Collaborative Resource Management in the Missouri River Basin

July 20-25, 2003

South Sioux City, Nebraska

In July 2003, a group of 34 resource managers from across the Missouri River Basin gathered in South Sioux City, Nebraska for a week-long course on Collaborative Resource Management. Participants came from federal, tribal, and state governments, driving in from as far north as Montana and from as far south as Missouri.

What brought this myriad group together was a desire to discover a new way to approach the management of the Missouri River Basin’s natural resources. As a backdrop for the week’s activities (and as an indication of how litigious the situation has become), a federal judge was ruling on a case to set the river levels on the Missouri.

Participants left the course with the tools and enthusiasm to return to their agencies and to begin making changes to the status quo. The inter-agency/inter-government nature of the course also allowed participants the unique opportunity to make connections as the foundation for future collaboration

Selected Materials from the Course in PDF Format

Newsletter (published September 2003)

Visions from the Missouri River Course (written by Professor Steven Yaffee)

Course objectives

Course outline – summary

Training team biographies

Pictures and Quotes from the Course

“I now better understand a collaborative process and how to start implementing one. I fully plan to stress a collaborative approach as the way to work in my organization.”

“Use of case histories…is the best tool you can use to share how this works! The use of multiple presenters and multi-media helps. The faculty was very good as well. Great job!“

“The course did a good job presenting a foundation, revealing concepts, introducing stakeholders, and preparing one to think about/work toward better sustainable solutions. Definitely would recommend course to others.”

“One of the primary benefits of this training was getting to know a wide variety of people interested in the Missouri River. This will be very useful in my work.”

“Outstanding instructors. Did a good job conveying material, engaging participants and helping everyone learn from each other.”

This site was developed by the Ecosystem Management Initiative through a partnership with the US Forest Service and the US Department of Interior. Read more.