Post by Steve King (Admin) on Apr 15, 2004 10:48:44 GMT -6
April 6, 2003
DNR worried about Jacks Fork, and that worries locals
Shannon County’s canoes, horses, septic tanks and more threaten river’s water quality, state agency says.
By Mike Penprase
News-Leader
Eminence — With trees starting to emerge from winter hibernation along the gray rock bluffs above him, Brian Staneck pushes off into the Jacks Fork River to explore one of its few unfamiliar stretches.
A fellow floater had told him about the Jacks Fork, its challenge and beauty. Expect the river to turn back on itself and prepare for some skillful paddling, he was told.
And prepare to be amazed.
“There are some very, very high bluffs through here,” he notes, as his dog and companion, Kynya, steps into his canoe on the sparkling clear water.
Soon, as the white serviceberry blooms and the redbud blossoms come out, visitors like Staneck — some 1.5 million over the year — will make their way to the Jacks Fork’s pristine waters and its lush surroundings.
The visitors are vital to a region that’s lost much of its manufacturing base in recent years. But the booming recreational economy — including canoe operations and horse trail rides — combined with septic tanks and livestock farms have some concerned the clear river could soon be muddied with pollution.
Recent studies back up the concern. A U.S. Geological Survey report released late last year showed water-quality problems on the river starting eight miles above the Two Rivers area where the Jacks Fork joins the Current. Though the report didn’t pinpoint an exact cause, it blamed several possible sources, including trail rides, floaters, septic systems, cattle and even wildlife. An eight-mile section of the 49-mile-long river has also been listed on the federal impaired rivers list.
This week, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources will meet with the public in Eminence, hoping to find ways to stop pollution sources and set what are known as total maximum daily load limits, a term used to define how much material a waterway can handle without degrading. TMDLs are tailored for individual rivers and lakes, and indications are fecal coliform limits for the Jacks Fork will be much more demanding than for other rivers.
Simply put, having a national scenic river on the impaired list,” said Sharon Clifford, TMDL coordinator with the state Department of Natural Resources.
DNR will look for potential pollution sources in almost all of the river’s watershed, including Eminence and part of Shannon County, northern Howell County and southeast Texas County, where many small streams feed the Jacks Fork.
But some are worried severe restrictions could harm a fragile economy in Shannon County, whose per capita income in 2000 — $15,686 — put it among the 10 lowest counties in the state, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
DNR wants to let people know the agency not only wants to fix the problem, but offer advice and even financial help, said Scott Totten, the department’s director of water protection and soil conservation.
“The thing we’re trying to do is balance that economics the local folks depend on with the environment,” he said. “It’s a balancing act. You want the economics of the trail ride, you want the economics of the floaters, you want the economics of people who come to Eminence and don’t float. I wouldn’t call it meddling; we’re protecting.”<br>
The busy season
About this time of the year, business operators in Eminence start gearing up for the crush of visitors. Once tourist season arrives, Eminence will swell from a population of around 600 full-time residents to a tourist town of about 13,000, said Paulette Williams, who works at Wilkersons, a restaurant, soda fountain and variety store housed in building built in the early 1900s.
A lot of people come from Missouri to float and explore the area, but many hail from out of state, she said. “We get the whole state of Illinois every weekend,” she joked. “They’re canoeing fools.”<br>
Across the river, family and a couple of dozen employees are getting the Cross Country Trail Ride complex ready for this week’s bluegrass festival, expected to attract 5,000 to 6,000 people.
Last week, even before the festival began, fans like Arkansan Sonny Jackson arrived to be able to put his folding chair in a prime spot in the arena. “Ever since I’ve been coming here, it’s like being part of the family,” he said.
April marks the first of the monthly trail rides held through November on some 350 miles of roads and trails, some of which cross the Current and Jacks Fork rivers — a situation that has sparked a debate over who is responsible for periodic jumps in fecal coliform levels in the lowest eight miles of the Jacks Fork.
Though some have pointed at the trail rides, others note there are a number of contributors, including floaters. Concessionaires have permits to put 712 canoes and 250 tube floats on the river, and uncounted privately owned canoes, kayaks and tubes make their way down the river every year.
