What We Do

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers staff at Rathbun Lake manages the lake to provide benefits to the nation in areas of Flood Damage Reduction, Recreation, Fish and Wildlife Management, Water Supply and Water Quality Improvement.

The Corps manages 11,000 acre Rathbun Lake and an additional 23,000 acres of land around the lake.

The staff conducts dam safety inspections and maintains the dam and outlet works. Corps employees make water release changes to the Chariton River in coordination with the Kansas City District Water Management Section and Missouri River Region Reservoir Control center.

Six parks around the lake are managed and maintained by the Corps of Engineers. These parks include roads, utility systems, campsites, beaches, boat ramps, fish cleaning stations and picnic grounds.

Many maintenance activities are contracted to the private sector. Mowing, trash collection, fee collection, facility cleaning and painting are just a few of the activities that are performed by private contractors for the Corps. The Corps manages the contracts to insure that the services are provided for visitors to the lake.

The Corps of Engineers manages the natural resources of Rathbun Lake through several techniques. Many of the lands around the lake have been restored to native tall grass prairie plants and other areas restored to oak hickory forest.

Other activities by the Corps include public relations, visitor services, real estate management, emergency services, collection of weather data, tree planting, prairie management, wildlife food plot management, rescue and recovery operations, park patrol, buoy maintenance and management of concession leases.