Lake of the Ozarks is known far and wide as a prime destination for anglers, boaters, and outdoor recreationists across the country. Located in south central Missouri, the lake was formed with the completion in 1931 of Bagnell Dam on the Osage River, part of the Osage Hydroelectric Project, now owned and operated by AmerenUE. While the lake offers superb recreational opportunities, the presence of the dam and hydroelectric facility challenges fish and wildlife resource managers, particularly in the Osage River downstream from the dam. Among the concerns are altered flow regimes, bank and channel erosion, impacts on aquatic habitats, low dissolved oxygen, fish mortality at the dam, and impacts to freshwater mussels, including two federally listed endangered species.
These challenges were met early on by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Ecological Service field office in Columbia, Missouri, as AmerenUE sought relicensing under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Although the current license does not expire until early 2006, the Service and other stakeholders began working with AmerenUE in 1999, concentrating their efforts on assessing impacts to fish and wildlife in the lake. Missouri's Department of Conservation and Department of Natural Resources, the National Park Service, the Service, and AmerenUE have worked together to develop a settlement agreement prior to relicensing that addresses concerns for freshwater mussels, habitat, and fish mortality, while providing for energy needs, protecting critical lake levels for recreation, and addressing downstream landowner needs.
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