Navigating the Muddy Waters: The Intersection of River Science, Recreation and Racing on the Missouri River

Navigating the Muddy Waters: The Intersection of River Science, Recreation and Racing on the Missouri River

Carrie Elliott is a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Columbia Environmental Research Center and has spent more than 20 years studying the Missouri River and its tributaries. Her research has focused on river habitats and endangered pallid sturgeon, and she recently helped discover a historic steamboat wreck while conducting river surveys. A three-time MR340 paddler and this year's race participant, Carrie combines scientific expertise with firsthand river experience. In 2022, to celebrate the mid-career milestone of 20 years of working as a hydrologist on the Missouri River, Carrie Elliott entered and finished the MR340.  Before the race Carrie understood a lot about how the river works and generally where to be in the channel, but as she trained that spring she began to look at the river and all data she’s collected about the…