MCE presented to Governor Parson’s Flood Recovery Advisory Working Group (FRAWG) interim report. The comments were written in collaboration with other conservation, environment, and recreation groups including Great Rivers Habitat Alliance, Missouri Sierra Club, Missouri River Bird Observatory and others. Our coalition’s main messages to the Governor and FRAWG include:

  • Focus on resilience, flood risk reduction, and innovation rather than a one-track reliance on outdated modes of “flood control;”’
  • Use floodplains as tools for flood risk reduction and flood water conveyance, as well as tools for multiple economic, recreational, and environmental co-benefits;
  • Acknowledge how extreme weather and climate change have contributed to recent historic flooding events; and
  • Improve public outreach and participation in this process.

Our organizations formally requested representation on the Flood Recovery Advisory Working Group (FRAWG) that Governor Parson hand-picked and established by Executive Order 19-14 on July 18, 2019. Of the 18 appointments to the working group, 8 represent agricultural interests in some form. The Executive Order allowed “such other members as the Governor may appoint” to be added to the FRAWG, but despite direct requests to the Governor’s office there continue to be no conservation, environmental, or recreation interests appointed to the FRAWG.

Despite any official role, members of our ally group have attended and provided public comments at all five FRAWG meetings that occurred in 2019, and we continue to track the developments into 2020. The FRAWG is tasked with submitting a final report to Governor Parson by the end of May.

You can read our full comments to the FRAWG’s interim report and see the presentation below:

Comments on FRAWG Interim Report
April 13, 2020 Presentation to FRAWG

Sign the public petition: