HELENA - The federal government is trying to navigate the thorny issues surrounding management of the Missouri River and its headwaters through eight states, and it wants the input of anyone who works, lives or plays on the river, as well as people who are interested in wildlife and human habitat.

Two years ago, Congress gave the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers the task of mitigating losses of aquatic and terrestrial habitat; bolstering the populations of threatened or endangered species; and restoring the ecosystem to prevent further declines among other native species.

Those are pretty big marching orders on a 2,431-mile river that has been heavily modified.

It's all part of the Missouri River Ecosystem Restoration Plan (MRERP), more commonly known among those involved as "Mr. Erp." It was authorized by the Water Resources Development Act of 2007.

Jennifer Switzer, the project manager for the Corps, notes that the Missouri River has six mainstream dams and has been channelized heavily to allow better navigation for dams and other commercial operations, especially along the lower stretches.

"There's been all sorts of physical modifications that have had an immense impact on the natural environment," she said. "So Congress is requiring the Corps to take action to try to mitigate that.

"It's a huge project … involving eight states, 29 tribes and many federal agencies."

Public participation kicks off Aug. 10, with a series of 10 scoping meetings in seven states. The first will be held in Cheyenne, Wyo., followed by a scoping meeting on Aug. 12 at the Fort Peck Interpretive Center. Helena hosts the third meeting, on Aug. 13. Other meetings will be held in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri.

Two focus group meetings will be held Aug. 18 in Poplar and Great Falls. Those meetings differ from the others in that a select group of people with a wide range of viewpoints and interests have been asked to attend and give input on the issues they see.

"We want people to provide input as we develop the scope and the needs of the project," Switzer said. "We're also looking for things we need to be aware of, like how could restoration activities affect things that are important to you, positively or negatively. We want to know those things that might be potential concerns, so we're sure to address them down the road when we're putting together alternatives."

Some of the issues involve the amount of flows in the Missouri River. The lower stretches are managed mainly for barge traffic, meaning they need a consistent water level. But over the years, that consistency combined with drought conditions has lowered the water level in Fort Peck so that lakeside cabins built 20 years ago are now a half-mile from the reservoir pool.

And man's alteration of large river systems is thought to be the primary cause of decline of the pallid sturgeon population, which lives in the Missouri River and was listed as an endangered species in 1990.

Matt McKinney and Daisy Patterson with the Center for Natural Resource and Environmental Policy in Missoula are helping facilitate the meetings.

They said this is a long-term project - the draft and final plans probably won't be published until sometime between 2014 and 2016 - but that it's important to speak up early in order to ensure all the bases are covered.

"We want to reach out to ever day, unaffiliated folks, along with the stakeholders, to find out why they go to the Missouri, what they do there, and what's important," McKinney said. "These meetings are really step one in the process."