SOUTHEAST REGION MISSOURI NATIONAL RECREATIONAL RIVER The Missouri National Recreational River preserves two stretches of the Missouri River. It is a meandering, living river — no dams or channelization. Forming much of the border between South Dakota and Nebraska, it is also part of the nation’s Wild and Scenic River system. Congress added the 59-mile reach between Gavins Point Dam and Ponca State Park in 1978 and the 39-mile reach, which includes the lower 20 miles of the Niobrara River and the lower eight miles of Verdigre Creek, between Ft. Randall Dam and Running Water in 1991. bird and fish species. PART OF THE NATION’S WILD AND SCENIC RIVER SYSTEM rise 250 feet over the untamed river. The main channel twists and turns in gnarled braids from one shore to the other, and the river flows slower, sometimes as slow as a lazy two miles per hour. Native floodplain forests, tall and mixed grass prairie remnants, and the rivers and tributaries themselves provide habitat for several endangered and threatened MISSOURI CONTINUES ON PAGE 242 In the eastern reach the "Big Muddy" is vast, spectacular and unique, flowing fast past chalk bluffs, some as high as 100 feet. The river valley is as wide as two miles in some places, a testament to the twists and turns the river has taken over the last several thousand years. Islands, bars, and chutes still attest to the river’s dynamic character. The river in the western reach is more than 20 feet deep, with thick groves of willow and cottonwood trees grow-ing on numerous islands and sandbars. Limestone bluffs 240 MISSOURI NATIONAL RECREATIONAL RIVER REQUEST THE FREE BROCHURE CALL 1-888-353-7382
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