Colonel of the water resources in the
StewartBomhoft (U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers), Missouri River basin."
Don Hyyppa (Department of Fish, Wildlife and
Parks), and Karen Barclay (Department of Natu-
SportFishing Institute ''
ral Resources and Conservation). The panel dis-
cussion was lively, entertaining, and productive.
