PIERRE, S.D.(KCCR)- The U-S Army Corps of Engineers and Lower Brule Sioux Tribe are working together on a project to reduce erosion along the west bank of the Missouri River just north of Lower Brule in Lyman County.  A scoping meeting was held Thursday night electronically.  Amy Bowell-McClean says construction of the Big Bend Dam at Fort Thompson is part of the reason for the upstream erosion issues.

If the erosion continues some 450 acres of shore will be lost at a rate of 13 feet per year over the next 50 years which could impact Bureau of Indian Affairs Route Three.

Joel Bich, Habitat Biologist with the Lower Brule Sioux Tribes says much of the reservation’s ecosystem was lost to construction of the Big Bend Dam.

The Corps is proposing to make improvements in four reaches along the three-mile stretch of river.  Officials will plan and conduct meetings and reviews through 2022 with the hope of presenting a final plan by January of 2023.