Fort Peck Dam Test Flow Survey

BACKGROUND
In Montana, the Missouri River ceased to free flow in 1934 when the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began construction of the Fort Peck Dam. A couple of the original purposes of the Dam were flood control and irrigation. Since then, 160 private irrigation intakes serving 40,000 acres and two tribal irrigation projects serving an additional 20,000 acres have been completed that residents have come to rely on, taking the place of riparian acreage that was flooded above the Dam. The Fort Peck Tribes Rural and Municipal water supply that serves the four counties below the Dam also rely on the Missouri River.

The objective of the Fort Peck Dam Test Flows are to try and avoid jeopardizing the continued existence of the pallid sturgeon from the USACE actions on the Missouri River, complying with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) requirement for the operation of the Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System. To assist pallid sturgeon reproduction and recruitment the test flows are meant to mimic historical unregulated flows between the Fort Peck Dam and Lake Sakakawea. On November 12, 2021 an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Record of Decision (ROD) was signed by the USACE that began the implementation of the test flows when conditions were met. Last year, 2024, was the first of three to five test flows implemented with more coming over the next five to fifteen years when conditions are met again as that is the ESA requirement. The test flows will investigate responses of pallid sturgeon adults and survival of young fish to flow, temperature, and turbidity and validate assumptions in the EIS about human consideration effects.

IRRIGATOR IMPACT SURVEY
Human consideration effects have not been gathered. While the USACE has a lot of monitoring in place, we are needing to reach out to irrigators individually to gather information regarding last year’s test flow and impacts. Data gathered from this survey will help MRCDC and Conservation Districts with the following:

• Inform future test flow designs to decrease irrigator impacts.
• Gather information needed to ask congress to compensate producers through crop insurance for any problems or damages, associated with the test flows.
• Get your voice heard!

If you would like to take the survey online, here is the website to that: IRRIGATOR SURVEY

Otherwise, we will be in contact with you via another means. Feel free to give us a call at 406-345-5673, or email at mtmissouririver@gmail.com.