Missouri River efforts to help pallid sturgeon

Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) biologists conduct population surveys for fish species in the Missouri River, and they also search for brood stock to help restore endangered pallid sturgeon. Pallid sturgeon in these photos were collected from the river in the Kansas City area. Photos by Bill Graham, Missouri Department of Conservation — Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) biologists conduct population surveys for fish species in the Missouri River, and they also search for brood stock to help restore endangered pallid sturgeon. Photo by Bill Graham/Missouri Department of Conservation

HUNTSDALE, Mo. (AP) — A sandbar in the Missouri River near Huntsville is part of a new effort in the years-long fight to save the pallid sturgeon.

The sandbar, known as Airplane Island, is one of 10 locations on the river between Kansas City and St. Louis where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is trying to provide more habitats for the endangered fish.

The Columbia Missourian reports that since 2004, the Corps and other federal agencies have spent millions of dollars re-engineering the lower Missouri River to help the fish recover.

The latest effort is funded by $17 million allotted to the Corps from the Missouri River Recovery Program in the current fiscal year.

The Corps says work on project sites will not affect private property.