The Moreau River is DRY

[RestoreGore]

The Moreau River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 200 miles long, in South Dakota. And due to intense drought, it is now dry.


Photo by JONATHAN ERNST
A man holds up a catfish carcass in the dried-out Moreau River on the Cheyenne River Indian reservation near Thunder Butte, South Dakota August 7, 2006. A severe drought has killed crops, left ideal conditions for wildfires, forced ranchers to sell cattle and has evoked memories of the Dust Bowl disaster in the 1930s.

http://mdc.mo.gov/fish/watershed/moreau/hardcopy/250hctxt.pdf#search='Drought%2FMoreau%20River'

And it isn't as though this isn't a known fact. This document mentions specifically that the Moreau River's water levels tend to coincide withe the Missouri River because of its shape. Therefore, considering there is such an intense drought currently exacerbating this condition, why aren't measures being taken to protect the life in this river? Not only is this drought effecting the water level, it is effecting the livelihoods of the people who live along this river, and the life in it that depends on it. I guess because it flows near a reservation the government doesn't really give a damn.

I'm looking into this, and more information will follow.

[acmavm]

1. Seen the Platte lately? I drove over it last week. I scared the crap out

of me.

edit: Reason for being afraid is it's practicall all sand bar and no water.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. The Platte has never had much water in it, has it?

[acmavm]

4. The Platte has always had extremely deep channels running through

it. Except the last three or four years. We haven't even had the disastrous spring floods like we usually do.

You could never drive across the Platte before. You can now.

edit: To correct any impression that the Platte is a running river like the Mississippi or Missouri. It's known for being 'a mile wide and an inch deep'. But it did have wide areas of water, and like I said the deep channels. Fishing there was good. And the water there was used for irrigation.

This year it's scary. I've been crossing the river for decades. It looks about the driest that I've ever seen it.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Would this have anythign to do with the way they have rechanneled the MO

River in ND and SD?

[RestoreGore]

8. Just might

http://missouri.sierraclub.org/emg/Sierrascape/S2005M02/01_siege.html

[NNadir]

5. I can't see the photograph. Can you provide a link to it?

Thanks.

Thanks also for your continued attention to the issue of water.

[bananas]

6. link to photo

cut and paste url into your browser:
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1782/3542/1600/moreau.0.jpg

[RestoreGore]

7. I hope this link works

http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?ei=UTF-8&p=Moreau+River&fr=slv8-&c=news_photos

There are about three photos at this link. And thank you, this issue is at the core of life, and it will be an issue I continue to report on.

Also see my blog:
http://water-is-life.blogspot.com

[NNadir]

9. Thanks. You have a wonderful blog.

I'm sure I'll be spending some time there.