The Missouri River lost its pulse last Saturday. Due to a substantial rain forecast across much of the lower Missouri River basin, the Corps of Engineers had to cancel releasing a planned “pulse” of water from the Gavin’s Point Dam.

The pulse. which would have increased river’s flow. was a recommendation of biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to help species such as the endangered pallid sturgeon, least tern and piping plover.

The USFWS feels that by releasing extra water into the river in March and May it will more closely resemble conditions prior to the construction of damns and reservoirs along the Missouri. The extra pulses of water could provide a cue to the endangered pallid sturgeon that it is time to spawn.

The pulses are meant to mimic the historic river rises that resulted from the melting of the snow on the plains in March and April followed by another rise from the melting snow in the mountains in May and June. These are the conditions the fish adapted to over tens of thousands of years. Unfortunately for the fish, these conditions changed with the construction of the dams and reservoirs along the river.

The two-day March pulse was expected to begin on the 21st, but forecasted rain forced Corps of Engineers officials to halt the extra release.

“We have safeguards in place that reduce or eliminate the pulse if high downstream flow is occurring,” said Larry Cieslik, Chief of the Water Management office here.

“These safeguards are designed to ensure that the pulse does not cause downstream flooding.”

The Corps acquires its data from hundreds of stream gauges, providing near-real time information via satellite combined with forecasts from the National Weather Service to develop a daily river forecast.

A second and final pulse for the year is scheduled for between May 1st and the 19th and will include a somewhat higher release of water. From Nebraska City to Kansas City, the river is expected to rise anywhere from 2 to 3 1/2 feet. The Corps of Engineers conducted similar pulses in May of 2006 and March of 2008 and did not experience any flood damage as a result.

Monitoring teams will be on the river after the pulse to collect data on physical and biological responses of the sturgeon and other wildlife. Through continued evaluations, the USFWS and Corps of Engineers will make a determination on the feasibility and timing of future pulses.

Background information on the pulse along with daily update slides is available under the “New” image at: http://www.nwd-mr.usace.army.mil/rcc/

Outdoors correspondent Jeff Leonard can be reached at outdoors@npgco.com