Overcoming Challenges to Pallid Sturgeon Monitoring on the Missouri River

The Corps’ pallid sturgeon and native species monitoring project faced several challenges across the entire monitoring area. In 2011, high snowpack in the mountains and heavy spring rains in eastern Montana resulted in record water levels in the reservoirs and releases from the dams along the Missouri River.  Water has rarely reached the floodplain since the six main stem dams along the Missouri River were constructed.  To learn from this rare event, standard sampling was adjusted to monitor and assess the use of floodplain habitat by native fishes during the historic high flows.  The Project has utilized an adaptive approach to adjust to these types of major river changes and refine the protocols and sample design.  The challenges faced during 2011 also identified the need to provide researchers and leadership with real-time information for assessing changes in the system.