HISTORICAL SKETCH
Fountain Grove Conservation Area,
Chariton County
Northwest Missouri is a fertile land, once teeming with vast numbers of fish, wildlife and plants. Much of the land was covered with prairie grasses, where early settlers described flushing flocks of prairie chickens that appeared to fill the sky. Deer, elk and bison once found the dispersion of upland prairie and woodlots to their likings. River valleys were lined with forests and wet prairies, which were homes for huge migrating flocks of waterfowl and shorebirds as well as other aquatic animals and plants. The braided channels of rivers, big and small, sheltered populations of prairie fishes, many unique to the glaciated prairie region.Much has changed on the landscape of this corner of Missouri in the past two centuries. To make a living, settlers cleared forests, drained wetlands and converted prairies to crop and pasture land.
Government and privately funded programs channelized many of the rivers in the region. Fires, an important element in maintaining prairies and savannas, were suppressed by residents protecting their homes and outbuildings.
THE REGION TODAY
Elam Bend Conservation Area,
Gentry County
Northwest Missouri currently has a bounty of fish, forest and wildlife resources, some of it available to the public. The Conservation Department manages over 100 conservation areas totaling just over 70,000 acres in the region, including many public access points on streams and the Missouri River. Public land makes up less than 2 percent of the Northwest Region.
The public also enjoys fishing on many Conservation Department ponds and lakes, target shooting at seven range facilities, hiking and horseback riding.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources owns five state parks on about 6,500 acres in the region. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages nearly 18,000 acres at Squaw Creek and Swan Lake national wildlife refuges, while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns 7,434 acres at Smithville Reservoir.
Education programs for youth
The Conservation Department is committed to improving the fish, forest and wildlife resources of the Northwest Region. We will boost educational opportunities for youngsters and adults alike and will make many more opportunities for outdoor recreation available to the residents of the region.
We want to improve streams in the region. Most of the 15,000 miles of streams in the Northwest Region have suffered extensive channelization, unrestricted livestock access and sedimentation. Streams considered good prospects for rehabilitation have been identified. Select streams needing additional frontage and access sites have also been noted.
The Conservation Department is targeting development to increase recreational opportunities on Department of Conservation lands.
Additional facilities identified for development on certain high-use areas include group camping,accessible waterfowl hunting and viewing blinds, shooting ranges and additional privies and parking areas -- all developed within Americans With Disabilities Act standards.
Natural areas are lands designated as the best examples of biological communities in the state, permanently protected and managed for the purpose of preserving their natural qualities. Examples are prairie, marsh, bottomland forest and savanna. These communities may serve as the core for restoration of a large area and are prime sites for the education of school and youth groups. In intensely agricultural northwest Missouri, biological communities that qualify as natural areas should be identified and conserved.
REGIONAL MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES
Conservation Lands
Projected 10-year management priorities include:
- Adding limited critical acres to existing conservation areas
- Conducting forest management on increased acres of forest
- Restoring identified critical acres of wetlands
- Managing identified natural areas
- Restoring a mosaic of prairie, forest and savanna landscapes
- Increasing recreational opportunities - from hunting to hiking - on Department of Conservation lands
- Providing increased protection for natural resources
- Increasing outdoor opportunities for the public to learn about natural resources
- Increasing conservation materials and field trips for groups
- Increasing scientific research on natural resources
- Improving riverine corridors on Department of Conservation land
Private Lands
Fishing on the Missouri River
Over 98 percent of the land in the Northwest Region is in private ownership. The future of the region to support a healthy environment for fish, wildlife and forests belongs to private land owners. The Conservation Department hopes to continue to work closely with landowners who wish to improve fish, wildlife and forest resources on their land. Production agriculture-- corn, milo, beans, wheat and pasture/hay land-- takes place on the bulk of private lands. Confined animal feeding operations are a growing agricultural industry in the region. The Conservation Department realizes that long-term success in maintaining, restoring and protecting the regions natural resources requires an acceptance of the role and importance of production agriculture.
Integrating fish, forest and wildlife management with production agriculture is a priority challenge for the 21st Century. We realize that conservation of fish, wildlife and forest resources in the Northwest Region depends on a positive working relationship between landowners and professional resource managers. The importance of this continued relationship in programs and consultation is reflected in the following Regional Management Priorities.
Farm education program
Projected 10-year management priorities include:
- Improving wildlife habitat on Conservation Reserve Program lands
- Restoring additional acres of wetland habitat
- Restoring additional acres of prairie and other natural communities
- Assisting with restoration and maintenance of habitats along rivers and streams
- Increasing acres of privately managed forest
- Ensuring that farm education programs include environmental information
- Promoting Conservation Department programs and technical assistance
- Promoting clean water practices
The Conservation Department is projecting the restoration of 20,000 acres of wetlands by willing landowners. Wetlands identified most valuable to wildlife will be targeted. We will produce a wetland video and develop a partnership with Ducks Unlimited for the restoration and management of wetlands on private lands. This will result in more wildlife and more outdoor recreational opportunities.
In addition, some 3,300 acres of wetlands and bottomland hardwoods are scheduled for restoration on public lands.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
The Missouri Department of Conservation is constitutionally responsible for the control, management, restoration, conservation and regulation of the bird, fish, game, forestry and all wildlife resources of the state . . .
This publication acts as a brief outline summarizing the management priorities for the next decade in the Northwest Region.
CONSERVATION PRIORITIES
Priorities include:
- Assisting willing landowners to improve their land for wildlife, fish and forest;
- Concentrating management efforts on the one percent of the land held in public conservation areas; and
- Working with other government agencies and non-government organizations to improve habitat for fish and wildlife.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For more information on the Conservation Departments programs and services
in Northwest Missouri, contact:
Missouri Department of Conservation
St. Joseph Regional Office
701 NE College Drive
St. Joseph MO 64507
phone 816-271-3100
or
Chillicothe Office
Route 1 Box 122B
Chillicothe MO 64601
phone 660-646-6122.
