A new $323,000, three year grant from the National Science Foundation will help budding scientists from tribes and different backgrounds examine how human intervention affects the Missouri River and its dependent ecosystems.

University of South Dakota Department of Biology Assistant Professor and Principal investigator for the study, Meghann Jarchow…..

USD houses the Missouri River Institute so Jarchow says it makes sense to engage in the study. The students involved will participate in independent projects..

Jarchow says one of the main factors of the study is the human impact on the river. She says the complexity of different agencies already involved gives the undergraduate students great experience on how the river is managed…..

The study itself is more about giving the students a perspective of how complex managing and understanding landscapes can be.