Corps cancels spring river rise

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Melting snow has prompted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to cancel plans to release extra water into the Missouri River to help an endangered fish.

The corps said Friday that river flows are too high because of snow melting in eastern South Dakota, eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. There also is some flooding.

The corps originally planned a two-day pulse that was to begin next week. It is designed to prompt spawning of the pallid sturgeon.

The March rise has happened only once — in 2008. It was canceled in 2006 and 2007 because there was not enough water in the river’s reservoirs. In 2009, the pulse was canceled because water flows were too high.

A second pulse is scheduled for May.

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