WEST ALTON, Missouri — On the rocky banks of the Mississippi River two dozen miles north of St. Louis, there's a clash brewing between clean energy and wildlife conservation, with both sides aiming to repair damage wrought by humans.
On one hand, an Alabama company is working to turn the locks and dam here into a hydropower plant, which could boost renewable energy in the region and reduce a long reliance on coal-fired power plants.
On the other, scientists have just discovered that decades of efforts to save a prehistoric fish, the lake sturgeon, are paying off: The river giant was caught spawning here this spring, for the second time in almost four decades.
