ATCHISON, Kan. (AP) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to create more shallow-water habitat along the Missouri River.
The St. Joseph News-Press reports that the corps has announced plans to build the habitat in an area known as Benedictine Bottoms, just northeast of Atchison.
The goal of the projects is to provide a refuge for young pallid sturgeon and other native species. There used to be much more shallow-water habitat along the river. But about 100,000 acres of it disappeared when the river was dammed and straightened and its channel narrowed.
While changes to the river aided navigation and improved flood protection, the pallid sturgeon population has dwindled. That’s why the corps has been ordered to undertake shallow-water habitat projects.
The public can weigh in on the project through June 6.
