MRRIC Planning Group

The MRRIC Planning Group consists of a Drafting Team and a Review Panel. These two different ways of participating on the Planning Group involve different time requirements and degrees of commitment for working collaboratively with others in developing a recommended Charter for MRRIC.

General Gregg Martin, commander of the Northwestern Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, on behalf of the Federal Working Group, invited the chairpersons of basin tribes and the governors of basin states to designate their personal representatives and alternates to participate in the Planning Group process on either the Drafting Team or the Review Panel.

At the same time, the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution extended an open invitation to members of the public, nongovernmental stakeholders, and local governments in the basin to submit an application to serve on either the Drafting Team or the Review Panel.

Planning Group Co-Chairs

The Planning Group is assisted and led by two Co-Chairs, appointed by the federal executives of the Missouri River Basin Interagency Roundtable.

Drafting Team

Members of the Drafting Team will be working together to develop a recommended Charter for MRRIC. The Drafting Team will be considering and responding to feedback, comments, and suggested improvements received from the Review Panel, from participants in Public Workshops held throughout the basin, and from submitted Public Comments, prior to finalizing and forwarding a recommended Charter for MRRIC to the Federal Working Group. The Drafting Team will hold approximately monthly meetings from June, 2007, through December, 2007. Most meetings will be scheduled for 1½ or 2-days in different locations throughout the basin. Participation on the Drafting Team involves the greatest time commitment, as well as the greatest personal commitment to working collaboratively with others.

Criteria for Selecting Drafting Team Members
The U.S. Institute selected representatives of nongovernmental stakeholder interests and local governments for the Drafting Team based on the following criteria:

• Ability to commit the time required
• Willingness to make a good faith effort to seek balanced solutions that address multiple interests and concerns
• Demonstrated ability to work constructively with others, including traditional adversaries, to build joint solutions
• Willingness to support and adhere to the Operating Procedures and Ground Rules adopted by the Drafting Team
• Formal designation or endorsement by an organization, local government, or constituency as its preferred representative
• Established communication network to keep constituents informed and efficiently seek their input when needed
• Commitment not to engage in adversarial communications or unilateral actions during the Planning Group process
• Overall balance of representation on the Drafting Team and Review Panel

Review Panel

Members of the Review Panel will have a significant role in determining the final recommendations of the Drafting Team by providing them with feedback, comments, and suggested improvements on preliminary drafts of the recommended charter for MRRIC. Serving on the Review Panel is an opportunity for those who want to ensure their interests are considered in the final, recommended Charter, but who cannot devote the considerable time needed to work collaboratively with others in developing agreement on a recommendation. It is expected that the Review Panel will have 1½ or 2-day joint meetings with the Drafting Team in September and November of 2007.

Criteria for Selecting Review Panel Members

The U.S. Institute selected representatives of nongovernmental stakeholder interests and local governments for the Review Panel based on the following criteria:

• Ability to commit the time required
• Willingness to support and adhere to the Operating Procedures and Ground Rules adopted by the Drafting Team
• Formal designation or endorsement by an organization, local government, or constituency as its preferred representative
• Established communication network to keep constituents informed and efficiently seek their input when needed
• Overall balance of representation on the Drafting Team and Review Panel

For comments or questions about this website, please contact: usiecr@ecr.gov. This page was last updated 7/17/2019.