2025 Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference

AUTHORS: Annie Hentschke, Missouri Department of Conservation; Travis Moore Missouri Department of Conservation; Justin Garret, USACE

ABSTRACT: The Salt River in northeast Missouri is a tributary of the Mississippi River and was dammed in 1984 to create Mark Twain Lake. The Clarence Cannon Dam, operated by the Corps of Engineers and the Southwestern Power Administration, influences the flow out of the dam for water control and hydropower generation. In addition, there is a re-regulation dam below MTL, which was implemented to allow the reuse of downstream water for hydropower. While re-regulation is extremely rare, flows out of MTL and the re-regulation pool significantly impact the lower Salt River species. The river hosts various species of interest, including the state-endangered lake sturgeon, which has seen a recent aggregation below the re-regulation dam during the spawning season in some years. The Sustainable Rivers Project, a proactive initiative, has allowed the Missouri Department of Conservation, in coordination with the Corps of Engineers and SWPA, to evaluate and create consistent seasonal flows to promote native fish aggregation, successful spawning, and reproduction. The Sustainable Rivers Program has allowed for funding for modeling, monitoring, and assessment of existing conditions. In 2023, this SRP team successfully initiated optimal and consistent flows to attract lake sturgeon near the re-regulation dam on the Salt River.