Missouri River Research Symposium
2026 Missouri River Institute Research Symposium will be held on Thursday, November 12, 9 am – 5:30 pm at Al Neuharth Media Center Conference Room, University of South Dakota.
2026 Missouri River Institute Research Symposium
Thursday, November 12, 9 am – 5:30 pm
Al Neuharth Media Center Conference Room, University of South Dakota
The annual Missouri River Institute symposium at the University of South Dakota is scheduled for Thursday, November 12, 2026, in the Neuharth Center Freedom Forum Conference Room from 9 am – 5:30 pm. This year, the symposium will focus on the recently published book The Missouri, America’s Longest River – A Cultural and Environmental History, edited by Jon K. Lauck and Harry F. Thompson and published by the Center for Western Studies at Augustana University.
Authors of chapters in the book will present a talk on their chapter content either in person or over Zoom. Chapters cover broad topics including exploration and explorers, steamboats, historical forts, commerce, nature, and the river’s influence on political systems. Copies of the book will be available for purchase ($35) at the symposium.
This event is free and open to the public.
Event Schedule
| Time | Speaker | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 | Camryn Miller, Center for Western Studies, Augustana University | Book Overview: The Missouri, America’s Longest River: A Cultural and Environmental History |
| 9:20 | Bree Gallagher (Zoom), Bismarck, North Dakota | Missouri River Ghosts: Preserving Memory and Place at Fort Clark |
| 9:40 | Ann Vlock, University of Nebraska-Lincoln | The Missouri River, the Waterways Movement, and Anti-Railroad Populism |
| 10:00 | Patrick Garry, USD School of Law | The Missouri River and South Dakota Statehood |
| 10:20 | Morning Break | Please visit posters |
| 11:00 | John Henris, University of Montana Western | Non-Native Trout Streams on the Upper Missouri River: A Brief History, 1888-1940 |
| 11:20 | David Swanson, USD Biology | Birds of the Missouri River: Lewis and Clark to Today |
| 11:40 | Mark Dixon, USD Biology | Cottonwood Forests Along the Missouri River: Past, Present, and Future |
| 12:00 | Lunch (on your own) | |
| 1:20 | John Bicknell, Moweaqua, Illinois | The “jugular vein of American expansion”: Stephen H. Long’s Expedition up the Missouri River in 1819 |
| 1:40 | Michael Mullin, Augustana University | Envisioning the Missouri River: Cartography and Trade Before Lewis and Clark |
| 2:00 | Kevin Mason (Zoom), University of Northern Iowa | River of Growth: Stephen Watts Kearney and the Missouri River Expeditions of 1819 and 1824 |
| 2:20 | Sam Herley (Zoom), Chadron State College | Of Scoundrels West and East: Middleton, James, and the Outlaw Memory of Devils Nest on the Missouri |
| 2:40 | Afternoon Break | Please visit posters |
| 3:00 | Gerald Mestl, Nebraska Game & Parks, Retired | Steamboats on the Big Muddy |
| 3:20 | Carole Butcher (Zoom), Pennsylvania | Grant Marsh, Pilot: Master of the Missouri |
| 3:40 | Bryce Tellmann (Zoom), South Dakota School of Mines & Technology | One River, One Region? The Missouri Valley Authority and Rivers-as-Regions |
| 4:00 | Robert Jacobson (Zoom), University of Missouri | Aquatic Conservation on the Lower Missouri River: Holism to Reductionism |
| 4:20 | Gregory LeDonne (Zoom), University of Colorado-Boulder | Fort Peck Dam and the Contemporary Charles M. Russel National Wildlife Refuge |
| 4:40 | Daniel Sauerwein (Zoom), State Historical Society of North Dakota | Sites of Commerce, Exchange, and Power: Forts of the Missouri River in Peace and War |
| 5:00 | ADJOURN |
Poster Session
Please visit the posters relating to Missouri River research at the edges of the conference room during the morning and afternoon breaks.
| Poster Authors (presenter in bold) | Title |
|---|---|
| Emily Zavacki (USD Biology) et al. | Identifying freshwater mussel-fish co-occurrence sites across Nebraska with eDNA metabarcoding |
| Kathryn Yurek (USD Biology) | Preliminary data on microclimate benefits of eastern red cedar to wintering riparian forest birds |
| Anna Bair (USD Biology) et al. | Zebra mussel settlement patterns on the Missouri National Recreational River |
