W. Don Nelson, state director for Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), said the groups share a passion for the Missouri River but are at a crossroads.

"We are perilously close to three mediocre efforts rather than one kick-ass organization," he said. "It’s far more to our benefit to have one muscular organization rather than three without the manpower and resources to get the job done."

However, Don Nelson acknowledged uniting or turning power over to one group carries risks.

"If you want the keys to the bus, make sure you get us to our destination," he said.

The local groups will hopefully achieve what has been missing since the Pick-Sloan Plan constructed a series of dams on the Missouri River, Nelson said.

"Six decades later, the promise goes largely unfulfilled," he said. "We have failed to use the river as a great economic engine."

As the next step, a meeting will be held among Steve Grube of Hartington, Neb., coordinator of Missouri River Futures; Scott Wessel, a Nebraska Game and Parks Commission member from Norfolk, Neb., representing Missouri River LIFE; and Greg Henderson of Planning & Development District III, Yankton, for the Missouri River Corridor.

However, the action came only after extensive soul-searching among the group members. They noted confusion among the general public about the organizations and their goals.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the groups’ leaders found they have different goals: Missouri River Corridor focuses on broad economic development, Missouri River Futures on resource development and Missouri River LIFE on a situation assessment with landowners.

But groups and agencies have also found tremendous rewards in working together, Grube said. "Since this (river discussion) took off, there have been a lot of success stories," he said.

Grube noted a Press & Dakotan article on the Futures group spurred a call from a landowner, which in turn led to a massive clean-up effort along the riverbanks at Yankton.

The final results were phenomenal, said Kevin Kuhl, the Yankton public-works director who helped spearhead the clean-up effort.

"We cleaned up and removed unsightly things that were dangerous to boaters. There were several federal and state agencies involved with the project," he said. "From 3,500 feet of river frontage, we collected 140 tons of debris. That included 1,000 tires, and the momentum is carrying forward."

The next clean-up, involving the general public, has been set for May 20 at Riverside Park in Yankton, Kuhl said.

A similar desire for joint success led to formation of the Missouri River Corridor, Henderson said. He admitted he knew little, if anything, about Nebraska before the corridor effort but has now found new friends and achievements.

"In my job, I ignored the (state) boundary in everything I had done except when it came to competing," he said. "But that’s not acceptable anymore to the people I represent. They expect to share things back and forth (between states). We are building bridges, literally, and that has helped to move resources."

The corridor effort has doubled the political clout by drawing the attention of both states’ governors and congressional delegations, Henderson said. "We get a lot more done," he said.

Looking to complete a project, the Missouri River Corridor members are sponsoring a spring tourism conference March 23 at the Kelly Inn in Yankton. Govs. Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Dave Heineman of Nebraska have been invited, and the evening program could be aired on public broadcasting.

"Tourism represents economic development because people are spending dollars here. And it represents workforce development," Henderson said. "We have projects that, if they keep going, will lead to a lot of economic development and opportunities down the road."

With so many joint efforts out in the public, the organizations must form an umbrella group to present a united front to government officials, said Ponca banker John Kingsbury.

"We don’t have to be in agreement all the time, but this has to do with understanding each other," he said. "What do we agree on? Who speaks for these different interests?"

The umbrella group could present river interests to the Corps of Engineers, Kingsbury said.

"When the Corps talks, we need somebody to represent us," he said. "Otherwise, we have such a diverse voice that we become meaningless."

In addition, other states and organizations may not represent the interests of the stretch from Pickstown to Ponca, Kingsbury said.

"The scenic river (will have) no voice," he said.

Nelson recommended focusing on the regional stretch of river rather than taking on all the Missouri River interests.

"If we try as a basin-wide effort, we are probably doomed to failure," he said. "We need to focus on the middle Missouri River."

By focusing their efforts, the Missouri River groups can determine their needs, Grube said. "The dollars (alone) are not the answer. We can have $10 million, but you need to identify what the problem is and what you want to fix," he said.

The groups stressed Wednesday the need to bring together a broad range of interests, including landowners, American Indian tribes and government agencies in both states.

Private landowners hold 95 percent of the land in the area covered by the three Missouri River organizations, Grube said. "What we think is good may be absolutely different when presented to the 95 percent who are landowners," he said.

While agreeing to discussion among the three groups, Henderson said the Missouri River Corridor members indicated at last week’s meeting they want to retain their informal organization, which has no staff or budget.

"We are comfortable with the way things are," he said. "I don’t see our group dissolving to become a sub-group of another entity, but we are willing to work together."

Hartington mayor Tom Noecker, who helped form the corridor effort, agreed. "The consensus is that we want to keep the corridor going — but we are here listening (at the Ponca meeting)."

Dave Sands, executive director of The Nebraska Land Trust based in Lincoln, Neb., recommended a three-pronged approach for the Missouri River coordination committee: communication and education within the groups and with the general public; cooperation where partners are needed and useful; and conflict avoidance.

"Will we avoid all conflict? No, but we can head some off," Sands said.

Perhaps most of all, the groups need to look beyond the here and now by sharing a vision, Grube said. "Where are we a year from now? Where are we five years from now?" (published March 2, 2006)