MRRIC approved over 50 consensus recommendations focused on improving the science-intensive management actions of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, including habitat creation, learning from river flows, and monitoring plans for the threatened and endangered species on the Missouri River.
MRRIC Provides Guidance to USACE and USFWS on River RecoveryCollaborative committee comes to consensus on over 50 recommendationsThe Missouri River basin extends over 529,350 square miles and affects the lives of millions of people. The Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee (MRRIC, pronounced “Mister Rick”) is a 70-member committee comprised of basin stakeholders representing different – often conflicting – interests, including local governments, as well as representatives from states, federal agencies, and American Indian tribes. Established in the fall of 2008, MRRIC serves as a collaborative forum developing a shared vision and comprehensive plan for the recovery and restoration of the Missouri River ecosystem, protecting the river’s threatened and endangered species while sustaining the river’s many uses for humans.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), in collaboration with MRRIC, are leading one of the largest and most complex collaborative adaptive management efforts of its kind. Adaptive management is the practice of learning from experience and modifying subsequent behavior in light of that experience, linking learning with policy and implementation.In June 2019, MRRIC approved over 50 consensus recommendations to the USACE and USFWS regarding the strategic direction of the Missouri River Recovery Program. MRRIC’s recommendations focused on improving the science-intensive management actions of USACE and USFWS, and specifically relate to habitat creation, learning from river flows, and monitoring plans for the threatened and endangered species on the river. MRRIC anticipates learning about USACE and USFWS’s responses to their recommendations at their plenary meeting in November.RESOLVE has served as facilitator for MRRIC since 2009. The RESOLVE facilitation team provides facilitation, mediation, meeting organization, and documentation support for the Committee and its multiple work groups. The team convenes and facilitates consensus among the large and diverse group on complex issues during full plenary sessions, work group meetings, and webinars with over 100 invited attendees. In addition to providing tools and approaches to help members better understand complex issues and build trust, the RESOLVE team helps the Committee draft and track recommendations to the lead agencies. With guidance from RESOLVE, MRRIC members have worked to understand how best to engage with each other, share interests, and find areas of agreement on the issues facing the basin and the Missouri River Recovery Program. For more information about the Committee, visit: https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/mrrp/mrric/Cover Image via Gail BinghamLaura Bartock, Beth Weaver, and Paul De MorganRESOLVESeptember 24, 2019
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