2 Nov 2023

Wilson Lake park ranger provides extraordinary skillset

Park rangers are valuable teammates of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District, as they are at the front lines working at our lake projects to ensure the public can utilize and enjoy the projects year-round. One park ranger who has spent the last 22 years of dedicated service with the Kansas City District is Matt Beckman.

29 Sep 2023

Paddling the distance

Each year, hundreds of adventurous paddlers brave 340 miles of the Lower Missouri River within a matter of 3 1/2 days as part of the annual Missouri American Water MR340 race hosted by Missouri River Relief. As the world’s longest non-stop river race, MR340 is a test of endurance. It is also an opportunity for people around the nation and world to learn more about the Missouri River and how the Kansas City District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages the lower Missouri River Basin. Within the training all paddlers must do before the race, a warning is given to keep an eye out for the structures along the Missouri River including dikes, chutes and revetments. These structures are placed and maintained by the Kansas City District, so the Missouri River is able to self-maintain a navigation channel.

5 Jul 2023

Training for Success and Safety

The U.S. Army is known for the rigorous basic combat training its military members go through, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also has training for its civilian men and women in uniform, park rangers. This weeklong training, Visitor Assistance Training, commonly known as VA Training, is conducted in Huntsville, Alabama for all permanent rangers to receive indefinite citation authority. Each district also provides VA Training to seasonal rangers, ranger trainees and permanent rangers who were unable to attend the training in Huntsville as the classes fill up quickly. These permanent rangers then receive temporary citation authority until they can attend the training in Huntsville. This June, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District held its VA Training at Smithville Lake, in Smithville, Missouri. USACE employees from the Kansas City District, Tulsa District and Omaha District attended the training.