About Us
The Missouri River Natural Resources Committee (MRNRC) is a consortium of state and federal biologists with fish and wildlife management responsibilities for the river.
Our Story
The Missouri River Natural Resources Committee (MRNRC) was formed in 1987 by state fish and wildlife agencies in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri who have statutory management responsibility for public trust natural resources.
MRNRC's Mission is to promote and facilitate the preservation, conservation, and enhancement of the natural resources of the Missouri River System. Non-voting representatives include the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Power Administration, and the National Park Service.
MRNRC objectives include:
1) identifying and prioritizing issues of concern in the Missouri River System for cooperative resource management,
2) formulating plans and programs for carrying on cooperative research and management studies,
3) improving coordination, communication, and cooperation among entities responsible for natural resource management on the Missouri River, and
4) encouraging implementation of actions to preserve, conserve, and enhance natural resources of the Missouri River System.
Meet The Executive Committee
List of Past Missouri River Natural Resources Committee Conferences
The Missouri River Natural Resources Committee holds an annual conference that rotates location by state. Each location within a state is selected to represent the Missouri River in a unique way and events are organized to provide accommodations that could suit most members.
Year Location Theme
1997 Columbia, Missouri Missouri River: Past, Present, Future
1998 Nebraska City, Nebraska The Floodplain of the Future
1999 Pierre, South Dakota Sustaining the Missouri River for Future Generations
2000 Bismarck, North Dakota Missouri River Management: It’s Everybody’s Business
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2001 Great Falls, Montana 2001: A Missouri River Odyssey
2002 South Sioux City, Nebraska Big River Science-Meeting the Challenge of Change
2003 Atchison, Kansas Restoring the “Butifull Praree & Timber Deversity”
2004 Columbia, Missouri Rediscovering Missouri River Connections
2005 Pierre, South Dakota Many Voices, One Horizon
2006 South Sioux City, Nebraska Collaborating in the Current (joint meeting with River Management Society)
2007 Nebraska City, Nebraska Adapting to Adaptive Management
2008 Nebraska City, Nebraska From a Healthy Ecosystem to a Healthy Economy: A River in Transition
2009 Billings, Montana Beyond the Bend
2010 Nebraska City, Nebraska Missouri River “A Climate for Change”
2011 Nebraska City, Nebraska The Missouri River: On the Road to Recovery
2012 Pierre, South Dakota The Big Muddy: What have We Learned?
2013 Jefferson City, Missouri Beyond the Banks
2014 Nebraska City, Nebraska Understanding the Landscape
2015 Nebraska City, Nebraska Year of the River
2016 Great Falls, Montana Challenges and Opportunities of Connecting People and the River
2017 Nebraska City, Nebraska Habitat: The Pathway to Recovery
2018 Nebraska City, Nebraska More Than Just a River Runs Through It
2019 Pierre, South Dakota Missouri River: The Ever Evolving Riverscape
2020 No Conference Due to Pandemic
2021 No Conference Due to Pandemic
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2022 Nebraska City, Nebraska Missouri River: Ebbs & Flows
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2023 Helena, Montana 25th Annual Conference: Silver (Chub) Anniversary
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2024 Nebraska City, Nebraska Missouri River Resiliency for Changing Conditions
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2025 TBA
List of Past Missouri River
Champion Award Winners
The Missouri River Champion Award recognizes individuals or groups that have made significant contributions to the enhancement, preservation, or protection of the Missouri River ecosystem and the fish, wildlife, and other natural resources dependent upon it.
Year Name
1997 Bill Mauck - U.S. Geological Survey
2002 Douglas Bereuter-NE
2004 Roger Collins - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Jim Milligan - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
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2005 Tom Daschle - U.S. Senator-SD
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2006 W. Don Nelson - Chief of Staff to NE Gov. Bob Kerrey, Director for Sen. Ben Nelson-NE
2007 Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Neosho National Fish Hatchery - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Blind Pony Fish Hatchery - Missouri Department of Conservation
2008 Tom Gengerke - Iowa Department of Natural Resources
John Cooper - South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks
2009 Mike Olson - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Tony Dean - Outdoor Communicator from SD
2010 Mick Sandine - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Glen Covington - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
2012 Jim Riis - South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks
David Pope - Missouri River Association of States and Tribes
2013 Larry Hesse - Rivers Corporation, Inc.
BG John McMahon - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
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2014 Dr. Robert Klumb - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
2015 Mike George - Ducks Unlimited
2016 Gene Zuerlein - Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
2018 Steve Schnarr - Missouri River Relief
2019 Gerald Mestl - Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
2022 Don Skaar - Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
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2023 Mark Drobish - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Dr. Vince Travnichek - Missouri Department of Conservation
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2024 Steve Adams - Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks
Dr. David Galat - University of Missouri
List of Past Recipients of the
Dr. Robert A. Klumb Memorial
Student Travel Grant
The Dr. Robert A. Klumb Memorial Travel Scholarship was established in memory of "Dr. Rob", former Project Leader for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Adjunct Associate Professor at South Dakota State University, and provides financial assistance for deserving students to attend the annual MRNRC Conference.
Rob was an exceptional colleague and friend whose life tragically ended on July 8, 2013 in Pickstown, South Dakota. A Wisconsin native, Rob received his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1990 and his M.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1997. Rob joined the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University in 1997 where he studied bioenergetics and near-shore habitat use by larval and juvenile alewife at the Cornell Biological Field Station, earning his Ph.D. in 2003. In 2002, Rob joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Pierre, South Dakota as a Fisheries Research Biologist and was promoted to Project Leader of the Great Plains Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office in 2009. Rob was a talented biologist who led a variety of research projects on fishes of the Missouri River. In addition to his federal job duties, Rob also served as an Adjunct Associate Professor at South Dakota State University, where he played a fundamental role in coordinating federal research needs with student education.
Colorful, energetic and always positive, Rob was inspirational to students and colleagues. He always took the time to avail himself to other people to help them in their professional and personal endeavors. As a mentor, he led by example, and his hands-on approach earned him a large and loyal group of colleagues. His legacy will live on in the example he set for students and future professionals. Rob’s passion for science, politics and Milwaukee-made beer ran deep and wide. His inclusiveness and open-mindedness extended to both his work and his social life, and he will be remembered for the enthusiasm he exhibited in his approach to both. From the technicians that worked under his guidance to the students he mentored to the colleagues he left behind, his loss leaves a big void in the fisheries community.
Year Name
2015-2021 *Working to compile recipients list*
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2022 Maria Erceg - South Dakota State University
Allison Pardis - Fort Hays State University
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2024 Matt Chambers - University of Georgia
Kimberly Magnuson - University of South Dakota
Katherine Millman - South Dakota State University
Jenna Ruoss - University of Nebraska
Zachary Schild - University of South Dakota