Remember my February 17th blog on public meetings scheduled by the U.S. Corps of Engineers (Corps) on the Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study (MRAPS)? When the House passed its version of the legislation necessary to fund the federal government through the end of the 2011 fiscal year (September 30th) a few days ago, funding for the study was eliminated.  The move to defund the study was largely orchestrated by House members from lower basin states. The study was authorized in 2009 through the efforts of former North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan (D). It remains to be seen if funding for the study will be revived in the Senate.

As I said the February 17th blog, this study could produce recommendations to fundamentally alter management of the Missouri River. Heartland will continue to closely monitor the future direction of the study.