ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) – The Army Corps of Engineers has sent letters to landowners in Missouri and Iowa asking if they wanted to sell land in the Missouri River basin after flooding began along the river. David Kolarik, corps spokesman in Kansas City, said the timing of the letter was a coincidence, and a mistake. He said most of the letters went out before the flooding began in May.  The St. Joseph News-Press reports that some of the letters, however, went out June 6, after the flooding began.

The Missouri River has been flooding for weeks since the corps began releasing historic amounts of water to relieve bloated upstream reservoirs. The corps said the proposal to buy the land had nothing to do with the flooding, and that it’s seeking land to rebuild wildlife habitats.