Though studies have noted some problems on parts of the river, visitors shouldn’t let that sully the reputation of the waterway, said Noel Poe, superintendent of the Ozark National Riverways, from the agency’s headquarters in Van Buren. The area does need to tackle the problems before they worsen, he said.
“We don’t want to overexaggerate the problem we have, but we also want people to know we need to take action because the likelihood is the problem is going to get worse,” he said. “If it gets to a certain point, somebody is going to mandate what’s done.”<br>
Brian Staneck remembers how disappointed he was during his last winter float below Alley Spring. “There was so much scum floating on the water,” he said.
A long history
If one word applies to wildlife in the Jacks Fork watershed, it’s diversity. A 2001 Department of Conservation report listed 67 species of fish, 19 mussels and five crayfish species in the river, along with 51 species of plants and animals of “special conservation concern.”<br>
The Jacks Fork is in an area of Missouri where the federal government pushed American Indians just as settlers entered the area in the early 1800s. After it was a guerrilla battleground during the Civil War, lumber companies stripped the hills of trees and gouged out the rivers to float railroad ties downriver, then departed.
By the early 1960s, the National Park Service arrived to buy up thousands of acres on either side of the Jacks Fork and Current for the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.
Now, the DNR and others are concerned about the environmental threats to the scenic riverways. But opinions are divided on what’s causing the problem — or even if there is one.
“We don’t think there’s a problem,” local Chamber of Commerce President Nancy Brewer said. Her family-owned ice company sits just up the hill on Missouri 106 from Alley Spring and its historic red grist mill.
“Eminence is commonly referred to as a river town,” she said. “That has always been the source of our economy.”<br>
Many people like Nancy Brewer and her husband, Allan, can claim pioneer roots and recall living on farms next to the river.
Allan’s family raised food in their garden, beef cattle for sale, and hogs to slaughter and provide the family’s meat. His family also made money from the river, running a johnboat operation for years, he said.
Allan Brewer shares his wife’s view of the river. “As far as I’m concerned, the river gets better every year,” he said.
GO TO PART 2 --------->
DNR worried about Jacks Fork, and that worries locals
Shannon County’s canoes, horses, septic tanks and more threaten river’s water quality, state agency says.
By Mike Penprase
News-Leader
Eminence — With trees starting to emerge from winter hibernation along the gray rock bluffs above him, Brian Staneck pushes off into the Jacks Fork River to explore one of its few unfamiliar stretches.
A fellow floater had told him about the Jacks Fork, its challenge and beauty. Expect the river to turn back on itself and prepare for some skillful paddling, he was told.
And prepare to be amazed.
“There are some very, very high bluffs through here,” he notes, as his dog and companion, Kynya, steps into his canoe on the sparkling clear water.
Soon, as the white serviceberry blooms and the redbud blossoms come out, visitors like Staneck — some 1.5 million over the year — will make their way to the Jacks Fork’s pristine waters and its lush surroundings.
The visitors are vital to a region that’s lost much of its manufacturing base in recent years. But the booming recreational economy — including canoe operations and horse trail rides — combined with septic tanks and livestock farms have some concerned the clear river could soon be muddied with pollution.
Recent studies back up the concern. A U.S. Geological Survey report released late last year showed water-quality problems on the river starting eight miles above the Two Rivers area where the Jacks Fork joins the Current. Though the report didn’t pinpoint an exact cause, it blamed several possible sources, including trail rides, floaters, septic systems, cattle and even wildlife. An eight-mile section of the 49-mile-long river has also been listed on the federal impaired rivers list.
This week, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources will meet with the public in Eminence, hoping to find ways to stop pollution sources and set what are known as total maximum daily load limits, a term used to define how much material a waterway can handle without degrading. TMDLs are tailored for individual rivers and lakes, and indications are fecal coliform limits for the Jacks Fork will be much more demanding than for other rivers.
Simply put, having a national scenic river on the impaired list,” said Sharon Clifford, TMDL coordinator with the state Department of Natural Resources.
