The state Game and Fish Commission, which has been in court for seven years seeking damages from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood damage to the bottomland hardwoods of Dave Donaldson Black River Wildlife Management Area, has turned down a settlement in the case.
The settlement would provide $13 million to the agency, but would not provide written assurance stating the Corps wouldn’t manage water from the Black River and Clearwater Lake in Missouri to avoid future flooding. A news release from the agency said Game and Fish filed suit in 2005 to recoup the value of dead and dying timber in teh 24,000-acre wildlife management area, proving that the Corps’ water management caused the damage.
The case is before the U.S. Supreme Court; oral argument is set for Oct. 3.
Full release on the jump.