DNR will look for potential pollution sources in almost all of the river’s watershed, including Eminence and part of Shannon County, northern Howell County and southeast Texas County, where many small streams feed the Jacks Fork.
But some are worried severe restrictions could harm a fragile economy in Shannon County, whose per capita income in 2000 — $15,686 — put it among the 10 lowest counties in the state, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
DNR wants to let people know the agency not only wants to fix the problem, but offer advice and even financial help, said Scott Totten, the department’s director of water protection and soil conservation.
“The thing we’re trying to do is balance that economics the local folks depend on with the environment,” he said. “It’s a balancing act. You want the economics of the trail ride, you want the economics of the floaters, you want the economics of people who come to Eminence and don’t float. I wouldn’t call it meddling; we’re protecting.”<br>
The busy season
About this time of the year, business operators in Eminence start gearing up for the crush of visitors. Once tourist season arrives, Eminence will swell from a population of around 600 full-time residents to a tourist town of about 13,000, said Paulette Williams, who works at Wilkersons, a restaurant, soda fountain and variety store housed in building built in the early 1900s.
A lot of people come from Missouri to float and explore the area, but many hail from out of state, she said. “We get the whole state of Illinois every weekend,” she joked. “They’re canoeing fools.”<br>
Across the river, family and a couple of dozen employees are getting the Cross Country Trail Ride complex ready for this week’s bluegrass festival, expected to attract 5,000 to 6,000 people.
Last week, even before the festival began, fans like Arkansan Sonny Jackson arrived to be able to put his folding chair in a prime spot in the arena. “Ever since I’ve been coming here, it’s like being part of the family,” he said.
April marks the first of the monthly trail rides held through November on some 350 miles of roads and trails, some of which cross the Current and Jacks Fork rivers — a situation that has sparked a debate over who is responsible for periodic jumps in fecal coliform levels in the lowest eight miles of the Jacks Fork.
Though some have pointed at the trail rides, others note there are a number of contributors, including floaters. Concessionaires have permits to put 712 canoes and 250 tube floats on the river, and uncounted privately owned canoes, kayaks and tubes make their way down the river every year.
Though studies have noted some problems on parts of the river, visitors shouldn’t let that sully the reputation of the waterway, said Noel Poe, superintendent of the Ozark National Riverways, from the agency’s headquarters in Van Buren. The area does need to tackle the problems before they worsen, he said.
“We don’t want to overexaggerate the problem we have, but we also want people to know we need to take action because the likelihood is the problem is going to get worse,” he said. “If it gets to a certain point, somebody is going to mandate what’s done.”<br>
Brian Staneck remembers how disappointed he was during his last winter float below Alley Spring. “There was so much scum floating on the water,” he said.
A long history
If one word applies to wildlife in the Jacks Fork watershed, it’s diversity. A 2001 Department of Conservation report listed 67 species of fish, 19 mussels and five crayfish species in the river, along with 51 species of plants and animals of “special conservation concern.”<br>
The Jacks Fork is in an area of Missouri where the federal government pushed American Indians just as settlers entered the area in the early 1800s. After it was a guerrilla battleground during the Civil War, lumber companies stripped the hills of trees and gouged out the rivers to float railroad ties downriver, then departed.
By the early 1960s, the National Park Service arrived to buy up thousands of acres on either side of the Jacks Fork and Current for the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.
Now, the DNR and others are concerned about the environmental threats to the scenic riverways. But opinions are divided on what’s causing the problem — or even if there is one.
“We don’t think there’s a problem,” local Chamber of Commerce President Nancy Brewer said. Her family-owned ice company sits just up the hill on Missouri 106 from Alley Spring and its historic red grist mill.
“Eminence is commonly referred to as a river town,” she said. “That has always been the source of our economy.”<br>
Many people like Nancy Brewer and her husband, Allan, can claim pioneer roots and recall living on farms next to the river.
Allan’s family raised food in their garden, beef cattle for sale, and hogs to slaughter and provide the family’s meat. His family also made money from the river, running a johnboat operation for years, he said.
Allan Brewer shares his wife’s view of the river. “As far as I’m concerned, the river gets better every year,” he said.
GO TO PART 2 --------->
